The Office of Advocacy’s Office of Refugee and Immigrant Affairs (ORIA), comprised of the Language Access team and the Immigrant Eligibility team, ensures that New York City’s immigrant residents and residents with limited English proficiency have equal access to the Department of Social Services’ benefits and services, in accordance with Federal, State and local laws.
The Office of Advocacy is recruiting for a Community Coordinator to function as Immigrant Eligibility and Access Coordinator for their Office of Refugee & Immigrant Affairs.
Under general direction of the Director of Immigrant Eligibility and Access, with wide latitude for independent initiative and judgment, the Immigrant Eligibility and Access Coordinator provides HRA program areas and DHS staff with guidance and technical assistance on immigrant access and eligibility matters; resolves complex immigrant eligibility issues from external community entities; assists in developing immigrant eligibility tools and seminars for staff and community; ensures the availability of language access and conducts community outreach. This role will also, on an as needed basis and under the guidance of the DSS Director of Language Access, serve as additional support for the language access team. This will be a cross functional role. Duties include but are not limited to:
• Resolve complex immigrant eligibility issues from external community entities such as legal services organizations or community-based organizations (CBO) and provides technical assistance to HRA and DHS programs and staff, which consists of retrieving and reviewing clients’ immigration documents, conducting SAVE searches, clarifying immigrant eligibility procedures for staff and determining benefits for which immigrant clients are entitled.
• Assist in developing and presenting immigrant eligibility tools, resources, and training for DSS-HRA-DHS staff and community partners such as: procedures relating to immigrant eligibility for all program areas, amendments to state & agency desk aids and tools that help clarify immigrant eligibility for staff/community, PowerPoint presentations for immigrant eligibility seminars, and content for intranet and internet page relating to immigrant eligibility work as needed.
• Conduct community outreach with CBO stakeholders and assists with Immigrant Access Work Groups to build relationships with advocates and legal services organizations, hear their concerns, and work collaboratively to improve access to HRA’s services for immigrant communities.
• Support agency language access efforts, including facilitating staff access to on-site, telephonic and sign language interpretation and/or document translation.
• Conduct data analysis to understand trends in HRA-DHS immigrant eligibility service provision to immigrant clients that will provide information for seminar content and tool development.
• Assist in writing reports, memos, drafting PowerPoint presentations as needed for internal and external use. Serve as a resource to assist staff in understanding cross-cultural issues and dynamics to ensure cultural competencies and mutual respect in the client relationship.
Minimum Qual Requirements
1. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and two years of experience in community work or community centered activities in an area related to the duties described above; or
2. High school graduation or equivalent and six years of experience in community work or community centered activities in an area related to the duties as described above; or
3. Education and/or experience which is equivalent to “1” or “2” above. However, all candidates must have at least one year of experience as described in “1” above.
Preferred Skills
• Experience working for or with community-based organizations, particularly social services providers.
• Superior communication skills, including written and verbal communication.
• Bilingual staff are strongly encouraged to apply.
To Apply
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Public Svc Loan Forgiveness
As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website at StudentAid.gov/PSLF .
Residency Requirement
New York City residency is generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of interview.
POSTING DATE
07/26/2023
POST UNTIL
Until Filled
The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual’s sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.