The Oak Park Regional Housing Center is an equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

The Oak Park Regional Housing Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to achieve meaningful and lasting diversity in Oak Park and beyond. The Housing Center works to promote and sustain diverse communities through proactive programs that leverage individual actions to affect structural change. To fulfill this mission the Housing Center, a HUD-approved Housing Counseling Agency, employs Housing Counselors to serve in its West Cook Homeownership Center. Our program is designed to serve the needs of low- to moderate-income persons, people of color, and other groups protected by civil rights laws to improve their financial situation and attain wealth.

The Position:
Reports to: Program Director
Program: West Cook Homeownership Center
Type/Status: Full-Time, Permanent

Housing Counselors serve our clients by providing workshops and/or one on one counseling in the following areas: Civil Rights Act of 1968; financial literacy education, credit building assistance, pre-purchase and post-purchase counseling, fair housing education, foreclosure prevention counseling, and other homeownership related services.

Primary Responsibilities:

  • Provide fair housing information, including rights, protected classes, and how to file a complaint in workshops and one-on-one settings.
    Manage a caseload of housing counseling clients of a minimum of 16 new clients per month with a carryover of at least 30 per month.
  • Work with clients on a one on one basis to deliver the following: financial literacy education; Budgeting, which includes creating Action Plans and qualifying them to get them mortgage ready; Credit Building; and/or Housing Counseling, and Foreclosure remediation.
  • Conduct immediate one on one of each client to assess their financial readiness and to determine follow up counseling needed based upon their goals.
  • Ability to determine maximum mortgage affordability and purchasing power.
  • Assist with facilitating monthly workshops that include: home buyer education, post purchase education, and financial education.
  • Assist with development of monthly workshops that include marketing and organizing speakers.
  • Manage Housing Counseling Database.
  • Create, maintain, and update client files on a regular basis.
  • Provide follow-up services for clients.
  • Meets routinely with direct manager and co-workers to review clients, programs, procedures, and outcomes.
  • Interacts with bankers, lenders, real estate agents, and other industry professionals.
  • Other duties as assigned.

Schedule:

  • Full time position, 40 hours per week, to be performed on site and occasionally at satellite locations.
  • Must be able to work evenings, and/or weekends as needed to accommodate services being provided to the clients.
  • Housing Counselor may be required to travel locally to meet with partners, facilitate workshops, etc.
  • Housing Counselor may be required to travel nationally for trainings, conferences, etc.

Qualifications:

  • Commitment to the organizational mission
  • Commitment to provide exemplary customer service to clients and co-workers
  • At least 2 years’ in housing counseling experience or some aspect of the home buying process
  • Ability to work well with a wide array of people
  • Ability to handle multiple tasks and demands in a timely manner
  • Commitment to maintain high performance standards
  • Excellent communication, interpersonal and presentation skills; written and verbal
  • Ability to maintain written records and reports
  • Proven ability to work independently, as a self-starter and team member.
  • Demonstrate strong judgement and integrity.
  • Proven experience with Microsoft Office Suite, particularly with Word, Excel, and Power Point.
  • Neighbor Works Training Certifications a plus.
  • Bi-lingual, Spanish, a plus.
  • Background Check will be required.

Benefits:
The Housing Center has vacation, sick and personal time off as benefits to employees. Health and life insurance are also available to staff after the initial probationary period.

How to apply:
Send a cover letter and resume by October 15, 2018 to:
Oak Park Regional Housing Center
ATTN: WCHC Program Director
1041 South Boulevard
Oak Park, IL 60302
or
Email documents to: seckhoff@oprhc.org