Community Services Specialist II - Guaranteed Income Pilot Coach

Community Services Specialist II

Guaranteed Income Pilot Coach

The City of Alexandria is located in northern Virginia and is bordered by the District of Columbia (Potomac River), Arlington and Fairfax counties. With a population of approximately 150,000 and a land area of 15.75 square miles, Alexandria is the seventh largest city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Alexandria has a charming waterfront and is a unique and historic place to live and work. If you are interested in working for the vibrant City of Alexandria, we invite qualified candidates to apply for our Community Services Specialist II position.

An Overview

The City of Alexandria is joining other communities across the nation to implement a Guaranteed Income Pilot. The Guaranteed Income Pilot provides cash payments with no strings attached and no work requirements to low-income and economically stressed residents. It is meant to supplement, not replace, existing forms of support for food, housing, and medical. Working with local, state, and federal partners and community partner providers, the Alexandria GIP will build on similar programs throughout the country and the existing body of cash-transfer academic literature to create an evidence-rich pilot to policy pipeline.

The Community Services Specialist II performs counseling, provides support and referral services for households experiencing economic instability and participating in the Guaranteed Income Pilot. This position is responsible forassisting household members with personal goal setting and facilitating the connection to resources and services to improve quality of life to achieve economic stability leading to mobility. Work performed is reviewed through conference and effectiveness of services to the participants. An incumbent assists and receives assignments and supervision from the Economic Mobility Program Officer.

What You Should Bring

The ideal candidate should have knowledge of the principles of supportive counseling and service needs of low-income, multicultural or multilingual families. Interest, knowledge, and understanding of Guaranteed Basic Income concepts; Strong interpersonal skills to quickly establish rapport with diverse participants, colleagues, and community partners; Skilled i n mitigating conflicts; ability to communicate clearly and effectively, both verbally and in writing, with individuals and diverse cultural groups; ability to plan, organize, and implement topical workshops, forums, seminars, and other programs and presentations; ability to energized in high paced demanding environment.

The Opportunity

• Establish trusting relationships with Alexandria Guaranteed Income Pilot participants while providing general support and encouragement;
• Conduct a public benefits assessment for participants enrolled and receiving specific federal and state benefits;
• Facilitate access and connection to community resources, including locating food services, rental assistance needs, school programs, vocational opportunities, behavior health, and other social services;
• Assist with setting goals and identifies areas of need utilizing assessment and planning tools;
• Maintain comprehensive participants files, documenting all activities and contacts with or on behalf of participants;
• Conduct community resource scan to identify gaps and barriers,
• Create FAQs and guides;
• Collaborate with a research assistant to collect qualitative and quantitative data;
• Maintain and report applicable statistics regarding programs and client services;
• Develop and submit monthly report;
• Support partner organizations to ensure effective implementation and execution of the GIP components;
• Participate in the regional and statewide GI learning community and other meetings as required;
• Enlists the participation of volunteers, assigns them to activities that optimize the use of their available skills;
• Perform other duties and related work as required.

About the Department

The Center for Economic Support provides programs and services for Public Benefits, Community Services, and Employment and Training. Our mission is to provide direct services to City of Alexandria residents in need of temporary assistance with food, shelter, employment and State medical assistance as they strive toward self-sufficiency.

Minimum & Additional Requirements

Considerable experience counseling individuals with a variety of problems, to include some experience in crisis intervention and employment counseling and completion of high-school-level courses in English and arithmetic supplemented by some college-level training or courses in sociology, gerontology, counseling and/or inter-personal communications; or any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities. Employees in this class must possess a valid driver's license issued by the state of their residence.

Preferred Qualifications

Bachelor is in psychology, anthropology, social work, or human services-related field. Demonstrated cultural competency and understanding and experience applying racial equity lens; Knowledge and experience of person-centered practices and motivational interviewing; Demonstrated knowledge of community resources related to the participants. Professional written and verbal communication as well as interpersonal skills; Competent in utilizing computer MS Suite, Outlook, Teams and case management software. Exposure or experience with research. Bilingual (English/Spanish or English/Amharic) preferred.

Notes

This position requires the successful completion of pre-employment background checks including but not limited to: FBI/Federal Records Check; VA State Child Abuse/Neglect Registry; Medicare/Medicaid Fraud Database; education/certifications; and driver’s license.

Schedule: Non-traditional hours including some evenings and limited weekend hours.

*This is a grant funded position that will end December 31, 2024.