Job description

Job Description

JOB TITLE: Housing Counselor

Address: Main Office Location: 13-11 40th Avenue, Long Island City, NY 11101

About Urban Upbound

Urban Upbound is a NYC-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to breaking the cycles of poverty in New York City public housing (NYCHA) and other low-income neighborhoods. Co-founded in 2004 by Bishop Mitchell Taylor, a long-time Queensbridge resident and community leader, Urban Upbound provides NYC residents with the tools and resources needed to achieve economic prosperity and self-sufficiency. The organization achieves these objectives through six integrated, comprehensive programs, including, Financial Counseling and Affordable Housing, Employment Services, College Access and Youth Development, Tax Preparation and Income Support, Community Revitalization through Business Innovation, and Financial Inclusion services anchored by the Urban Upbound Federal Credit Union.

Currently, we are looking for a dedicated housing professional to join our Financial Fitness Program as the Housing Counselor. The Housing Counselor provides a range of housing and financial services that are tailored to the needs of individual program participants seeking both affordable rental and first time homebuyer opportunities. This program staff will galvanize internal and partner resources to provide HUD approved housing education and counseling to help clients achieve their dream of homeownership or affordable rental. He or she will support the program’s efforts to enhance the financial futures of participants by changing their attitudes to goal setting, credit repair, debt management, and provide pathways to long-term asset building of homeownership, higher education, and retirement planning. The ideal candidate would have individualized housing and financial counseling experience with clients from diverse economic, cultural and social backgrounds including low to moderate income.

The Housing Counselor is someone who is flexible, open and caring to the greater population. You will be on the front lines of poverty alleviation, working with an innovative city organization, which is constantly changing and evolving its tactics towards tackling poverty and providing a pathway to financial mobility in NYC.

Position Summary:

Responsible for providing information and guidance to individuals that will enable them to meet their housing goals. They are well versed in housing options and financial analysis. Housing Counselors must be solutions oriented and problem solvers who are understanding and non-judgmental. They are the consumers advocate and to better serve the consumer must build relationships with lenders so that they are able to advocate successfully on behalf of the consumers.

Primary Responsibilities (include but is not limited to):

• The primary duty of a housing counselor is to determine a homebuyer, homeowner’s or renter’s objectives, goals and needs
• Provides high quality housing counseling services
• Maintains official records and documents, and ensures compliance with federal, state and local regulations
• Maintains a working knowledge of significant developments and trends in the industry
• Maintains confidentiality of client information as required by agency and/or state and federal regulations

Workshops and Group Education:

Conduct/coordinate group education and informational seminars utilizing PowerPoint presentations, Zoom or other platform dependent on available technical support.

• Conducts community outreach and marketing for homebuyer education, foreclosure intervention and budget and credit workshops
• Conducts group intakes and collect required documentation; authorizations and disclosures
• Registers clients seeking to purchase a home or other home related services
• Explains the basic elements of the home buying process, and the various loan programs available
• Becomes familiar with local financing programs and the mortgage programs offered by lender partners

One-on–one Counseling: Individualized housing counseling with lower-income New Yorkers, helping them achieve financial stability, mobility and housing eligibility; measuring impact with specific weekly and yearly goals. Assist clients with complex personal finance issues, including legal aspects, such as wage garnishments, judgments, bankruptcies, etc. as it relates to rental, homeownership, foreclosure prevention and post purchase or post rental situations.

• Gather information from the client and assesses the best way possible to help make solid decisions concerning the requirements for buying, renting or saving their home
• Create case or client files containing personal and financial information to determine the status of a homeowner
• Develop an Action Plan that identifies the needs/goals, the steps necessary to meet the goals, and the time frames
• Assist clients to review spending habits and budget appropriately
• Provide adequate documented follow-up
• Provide referrals when appropriate
• Ensure client files are closed timely and in accordance with established procedures

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to ensure policies and procedures are followed
• Ability to maintain confidentiality of sensitive information
• Ability to demonstrate strong communication, negotiation, and mediation skills
• Ability to meet program deadlines, benchmarks and outcomes
• Knowledge of evaluation and outcome measurement
• Ability to plan long range goals with the flexibility to change course where appropriate
• Possess a high level of initiative, effort and commitment towards completing assignments efficiently, work with minimal supervision and demonstrate responsible behavior and meticulous attention to details
• Capable to establish sound working relationships and cooperative arrangements with community groups and organizations to eliminate duplicative services
• Provide outreach and general marketing services to the community regarding rental and financial counseling and other Urban Upbound programs and services
• Excellent time management, problem prevention, and problem solving skills
• Proficient in operation of intermediate level office equipment and software programs; including but not limited to: Client Management System (CMS), Microsoft Suite (Word, Excel, Publisher, PowerPoint)
• Express information to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information; Listen to others and respond appropriately
• Work and communicate with internal and external customers to meet their needs in a polite, courteous and cooperative manner, committed to quality service
• Respond appropriately to supervision, follow policies and cooperate with supervisors
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Duties will be required to be performed at various locations within the five boroughs as determined by the organization
• Flexible work hours, including some evenings and weekends may be required of this position
• Additional duties at the discretion of the Director of Housing Services

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree- Required. Degree in a related field: Business Administration, Social Work, Psychology, Sociology, Counseling from an accredited college or university is preferred,
• HUD Certification and Financial Counseling Certification a plus (or will have 90 days to accomplish after accepting position),
• Prior work experience working with low income communities with housing field background preferred,
• Minimum 6 months of experience in providing Housing Counseling services preferred
• 2nd Language (proficiency in Spanish, Bengali, Cantonese, Mandarin, or Creole is preferred),
• Affordable housing (rental, first time homebuyer, foreclosure prevention) preferred,
• Financial Fitness Counseling experience preferred,
• Ability to take and pass OFE Personal Finance course. A mandatory commitment for this position,
• Must be based in NYC Metropolitan area.

Preferred Qualities:

• Commitment to helping social empowerment and economic development.
• Genuine passion for service and working with LMI community.
• Client focus and adaptability to different personality types.
• Genuine passion about money is essential, although advanced knowledge on topics may be learned on the job.
• Independent self-starter with strong teamwork abilities, as you will be given a lot of autonomy in managing your own clientele.
• Flexibility in working towards the larger mission of Urban Upbound, as this may involve a lot of experimentation in approaches to working with clients and referrals to other programs.
• Creativity in your approaches to working with people. Ideas are welcome here, including on improving client service delivery through technology, integration and communication methods.

Benefits:

• Training provided in various topics, including technical content skills, operational management, and analytical skills.
• Flexible schedule, committed to work-life balance.
• Medical, Dental and Vision options provided

To Apply:
Please submit a resume and cover letter to: petraann@urbanupbound.org. Include Housing Financial Counselor in the subject line.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $45,000.00 - $50,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Vision insurance

Physical setting:

• Office

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift

Education:

• Bachelor's (Required)

Experience:

• Housing Counseling: 1 year (Preferred)

Work Location: In person

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