Senior Family Support Advocate

Overview

Organization Overview: The Goddard Riverside Community Center (Goddard Riverside) and the Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center (Isaacs Center) are well-established Manhattan community-based agencies that support services to approximately 30,000 New Yorkers. We are two of New York City’s leading human services organizations meeting the needs of children, youth and families, homeless individuals, and older adults through-out Manhattan and New York City. We work every day for a fair and just society where all people have the opportunity to make choices that lead to better lives for themselves and their families. The Isaacs Center focuses primarily on the needs of children and low-income families, out-of-school and out-of-work youth, and aging New Yorkers. We operate at community centers located in the neighborhoods of East Harlem and Yorkville, and seek to deliver programs that are impactful, innovative, and intergenerational.

Program Description: Goddard Riverside’s Resource Center program is located in Central Harlem. The Resource Center helps low-income individuals and family’s access and receive entitlements, benefits, and resources.  The Resource Center also offers many services including benefits screening, financial counseling, legal consultation and referrals to support services in the community and city wide. The Whole Family 3 Gen program is an innovative pilot to support three generation families and households towards economic and social development using a person-centered, research-based approach. Families are self-defined as interdependent.

Purpose of Position:   To provide coordination and direct services for three generation families. As this is the first position hired to implement an essential organizational pilot program, tracking and articulating experiences is an important function and sharing lessons learned internally and externally. This team member will work closely with the Resource Center Program Director to ensure that lessons learned from the earlier 2-Gen pilot are carried forward into this new iteration.

Schedule: Monday through Friday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm (some evenings and weekends) 

Salary Range: $47,000-$52,000

Candidates must have the required qualifications to be considered for the position. The salary offer will be based on the candidate’s number of years experience in the exact or comparable position and additional preferred qualifications will be taken into account.

Roles, Responsibilities, and Essential Duties

Coaching and Case Management

• Conduct intake for low-income individuals and families by assessing motivation and participation readiness for the 3 gen program
• Refer clients to the Resource Center program for assistance with applying for benefits from local, state and federal agencies
• Interview clients to assess social service needs and make referrals, accordingly, including referrals to in-house, legal counsel and financial counseling as needed
• Serve as an advocate and a liaison between the clients and community organizations and government agencies
• Using the 2Gen coaching model, collaborate with families to develop goals and create family service plans to maximize self determination
• Provide 1-1 mentoring and goal setting specifically around goals related to promoting economic mobility which includes housing, budgeting, career and education, childcare, health care, and more
• Monitor, track, and support clients’ efforts to set and reach milestones and accomplish goals
• Maintain detailed case notes
• Collaborate with partners and colleagues to coordinate opportunities and pathways for participating households

Outreach and In-reach

• Maintain communication with Goddard Riverside and Stanley Isaacs staff and programs to recruit potential households and coordinate services
• Provide presentations as needed to introduce program services.
• Meet participants and maintain office hours at Goddard NYCHA sites includes Stanley Isaacs on the Upper East Side, Lincoln Square Neighborhood Center on the Upper West Side and Manhattanville.

Implementation of the Three-Gen Pilot

• Track data and keep meticulous notes on the participating households
• Elevate experiences of the participating households that will result in additional resources,

and that will inform program development and policy recommendations

• Document and share lessons learned with supervisors and peers
• Participate in presentations to internal and external stakeholders

Resource Center Team Member

• Attend staff meetings, community meetings, case conferences, training programs and supervision meetings; participate in program evaluation and improvement
• Work as a member of an active team and respond flexibly to a fluid and evolving program environment
• Track and provide outcomes for services rendered
• Assist in maintaining program office space and assist clients who visit the office
• Attend meetings with funders to assess program progress and represent Goddard, with program leaders

Other duties as required

Qualifications/Educational Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in social work or other human services field, strongly preferred
• Bilingual English/Spanish strongly preferred
• 1 year of experience working with low-income families
• Familiarity with government benefits and safety-net programs is a plus

Skills, Knowledge and Abilities

• Ability to multi-task & work in a fast-paced environment
• Strong communication skills
• Team Player
• Basic knowledge of focus group facilitation skills
• Basic knowledge of workforce development, economic literacy, education and career exploration to assist clients in their efforts to become self-sufficient and financially independent

Computer Skills: To perform this job successfully, an individual should be:

• Proficient in Microsoft Office programs, especially Outlook, Word and Excel
• Able to enter, manage and analyze data in spreadsheets and pull reports
• Able to use or learn electronic databases such as Single Stop

Physical Requirements

• Occasional lifting of up to 30lbs
• Frequent walking and standing

Work Environment

• On-site work.
• Work site is located in Central Harlem on the lower level of a supportive housing residence for adults, satellite sites are in community centers located in NYCHA facilities on the Upper East and Upper West Sides of Manhattan
• Seasonal indoor and outdoor outreach events

Employee Benefits :

• Medical/Dental/Vision
• Life Insurance/Commuter benefits/Employee Assistance Program (EAP)/Flexible Spending Accounts
• 403B Thrift Retirement Plan
• 12 Annual Sick Days
• 12 Agency Holidays
• 20 Days or 4 Weeks of Paid Time off and an additional week (5) days after 5 years of employment
• Total of more than 6 weeks (a month and half) of paid time off

We are committed to building an inclusive workplace community grounded in respect for differences. We support hiring a broadly diverse team of qualified individuals who will contribute to our organizations.

Goddard Riverside and Isaacs Center provide equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, marital or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of duties and responsibilities that will be required of this position and title and shall not be construed as a declaration of the specific duties and responsibilities of any particular position. Employees may be requested to perform job related task other than those specifically presented in this description. This job description does not constitute an employment agreement between the employer and employee and is subject to change by the employer. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.