Passionate about serving people in need? Are you outgoing and excel at engaging people to get help available to them? Join Food Bank For New York City as a Client Navigator to support low-income healthcare patients to gain access to essential benefits and services like free tax preparation, SNAP benefits and more. This is a contracted position through December 2024, with potential for extension as funding is available.

Primary Function: Serving on-site at one or more of Food Bank's 5-10 healthcare distribution locations, the Client Navigator will:

Provide informational outreach to patient and community members in a professional and customer centered manner representing Food Bank For New York City

Screen and connect eligible healthcare patients and other individuals to Free Tax Assistance, SNAP benefits and more.

Each Client Navigator will have a portfolio of 2-4 healthcare partner sites to conduct outreach, screening/intake and referral services. Food Bank will provide Client Navigators with comprehensive training and on-going support to each Client Navigator. As a beacon of assistance, you will play a pivotal role in connecting patients in need to services that put food on the table and money in their pockets.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Access Point Excellence:

Provide informational outreach to groups and individuals as well as first step engagement with patients and community members who may be eligible for free tax assistance, SNAP benefits or other services.

Explain and screen for eligibility, then provide assistance for:

Free Tax Assistance: Screen potential filers for eligibility and serve as intake point for eligible filers to drop off their tax documents for safe, secure off-site preparation; or make appointments for tax clients to one of Food Bank's free tax sites across NYC.

SNAP: Screen people for SNAP benefits and refer eligible individuals to Food Bank's SNAP Call Center or one of Food Bank's 40 SNAP Partner community organizations for further application assistance Other services: provide basic screening and referrals for other services (like housing, food, employment, legal and immigration services, financial coaching and more) within Food Bank's network of 60 community partners

Provide Customer Service with Dignity:

Coordinate engagement with on-site healthcare partner staff and volunteers.

Greet customers warmly, creating a pleasant and inclusive environment.

Receive patient and other community member referrals and follow-up with people face-to-face and over the phone to identify and determine client eligibility for our services with a friendly and approachable demeanor.

Answer and respond to inquiries from the public regarding SNAP benefits and free tax filing assistance.

Track interactions with clients and ensure their data is safely and securely stored in Food Bank's databases.

Reach out to internal Food Bank experts in real time with any client questions (via Microsoft Teams application, phone and email).

Coordinate daily appointment schedule (online calendar tool) for clients to come to you for assistance.

Support implementation of a client engagement survey

Screening Process Expertise:

For Tax clients:

Screen clients for income eligibility per IRS guidelines for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) - typically less than $65,000 of income per year

Provide clients with the Intake Sheet, offering assistance as needed to ensure completeness and accuracy.

Verify that clients have all necessary information for tax return completion, including Forms W-2, 1099, social security cards, and picture ID.

Conduct a thorough screening process to understand the type of assistance required by the client.

Ensure secure and efficient transfer of client tax documentation through the Salesforce platform to the Virtual VITA tax preparation site.

For SNAP clients:

Conduct basic eligibility screening - review household and individual eligibility for USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program)

Schedule appointments to submit SNAP applications and documents using the organization's electronic database and tracking platform - either to Food Bank's own SNAP Call Center or SNAP Partner Network of 40 organizations across NYC.

Inform clients of the documents needed to for the SNAP application process

For other services:

Conduct brief interview on clients' general needs to identify other potential services

Make referral via Food Bank Tiered Engagement Network (TEN) on-line referral tracker tool.

Confidentiality and General Assistance:

Uphold the confidentiality of client information as a top priority.

Offer general assistance to clients, addressing inquiries and providing a helpful and supportive presence.

Assist in various administrative duties, including file maintenance and answering phone calls.

Ensure data is entered accurately and in a timely fashion, including documenting client engagements, and ensure client data is maintained securely and privately at all times.

Other duties as assigned

Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree and two (2) years direct social service client experience; 2-4 years social service client experience in lieu of Bachelor's degree

Strong interest and familiarity with economic empowerment, public benefits and/or poverty policy issues

Excellent customer service, personal organization and written and verbal communication skills via phone, in-person and email to convey information effectively

Commitment to service with an ability to problem-solve in partnership with clients

Experience and willingness to work with diverse and special populations, and the ability to collaborate with representatives from partner organizations

Bilingual English/Spanish or other languages a plus, enhancing the ability to connect with clients from diverse backgrounds.

Strong computer literacy and excellent data entry skills - attention to detail

Proficiency in Microsoft Office - MS 365, Excel, Outlook, Word, Sharepoint, TEAMs, etc.; familiarity with cloud-based data management systems (Salesforce) a plus

Ability to complete task thoroughly and accurately while working independently but also collaborate in a team and maintain professional connections even while working remotely

Demonstrated commitment to continuous process improvement

Demonstrated commitment to Food Bank's core values