CCA partners with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to provide supportive temporary emergency shelter to families under the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities’ Emergency Assistance program. Our shelter program is part of the Commonwealth’s response to a rapidly growing number of unhoused families, including thousands of families migrating from Haiti due to natural disasters and civil unrest, whose primary language is Haitian Creole. CCA and our partners provide linguistically and culturally appropriate case management and nurse triage support, connecting families with services such as insurance, health care, nutrition assistance, schools, daycare, immigration legal aid, as well as pathways to work and housing navigation.

The Program Specialist, Family Emergency Shelters, provides project coordination, operational support to ensure successful operation of the family emergency shelter program. They will schedule and organize meetings, develop program materials such as presentations, flyers, and tools and maintain program files. They will support team leadership to assess equipment and supply needs at sites across Massachusetts, and manage timely efficient procurement and distribution. They will perform data entry (eg for program rosters), review and monitor data quality. They support CCA’s family shelter central leadership team to develop and implement standardized onboarding and training, policies and procedures, facilitate sharing of best practices, and manage performance across sites.

Required Education:

• Associate's Degree

Desired Education:

• Bachelor's Degree
• Master's Degree in a related field

Required Experience:

• Minimum 3 years of relevant experience required
• Minimum 3 years administrative experience (materials development eg presentations)

Desired Experience:

• Experience working in family shelters.
• Experience working with individuals that have recently immigrated to the US, particularly from Haiti.

Required Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Requires excellent interpersonal skills in order to communicate and work with staff and external partners of all skill and experience levels
• Demonstrated ability to identify problems and opportunities for improvement and develop plans for resolution.
• Must be able to work collaboratively and create an atmosphere of trust and respect within project teams and with external partners
• Must be highly organized, detail-oriented and self-directed with a proven ability to work with supervision on departmental and cross-functional projects of a diverse nature
• Computer skills: beginner Excel skills .And an interest in continued learning in Excel functions; intermediate skills in other Microsoft Office suite products.
• Must be able to exercise a high level of diplomacy to recognize politically sensitive issues
• Excellent writing skills
• Ability to multi-task and switch gears quickly / effectively
• Ability to take personal initiative and work independently, as well as part of a team
• Reliable transportation and ability to travel throughout Massachusetts

Required Other:

• Valid driver's license and reliable access to a vehicle.

Project Coordination

• Develop workplans and track progress and assignments; document and follow up on action steps to ensure issue resolution.
• Organize and maintain project files; ensure easy access to files for team members.
• Prepares presentations using Microsoft applications: Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook.

Procurement operations

• Support site managers to assess site needs for equipment and supplies, support ordering, and manage site-wide standardized supplies.
• Proactively anticipate and plan needs in advance for new sites and projects in advance of launch, assuring preparatory work to allow for rapid new site launches.

Disseminate information and maintain files

• Develop and maintain Teams and Outlook groups.
• Forward key communications to the appropriate recipients.
• File key communications in appropriate file systems and ensure team members understand where to access them.
• Maintain clear understanding of programmatic requirements and on-site operations, and proactively work with sites to establish and maintain both hard copy and electronic filing systems. Monitor filing systems at all shelter sites; facilitate rapid sharing of best practices, standardization and continuous improvement.

Data management

• Perform data entry and review and perform quality checks on data (eg resident rosters).

Operational and programmatic support

• Flexibly support family emergency shelter program operations and program as needed. This may include providing operational support on-site, ordering and distributing supplies, and assisting with troubleshooting issues that arise.

Other duties as assigned

Working Conditions:
The position requires substantial presence at family emergency shelters across Massachusetts and may allow occasional remote work / work at CCA offices, depending on program need. Requires independent travel to multiple sites and may be primarily on-site when operations require. Will include moving of supplies and equipment at and between sites.

Job Types: Full-time, Temporary

Pay: $20.62 - $33.65 per hour

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift

Work Location: In person