Specialist – Health and Benefits Program

Summary DWC seeks a full-time Specialist Health and Benefits Program to serve as the primary point of contact for clients who receive or wish to receive public benefits and to provide individualized care coordination, public welfare navigation services, and documentation assistance to homeless and formerly homeless women.

The position will collaborate with DWC staff, local service providers, and government agencies to connect women with financial, medical, food and childcare public benefit programs as well as provide other services as needed to support clients’ overall health and wellness.

This position may also conduct intakes and assessments, schedule appointments, facilitate timely and appropriate access to public benefits through client support and advocacy, and assist with coordination of care plans.

This position will also facilitate community health and wellness education. This position is part of an interdisciplinary team and provides innovative services that are at the forefront of homeless services.

An ideal candidate practices Trauma-Informed Care and approaches case management with a strengths-based approach. This position has no supervisory responsibilities.

This position is part of the Health and Wellness Department. This position reports directly to the Health Program Manager. Essential Functions

• Provide individualized care coordination and public benefit navigation services; identify and provide needed resources and referrals,
• Guide clients through the public benefits system; assist with access to financial, medical, food, and childcare public benefit programs,
• Work to effectively resolve individual barriers to accessing public benefits through timely follow-up, advocacy, relationships, and collaboration with DWC staff and other community service providers as well as government agencies,
• Provide crisis intervention as needed,
• Conduct outreach to encourage client access to public benefits.
• Maintain accurate and timely records of activities, case management notes, and services provided to each client,
• Support the implementation of ongoing program evaluation and ensure adherence to reporting requirements.
• Provide regular, written reports to the Health Program Manager and additional reports as assigned,
• Offer supervision and guidance to interns and volunteers in the provision of services to clients,
• Perform other duties as assigned to support the mission of the organization,
• Facilitate community health and wellness education.
• Other duties as assigned. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions. Competencies
• Trauma Informed
• Flexible
• Relationship Management
• Empathic
• Creative Supervisory Responsibility This position does not include any supervisory responsibilities. Work Environment This job operates in a Drop-In Day Center / Health Clinic setting.

This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.

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.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and ability to adjust focus.

This would require the ability to lift files, open filing cabinets and bend or stand on a stool as necessary. Position Type and Expected Hours of Work This is a full-time position.

The days and hours of work are Monday through Friday, 8 : 00 a.m. to 4 : 30 p.m. Travel Regular travel throughout Los Angeles County is required in this position.

Must be able to navigate the perimeter of the Skid Row neighborhood to conduct outreach to unsheltered women and meet with community providers.

Ability to Work Remotely Option for hybrid work schedule, but with expectation to be able to work onsite full time when needed.

Required Education, Experience, and Qualifications

• Education in social work / related field or relevant experience preferred.
• Experience working as a case manager / services navigator / care coordinator with homeless, low-income and / or disabled individuals and knowledge of the medical and the public benefits system preferred.
• Strong knowledge of the complexity of poverty and women’s homelessness, mental illness, trauma, substance abuse, health issues, and older adults preferred.
• Experience working with homelessness preferred.
• Experience providing trauma-informed services preferred.
• Knowledge of the complexity of poverty, women’s homelessness, health issues, mental illness, trauma, substance abuse and older adults.
• Ability to problem solve and demonstrate an understanding of complex systems.
• Excellent active listening and crisis intervention skills with the ability to exercise and model good judgment.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities; proficiency in balancing direct service responsibilities with effective record keeping.
• Ability to work well independently and with multiple teams while meeting the needs of both the clients and the organization.
• Strong administrative skills and proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook) required
• Strong interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills; a proven ability to communicate with diverse audiences.
• Oral and written fluency in both Spanish and English is strongly preferred.
• Cultural humility.
• Must be a CA resident and live no more than 75 miles from DWC; must be available for in-person meetings at DWC.
• Must provide documentation of a negative TB test result within the last twelve months, on first day of hire.
• You will be required to be up to date on your vaccinations against COVID-19 and provide documentation. If you are fully vaccinated and not yet eligible to receive a booster dose, then you must receive the booster dose within 30 days of becoming eligible and eligibility begins 5 months after receiving final primary dose.

If you are fully vaccinated and have received a booster dose, you are considered up to date with your vaccinations. Unvaccinated individuals must receive their 1st dose before their first day of hire.

Partially vaccinated (for 2-dose series) individuals must receive their 2nd dose within 30 days of being hired. The second dose of a two-dose vaccine series is due 4 weeks after the primary dose.

Pay Range $24.03 / hr Work Authorization / Security Clearance (if applicable) Being authorized to work in the U.S. is a precondition of employment.

DWC does not sponsor employment visas, such as H-1B. Downtown Women’s Center provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants and actively seeks candidates who reflect the rich diversity of the communities that we serve.

We are committed to a work environment that embraces and promotes individuality and inclusion. We believe that diversity and inclusion of varied perspectives, backgrounds, and life experiences are essential to our organization’s effectiveness, and allow us to serve our clients in the respectful, responsive, and understanding way that they deserve.

We define diversity in broad terms to include race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, mental or physical disability, marital status, pregnancy, military and veteran status, medical condition, geography, socio-economic status, and other unique attributes that make us who we are.

Downtown Women’s Center complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

Other Duties Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of all 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.