Boulder County Looking for Housing Counselor/personal Finance Specialist at Boulder County, CO, United States Full Time

Job Description

Description

The Boulder County Department of Housing and Human Services has an opening for a Housing Counselor/Personal Finance Specialist who will be responsible for coaching and counseling clients to reach their financial goals in the areas of cash flow management, debt reduction, credit improvement, asset building, homeownership pre-and post-purchase, reverse mortgage (HECM), and foreclosure prevention. Our work is rooting in HUD-certified Housing Counseling with additional focus on overall financial health.

The ideal candidate will be someone who is:

• Client-focused – enjoys and has experience working with clients to clearly define realistic goals, identify barriers and solutions, create personalized action and spending plans to move forward;
• Avid Learner – willing and able to seek out and assimilate a dynamic body of information to support clients; and comply with grant requirements.
• Detail-oriented – uses active listening to capture critical details for client support; ability to learn and use software to enter and report data.

This is a full-time, benefitted position. The work schedule is Monday – Friday 8:00 am – 4:30 pm. This position will primarily work at 3460 Broadway, Boulder, CO. Boulder County requires its employees to reside in the state of Colorado as of the first day of work. Under FLSA guidelines, this position is exempt.

Hiring Salary Range: $51,816.00 – $63,168.00 Annually
Classification Salary Range: $51,816.00 – $74,520.00 Annually

Tentative Hiring Timeline:

• Phone Screening: August 29th
• First Round Interviews: September 9th
• Second Round Interviews: September 12th

Examples of Duties

• Exercises customer focus while responding to request for services. Checks Personal Finance Program (PFP) general voice mail, web, and email in-boxes as assigned, and responds to all contacts within 48 hours. Seeks to understand client concerns and expectations while answering questions; setting and preparing client for PFP appointment; or referring client to appropriate program or department. Records calls in database.
• Exhibits a high level of approachability while scheduling and preparing clients for one-on-one appointments, welcoming them or following up on missed appointments.
• Meets individually with clients to address financial concerns, money goals, and asset-building as well as homebuyer education, post-purchase and foreclosure prevention in an atmosphere of integrity and trust. Exhibits excellent listening and problem-solving expertise while conducting interviews, assessing client needs, and empowering clients to be action-oriented through individual counseling and coaching.
• Maintains effective relationships with clients by administering or actively participating in Personal Finance Program Client Follow-up program, contacting clients immediately after appointment, as well in the future, to assess if client is making progress, needs additional assistance, or has met their goal. Follows up with client as requested. Enters outcome information and any pertinent notes into Outcome Tracker (OT) client management database.
• Participates in outreach to under-served populations and those otherwise desiring to build financial strength and resilience.
• Exercises integrity and endpoint focus while entering information into client management database. Maintains a high level of organization and record-keeping ability. Assists with reporting, auditing, and writing of grant applications as needed. Has the functional and technical knowledge and skills to do the job at a high level of accomplishment.
• Fosters peer relationships within DHHS, and with other Boulder County programs and community organizations to enhance integrated service delivery and support a generative change model. Attends regular coordination, training, and information- gathering partnership opportunities to optimize client service integration, including representing Personal Finance Program services to existing and potential referral partners.
• Easily learns on the fly while seeking out information and remaining current on issues, materials, and tools pertinent to client needs. Attends webinars, classes, agency information sharing meetings, and conducts research to maximize knowledge and accessibility of information and tools for client forward movement. Participates in team efforts to centralize updated client resources for optimal access, standardization, and training purposes.
• May be reassigned in an emergency situation.

Required Qualifications

PLEASE NOTE: When submitting your application, be sure to include all relevant education and experience, as applications are screened based on the qualifications listed in this position announcement. Applications that do not appear to meet minimum qualifications, as outlined below, will not be considered. Resumes are not accepted in lieu of completed applications.

Please be aware that your cover letter and resume will not be accessed in the initial screening process, so you must complete your application and supplemental questions with as much detail as possible. Any personally identifiable information (PII) such as name and address will be redacted from applications that meet the minimum screening requirements and are forwarded to the hiring manager. If the hiring manager selects you to advance in the hiring process, your cover letter and resume will then be accessible to the hiring team.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:
Boulder County is looking for well-qualified candidates to fill our positions. In this position, we are looking for a minimum of 6 years of combined education and experience in human service, housing counseling, case management, financial counseling/services and/or related fields.

CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK:

• Applicants must pass a criminal background check

Supplemental Information

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• HUD Housing Counselors Exam Certification
• Excellent appointment/meeting facilitation and participation skills
• Experience working with counseling, coaching and/or goal setting

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, & ABILITIES:

• Strong interest in helping people with personal finances
• Experience working in community services, human services, housing counseling, education, or social work, coaching, counseling, banking, finance, real estate or similar field
• Experience working with and communicating with diverse audiences and a demonstrated commitment to diversity, inclusion, and underserved populations
• Interest, enthusiasm, and experience performing outreach to and working with the older adult population
• Working knowledge of modern office practices and procedures; proficiency using the internet, Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook; and skill in operating office equipment
• Excellent time management skills
• Ability to work well independently and as part of a team
• Superb interpersonal skills
• Ability to work well with diverse members of the public
• Ability to recognize and adapt to cultural and language differences
• Ability to coach and counsel clients in challenging situations; and the ability to understand and work within departmental policies and regulations

Boulder County is a family-friendly workplace dedicated to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and respectful environment for all employees. We prohibit unlawful discrimination against applicants and employees on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

As well as offering competitive pay and a caring work environment, Boulder County offers employees an array of benefits. For all FTE and Term employees, we provide:

• a family-friendly workplace, including paid caregiver leave, a breast feeding friendly-work environment, sick child care, an infants-at-work policy, and generous paid vacation, medical leave, and holidays
• the opportunity to take charge of your well-being through a nationally-recognized wellness program, employee assistance program, and the choice of comprehensive health plans that include vision and dental coverage
• peace of mind for the future with PERA pension, PERA 401k, and Social Security retirement plans, in addition to life and disability insurance, as well as critical illness and accidental insurance options
• the opportunity to master new skills with robust learning programs and certificates, federal loan forgiveness (after ten years of public service), and county-paid tuition assistance for continuing education
• Free EcoPass that can be used any time and for commuting to and from work, to the Denver Intranational Airport and Fort Collins and on all bus and rail lines operated by RTD. Opportunity to sign up for a free BCycle membership for bike share in Boulder.

For more information about benefits, visit the Jobs page: https://www.bouldercounty.org/jobs/