Program Specialist – Fair Housing and Operations Support

Somerville is a city that upholds progressive principles for both employees and residents alike. If you are looking for a culture that embraces innovation, empowerment, and collaborative involvement, Somerville not only embraces these talents, but encourages them. Creative, hands on collaboration with passionate dedication are at the core of the City’s workplace culture.  Challenging and fast paced, Somerville also offers a generous benefits package that embodies a strong work life balance. Not only is it a “Model City”, as termed by The Boston Globe, but it is also a model employer.

Statement of Duties

The Program Specialist – Fair Housing and Operations Support engages in an array of activities and projects that aid the City of Somerville in developing and implementing housing programs to meet community needs. The employee will assist with activities in support of HUD funded CDBG and HOME programs, and perform a variety of related duties.

Essential Functions:

The essential functions or duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position.

• Assist in marketing and outreach of various CDBG-funded housing and housing related programs to potential applicants; attend outreach events to present on those programs; provide customer service to prospective and active applicants; serve as point person on updating housing programs information on the City’s website and other social media, flyers, brochures, and literature; provide community with referrals and information on landlord tenant laws and resources.
• Serve as staff to the Fair Housing Commission: attend regular meetings and special events; prepare agendas and minutes; handle referral of housing discrimination complaints and ongoing efforts related to the City’s Assessment of Fair Housing (implementing actions to mitigate impediments to fair housing in Somerville).
• Provide administrative support to the Housing Division. Office management and operations support duties include administering maintenance of photocopier and other business machines; ordering supplies; preparation and processing of purchase order requisitions, invoices and/or grant drawdown materials, and cash deposits.
• Assist with determinations of income eligibility of owners and tenants and re-certification of tenant income on CDBG-funded and other programs; assist with monitoring housing applications to ensure all necessary documentation is provided.
• Assist in preparation of reports on program activities, selected best-practice and/or other research, and survey preparation; assist with preparing materials for monthly meetings of Somerville Affordable Housing Trust Fund and/or Condominium Review Board.

Minimum Qualifications

Education and Experience:

Bachelor’s Degree and three (3) years’ experience; or any equivalent combination of education, training and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

Special Requirements:

• Job duties may include attending some evening meetings.
• Bilingual or Multilingual lingual ability in Spanish, Portuguese, and/or Haitian-Creole is preferred but not required.

Knowledge, Abilities, and Skill

Knowledge:  Some knowledge of and/or experience with strategies and programs geared toward maintaining and expanding affordable housing opportunities; knowledge of housing income certification process; strong knowledge of Excel, PowerPoint, Photoshop, Illustrator, and social media applications are preferred.

Abilities:  Position requires the ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing with other City departments, state and federal agencies, architects, contractors, developers, tenants, property owners, supervisors, employees, and the general public. Demonstrates the ability to work as a team member and maintain project timelines; continuous effort to improve operations, decrease turnaround times, streamline work processes, and work cooperatively and jointly to provide quality customer service to the public at-large.

Skills:  This position requires strong skills in oral and written communication; excellent customer service skills. Bi-lingual ability in Spanish, Portuguese, and/or Haitian-Creole is preferred but not required.

Work Environment

The work environment involves everyday discomforts typical of offices, with occasional exposure to outside elements.  Noise or physical surroundings may be distracting, but conditions are generally not unpleasant.  Employee may be required to work beyond normal business hours in response to attend evening meetings or complete work assignments.

Physical and Mental Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the position’s essential functions.

Physical Skills

Minimal physical demands are required to perform the work. Work effort principally involves sitting to perform work tasks, with intermittent periods of stooping, walking, and standing. Work requires some agility such as moving in or about construction sites or over rough terrain. There may also be some occasional lifting of objects such as office equipment or photocopy paper (up to 30lbs.).

Motor Skills

Duties are largely mental rather than physical, but the job may occasionally require minimal motor skills for activities such as moving objects, operating a telephone, personal computer and/or most other office equipment including word processing, filing and sorting of papers.

Visual Skills

Visual demands require constantly reading documents for general understanding and analytical purposes.

Send your resume and cover letter by December 11, 2017 to:

City Hall Personnel Office
93 Highland Avenue
Somerville MA 02143
Fax: 617-666-4426
TTY: 1-866-808-4851
Email: employment_opportunities@somervillema.gov

City of Somerville residents are especially encouraged to apply.

The City of Somerville is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, disability or any other protected category. Women, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures will be provided to qualified individuals with disabilities free of charge, upon request.

Individuals with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication, written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures, in order to access the programs and activities of the City of Somerville or to attend meetings, should contact the City’s ADA Coordinator, Nency Salamoun, at 617-625-6600 x2323 or NSalamoun@somervillema.gov.