Engagement Specialist

Overview

The Housing Engagement Specialist (HES) will work to identify, recruit and maintain relationships with landlords, property management companies, and realtors in the Eastern Coordinated Access Network (ECAN) region who will lease to homeless or at-risk households that come through the ECAN. The HES will serve as a liaison between the ECAN providers, landlords and realtors who have available units. They will be responsible for overseeing and maintaining a centralized list of landlord information as well as available units which are available to ALL ECAN individuals and families in need of housing regardless of agency connection.

The HES will be responsible for facilitating Housing Quality Standard inspections (HQS). The HES will provide ongoing education and mediation to landlords regarding the challenges and benefits of providing opportunities to this population of tenants. Advocacy for and education of Shared Housing is a priority. This position’s primary responsibilities are to establish and maintain relationships with property owners and clientele to resolve housing crises as rapidly and sustainably as possible.

The HES will work very closely with the TVCCA’s Housing team to determine the appropriate level of financial assistance to resolve housing crises.

TVCCA offers a generous benefits package including;

• 403B Retirement Plan
• Medical, Dental, Vision, Life & Accidental Death benefits, short-term disability, long-term disability and voluntary benefits
• 13 paid Holidays, vacation/sick time

• Bachelor’s Degree in a related field (Family Studies, Sociology, Social Work, Recruitment, etc.) plus three years’ experience working with homeless families and/or individuals; or an associate’s degree in a related field plus 5 years working with homeless populations and/or housing related programs.
• Must possess strong communication skills both written and verbal.
• The Housing Engagement Specialist must have the empathy to work with households experiencing homelessness. Will provide crisis intervention services.
• This position requires knowledge of the issues facing the homeless and chronically homeless populations.
• Must be able to communicate with applicants, landlords, property managers, other community agencies and TVCCA and funding source administrations. Strong computer skills required. May be required to perform public speaking with community groups and other service providers.
• Must be organized and able to work with multiple households simultaneously.
• Will need a high level of negotiation and mediation skills. Must be able to build client files and keep them current and in a consistent manner.
• Must be willing to be a strong, diplomatic advocate for the clients of TVCCA Housing Programs.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in a related field (Family Studies, Sociology, Social Work, Recruitment, etc.) plus three years’ experience working with homeless families and/or individuals; or an associate’s degree in a related field plus 5 years working with homeless populations and/or housing related programs.
• Must possess strong communication skills both written and verbal.
• The Housing Engagement Specialist must have the empathy to work with households experiencing homelessness. Will provide crisis intervention services.
• This position requires knowledge of the issues facing the homeless and chronically homeless populations.
• Must be able to communicate with applicants, landlords, property managers, other community agencies and TVCCA and funding source administrations. Strong computer skills required. May be required to perform public speaking with community groups and other service providers.
• Must be organized and able to work with multiple households simultaneously.
• Will need a high level of negotiation and mediation skills. Must be able to build client files and keep them current and in a consistent manner.
• Must be willing to be a strong, diplomatic advocate for the clients of TVCCA Housing Programs.