DSP Direct Support Professional - Program Assistant 40 hours

Caritas Gala; New Jersey; On-site; USD 27,000 - 39,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

PAID training

Medical/vision and dental

Life insurance (agency‑paid)

Flexible spending accounts

403B with company‑matching

Generous paid time off

Job summary

Catholic Charities in New Jersey seeks a Direct Support Professional - Program Assistant to partner with the Program Director and deliver quality services in our group homes.

This full‑time role includes supervising residential counselors, planning menus and activities, coordinating medications, and maintaining documentation to meet agency and governmental standards.

Qualifications

• One year experience working with persons with developmental disabilities preferred.
• 18 years of age or older with a valid NJ driver’s license and ≤5 points.
• Must be able to drive agency vehicles to transport service recipients.
• Ability to meet CPR/First Aid and emergency evacuation procedures.
• Knowledge of or willingness to learn basic computer programs.

Responsibilities

• Partner with the Program Director to provide quality services in the home.
• Supervise and train residential counselors with the Director and Associate Director.
• Prepare menus, grocery lists, and food shopping; coordinate medications with the pharmacy.
• Schedule activities for residents and maintain health monitoring and documentation.
• Coordinate with administration and state staff during inspections and ensure standards are met.

Skills

Written communication

Computer literacy

Team player

Education

High School Diploma or GED

Related field degree preferred

Job description

Description

Department for Persons with Disabilities (DPD)

Department for Persons with Disabilities (DPD) is one of the largest Catholic Charities Agencies providing care for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the United States. We are looking for dedicated, caring and compassionate people to work in our Group Homes.

Regular Salary: $24.05 hourly

Hours: 40 hours (Tuesday 1pm-9pm, Wednesday 7am-3pm, Thursday 2pm-10pm, Friday 1pm-9pm, Saturday 7am-3pm)

What's the role of a Direct Support Professional - Program Assistant?

• Partners with the Program Director to provide quality services to the people living in the home, and uphold the agency philosophy in carrying out the day-to‑day tasks.
• You will work with the Director and Associate Director in the supervision and training of residential counselors.
• You must also demonstrate excellence in all tasks of the residential counselor position; includes but is not limited to, preparing menus, grocery lists and food shopping, scheduling activities for the people living in the homes, ensuring the medications are adequately stocked, communicating effectively with the pharmacy, coordinating the completion of fire drills, assisting with administrative tasks, participating in training new staff and sharing on‑call responsibilities with the Director and Associate Director.
• The monitoring of health issues and clothing needs of our residents, ensuring the home is meeting agency and governmental standards of operation.
• This job requires a significant amount of written documentation, computer literacy, and cooperating with the agency's administration and/or Division of Developmental Disabilities and Dept. of Human Services staff in any inspection or investigation.

Great Benefits: For full‑time positions, (30+ per week) we offer:

• We provide PAID training
• Medical/vision and dental
• Life insurance (agency‑paid), supplemental life insurance (employee‑paid)
• Flexible spending accounts
• Accidental/Critical Illness Insurance
• 403B (with company‑matching)
• Generous paid time off

Requirements

• One year experience working with persons with developmental disabilities and/or a degree in a related field preferred.
• 18 years of age or older
• High School/GED diploma
• Must have a valid (non‑provisional) driver’s license in the State of New Jersey and points on license not to exceed 5 points.
• Required to drive agency vehicles to transport service recipients on a regular basis.
• Should have knowledge of, or willingness to learn computer programs.
• Be motivated to work as part of a team that acts in the best interest of our residents at all times
• The ability to meet the physical requirements of CPR/First Aid and our emergency evacuation procedures.

All offers of employment are contingent on the successful completion/passing of our criminal background/references/DMV check, fingerprinting, pre‑employment physical and drug test, etc. All staff must attend a monthly Staff Meeting – date/time to be determined and announced in advance.

Catholic Charities is an equal opportunity employer (EOE) – we will discontinue the use of any recruitment resources which engage in direct or indirect discriminatory practices.