Career Opportunities

OCTOBER 30, 2020| EXTERNAL and INTERNAL JOB POSTING

COMPETITION NO. 20-108
Position: Benefits Advocate – Temporary Full Time

Location:  Newton Resource Center

Hours: 35 hours/week

We are looking for a Benefits Advocate to join our Sources Housing and Community Assistance Programs teams! This individual must be eager, motivated, and organised!

About Sources

Sources is a community-based non-profit organization that has been providing help, encouragement, and hope for individuals and families in White Rock, Surrey, Delta, Langley, and Prince George for 40 years. We serve 40,000 individuals yearly and that is all owing to our dedicated team. We provide services such as food banks, counselling, employment services, and community living programs. At Sources we value respect and collaboration as we are all striving to promote the same mission—social wellness for our community.

About Newton Resource Center

Housing program: Assisting homeless individuals to find safe and affordable housing and offering ongoing support (re. income supports, benefits, tenancy, other supports) to assist them to remain housed. Services include Housing First for chronically and episodically homeless individuals.

Homelessness Prevention program: Supporting individuals to maintain housing through advocacy and facilitated access to resources. Sources Rent Bank also offers micro-loans for rental and utility arrears, damage deposits, and first-month’s rent.

Ask an Advocate program: Offers on-line resources pertaining to income assistance, residential tenancy, and other income supports. Visitors to the askanadvocate.ca website can also ask questions and access training on these topics.

Advocacy: Support for matters relating to income assistance, provincial and federal disability benefits, other federal income support programs, tenancy, and debt.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

This position requires an experienced individual to provide comprehensive housing loss prevention and legal advocacy services in the areas of income assistance, provincial disability benefits, residential tenancy, and federal income security programs.  The worker will provide support, information, and referral, written communications on behalf of the client as well as accompaniment to meetings; mediates and negotiates with government agencies and landlords.

Qualifications:

• 1.      Minimum 2 years post-secondary education and experience in related field.
• 2.      Excellent interpersonal communication skills including public relations, oral and written skills as well as public speaking ability.
• 3.      Have a strong sense of social justice and resilient desire to assist and improve the lives of marginalized people. Work from a client service and solution focused approach. Have an understanding the spectrum of issues related to poverty; sensitive to a diverse client base and ability to deal tactfully with sensitive client issues.
• 4.      Exercise good judgment and the ability to negotiate and mediate on behalf of clients with government agencies and landlords.
• 5.      Self-motivated with well-developed planning, organizing, time management, problem solving and decision-making skills essential.
• 6.      Demonstrated ability to work effectively within a team environment including contributing in a cooperative way to the teamwork environment and upholding the professional code of ethics. Ability to apply tact and diplomacy to deal with sensitive and/or politically charged issues and ability to give and receive positive and constructive feedback.
• 7.      Excellent administrative skills including the operation computer and office equipment as well as perform administrative practices including record keeping, file management and reporting to accredited standards.  Effectively use the Internet, and research skills are imperative.  Ability to manage multiple tasks and projects, analyze complex information and situations and prioritize effectively.
• 8.      Ability to read, understand and interpret applicable legislation and an awareness of government processes and procedures required.  Exceptional knowledge of community resources also required.
• 9.      The ability to function in independently and under pressure and effectively manage crisis, emergency situations and challenging clients.
• 10.    Vehicle, valid class 5 driver’s license and clean driving abstract required,
• 11.    Fluency in a second language an asset,
• 12.    Must be willing to work the occasional weekend or evening.
• 13.    Criminal Record check required

START DATE:    ASAP

END DATE:  March 31, 2021 with possibility of extension

Closing Date: November 7, 2020. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted by November 9th, 2020 or earlier.

How to apply: Please email your cover letter and resume to Tatiana Belyaeva, Community Assistance Program Manager at tbelyaeva@sourcesbc.ca. Thank you.