Housing Navigation & Stabilization Coordinator

Essential Job Duties & Responsibilities:

To perform the job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The duties of the position of Lead Housing Navigator include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Provide direct housing navigation services including conducting outreach, comprehensive housing assessments, developing individualized housing support plans and budgets, assisting with unit searches, and supporting clients in completing applications and necessary documentation. Provide field-based services, including home visits, community outreach, and accompaniment to housing-related appointments.

2. Support clients overcome housing barriers such as credit issues, rental histories, unfavorable landlords, justice-involved backgrounds, and limited income by providing coaching, advocacy, and resource referrals.

3. Coordinate and facilitate housing placements, including scheduling and supporting unit viewing with the client, conducting habitability inspections, verifying eligibility, coordinating move-ins, and helping with move-in supports and essential needs.

4. Engage, cultivate, and maintain relationships with landlords and property managers, including supporting outreach, unit identification, problem-solving tenancy issues, and providing ongoing communication to ensure successful placements.

5. Provide coaching and education before and after move-in to support long-term housing stability, including coaching clients on lease compliance, budgeting, rent payment, property rules, maintaining their unit, communication with housing providers, and conflict resolution.

6. Provide ongoing case management: Assist clients in accessing ECM, community resources, behavioral health services, employment supports, benefits, and other stabilizing services as needed. Conduct regular home visits and field-based check-ins to identify tenancy risks, intervene early, and support clients in maintaining compliance with lease terms, property rules, and program expectations. Work with clients to increase income by supporting benefits applications such as SS, SSI, SSDI, CalWORKS, CAPI and General Relief and focusing on employment development.

7. Work with MCPs and VCBH to ensure seamless referral processing, service authorizations, care coordination, and communication regarding client progress or challenges. Participate in case conferencing, team meetings, and quality improvement activities to ensure consistent and effective service delivery and contribute to a high functioning team.

8. Maintain accurate and timely documentation, including HMIS entries, case notes, required forms, service authorizations, and billing documentation in alignment with program contracts and DHCS/CalAIM standards.

9. Assist with subsidy administration tasks, including collecting rent verification documents, supporting subsidy calculations, and coordinating with internal staff to facilitate timely payments when applicable. Keep up to date with housing regulations that impact housing.

10. Responsible for maintaining confidentiality and professional boundaries with all clients. Responsible for responding effectively to crisis situations using de-escalation techniques, staying current on crisis team protocols and procedures, and completing and submitting incident reports accurately and promptly.

11. Other duties as assigned.

Work Environment

The nature of the work involves working with homeless, low-income households, individuals, or families. Most of the day is spent in the field networking with landlords, meeting with clients, and taking clients to appointments (including driving clients, when needed). A small portion of each day will be in an office setting. Working with clients in a community or home setting is required. Many of the clients have been homeless and may be accustomed to street culture. Staff may be exposed to profanity or language of a sexual nature and will need to be able to positively redirect residents and to model professional behavior.

Employee may be in contact with individuals and families in crisis who may be ill, using substances, and/or not be attentive to personal health and safety for themselves. Employee may experience several unpleasant sensory demands associated with a resident’s use of alcohol and drugs or the lack of personal care.

The employee must be ready to respond quickly and effectively to many types of situations, including crisis situations and potentially hostile situations.

They should be comfortable working in a pet-friendly environment.

Moderate to high stress work pace. The environment may have frequent interruptions, time constraints, and emotional distress. Corporate culture is friendly and goal oriented.

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

Selection will be based solely on merit and will be without discrimination in our employment practices, including compensation, against any employee or applicant because of race, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identification, transgender status, sex stereotypes, age, physical handicap, mental disability, medical condition, marital status, domestic partner status, pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, citizenship, and political affiliation or belief.

Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties and functions of the job. If you require accommodation, please make sure to inform the Human Resources Department by the first week of employment. If accommodation is not required at the time of employment, but is later required, you must inform the Human Resources Department of the need for accommodation at the time it is needed.