ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST

Socket.dev; Oak Park (IL); On-site; USD 2,066,000 - 3,031,000; Part time

Job summary

Housing Forward seeks an Engagement Specialist to welcome clients, conduct initial intake for emergency shelter services, and collaborate with volunteers to ensure a safe night for participants. This part-time role runs Wednesday to Sunday, 6:00pm–10:00pm, and requires a background in social work or related field.

The position focuses on intake, engagement, and connecting clients to housing options while maintaining professional boundaries and crisis intervention skills.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s in social work or related field preferred; may be substituted by experience.
• Must have smartphone to utilize Agency communication and collaboration tools.

Responsibilities

• Provide orientation to individuals, couples and families seeking shelter services.
• Complete intakes on new clients and enter assessments into HMIS.
• Assess housing needs and offer short-term solutions to address housing crisis.
• Coordinate with Supportive Services to secure housing options.
• Assist clients in articulating needs and accessing documentation for By Name List and housing.
• Triage and de-escalate persons in crisis and connect to emergency resources.
• Serve as main contact with clients until assigned a case manager.
• Work with volunteers to ensure shelter schedule is followed.
• Read and complete shift logs; file incident reports for unusual events.
• Provide daily reports to supervisor and refer clients to shelter/housing resources.

Skills

Strong interpersonal skills

Clear written and verbal communication

Crisis intervention and de-escalation

Professional boundaries with clients

Diversity awareness and inclusion

Time management and multitasking

Education

Bachelor’s degree in social work or related field

Job description

Description

JOB SUMMARY:

The Engagement Specialist is responsible for welcoming clients into the program and completing the initial intake for emergency shelter services and also as the “front door” to the agency’s homeless crisis-response. Will work with a team of volunteers to ensure that the participants in the Emergency Overnight Shelter have a safe place to sleep and that their basic needs are met for the evening. This is a part-time position, the hours are Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 6:00pm to 10:00pm.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

Intake, Engagement and Diversion

1. Provide orientation to individuals, couples and families seeking shelter services to the Emergency Shelter Program.
2. Complete intakes on new clients, identify special needs (i.e. physical limitations, underlying medical conditions) and enter all assessments into the agency’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS).
3. Performs assessments to determine a person’s immediate housing and un-housed situation; determine underlying issues and offer short-term solutions that may resolve their immediate housing crisis.
4. Assist people seeking services in articulating their needs. Coordinate with the Supportive Services Specialists to secure appropriate documentation to get clients on the By Name List and on the path to housing.
5. Assist clients who may have alternatives to entering the shelter system, navigate their alternatives to divert households from entering the Emergency Shelter
6. Triage and de-escalate persons in crisis and connect persons to appropriate emergency resources. Notify outreach specialists when clients missed shelter for more than three nights.
7. Serve as main contact with clients until clients are assigned a case manager.

Shelter Functions

1. Work with volunteers to ensure that shelter schedule is followed.
2. Read the shift log from the previous shift and complete a shift log at the end of the shift.
3. Complete incident report for unusual events that happened on the shift
4. Ensure that clients do not loiter in front of shelter before shelter opens.

Administrative

1. Provide a daily report to supervisor on calls received and recommendations for shelter and housing options.
2. Inform Shelter Manager of unusual events.
3. Have resources available to provide referrals to clients that are not admitted to shelter

HOURS:

Part-time, Wednesday - Sunday, 6:00pm to 10:00pm

QUALIFICATIONS:

A bachelor’s in social work or related field preferred; may be substituted by experience.

Must have smartphone to utilize Agency communication and collaboration tools.

KEY COMPETENCIES:

• Strong interpersonal skills
• Express ideas clearly and concisely both orally and in writing. Ability to problem-solve and make decisions in stressful situations.
• Professional boundaries with clients.
• Maturity in demeanor and positive attitude.
• Aptitude for management data and information.
• Crisis intervention skills
• Enjoys managing different levels of responsibilities and tasks of the program.
• Comfortable interacting with diverse groups of people (i.e. volunteers, shelter clients).
• Ability to think ‘on-your-feet’.
• Ability to work individually and as a member of a team.

Requirements

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

• While performing the essential duties of this job, the employee is required to sit for extended periods of time, frequently talk, hear, use hands and fingers to feel, handle and operate objects or controls, and stand, bend, stretch, stoop, kneel, crouch, and climb stairs.?
• The employee is required to have?close?visual acuity to perform an activity such as preparing and analyzing data and figures, review documents, and work on a computer.?
• The employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds.?

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

Job descriptions are not intended and should not be construed to be all-inclusive lists of all responsibilities, skills, efforts or working conditions associated with a job. While this job description is intended to be an accurate reflection of the job requirements, management reserves the right to modify, add or remove duties from particular jobs and to assign other duties, as necessary. This job description does not constitute a written or implied contract of employment.

Housing Forward does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, citizenship, ethnic or national origin, age, disability, medical status, military status, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, ancestry, or any legally protected status. This policy applies to all employment practices within our organization, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits and training. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, national origin, or disability.