HomeStart

Rental Assistance Program Manager

About Us

Over the course of the last 20 years, HomeStart has permanently housed more than 10,000 individuals living on the street and in shelters, and has prevented nearly 3,000 families from experiencing homelessness. HomeStart is uniquely positioned to dramatically reduce homelessness. HomeStart serves hundreds of people each year in the Greater Boston Area. Our clients include single parents and their children, survivors of domestic violence, veterans, and persons with disabilities, living at or below the poverty line. We are a team of around 85 dedicated professionals representing a rich diversity of professional skills and lived experience. At HomeStart, we don’t just accept difference - we celebrate it, support it, and thrive on it for the benefit of our team and the communities we serve. HomeStart is an equal opportunity employer and as such, we do not discriminate against any team member or candidate because of race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, or any other basis protected by law. We encourage all to apply because we believe a diversity of voices leads to better discussions, decisions, and outcomes for everyone.

To learn more, please visit www.homestart.org.

Rental Assistance Program Manager Job Profile

Supervised by the Boston Housing Search Program Director, the Rental Assistance Program Manager oversees the program-facing administration of approximately $1.5M annually in rental assistance payments for individuals who are exiting homelessness, distributed via assistance payments requested by HomeStart’s direct-client facing staff and staff at other partner organizations in Boston.

Job Responsibilities

● Work closely with the HomeStart Finance Department’s Rental Assistance Coordinator, to ensure that complete and timely submissions are made in order to be able to issue payments and to reconcile and monitor spending

● Work in close collaboration with the program managers who supervise client-facing staff

● Develop and maintain rental assistance policies and procedures

● Train new staff in procedures for submitting rental assistance requests

● Review and approve rental assistance submissions for eligibility and completion, provide coaching to staff when needed

● Serve as single point-of-contact for external entities, including property owners who receive HomeStart assistance payments, staff at partner organizations who are able to access HomeStart-administered funds and staff state and municipal funding entities

● Monitor any required data entry program staff must complete as part of rental assistance submission process

To perform the job successfully, an individual should demonstrate the following:

● Commitment to harm reduction and housing first philosophies for engaging with vulnerable populations.

● Oral Communication – Communicates effectively with all clients, families, peers, colleagues, service agencies and community partners; Speaks clearly and persuasively in positive or negative situations; Listens and gets clarification; Responds well to questions; Demonstrates an ability to create a cohesive team.

● Written Communication – Writes clearly and informatively; Edits work for spelling and grammar; Varies writing style to meet needs; Presents numerical data effectively; Able to read and interpret written information.

● Adaptability – Adapts to changes in the work environment; Manages competing demands; Changes approach or method to best fit the situation; Able to deal with frequent change, delays, or unexpected events.

● Motivation – Sets and achieves challenging goals; Demonstrates persistence and overcomes obstacles; Measures self against standard of excellence; Takes calculated risks to accomplish goals.

● Commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and fostering a culture of racial equity within the organization.

Education & Experience

● At least two years experience in human services program management or high-level coordination of resources strongly preferred.

● Preference will be given to candidates bilingual in Spanish and English.

● Previous experience in any of the following areas is preferred but not required: services funded by the HUD Continuum of Care Program, use the HUD Homeless Information Management System (HMIS), administration of tenant-based permanent housing vouchers, administration of a representative payee program.

● Strong computer skills, including developing and maintaining electronic documentation and tracking data in spreadsheets.

● Experience working in a program that uses a housing first and/or harm reduction philosophy is preferred, commitment to operating programs using this framework is required.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $55,000.00 - $57,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Experience level:

• 3 years

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Monday to Friday

Work Location: In person