Basic Needs and Housing Student Support Specialist

BASIC NEEDS AND HOUSING STUDENT SUPPORT SPECIALIST (GRANT FUNDED)

WILBUR WRIGHT COLLEGE

City Colleges of Chicago’s vision is to be recognized as the city’s most accessible higher education engine of socioeconomic mobility and racial equity - empowering all Chicagoans to take part in building a stronger and more just city.  The community college system’s more than 3,500 faculty and staff serve more than 60,000 students annually at seven colleges and five satellite sites.

***This position is 100% grant-funded

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE

Reporting to the Clinical Director-Wellness Center or other assigned administrator, the Basic Needs and Housing Student Support Specialist is responsible for connecting students to basic needs programming, community partners, and government agencies for basic needs resources and support services. This position also serves as the college’s Housing and Opportunities that are Useful for Students’ Excellence (HOUSE) liaison, supporting students in accessing housing and other basic needs resources. 

Key responsibilities include meeting with students to identify their needs and provide information on available resources and referrals for additional support services; assisting them with enrolling in public benefits programs; supporting them with identifying housing opportunities; and coordinating the presence of basic needs community partners on campus.

The Basic Needs and Housing Student Support Specialist also oversees the operations of the campus' Healthy Market and other programming that connects students with food resources, such as grocery gift cards or on-campus free meals.  Performs related duties as required.

NOTE:  Position is expected to occasionally work outside of normally scheduled hours to accommodate GCFD food deliveries.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

Basic Needs and Housing Support Services

•  Maintains relationships with community partners and hosts resource fairs, benefits enrollment events, informational tabling programs, and other opportunities to connect students with community resources in collaboration with the Wellness Center.

•  Meets with students experiencing basic needs insecurity to identify their specific needs including food, housing, and access to general medical and health care and provides them with information to available resources and referrals to community and government organizations.  

•  Maintains data and provides reports on number of students requesting information, meeting with staff, and receiving services through the basic needs support initiative. 

•  Identifies trends and best practices in providing services to students with basic needs and adapting campus services to meet those needs.

•  Serves as the institution’s Housing and Opportunities that are Useful for Students’ Excellence (HOUSE) liaison by identifying, supporting, and advocating for students experiencing homelessness and student in care, connecting them with financial aid, housing resources, basic needs support, and student support services.

•  Partners with institutional Research teams to complete required reporting.

•  Builds college-wide awareness of the process for student referrals to HOUSE liaison and other housing sources.

Healthy Market

•  Oversees the day-to-day operations of the Healthy Market to include implementing work procedures; coordinating food distribution events with Facilities; and data collection and reporting.

•  Works alongside staff on food delivery days, assisting and overseeing staff loading and transporting food deliveries to pantry site with the use of dollies, and organizing, shelving, and inventorying packaged and refrigerated food items.

•  Maintains working relationships with campus administration, Facilities staff, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD); coordinates the scheduling of days per week/month for Healthy Market to operate; and ensures compliance with all food safety requirements.

•  Works with the Dean’s office and GCFD to place monthly food orders and with Facilities Department to schedule the delivery, unloading, and transporting of food orders to food pantry area.

•  Provides information on the operations and services of the Healthy Market.

•  Implements plans to publicize the Healthy Market to encourage student participation.

•  Implements and monitors procedures for the registration of individuals receiving food pantry services and the maintenance of records as required by the GCFD.

•  Supervises staff including work study students, pantry workers, and volunteers; provides orientation and training to all Healthy Market workers.

•  Ensures adherence to cleaning and storage protocols for the Healthy Market operations and to food safety protocols.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

The physical demands are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. The job requires lifting, bending, carrying, unloading, and moving of food items. Must be able to lift and carry up to 30 lbs. in the performance of duties.

QUALIFICATIONS

•  Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in Social Work or a related field required

•  Two years of work experience in social services or basic needs support or program development

•  An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered at the discretion of management.

•  Experience providing basic needs programming or facilitating access to services as a caseworker in a social work, healthcare, or human services setting highly desirable

•  Must obtain a Food Services Sanitation Manager Certificate from an approved training program within 60 days of hire

•  Knowledge of community resources, service providers, social service agencies, and public assistance programs, including housing, food security, and financial aid

•  Excellent customer service skills, with the ability to engage with people from diverse backgrounds

•  Demonstrated organizational and time management skills

•  Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills

•  Ability to communicate effectively with students, faculty, staff, and external partners

•  Ability to work with and relate to a culturally diverse student body, faculty, and staff

•  Ability to handle situations with tact and diplomacy

•  Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)

The intent of this job description is to provide a general description of the duties and responsibilities of this position.  It is not intended to be an exhaustive set of the duties and responsibilities, nor all of the necessary qualifications to perform the work.

WORK SCHEDULE (Tentative)

Primarily Monday through Friday during daytime hours. Schedule subject to change as needed and per contractual guidelines.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

• Ability and willingness to work occasional evenings and weekends, as needed.

SALARY & BENEFITS INFORMATION

·       Salary: $61,006 - $67,106.60

·       Offered salary will be determined by the respective collective bargaining agreement and applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities.

·       Benefits information is found at https://www.ccc.edu/departments/Benefits/ 

This position is represented by Local 1600 Professional Union.

Chicago residency is required for all full-time employees within six (6) months of hire.
We are an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer.
Thank you for your interest in City Colleges of Chicago!