The Organization
Rooted in South Philadelphia, Greater Philadelphia Community Alliance (GPCA) is the result of a strategic merger between Diversified Community Services (DCS) and United Communities Southeast Philadelphia (UCSEP). Both organizations share a long history in the settlement house movement of the late 1800s.
Over the last several years, DCS and UCSEP have experienced a resurgence and extraordinary growth. Capturing the regard of colleagues and funders, locally and nationally, we have earned a reputation as an entrepreneurial trailblazer. GPCA's mission is to break the generational poverty cycle by ensuring equitable resource distribution for vulnerable children, families, and communities. We aim to be Philadelphia's catalyst for community empowerment, partnership, and the upward mobility of families and communities. We are committed to a nonprofit model that promotes social enterprise, an inspiring and safe environment, and a team-oriented culture.
GPCA’s current operating budget is approximately $24 million, with 200+ employees across more than nine programs and eight locations.
GPCA’s programming areas include:
· Children & Youth Development
· Family Development
· Housing & Economic Empowerment
· Community Development
Building on this solid platform, DCS and UCSEP's strategic merger to become GPCA will strengthen our mission impact, fill our need to expand community impact across South Philadelphia and beyond and increase our organizational stability.
GPCA seeks an experienced Housing Counselor to join our team
Title: HUD-certified Housing Counselor
Department: Housing and Economic Empowerment
Reports to: Director of Housing and Economic Empowerment
Employment Status/Classification: Full-time; Hourly; Non-Exempt
Summary:
The Housing Counselor will fulfill the contractual obligations for the Housing Counseling Program under the auspices of DHCD, PHFA, and HUD. The housing counselor will provide one-on-one counseling sessions to assist clients with their housing needs, including first-time home buyers, mortgage delinquency, eviction prevention, fair housing,first-home buyers, and other topics. Housing counselors also need to be comfortable offering group educational sessions and with data on Rx Office and Quickbase.
Primary Responsibilities:
- HUD Certified, or in the process of obtaining HUB certification and/or NCHEC housing counseling certification
- Provide housing counseling sessions, including one-on-one intake.
- Provide counseling assistance and education in all aspects of housing counseling, including but not limited to pre-purchase counseling, post-purchase counseling, credit counseling, home inspection, review delinquency and foreclosure counseling, tenant counseling, rental default counseling, and anti-predatory lending counseling.
- Connect clients to benefits, access appropriate resources, and refer to appropriate agencies and relevant resources, and refer internally and externally if required.
- Attend all required trainings, meetings, and workshops.
Data Entry/Data Collection:
- Complete data entry for all housing client intake into Rx Office and Quickbase
- Assist with data collection/reports.
- Comply with all programmatic, contractual, and internal guidelines for documentation, computations, and referrals.
- Prepare and submit monthly reports/invoices for designated programs.
Outreach:
- Including registering clients.
- Knowledge, Skills & Experience:
- Current PA State Criminal Clearance, DPW Child Abuse History Clearance, FBI Fingerprint, Health Appraisal w/ Mantoux TB Test
- High School Diploma required; Bachelor’s Degree preferred.
- Bilingual encouraged.
- Minimum of two years experience in public/social services etc. preferred
- Ability to interact across all levels with a diverse population
- Strong professional, clear written and verbal communication skills
- Strong cognitive, time management, and organization skills
- Data entry skills
- Proficiency in Zoom, Apricot, Community PRISM, and MS applications (Word, Excel, Access, Outlook, etc.)
Occupational Safety and Responsibility:
- Compliance with workplace policies and procedures for risk identification, assessment, and control.
- Active participation in activities associated with the management of workplace health and safety
- Identification and reporting of health and safety risks, accidents, incidents, injuries, and property damage at the workplace
Office Operations:
- Hours of Work: Monday - Friday, 9 am – 5 pm with a 30-minute lunch
- Flexible scheduling beyond regular work hours is necessary during special events and activities.
Acknowledgements:
This job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work employees perform within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to the role.
"Employment is contingent upon the successful completion of a comprehensive pre-employment background check, which may include criminal background, education verification, and employment history."
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $45,000.00 - $50,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Retirement plan
- Vision insurance
Schedule:
- 8 hour shift
- Day shift
- Monday to Friday
Supplemental Pay:
Application Question(s):
- Ability to pass a background check and Health assessment
- Are you bilingual? What languages do you speak?
- Do you have any experience with Apricot?
- Are you proficient in Zoom and MS Office Applications?
Education:
- High school or equivalent (Required)
Experience:
- housing counseling: 2 years (Required)
- housing industry: 2 years (Required)
License/Certification:
- HUD Certification (Preferred)
Work Location: In person
