Residential Counselor - Night Shift

DESC; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Dental insurance

Life insurance

Long-term Disability

Medical insurance (no employee premium

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

ORCA card subsidy

Paid Time Off 34 days/year

Retirement Plan

Job summary

DESC in Seattle seeks a dedicated Residential Counselor to manage day-to-day operations at Permanent Supportive Housing projects, focusing on residents with severe mental illness and substance use disorders.

You will support clinical staff, coordinate services, and promote on-site activities while maintaining safety and building operations. This role requires empathy, reliability, and effective communication with a diverse Resident community.

Qualifications

• Basic understanding of homelessness and characteristics of homeless adults.
• Ability to communicate and work with staff from diverse backgrounds.
• Ability to work with clients displaying a wide range of behaviors.
• Commitment to cooperation and respect for clients.

Responsibilities

• Interact with residents in common areas and the general milieu.
• Assist clinical staff in coordinating services and contacting outside providers as needed.
• Engage residents through creative strategies to build trust and confidence.
• Facilitate on-site activities, support groups, outings, and community meetings.
• Manage building operations in the absence of other staff.
• Operate lobby functions, check visitors in/out, and monitor security systems.
• Maintain safety and enforce project rules.
• Respond to crises and emergencies as required.
• Document significant events in a daily log; read the log daily.
• Assist with leases, turnovers, and orientation of new residents; rent collection and inspections.
• Address resident complaints and refer to clinical staff as needed.
• Coordinate with maintenance and visiting providers; refer residents appropriately.
• Initiate responses to maintenance requests and participate in staff meetings.

Skills

Homelessness basics

Interpersonal communication

Client behavior handling

Respect for clients

Education

BA in social/behavioral science

Job description

Description

Days Off: Monday, Tuesday

Shift: Night

Shift Differential: $1.00 per hour in addition to hourly wage

Insurance Benefits: Dental, Life, Long-term Disability, Medical (no premiums/payroll deductions for employee coverage)

Other Benefits: Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Flexible Spending Account (FSA), ORCA card subsidy, Paid Time Off (34 days per year), Retirement Plan

Union Representation: This position is a part of a union and is represented by SEIU Healthcare 1199NW.

About DESC:

Recognized nationally as an innovator and leader in developing solutions tohomelessness, DESC is a social services organization, supportive housing operator, and licensed behavioral health treatment provider focused on meeting the needs of people experiencing long-term homelessness and living with complex behavioral health and other medical conditions.Approximately 3,000 people are actively receiving services from DESC at any given point in time. Our vision is a community where all people are shown compassion, treated with dignity, and everyone has a safe, stable,and affordable place to call home.

DESC operates five shelter/emergency housing programs,19 permanent supportive housing facilities with over 1,750 units, several hundred additional scattered site apartments, and a range of behavioral health services including outpatient mental health and substance use disorder treatment, residential crisis stabilization, street outreach, mobile crisis response, and treatment for opioid use disorder.

JOB DEFINITION:

We are looking for energized and passionate Residential Counselors to manage basic day-to-day operations at our Permanent Supportive Housing Projects. Residential Counselors assist the individuals living in our supportive housing with their daily needs, with special emphasis on challenges related to severe and persistent mental illness and substance use disorders.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Interact with residents in the general milieu and common areas.
• Assist clinical staff in the coordination of services to residents; contact residents' outside service providers as necessary.
• Assist clinical staff in engaging residents through creative, resourceful strategies that build trust and confidence.
• Assist clinical staff in the initiation, facilitation and promotion of on-site activities, therapeutic support groups, outings and community meetings.
• Manage all building operations in the absence of other project and clinical staff as assigned.
• Operate all functions in lobby office, including checking visitors in and out, answering telephones and monitoring security systems.
• Maintain safety and security by monitoring all general access areas and enforcing project rules.
• Intervene in crises, respond to emergencies, and initiate action as required, including contact with emergency response systems.
• Write significant events involving residents and building operations activities in a daily log; read log daily.
• Assist with room turnovers, new resident leasing and orientation; rent collection and facilities inspections.
• Respond to resident complaints.
• Work cooperatively with clinical and maintenance staff sited at the project and with visiting providers; refer residents to clinical and other staff as necessary
• Initiate appropriate response to maintenance requests.
• Participate in staff meetings and trainings.
• Assist with other property management functions as assigned.
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Basic understanding of homelessness and various characteristics of homeless adult population.
• Ability to communicate and work effectively with staff from various backgrounds.
• Ability to work effectively with clients displaying a wide range of unpleasant and/or bizarre behaviors.
• Subscription to philosophy of cooperation and continuity across programs and of consideration and respect for clients.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• BA degree in social or behavioral science.
• Residential property management experience.
• Experience with the challenges of mental illness and substance use.
• Current Washington State Driver’s License, insurable driving record, ability to drive agency van and transport tenants.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee will be required to sit, communicate with other employees, required to lift and carry items weighing up to 40 pounds and to operate computer hardware systems. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER:

DESC is committed to diversity in the workplace and promotes equal employment opportunities for all staff members and applicants. The Agency will notdiscriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age,national origin, caste, marital status, or the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability in any employment practice,unless basedon a bona fide occupational qualification. Minorities and veterans are encouraged to apply.