Summary/Objective

The HUD Certified Housing Counselor is primarily responsible for conducting group education/workshops and one-on-one counseling in homebuyer education, financial education (budget management, credit counseling), and housing counseling (includes homeless prevention, rental, and default/foreclosure assistance). Housing Counselors provide expert advice customized to the client’s individual needs in order to address housing barriers and achieve housing goals. This process includes client intake, financial and affordability analysis, and action planning. It is required that all candidates be HUD certified at the time of application.

Essential Functions

1. Provide financial education and coaching, and housing counseling to renters, prospective first-time homebuyers, existing homeowners, and homeowners in distress
2. Charged with helping clients build financial capacity through credit counseling which includes financial capacity building for pre-purchase, post-purchase, and foreclosure prevention
3. Conduct client assessments that enable the client to make informed decisions regarding their housing choices
4. Record all client communications, and update client management system after each meeting or each interaction with client/ lender for both (hard and electronic) files utilizing required client management system CounselorMax and or mPactPro.
5. Conduct follow-ups via phone and/or email to determine whether the client is following their financial goal plan
6. Responsible for day-to-day client scheduling and delivery of housing counseling and education in areas of credit counseling, financial capacity building, rental topics, pre-purchase, delinquency, and foreclosure prevention counseling.
7. Conduct financial analysis and affordability assessment resulting in an action plan that supports the client’s financial capacity
8. Perform ongoing case management to provide service and problem-solving assistance
9. Assist management with facilitating and developing homebuyer education, financial management, foreclosure prevention, and post-purchase workshops
10. Facilitate group education workshops following HUD and agency standards
11. Performs outreach and represents the agency at events, seminars, and networking functions as needed
12. Record all communications, and update log after each meeting or interaction with client/ lender for both (hard and electronic) files utilizing required client management system CounselorMax as of June 1, 2023, mPactPro.
13. Prepare reports for management as required

Competencies

• Position Knowledge
• Initiative
• Judgment
• Adaptability
• Build Relationships
• Reliability
• Customer Focus
• Ethical Conduct
• Personal Credibility
• Problem Solving

Skills and Experience

• HUD Certification Required
• Working experience in the mortgage and/or banking sector
• Experience providing case management to ensure client and program goals are met
• Computer proficiency with email software, Google Workspace, client management database and uploading and downloading of documents
• Proficiency with Excel & Google spreadsheets and internet search applications is necessary
• Strong public speaking and communication skills (written and verbal)
• Ability to manage multiple tasks in a high-volume work environment
• Ability to work with people of diverse backgrounds
• Attention to detail with excellent internal and external customer service skills

Physical Demands
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. This is a field role with a need to perform administrative duties in a physical office. Role requires an extensive amount of mobility – reliable transportation is required.

Hours of Work
Monday – Friday, 8:30 am-5:00 pm. This position will require work on some evenings and weekends. The schedule can vary depending on the needs of the customer and partnering agencies. Hybrid work schedule available.

Reporting Relationships
This position reports to the Executive Director and works in collaboration with partnering agencies.

Education
Minimum Associate Degree from an accredited college, Bachelor Degree preferred

Other Duties
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

EEO Statement
The Journey Forward is an Equal Opportunity Employer. It is the policy of The Journey Forward to provide employment, compensation, and other benefits related to employment based on qualification, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, order of protection status, national origin or ancestry, citizenship status, age, physical or mental disability unrelated to ability, military status or an unfavorable discharge from military service. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, this agency intends to comply fully with all federal and state laws.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $50,000.00 – $65,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Vision insurance

Schedule: 8 Hours Shift

Education: Bachelor’s (Preferred)

Experience: Financial Coaching: 1 year (Preferred)

Language: Spanish (a plus) (Preferred but not required)

License/Certification:

• Driver’s License (Preferred)
• HUD Certification (Required)

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Chicago, IL

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