Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.

About the Community Empowerment Fund:

CEF is a non-profit organization operating in Durham and Orange Counties that is working to end the racial wealth gap by supporting people experiencing homelessness or financial insecurity. We work alongside approximately 250 volunteers and 3,000 Members in their pursuit of employment, secure housing, and financial stability. We are valued by Members and partners for our ability to meet people where they are and walk alongside each individual to achieve personal goals, as well as our collaborative approach to address systemic racism and oppression which causes gaps in our local communities. We are passionate about sustaining transitions out of homelessness, and combine flexible relationship-based support with innovative matched savings accounts, referral networks, resource databases, and programs to support Members in achieving their long-term dreams. Learn more at www.communityef.org.

To discourage practices of negotiating that have historically reinforced larger systems of inequality, CEF posts the amount we are able to offer for each position. All employees have the opportunity to earn raises based on increased competencies in their positions and all employees will receive a 2% annual cost of living increase. Please do not apply to a position if the compensation listed does not meet your requirements.

Position Summary: The Member Services Coordinator (MSC) position is a part of the core program staff of the Durham office. The MSC stewards all services provided to CEF’s Members in the Durham office and works collaboratively with the MSC of CEF’s Orange County program to ensure consistent and equitable services across our two geographies. The MSC also maintains CEF Durham’s relationships with a wide variety of local service providers, and represents CEF in collaborative spaces within Durham County’s human services systems, and will manage special projects specific to the Durham geography. This position works closely with the Durham staff team to support office operations, including providing in-person support in the office several days a week, facilitating and supporting teams of volunteers, supervising staff and interns, and participating in and co-facilitating regular staff team meetings. Some of the MSC’s work may be completed remotely,  but most require an in-person presence. When working in the office the MSC is expected to model and hold volunteers and staff accountable to all CEF’s safety procedures associated with COVID-19.

 

Position Responsibilities: 

Partnerships and Special Projects (30%)

• Represent CEF at Durham County service collaborations and partnerships including the Homelessness Services Advisory Committee, Coalition for Affordable Housing & Transit, and Unsheltered Working Group
• Steward CEF’s referral processes, coordination process, case management and communication with Entry Point and other partners around referrals to CEF and around housing issues
• Maintain existing partnerships with nonprofit, government, and community organizations to cultivate two-way referral pathways and service integrations and manage CEF’s referral materials, as well as communicate consistently with partners to ensure effective transmission of necessary information.

Steward Member Services Policies and Practices (25%)

• Participate in collective cross-geography policy and practice-building processes for Member Services (confidentiality, grievances, conflict resolution, etc).
• Participate in cross-training among teams to fill in at either office.
• Uphold confidentiality and safety standards.
• Steward an effective case-conferencing system for staff and Advocates to check in, collaborate, and troubleshoot challenges in order to better serve CEF Members.
• Provide technical assistance, along with Advocate Program Coordinator, to CEF’s volunteer leaders and Advocates in providing services to Members and achieving program outcomes.
• Coordinate logistics of language access for Members requiring services in languages other than English.
• Provide program-specific data and anecdotes for use in grant writing and individual donor solicitation.

Team Support and Supervision (15%)

• Provide in-office staff support (minimum of 10 hours) per week ensuring delivery quality of member services, and support the Advocate team in responding to complex or crisis situations that arise.
• Co-facilitate weekly staff meetings for Durham team alongside the Advocate Program Coordinator.
• Supervise and lead Durham’s orientation and intake process for new CEF Members.

Advocacy and Organizing Team (15%)

• Attend and facilitate biweekly meetings for the Durham Organizing Team.
• Collaborate with Members, staff, and advocates to plan and facilitate advocacy and social events.
• Implement systems for outreach for events, including identifying interested individuals, making flyers, and sending reminders

Resource and Financial Coaching Development and Database Management (10%)

• Create and update listings based on community feedback.
• Train and supervise volunteers to verify the accuracy of information in existing resource database listings.
• Write and design content for Financial Coaching modules to be built into CEF’s interactive Connect database with relevant, accurate, and up-to-date information, functionality, and user interface design to support CEF’s person-centered support model.
• Represent the Durham office on the Resource and Financial Coaching team.
• Participate in developing evaluation measures for CEF services including processes for tracking Member outcomes.
• Assist with program data collection for funder reporting and dissemination of outcomes for any other requests.
• Lead the Durham team in implementation of CEF data standards and support data quality in all programs and operations.
• Update and improve the resource database to ensure maximum access for a diverse community of users.
• Manage Durham County content in CEF’s OCConnect.info resource database.

CEF Team Member (5%)

• Actively participate in CEF staff meetings, caucuses, retreats, board meetings, and organizational decision-making.
• Participate in Member Services Leadership Team Meetings.
• Work collaboratively with team members when necessary.
• Engage actively in efforts to improve CEF’s outcomes, impact, and methodologies.
• Embody CEF values and guiding principles, participate meaningfully in meetings, work collaboratively with coworkers, and engage in CEF in ways that are informed by social justice frameworks including, but not limited to relationship-based support, trauma-informed care, harm-reduction, and motivational interviewing.
• Follow CEF financial procedures, including timely reporting of expenses, clear communication around debit card needs, and participation in budget creation.

Position Qualifications (Required unless indicated as “preferred”): 

• Preferred Master’s degree in social work or related fields of Public Policy, Sociology, Psychology, and or Public Administration with a minimum of two years direct service with people experiencing homelessness, case management, or other crisis work;
  • or BS/BA degree with a minimum of five years direct service with people experiencing homelessness or other case management or crisis work;
  • or High School diploma or GED with ten years direct service with people experiencing homelessness, case management, or  crisis work.
• Excellent interpersonal, critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills – ability to work effectively in varied professional, socioeconomic, and cultural contexts with people across abilities and neurological differences, and from diverse racial, socioeconomic, educational, cultural, religious, and ethnic backgrounds.
• Compassionate, whole person and healing-centered approach to Member Services.
• Direct service experience and coordination working with individuals who are unhoused and unstably housed or equivalency is a priority.
• Strong understanding of at least three of the following and willingness to learn the others and apply them in organizational, program, and policy design and implementation.
  • Racial Equity
  • Trauma Informed Care/Healing Focused Engagement
  • Transformative Justice
  • Housing First
  • Harm Reduction
• Ability to design and implement systems that build towards efficient, collaborative, and effective cross-sector partnerships.
• Prefer strong group project management, team facilitation, training and individual and group supervision skills including an understanding of complex group dynamics.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office and Google Suite, preference for experience with client file maintenance in a social service setting.
• Comfortable with and/or willing to learn new communications technology and database systems (i.e., Slack, Asana, Salesforce).
• Works well independently, satisfies deadlines, prioritizes diverse workload effectively and maintains own motivation on multiple long term and short term projects.
• Shared commitment to CEF’s mission.

 

An ideal candidate will: (These are super important to us)

• Hold self accountable
• Have case management experience
• Have critical thinking skills
• Have curiosity to learn more
• Have the ability to communicate clearly about needs and boundaries
• Have exceptional listening skills
• Have strong project management and organizational skills
• Have the ability to build supportive and authentic relationships with people of diverse backgrounds and abilities

Salary and Benefits:

This is a full-time, salaried position. The Member Services Coordinator is expected to work an average of 32 hours per week on a 4-day work week schedule and will receive an annual salary of $46,000. This position is also eligible for 100% employer-paid health insurance; a 401(k) plan with 4% employer match; optional employee-paid dental and vision; flexible time off; life insurance; and a professional development stipend. See an outline of CEF’s benefits here. All CEF staff are expected to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit weekly negative test results. This position will start as soon as possible.

To Apply:

Please submit a cover letter outlining why you are a great fit for this position, resume, and 3 professional references to hiring@communityempowermentfund.org with the subject “Member Services Coordinator.” Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and will remain open until filled.

CEF is an equal opportunity employer, and strongly encourages applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, women, LGBTQI-identified people, and people with lived experience with homelessness or poverty. 

Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.

About the Community Empowerment Fund:
CEF is a non-profit organization operating in Durham and Orange Counties that supports people experiencing homelessness or financial insecurity. We work alongside approximately 250 volunteers and 3,000 members in their pursuit of employment, secure housing, and financial stability. We are valued by Members and partners alike for our ability to meet people where they are and walk alongside each individual to achieve personal goals, as well as our collaborative approach to address systemic gaps in our local communities. We are passionate about sustaining transitions out of homelessness and combine flexible relationship-based support with innovative matched savings accounts, referral networks, resource databases, and programs to support Members in achieving their long-term dreams. Learn more at www.communityef.org.

 

Position Summary:
The Member Resource Specialist (MRS) is a full-time position focused on cultivating resources that supplement our Member Services in targeted content areas. In addition to providing in-office support for CEF Members and Advocates as a member of the Durham team, the MRS will be responsible for leading our efforts to grow targeted program services focused on housing and employment. In the future, the MRS may focus on additional services including financial coaching, resource development, and longitudinal data tracking. This position will have responsibility onsite in CEF’s Durham office with flexibility for off-site work and will report directly to the Durham Member Services Coordinator.

Responsibilities:

In-Office Support for Members and Advocates (20%)

• Provide 8-10 hours per week of in-office staff support to support Advocates and Members, ensure delivery of quality member services, and promote office policies and boundaries, especially regarding emotional and physical safety.
• Support general office operations with other staff members including mail, phones, walk-ins, scheduling, member surveys, etc.
• Contribute to weekly case-conferencing at team meetings to provide support when navigating complex or crisis situations.
• Provide excellent relationship-based care coordination for CEF Members.
• Manage a list of 50+ Members who are actively searching for employment opportunities by conducting bi-weekly check-in calls to update how best to provide individualized support.
• Maintain accurate employment search updates on Member’s profiles to track continued progress and inform Advocates for their meetings with Members.

First-Time Homebuyers  Project (30%)

• Recruit participants for a first-time homebuyer cohort in Durham County.
• Meet with members to ready them for the homebuying experience
• Communicate with community and lenders about what program is and requirements
• Communicate with the savings team when a participant has met all of the requirements for their savings match.

Workforce Development and Implementation (20%)

• Recruit workforce/Employment partners who would hire our members

• Set up workshops to help members be skilled up to be good employees-resumes, cover letters, mock interviews, digital applications

• Support entrepreneurship/small business financial coaching goal implementation, resources, referrals and updates
• Support members looking for employment through connections to resources

Community Class Financial Education Project (10%)

• Organize monthly financial education seminars– including scheduling presenters, gathering materials, confirming attendance, and providing snacks.
• Follow-up with participants in between monthly workshops to ensure they are receiving the support services they need, including scheduling regular meetings with CEF to participate in financial coaching sessions.
• Track participant attendance and progress towards savings goals.

Resources and Financial Coaching (RFC) Team (10%)

• Participate as a member of the Resources and Financial Coaching (RFC) Team, the team responsible for building and updating new Member Goals and financial coaching modules in our Salesforce system, Connect.
• Attend biweekly meetings to test and case conference updates to Member Goals and resources in our Resource Database, discuss development priorities, and write and review soft code for upcoming updates.
• Take lead on managing the development status and testing of content-specific Member Goals and resources such as the Working on Employment Member Goal.

Community Partner Coordination (5%)

• Coordinate referral pipeline with local service partners alongside Durham Member Services Coordinator

CEF Team Member (5%)

• Actively participate in CEF staff meetings, caucuses, retreats, board meetings, and organizational decision-making.
• Participate in Durham staff meetings, as well as all-staff meetings.

An ideal candidate will have:

• Critical thinking skills
• Curiosity to learn more
• Ability to communicate clearly about needs and boundaries
• Exceptional listening skills
• Strong project management and organizational skills
• Ability to build supportive and authentic relationships with people of diverse backgrounds and abilities

Relevant Skills & Qualifications:

• Exceptional organizational abilities and attention to detail; ability to follow through on simultaneous projects, including daily tasks and long-term projects.
• Experience managing projects and case-management responsibilities in collaboration with internal and external partners.
• The ability to work well with people across race, class, gender, sexual orientation, ability status, education level, religion, and other diverse identities and experiences.
• An aptitude for database management and technical skills with an ability to learn how to soft code.
• Availability for regular evening and weekend hours to accommodate volunteer schedules.
• Experience with technology and willingness to learn new technologies including but not limited to Salesforce, Google Suite, Slack, and Asana.
• Creative, comfortable taking initiative, and works well independently.
• Bilingual or bicultural skills are preferred but not required.

Compensation:

This is a full-time, salaried position. This position is expected to work an average of 32 hours per week and will be paid $40.000/year. This position is also eligible for 100% employer-paid health insurance; a 401(k) plan with employer match; optional employee-paid dental and vision; paid vacation, sick, and holiday leave; and a professional development stipend. See an outline of CEF’s benefits here. All CEF staff are expected to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit weekly negative test results.  

To Apply:

Please submit (1) a cover letter, (2) a resume, and (3) contact information for three references to hiring@communityef.org with the subject “Member Resource Specialist”. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis  and will remain open until filled. Your cover letter should speak to your interest in working with CEF, one goal you would have for your first year in this position, and the experiences and qualities that will make you a great fit.

CEF is an equal opportunity employer, and strongly encourages applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, women, LGBTQI identified people, and people with lived experience with homelessness or poverty. Thank you for your interest! Please contact hiring@communityef.org with any questions.