Community Services Specialist II

Hiring Range: $51,599.60 to $69,118.66

Full Time or Part Time: Full Time

Additional Detail

The City of Alexandria is bordered by Washington D.C. and the Potomac River, Arlington and Fairfax counties, and Maryland. The small city has a cosmopolitan feel with 150,000 people living within its 15.75 square miles. At the Department of Community and Human Services, we provide essential safety net services to help city residents enjoy a sense of well-being, safety and self-sufficiency. Our behavioral health programs provide compassionate services that support self-determination and recovery. The beauty of our diverse and resilient people and our commitment to race and social equity, coupled with a historic district dating to 1749, charming waterfront, vibrant arts community and unique places for foodies and shopping, make the City of Alexandria a uniquely wonderful place to live, work and play. We invite all qualified candidates to learn more and apply for our Community Services Specialist II position.

The City of Alexandria has joined other communities nationwide to implement a Guaranteed Income Pilot. The Guaranteed Income Pilot provides monthly cash payments with no strings attached and no requirements to 170 low-income residents. Central to Guaranteed Income is the belief in the dignity and autonomy of people and their ability to decide the best way to maximize their own well-being. Guaranteed Income 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 builds on similar programs across the country and the existing body of cash-transfer academic literature to create an evidence-rich pilot-to-policy pipeline.

General Statement of Duties:

The Community Services Specialist II plays a pivotal role in our community, providing coaching, support, and referral services for households experiencing economic instability and participating in the Guaranteed Income Pilot. This position assists household members with setting personal goals and connects them to resources and services that support improving their quality of life and helping them achieve economic stability, leading to mobility. An incumbent in this role receives assignments and supervision from the Economic Mobility Officer, contributing directly to our mission of empowering our community members. This position is grant-funded, and the position may close at the time the funding ends.

Examples of Duties:

• Establish trusting relationships with Alexandria Guaranteed Income Pilot participants while providing general support and encouragement through regular text, email, and phone communication;

• Facilitate access and connection to community resources, including locating food services, rental assistance needs, school programs, vocational opportunities, behavior health, and other social services;

• Encourage, listen, and act as accountability coach to participants when required;

• Maintain comprehensive participant files, documenting all activities and contacts with or on behalf of participants;

• Conduct community resource scan to identify appropriate resources;

• Create FAQs and guides;

• Engage and support participants in telling the story of how guaranteed income has impacted their lives and collect quotes and maintain data;

• Maintain and report applicable statistics regarding programs and client services;

• Develop and submit monthly reports;

• 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;

• Work with participants to understand needs and co-design appropriate and supportive offboarding process for the end of the pilot;

• Conduct a public benefits assessment for participants enrolled and receiving specific federal and state benefits during the offboarding process;

• Assist and support the work of the Mobility Action Team;

• Perform other duties and related work as required.

Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Knowledge of the principles of supportive coaching 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 in 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 a high paced demanding environment.

Minimum Qualifications:

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's degree is in psychology, anthropology, social work, or a 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 and interpersonal skills; Competent in utilizing computer MS Suite, Outlook, Teams, and case management software. Knowledge of or experience with financial coaching. Fluent & Bilingual in both English and Spanish or Fluent and Bilingual in both English and Amharic.