Department: Home Preservation
Reports to: Client Manager, Home Preservation
Classification: Full-time, Exempt
Are you motivated to help seniors and other low-income homeowners struggling to keep their homes safe, healthy, and well-maintained? Does completing projects and crossing things off your list bring you inner peace? Then join Habitat’s Home Preservation team in the role of Applicant Support Specialist (ASP). The ASP works cross-functionally to assist and to advocate for low-income homeowners, many of them elders, seeking service through Habitat’s Home Preservation Program by helping them complete and submit forms and documents, prepare for construction, and connect to local government/social services. The ASP provides individualized support to our program applicants by working to mitigate barriers that can impede access to our programs.
Specific Duties and Responsibilities:
- Follow up with program applicants via phone and email to provide answers to their questions, to offer general assistance such as coordination of language translation services, to collect missing documentation, or to suggest other organizations and agencies that may be of service.
- Lead regular informational meetings online and out in the communities we serve.
- Mediate any conflicts that may arise during the project and help remove obstacles that impede progress.
- Serve as consistent point of contact throughout all phases of their project and provide milestone updates.
- Actively participate in cross-functional meetings as an applicant advocate by ensuring adequate staff attention is provided.
- Visit applicants at their homes to explain program details and to collect documents and forms when needed.
- Coordinate specialized program transactions such as Emergency Repairs.
- Ensure programmatic documentation is received and filed and log all activities in Salesforce database.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
- Strong motivation to help others.
- Experience in de-escalation and conflict resolution techniques.
- Ability to set realistic expectations and say no when appropriate.
- Patient, helpful, and solutions-oriented communication style.
- Ability to communicate clearly with vulnerable populations.
- Sensitive to the needs of and ability to work with elderly and functionally impaired adults from diverse ethnic and minority cultures.
- Ability to communicate & maintain good boundaries.
- Timely follow up and follow through with applicants and by extension, colleagues when their input/collaboration is needed.
- Strong organizational skills required.
- Customer service experience desired but not required.
- Basic computer literacy required.
- Must have and maintain valid CA driver license, satisfactory driving record, vehicle, and auto insurance coverage.
Work Environment/Physical Requirements:
Work will be performed from home or at the Oakland offices and 25% of work will be performed in the field in the homes of program recipients, primarily in Alameda County.
Compensation: $24-29 per hour, medical, dental, vision, matching 403(b) retirement plan
Interested candidates must submit both a cover letter and resume to Lucinda Lee O’Sullivan, Director of HR & Operations at hr@habitatebsv.org
