Job Description

Project Renewal is a leading non-profit organization with the mission of ending the cycle of homelessness by empowering individuals and families to renew their lives with health, homes, and jobs. Our comprehensive and integrated 24/7 programs are designed to offer the holistic care our clients need. With a staff of 950+ and an annual budget of $140 million, Project Renewal is one of the larger social service nonprofits in New York City.

Title: Custodian

Program: Compass House Women’s Shelter (Employment)

Salary Range: $36,543.00 annually

Program Description

The Compass House Women’s Shelter is a 90-bed, 24/7 emergency shelter for general population homeless women that are employable or are already employed. Our comprehensive services include case management, occupational therapy, workforce development services, and housing placement assistance. Tentative opening Winter 2026/2027.

Position Overview:

Under the general direction of the Assistant Building Manager, Building Manager and the Program Director, the Custodian is responsible for performing various tasks on a daily basis, including sleeping areas, dining space, restrooms, stairwells, and all public areas, to provide a clean and safe environment for the staff and clients of the shelter; performs related work.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The essential duties of the Custodian include but are not limited to the following activities:

• Performs janitorial work, including power-washing, making repairs, replacing plumbing fittings, wiping down lighting fixtures (requiring a ladder), replacing light bulbs, and waxing floors, mopping, sweeping, and operating a buffing machine.
• Performs garbage duties, including dumpster maintenance, metal sorting, and breaking down boxes for weekly pick up.
• Maintains rubber tiles on shelter stairs.
• Completes all work orders in a timely manner, while providing detailed information regarding the task(s) performed, along with all prescribed/pertinent equipment information.
• Maintains proper levels of materials/supplies for areas assigned, to ensure the timely, effective, and efficient completion of necessary tasks.
• Should be aware of possible exposure, while performing duties, to unsanitary conditions, unpleasant odors and hazardous concentrated chemicals, and be prepared to respond with the applicable protocols for ensuring the safety of self, staff, and clients.
• Performs specific duties, depending upon the floor assigned.
• Performs other janitorial/custodial duties as assigned by supervisory staff.

Physical Activities:

While performing the duties of this position, the Custodian must be able to walk between the 6 floors of the facility in order to tend to building needs. The Custodian also walks the exterior of the facility to ensure that a proper appearance is being maintained. Furthermore, the Custodian must stand to talk to staff, sit for extended periods of time at the computer, bend, reach or squat to get records from the files or when addressing building needs, climb and work from ladders of 10 to 12 feet in height, and lift a minimum of 30lbs.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED
• Bilingual or multilingual, a plus
• Fire Guard Certification F-02 and/or Fire Safety Coordinator F-80 are a plus

Preferred Skills

• Team building: Ability to develop and foster, through demonstration, team spirit, enabling staff to overcome the challenges of providing needed services to the client population
• Communication: Excellent oral, writing, and listening skills are a must
• Organizational: The ability to work well within a highly pressurized, deadline environment, while meeting the short- and long-term mandates of the program
• Interpersonal: An ability to interface with clients as well as all levels of staff
• Computer: Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite

Project Renewal is an equal opportunity employer. Its long-standing policy has been to embrace the equality of opportunity for all employees and applicants without regard to actual or perceived race, color, national origin, alienage or citizenship status, religion or creed, gender (see separately issued Gender Discrimination policy for more detail), physical or mental disability, age (18 and over), military status, arrest record, marital status, domestic partnership status, genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristic, sexual orientation, status as a victim or witness of domestic violence, sex offenses or stalking, unemployment status or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state and local laws.