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Housing & Benefits Worker – Temporary, Full Time

NOVEMBER 23, 2020| INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL  JOB POSTING

COMPETITION NO. 20-118
Position: Housing and Benefits Worker – Temporary Full Time

Location:  Newton Resource Center

Hours: 35 hrs/week

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

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.

 

Responsibilities:

Include but are not limited to the following:

Clients/Program:

  • 1.      Provides outreach support to people in their crisis location & community.
  • 2.      Collaborates with the client in determining needs and identifying barriers the person faces to sustain or obtaining housing.
  • 3.      Provides assistance to the client in creating their housing and stabilization plan for reducing barriers to sustaining or obtaining housing.
  • 4.      Facilitates appointments and meetings with potential landlords, assist in seeking out appropriate services to promote access to housing.
  • 5.      Provide assistance with communications with landlords, navigating complex process, linking clients to other supportive networks and agencies such as mental health and health care services; provide ongoing contact and support in ensuring action.
  • 6.      Excellent interpersonal communication skills including public relations, oral and written skills as well as public speaking ability.
  • 7.      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.
  • 8.      The ability to function in independently and under pressure and effectively manage crisis, emergency situations and challenging clients.
  • 9.      Exercise good judgment and the ability to negotiate and mediate on behalf of clients with landlords and government agencies.
  • 10.  Self-motivated with well-developed planning, organizing, time management, problem solving and decision-making skills essential.
  • 11.  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.
  • 12.  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.
  • 13.  Ability to read, understand and interpret applicable legislation and an awareness of government processes and procedures required.  Exceptional knowledge of community resources also required.
  • 14.  Provides comprehensive housing loss prevention services to marginalized individuals and families at imminent risk of housing loss to maintain their tenancy, access income supports, benefits.  Service includes providing support, information, referral, completion of forms and applications, written communications on behalf of the client, negotiation and mediation, written appeals and representation, also provides assistance with housing search and accessing resources.
  • 15.  Providing advocacy services to disadvantaged individuals in the areas of income assistance, provincial disability benefits, federal income security programs and residential tenancy.  The advocate will be experienced in working with people with disabilities; providing 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.
  • 16.  Maintains and develops working relationships with government agencies and other human serving organizations.
  • 17.  Maintains complete and accurate statistics and records for all project activities.  Meets all reporting requirements.
  • 18.  Promotes the project’s activities through workshop presentations and public meetings.
  • 19.  Participates in community meetings and other events related to poverty and homelessness.
  • 20.  May be required to work the occasional weekend or evening.

Qualifications:

  • §  Minimum 2 years post-secondary education and experience in related field (or competency demonstrated through a combination of education, training, and experience).
  • §  An awareness and understanding of poverty and homelessness related issues,
  • §  Understanding of advocacy, Provincial and Federal income supports programs and tenancy an asset,
  • §  Ability to read, understand and interpret applicable legislation and an awareness of government processes and procedures required.
  • §  Excellent interpersonal communication skills including public relations, oral and written skills,
  • §  Exercise good judgment, sensitive to a diverse client base and ability to deal tactfully with sensitive client issues; strong sense of social justice and strong desire to assist and improve the lives of marginalized people,
  • §  Self-motivated with well-developed planning, organizing, problem solving and decision making skills,
  • §  Demonstrated ability to work effectively within a team environment– includes contributing in a cooperative way to the teamwork environment and upholding the professional code of ethics,
  • §  Excellent administrative skills including the operation of multi-line switchboard, computer, office equipment. Ability to manage multiple tasks and projects,
  • §  Exceptional knowledge of community resources and internet and research skills to research services for referral,
  • §  The ability to function in independently and under pressure and effectively manage crisis, emergency situations and challenging clients,
  • §  Participation in meetings, case conferences and other events, which may involve long work days and evening or weekend work,
  • §  Must have valid BC Driver’s license and own vehicle to use for work,
  • §  May be required to work the occasional weekend or evening,
  • §  Fluency in a second language an asset,
  • §  Criminal Record check required.

START DATE: ASAP

END DATE: March 31, 2021 with possibility of extension

Closing Date: November 30, 2020. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted by December 2, 2020 or earlier

How to apply: Please email your cover letter and resume to Jay Blaschuk, Housing Support Services Manager at jblaschuk@sourcesbc.ca. Thank you.