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Reentry Employment Specialist

ABOUT US

Founded in 1991, Hope Solutions, formerly Contra Costa Interfaith Housing, is a vibrant and socially responsive non-profit agency that provides permanent housing and vital support services to over 2,000 homeless or at-risk families and individuals in Contra Costa County. Over 40 faith-based communities support our work, although there are no religious requirements or affiliations to receive services.

Are you seeking a new role that fully utilizes your talents and potential—while helping to make the world a better place? If so, please read on!

What are you passionate about?

At Hope Solutions—we envision a world in which everyone has a place to call home and the support of a strong community so that they can live with dignity and reach their full potential. We strive to be inclusive and responsive to community needs. We are committed to excellence and accomplish our work with integrity, respect, compassion, and humility.

Hope Solution's mission is to heal the effects of poverty and homelessness by providing permanent housing and vital support services to highly vulnerable families and individuals.

Could our mission be your mission?

Learn more about us @ hopesolutions.org

TEAM SNAPSHOT

We're adding to our team of passionate folks—who are on a mission to help make the lives of others better—through services and support that lead to a higher quality of life for our clients.

We'd like to learn more about you—apply for the role! What's our team like?

Here's a snapshot of some of the folks at Hope Solutions who help advance our vision to achieve—secure housing and the dignity of self-sufficiency for the homeless and at-risk families and individuals in Contra Costa County.

A FEW OF US...

Deanne—Chief Executive Officer—Resides with her husband and three children. Enjoys hiking, camping, reading, cooking, and cheering at her kids' games.

Alex—Chief Operating Officer—Lives with his wife, son, and dog (and loves when the grandkids visit!). MSW and macro social worker who enjoys reading, baseball (Go Giants!), cooking, hiking, jazz, and family time.

Christina—Chief Financial Officer—Resides with her husband, son, two daughters, and their dog. MPA, Non-Profit Graduate Certificate, and 20+ years in finance; enjoys traveling and family time.

Beth—Director of Clinical and Support Services—Resides with her sister and son. Licensed psychologist with 30+ years working with children and families; enjoys singing, cooking, gardening, and traveling.

Bill—Vice President of Programs—Resides with his partner. Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with 25+ years’ experience working with underserved populations, specialized training in somatic psychotherapy and end-of-life care; enjoys reading, gardening, and meditation.

Cayla—Director of Evaluation & Learning —Resides with her husband and children. MBA in Business Analytics that thrives on spreadsheet analysis, dashboard creation, and reading.

Debbie—Director of Development & External Relations—Resides with her husband, two teenagers, and a rescue mutt. Leads external relations and development with 20+ years in marketing and communications.

Dominick—Director of Re-Entry Housing & Services—A fourth-generation San Francisco native and father of four, holds a B.S. in Criminal Justice and an M.A. in Leadership. In his free time, he enjoys music, travel, nature, cooking, and quarterly wine trips.

Jennifer—Vice President of Strategy & Development—A California native, she spends her time with her loved ones hiking and exploring the region's coffee shops, farmer's markets, and festivals. She likes reading adventure novels and leadership books, as well as playing new board games and video games, and loves a good conversation.

Kristina—Director of Human Resources—With over 20 years of experience in HR, leadership, people management, and operations, she holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and is a SHRM-SCP certified professional. A Bay Area native and proud foodie, she lives with her child and enjoys spending time with her family, cycling, hiking, and keeping life light with laughter and fun.

Mashal—Director of Housing & Support Services—Resides in the Bay Area. Daughter of Afghan refugees; enjoys weekends with her son, concerts, reading, and Sonoma Coast drives; former Program Manager for housing and care for chronically homeless adults with AIDS/HIV; co-chair for Hope Solutions' CARE Committee and board member.

Rena—Director of Finance—Born and raised in Contra Costa County – California CPA with a dual degree in Accounting and Sociology from the University of Notre Dame (Go Irish!). Enjoys cooking, hosting dinner parties and hiking with her husband and two daughters.

Tanya—Director of Rapid Re-Housing & Navigation—Resides with her husband, daughter, and two sons. Master's in Counseling Psychology with 15+ years serving underserved populations; enjoys music, comedy, movies, exercising, and basketball.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

Reentry Employment Specialist provide targeted employment and education support for homeless clients enrolled in the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) program. Working collaboratively with program Reentry Support Specialist and referring Parole agents, the Reentry Employment Specialist will provide individualized, intensive & flexible support to homeless clients to assist them in engaging with opportunities to increase household income through employment.

Initial work includes assessing participants’ employment histories, skills, and educational needs as well as potential barriers to employment, collaboratively creating a Household Income/Employment Plan, and accessing any resources needed to further the goal of increasing household income to remain housed. The Reentry Employment Specialist will provide services and referrals to educational and/or employment opportunities on an as-needed basis prior to, during, and post-placement.

All client services are participant-driven and delivered with a strengths-based, trauma-informed approach. Services may be provided in the community and in the home at the convenience of the program participant. Services are designed as short-term support to resolve a housing crisis, offer a flexible level of intensity as needed, and provide warm hand-offs to other providers if clients need further support after becoming stably housed.

Supervisory Responsibility: None

WHAT WILL YOU DO:

Client Support:

• Use a Housing First, participant-driven approach for all services.
• Maintain awareness of culturally diverse consumer populations and perform duties in a culturally competent manner.
• Meet with identified individuals, complete assessments of clients’ employment needs and strengths, and create individualized Education/Employment Plans that include the goal of sustainable, stable housing in addition to financial and case management support.
• Offer targeted job search and/or educational support based on employment needs assessment.
• Provide educational support to assist participants with job readiness, employment retention, and presenting themselves in a manner to successfully engage with potential employers.
• Assist participants with resumes, interview preparation, skill development, and completing/submitting employment applications.
• Communicate and collaborate with Re-entry Manager to ensure continuity of support to participant individuals.
• Offer services at the level of intensity requested by the individual, including flexible levels of intensity.

Community Outreach and Engagement:

• Maintain key relationships with community service providers such as Contra Costa County Parole and Probation Departments, along with other collaborative agencies.
• Develop and maintain relationships with employers, vocational programs, and educational entities and assist participants with connecting to the same.
• Provide advocacy with potential employers on clients’ behalf to assist with obtaining and/or maintaining employment.
• Create and maintain consistent communication channels between collaborating parties, both verbal and written.

Cultural Responsiveness:

• Awareness of, and aptitude for, understanding, respecting, and adapting to cultural and identity-based differences within group environments appropriately and effectively.
• Knowledge of and commitment to concepts and issues tied to social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion and belonging.
• Experience fostering and reinforcing an environment that values unique experiences, cultures, personal humility and authenticity backgrounds, and goals.
• Participate in and complete our new employee onboarding process, which includes reading and discussing a short chapter in the book, The Color of Law.
• Review and commit to our Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, and Belonging Commitment.

Organizational/Administrative Responsibilities:

• Professionally represent Hope Solutions in all circumstances.
• Comply with all legal/ethical professional guidelines for maintaining consumer confidentiality, adhering to HIPAA guidelines, protecting consumer rights, advocating on consumers’ behalf, and assuring consumer safety.
• Establish and maintain professional boundaries in working with clients.
• Comply with all local, state, and federal regulations, policies, procedures, standards of practice, and outcome requirements of the Supportive Housing Program and Hope Solutions.
• Assist with distributing client satisfaction/feedback surveys for all clients served.
• Attend all required meetings, including but not limited to Hope Solutions staff, individual supervision, consumer case conferences, and linkage meetings with other agencies.
• Ensure timely and accurate data is entered into the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS).
• Complete required administrative paperwork and reports in a timely and accurate manner.
• On-call, after-hours, and backup work for other team members may be required.
• Perform all other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Work Location Classification:

• Mobile: Work is performed across multiple locations and in the field rather than at one fixed site. This classification generally applies to program direct service roles that require travel to meet with clients, partners, or support program operations.
• Work from home must be approved in advance by the Program Director or Manager. Written approval (email) is required.
• All new program employees are expected to work on-site for the first 90 calendar days. Any exception requires approval from the Program Director or Manager.
• Program staff are expected to structure the workday with approximately six hours of face-face work and approximately two hours of administration/documentation time (this time can be averaged during a given week or month, depending on client and program need and with approval of the supervisor).
• Client-facing work may occur on-site or in the field, depending on the role and program needs, and may include appointments, sessions, engagements, support services, client-present coordination of community resources/services, and other direct service activities.
• This expectation may flex to accommodate operational needs, client availability, safety concerns, or urgent program priorities while still meeting performance expectations.
• When requesting to work from home, the employee must make the request to their direct supervisor in advance. The request must include the requested date/hours, business reasons, and a work plan for the day. For urgent same-day situations, the employee must notify leadership as early as possible and follow directions regarding work-from-home approval, schedule adjustment, or use of leave time.
• When approved to work from home, employees must maintain confidentiality, work from a professional/private environment, complete assigned tasks and documentation on time, and track time accurately.

Position Qualifications:

• Passion for and demonstrated experience successfully supporting vulnerable populations, especially homeless individuals reentering their communities post-incarceration.
• Two years experience in the educational and/or employment fields, preferably with clients from vulnerable circumstances.
• B.A. degree or substitution of experience for education as follows: Minimum of four years experience in the human services field (with a minimum of two years experience providing vocational support to vulnerable populations, preferably with housing retention barriers such as criminal background, substance abuse, mental health, and/or income challenges).
• Bi-lingual in English/Spanish is a plus.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills.
• Computer proficiency in the use of Microsoft and database applications.
• Must have an operational vehicle, auto insurance, valid California driver’s license, and be willing to drive for work.
• Must pass Live Scan screening and TB test.
• Salary contingent upon skill and experience.

Physical Qualifications:

• The person in this position may make home visits to consumers who live on second or third-floor apartments (without elevators) and will need to be able to climb stairs.
• May accompany consumers on walks to local resources (grocery store, childcare, parks) up to ½ mile in distance.
• Must be able to work in a desk setting for up to 3 hours at a time to make calls to consumers, research resources on the internet, and collaborate with community providers with calls/emails.
• Office setting activities are required, such as typing on a laptop/computer to respond to emails, entering case notes into a database, and copying/faxing forms and documents on a copy machine related to maintaining or obtaining housing.
• Occasionally must be able to lift and carry objects weighing up to 25 pounds, including furnishings for new residents, files, holiday gifts, and food donations.
• Ability to drive an automobile and transport oneself and consumers to appointments or meet at consumer homes, including driving at night.

Compensation & Benefits:

• Flexible, dynamic work environment.
• 100% premium paid for employee Kaiser health and dental care.
• Matched 403b retirement savings.
• 11 paid holidays, plus 3 floating holidays.
• Ability to accrue 2-4 weeks' vacation depending on tenure.
• Life insurance and Employee Assistance Program.

We are an equal-opportunity employer. If you're a good fit, we want to meet you!

* Please be advised that we are unable to provide sponsorship for this position. The nature of the work at Hope Solutions does not qualify us to support sponsorship. Only candidates authorized to work in the USA without the need for sponsorship will be considered.