Office Specialist (Wait List Call Center) at San Diego Housing Commission

Job Details

Description

Salary: $21.36 - $26.04 hourly

Type: Temporary, no benefits (ends 12/31/2024)

Application Deadline: July 8, 2024

Department: Rental Assistance Division

This is an in-office position.  Remote options not available. 

About SDHC:

The San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) is an award-winning public housing agency in the City of San Diego that provides innovative housing assistance programs for households with low income or experiencing homelessness. The San Diego City Council, in its role as the Housing Authority of the City of San Diego, oversees SDHC. SDHC helps pay rent for more than 17,000 households with low income annually; is a leader in collaborative efforts to address homelessness, such as the Community Action Plan on Homelessness for the City of San Diego and SDHC’s homelessness initiative, HOUSING FIRST – SAN DIEGO, which has created more than 11,000 housing solutions since November 2014 for people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness; and creates and preserves affordable rental housing, with more than 23,000 affordable units in service in the City today with SDHC’s participation.  

About the Department:

The Rental Assistance Division (RAD) is the San Diego Housing Commission’s (SDHC) largest department. It administers the federally supported Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8), which provides rent subsidies for over​ 15,000 San Diego households. Within RAD is the Workforce & Economic Development department, which is dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty by helping housing-assisted families become economically self-sufficient.

The Office Specialist will work in the Wait List Call Center unit of the Rental Assistance Division.  The Wait List Call Center manages the San Diego Housing Commissions Rental Assistance Wait List. The team assist individuals with applying for an SDHC Rental Assistance Wait List, updating information on an existing application on the Wait List, and providing application status. The Team provides information to families who apply and ensures that all families who express an interest in housing assistance are given an equal opportunity to apply and are treated in a fair and consistent manner. To provide specific accommodation for a person with a disability, the Wait List Team will assist with completing and updating an application over the telephone.

About the Position:

The Wait List Call Center Office Specialist will work on site at 1122 Broadway, San Diego, CA 92101 from 7:00 am to 4:30 pm Monday - Thursday and 7:00 am to 3:30 pm on Fridays. SDHC offices are closed on alternate Fridays. The position provides support to the Wait List Call Center and reports to a Housing Manager.  Duties include providing information about San Diego Housing Commission's rental assistance wait lists.  Candidates will answer inbound calls regarding Wait List, provide application status, assist with registering for SDHC's Wait List Portal and provide affordable housing resources.  Strong verbal communication skills, active listening, attention to detail and empathy are core skills for the ideal candidate.   Bilingual (Spanish) preferred.  Candidates should have customer service experience and data entry experience required.  

Class Characteristics:

Incumbents at this level provide specialized and technical administrative and office support work for an assigned program or department. Successful performance of the work requires the use of tact, discretion, and independent judgment as well as knowledge of departmental activities. The work has technical and programmatic aspects, requiring the interpretation and application of policies, procedures, and regulations and may involve frequent contact with staff and the public, as well as performing various research functions. Positions at this level receive only occasional instruction or assistance as new or unusual situations arise and are fully aware of the operating procedures and policies of the work unit.

Examples of Essential Job Functions:

• Performs technical office and administrative support duties for an assigned department; participates in various technical processes, procedures, and programs; provides information and assistance to the public on assigned programs.
• Attends to a variety of office administrative details, such as keeping informed of departmental activities, transmitting information, maintaining department files and databases, ordering and coordinating supply orders, preparing contracts and agreements, arranging for equipment purchases and maintenance, attending meetings, and serving on various task forces and committees.
• Prepares and assembles reports, memoranda, correspondence, agreements, contracts, legal documents, technical charts, work orders, and other informational materials; develops, revises, and maintains standardized and master documents; assists in designing and producing technical information handouts and packets.
• Verifies and reviews forms and reports for completeness and conformance with established regulations and procedures; applies departmental and program policies and procedures in determining completeness of applications, records, and files.
• Compiles information and data for administrative, statistical, and financial reports; checks and tabulates statistical data; performs other technical work related to the program and department to which assigned; performs specialized projects as assigned.
• Organizes, maintains, and updates departmental record systems; enters and updates information with departmental activity, files, and report summaries; establishes and maintains specialized databases related to technical areas of responsibilities; prepares and scans documents for imaging; periodically reviews and purges files in accordance with the records retention policy.
• Screens calls, visitors, and incoming mail; assists and directs the public, tenants, property managers, property owners, and other agencies to appropriate locations and/or staff; responds to complaints and requests for information; interprets and applies regulations, policies, procedures, systems, rules, and precedents in response to inquiries and complaints from the public.
• Coordinates and integrates department services and activities with other Commission departments and outside agencies.
• Maintains calendars and makes meeting arrangements; schedules meetings between Commission staff and applicants, tenants, owners, the public, or other groups or organizations; arranges for necessary set-up and materials to be available at meetings.
• Gathers, assembles, updates, and distributes a variety of department or Commission specific information, forms, records, and data as requested.
• Monitors and requests orders for office and other related supplies; assists in preparing, processing, and tracking purchase requisitions for services and materials; receives vendor invoices; prepares check requests for payment for department head approval.
• May prepare committee and/or board agendas, attend meetings, and take minutes; may gather and compile information for departmental budgeting and monitor expenses out of the program/department operating budget.
• May provide training to lower-level and new staff as required.
• Assists in the minor maintenance of office equipment; troubleshoots and resolves basic office equipment problems, including replacing toners and paper in printers.
• Operates a variety of standard office equipment; may operate a two-way radio and/or cellular telephones to relay information and work orders to field crews.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

Knowledge of:

• Departmental practices and procedures and applicable Commission policies.
• Applicable Federal, State, and local laws, codes, regulations, and departmental policies, technical processes, and procedures.
• Principles and practices of data collection and report preparation.
• Modern office practices, methods, and computer equipment and applications, including word processing, database, and spreadsheet applications.
• Principles of business letter writing and record-keeping.
• English usage, spelling, vocabulary, grammar, and punctuation.
• Techniques for providing a high level of customer service by effectively dealing with the public, vendors, contractors, and Commission staff.

Ability to:

• Perform responsible clerical and secretarial support work with accuracy, speed, and minimal supervision.
• Interpret and apply administrative and departmental policies and procedures.
• Understand the organization and operation of the Commission and of outside agencies as necessary to assume assigned responsibilities.
• Respond to and effectively prioritize multiple phone calls and other requests for service.
• Compose correspondence and reports independently or from brief instructions.
• Make accurate arithmetic computations.
• Organize, maintain, and update office database and records systems.
• File materials alphabetically, chronologically, and numerically.
• Organize own work, set priorities, and meet critical time deadlines.
• Enter and retrieve data from a computer with sufficient speed and accuracy to perform assigned work.
• Operate modern office equipment, including computer equipment and word-processing, database, spreadsheet, and other software applications programs.
• Use English effectively to communicate in person, over the telephone, and in writing.
• Use tact, initiative, prudence, and independent judgment within general policy, procedural, and legal guidelines.
• Establish, maintain, and foster positive and harmonious working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.

Education & Experience:

Equivalent to the completion of the twelfth (12^th) grade, and one (1) year of office administrative or secretarial experience.

Licenses and Certifications:

Some assignments may require the possession of, or ability to obtain, certification as a Notary Public.

Physical Demands:

Must possess mobility to work in a standard office setting and use standard office equipment, including a computer; to operate a motor vehicle, and to visit various Commission and meeting sites; vision to read printed materials and a computer screen; and hearing and speech to communicate in person, before groups, and over the telephone.  This is primarily a sedentary office classification although standing in work areas and walking between work areas may be required.  Finger dexterity is needed to access, enter, and retrieve data using a computer keyboard or calculator and to operate standard office equipment.  Positions in this classification occasionally bend, stoop, kneel, reach, push, and pull drawers open and closed to retrieve and file information.  Employees must possess the ability to lift, carry, push, and pull materials and objects up to 25 pounds.

Environmental Elements:

Employees partly work in the office and partly in the field and are exposed to loud noise levels, cold and hot temperatures, inclement weather conditions, road hazards, mechanical and/or electrical hazards, and hazardous physical substances and fumes. Employees may interact with upset staff and/or public and private representatives and contractors in interpreting and enforcing departmental policies and procedures.

Qualifications

Education