About Our Organization:

St. Catherine’s Center for Children is a leading non-profit organization in New York’s Greater Capital District. Our comprehensive range of human services reach more than 1,000 children, 600 families, and hundreds of adults across Upstate New York each year. Our multi-faceted programs are designed to offer hope, foster growth, and improve the lives of the children, families, and adults we serve. We offer residential and therapeutic foster care programs for children and youth, Kinship support, homeless and community-based services for adults and families, a special education elementary school for ages 5-13, and so much more.

St. Catherine’s employs more than 300 full and part-time staff. Our spectrum of services for children, families and individuals suffering from the lasting effects of abuse and neglect, family instability, mental illness, homelessness and other ongoing traumas, continues to grow. We are committed to cultivating a culture where all employees can bring their authentic and best selves to the workplace. Our DEI-B initiatives are designed to support and build a more equitable, inclusive and diversified workplace, one which exemplifies true respect and dignity.

Position Overview:

The Director of Housing for our Columbia County - Homeless Services is responsible for providing direct supervision and oversight of all case management services and staff within our Columbia County offices. The Director of Housing will have a variety of administrative tasks related to the effective management of the daily operations of the Columbia County Homeless Services Programs: Columbia Co. Homeless Intervention, Columbia Co. Permanent Supportive Housing, and the Galvan Civic Motel.

The individual in this role is responsible for the direct supervision of staff in each project, as well as creating and submitting reports on a regular and ad hoc basis. The Director of Housing will be responsible for the submission of documentation for identified funding sources and grants, when required.

When clients are referred to our Columbia County Homeless Services programs, the Director of Housing is responsible for ensuring that their staff are assisting their clients timely and appropriately, and without bias.

Duties & Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Establish and maintain professional working relationships with staff members, service providers, community resource people, and residents.

• Promotes the development implementation of evidence-based practices:

• Motivational Interviewing

• Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH)

• Critical Time Intervention

• Trauma Informed Care

• Provide supervision to Case Managers.

• Ensure all reports and billing are on time and accurate.

• Review on a regular basis the operational manual, specifically guidelines and procedures to direct, plan and implement all aspects of program operations.

• Conduct and complete intake and assessment procedures.

• Complete intake into the HMIS Awards system for all families and individuals placed at the Galvan Civic Motel.

• Develop and coordinate service plan delivery to families/singles through a large network of area service providers including Columbia County DSS and document all service delivery activities.

• Engage with families and singles to assure a collaborative and mutually agreed on service plan.

• Conduct and document regular service plan reviews, inviting all relevant DSS and community support resources for all active cases.

• Act as an advocate for homeless families/individuals in the community.

• Assist families/singles in obtaining necessary services needed to retain permanent housing (e.g. mental health services, education and employment services, substance abuse services).

• Assist in identifying and resolving barriers to housing retention by securing needed rehabilitative and/or supportive care, daycare.

• Act as a liaison for the family/single when communicating with public assistance and other resource providers.

• Attend and actively participate in the Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) meetings to collaborate with community providers to create strategies to effectively outreach and engage the most vulnerable population in the community.

• Act as the Liaison for individuals and families who are in the process of receiving a Housing Choice Voucher.

• Complete all reports and fidelity measures of Evidence Based Practices which include Critical Time Intervention, Motivational Interviewing, Harm Reduction and Housing First.

• Complete reports for HUD funded PSH program which includes Rank & Review, monthly HUD report, and run missing data reports through HMIS.

• Provide street outreach to individuals and families identified by DSS and MDT to assist in housing placement.

• Provide outreach and engagement to recruit local landlords with affordable housing options.

• Serve as a member the Columbia Greene Continuum of Care, Coordinated Entry and Education and Outreach Committees.

• Ensure housing applications are completely and submitted in a timely manner.

• Provide intensive case management services to settle family/singles in permanent housing and stabilize conditions that led to homelessness.

• Ensure a safe, secure, healthy environment by reporting situations needing attention and follow-up as needed.

• Intervene in crisis situations and assist in conflict resolution as needed.

• Respect the rights of others and protect all confidential information.

• Additional position-related duties and responsibilities as assigned by the AED.

Essential Functions:

• Must possess excellent communication skills, in both written and spoken form.

• Ability to respond effectively and therapeutically in crisis situations.

• Ability to lead and inspire confidence in those supervised as well as those who collaborate on a peer level.

• Certain deadlines and unanticipated developments may require work during evenings, weekends, etc.; therefore, must have flexibility to work hours beyond a regular workday, including weekends and holidays if necessary.

• Ability to objectively review critical incidents and identify areas for improvement.

• Competently provide a supportive response to staff following a critical incident.

• Capable of relating to a culturally diverse and economically disadvantaged population. This includes but is not limited to a broad range of people with various developmental and functional levels; Capacity to exhibit empathy for those in need.

• Excellent organization, planning and project management skills.

• Must have patience, flexibility and adaptability.

• Value a nurturing family as the ideal environment for a person; and have confidence in the principle that people have the capacity to grow and change at their own pace and motivation.

• Ability to communicate with a wide range of people, including those who are culturally and socio-economically diverse, as well as people with various developmental and functional levels.

• Ability and conceptualizations necessary to embrace and work effectively within a therapeutic-based program.

• The ability to establish a respectful relationship with persons served to help them gain skills and confidence, empowering them to solve their own problems.

• Ability to work effectively in a shared decision-making model as a team member, which includes the capacity to listen attentively to others, to share one’s opinions and perspective, and to resolve disagreements respectfully.

• Ability to work collaboratively with other personnel and service providers or professionals.

• The capacity to maintain a helping role and to intervene appropriately to assist in meeting service goals, while setting appropriate limits and boundaries.

• Ability to exercise ethical, independent judgment and discretion; handle sensitive data with strict confidentiality.

• Ability to carry out written documentation as required by St. Catherine’s policies and procedures and as required by regulating agencies.

• Collaboration in the hiring process of new staff; Ability to train, retain, and motivate staff members.

Organizational Relationships:

• Works under the direct supervision of the Associate Executive Director (AED) of Homeless Services

• Maintains a team-oriented, collaborative approach with all levels of program staff.

• Collaborates with Human Resources and Training in the hiring process of new staff to fulfill program hiring and training needs.

Position Requirements:

• BSW or Bachelor’s Degree in human service field; will consider an equivalent combination of relevant education and work experience.

• Competent project management skills, with at least two years’ experience in a supervisory role.

• Excellent clerical and organizational skills, with the ability to create and produce reports.

• Competent project management skills, with at least two years’ experience in a supervisory role.

• Must have a Clean and Valid New York State Driver’s License; and be actively licensed for at least one (1) year with reliable transportation.

• Proficiency in various computer applications: Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Google Business Workspace Suite (Gmail, Google Docs, Meet, Sheets, etc.), and secure Internet practices.

• Capacity and openness to work with individuals from culturally diverse and economically disadvantaged populations and backgrounds.

• Excellent clerical and organizational skills, with the ability to create and produce reports.

• Experience working in a human services agency preferred; Knowledge of community resources is a plus.

• Ability to work flexible hours to accommodate scheduling needs, which may include evening hours, weekends and holidays.

• Professional record of integrity and strong advocacy for homeless families.

• Ability to pass required pre-employment background checks, to include fingerprinting, is required.

What We Offer You:

• Competitive Pay with an Excellent Benefits Package

• Health Insurance options*: Medical, Dental and Vision

• Generous Combined Leave Time and loads of PAID Holidays*!

• $500 Employee Referral Bonus*

• Professional Development & Career Growth Opportunities

• We are a 501(c) (3) agency, which is a qualifying employer for eligible staff under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program*

• Pension Plan with Aggressive Agency contribution*

• Life Insurance – Automatic Benefit, at no cost to you!

• Paid Training* including TCI and CPR/AED/First Aid Certification Update courses, if role appropriate

• Tuition Reimbursement*

• Travel/ Mileage Reimbursement*

• Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging

• The Comfort of a Business Casual Environment.

*To qualify, certain conditions may apply

EEO Statement: St. Catherine’s Center for Children is committed to creating a diverse environment and are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, reproductive health and pregnancy, family history and genetics, disability, age, military status, veteran status, politics, or other beliefs, and any other characteristics protected by law.

Background Checks: We run a thorough and complete pre-employment background check on all candidates being considered for a position, this includes fingerprinting. All candidates must successfully clear the pre-employment background check process, which follows NYS/DOJ requirements. We pay for all pre-employment background checks!