Job Description

Catholic Housing Services believes everyone deserves the right to a safe, affordable place to call home. Inspired by this vision, CHS develops, owns and manages affordable housing programs for low-income families and individuals; currently including 2,100 units of housing in 50 different buildings across Western Washington. We provide supportive services for people who have experienced homelessness, low-income seniors, farm worker families, and those who have special physical and mental needs.

Tumwater Apartments, a housing program of Catholic Housing Services, is a HUD 202 project consisting of 50 units serving elderly or disabled residents. This 50-unit garden property is located in Tumwater WA which affords easy access to major hospitals and metro buses. Residents enjoy a community room that includes a kitchen, as well as a library, TV, books, and puzzles.

The Resident Services Coordinator (RSC) serves as part of the on-site team but is supervised by an off-site supervisor. The RSC is charged with the tasks of creating community within the building, providing information and referrals, and collaborating with other service providers.  The RSC will assist residents and outside elderly community members in obtaining the services they need or want to maintain independence, self-sufficiency, and life satisfaction. Connecting residents to social services and programs that focus on housing success, general wellness, crisis intervention, employment, education, and health and safety is the primary duty of this position.  

To effectively house our residents, housing management staff and services staff strive to cooperate and work in tandem.  Housing management and services staff share common goals: the health and wellbeing of residents and the sustainability of the property.  Support for our residents is the overarching goal that CHS strives to achieve, and each of our employees, no matter what their role is an active participant in striving for that.   The person in this position will work closely and collaborate and communicate on a regular and frequent basis with Building Management staff, including the Program Director and Facilities staff.

This position offers a compensation range of $24.84 – $26.33 per hour (DOE)

Full‑time, 40‑hour position include a competitive benefits package:

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage, plus life insurance and long‑term disability
• Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) options
• Generous paid time off, including paid sick leave, 15 vacation days, 12 paid holidays, and 1 personal holiday
• CCS/CHS 403(b) Employee Savings Plan
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Responsibilities

• Provide outreach and engagement services to the residents, assists residents in identifying the services and benefits needed to maintain independence, self-sufficiency and wellbeing.
• Work closely with on-site manager to identify and monitor residents who need supportive services and work together to identify lease and house rules violations and collaborate on strategies to address these violations. Attend unit inspections as a tool to gain insight on resident’s needs.
• Assist residents in making applications for needed resources, including income, health care, employment, adult day health, transportation and other support services.
• Develop ongoing relationships with community resources such as health clinics, assessment/case management, counseling programs, adult day centers, legal services, recovery programs, ESL classes and other community resources needed by residents.
• Educate residents on service availability, application procedures both individually and as a group.
• Provide linkage to community resources for those residents that need assistance in accessing services. Act as an advocate for residents on a continuing basis to ensure consistent service from these agencies and systems.  Monitor effectiveness of response and resident satisfaction with resources.
• Help residents build informal support networks with other residents, family and friends. Partner with on-site manager to plan and supervise community-building activities, such as meals, outings, holiday celebrations and community events.
• Set up volunteer support programs with organizations in the community, as appropriate.
• Create and/or maintain directory of local providers for use by both staff and residents, as needed.
• As appropriate and necessary, monitor services provided for residents by outside agencies and coordinate/collaborate with those providers.
• Assist in coordinating hospital discharge planning and move-out planning when residents plan to move out from their residence; and as necessary, work with on-site manager on eviction proceedings and prevention.
• Produce monthly informational newsletter and activities calendar for residents.
• In conjunction with supervisor and on-site manager, decide how best to spend annual budget for tenant support.
• Organize and facilitate resident meetings. Problem solve with residents when appropriate.  Provide professional communication and leadership in a variety of meeting/presentation settings that support open, honest communication and inclusion of diversity.
• Solicit in-kind donations as needed.
• Work closely with on-site Management in welcoming new residents (and establish contact with existing residents) and explain to them the resident services program, its offerings, and the RSC role in providing information and support in assisting residents interested in accessing local service resources.
• Serve as resident advocate in terms of policy development and administration, interaction with staff members, negotiating solutions to problems, and within the greater community.
• Ensure minimum training hours are met each year according to HUD contract.
• In all of the above responsibilities, maintain case notes (i.e., a record of the resident contract, referrals and time spent) in the online services software.

General Responsibilities

• Observe/follow guidelines on confidentiality rights of residents and respect their privacy.
• Maintain accurate record of hours worked and turn in timesheets and mileage reimbursement on schedule.
• Attend trainings required of employees and supervisory meetings as scheduled; participate as team member in staff meetings and division meetings as required.
• Be familiar with landlord/tenant law and the actions that are permissible for landlords and the responsibilities of residents.
• Maintain cooperative relationships with residents/businesses in surrounding neighborhood.
• Uphold and model the service mission of Catholic Housing Services in all aspects of work life. Represent CHS at appropriate trainings, community, and provider forums as appropriate.      
• Contribute to and support a positive, team-oriented work environment.
• Perform other job-related duties as assigned.

Job Conditions

This position requires the employee to work in an environment where there may be exposure to blood, bodily fluids, and other potentially infectious material.  Other exposures could include cleaning supplies, bedbugs, chemicals involved in pest control, paint and other materials used in building maintenance, building temperature fluctuations, dust, noise, and odors.  Working conditions include interruptions, crisis response, and regular interactions with individuals who are dealing with issues of chemical dependency and/or mental illness, or are experiencing anger or frustration.

Physical and Mental Acuity Requirements

The requirements described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Able to hear telephone rings, phone conversation and face-to-face conversation, door bells and emergency alarms.
• Able to speak clearly in person and on the telephone.
• Able to hand write legibly.
• Vision that enables person to read normal size print and handwritten notes; and distance and peripheral vision than enables person to monitor living spaces and identify concerns that require staff response.
• Able to sit for sustained periods of time.
• Able to walk the entire building and ascend and descend stairs quickly to move from one floor to another in order to respond to emergency situations.
• Mobility/dexterity of hands/arms to enable keying into a unit or other locked area as well as using computers and other office equipment.
• Ability to prioritize multiple tasks, and to work independently and as a team member.
• Ability to regularly lift and carry up to 20 pounds and occasionally up to 40 pounds.
• Regularly able to perform duties as assigned.
• Able to make independent decisions and apply sound judgment in performing job duties.

Qualifications

• 2 years’ experience working with seniors and/or people with special needs OR BA or BSW in social service field.
• Ability to work independently without direct on-site supervision.
• Basic computer skills with ability to maintain client records, produce community resource information flyers, and informational materials.
• Good oral and written communication skills.
• Possession of problem-solving abilities, knowledge of crisis prevention planning and crisis intervention techniques.lat
• Well-organized, flexible, creative, able to conduct self in a professional manner.
• Ability to work within the mission, goals and objectives of the Catholic Housing Services and Catholic Community Services.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated experienced in working with elderly people who may have multiple health, safety and psychosocial issues.
• Experience in assisting people in accessing community agencies and resources, linking with services and working with and understanding of culturally diverse groups.
• Knowledge of resources in communities in which property is located.

Note to Internal Candidates: HR reviews internal compensation and determines any increase based on their experience and also agency internal equity factors.

Catholic Community Services and Catholic Housing Services is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Please let us know if you need special accommodations to apply or interview for this position.

EMPLOYEE/EMPLOYER PLEDGE We will not tolerate attitudes, behaviors, or statements that alienate, offend, or injure any person associated with CCS because of their racial or ethnic origin. We will enable and support all efforts to become aware of and eliminate racism and racist behaviors within CCS and the broader community. We will take exceptional steps to identify and root out such biases, especially where there appear to be long standing, institutional patterns of unacceptable behavior or lack of performance.