HOUSING BENEFITS OFFICER

City of Toronto•Toronto, ON

4d•CA$40 - CA$44•Onsite

About The Position

Reporting to the Housing Benefits Consultant, the Housing Benefits Officer provides specialized administrative support services related to the administration of the Rent Geared to Income Program including the management of a portfolio of households, service agencies and landlords within the Housing Benefits Section.

Requirements

Post-secondary education in Social Services or the equivalent combination of education and experience in housing, social or community services.
Considerable experience administering Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI) program, including interpreting and applying the Housing Services Act (HSA), RGI program guidelines, policies and procedures to assess and determine household initial and ongoing eligibility.
Considerable experience completing Rent-Geared-to-Income rent and subsidy calculations and administering annual and interim reviews, including verifying household income, assets, household composition, and issuing decisions.
Experience providing customer service in a diverse environment, including working with clients, service providers and staff, while applying an equity and trauma informed lens to address service inquiries, requests, and complaints.
Experience and demonstrated aptitude adopting and applying various technologies and software applications to support and improve program delivery, data management, and client service.
Knowledge of various Housing Programs and related legislation including the Residential Tenancies Act, Human Rights Code, Housing Services Act.
Ability to make calculations accurately along with a working knowledge of financial procedures, including Housing Services Act and City of Toronto Local Rules , related to calculating tenant and landlord payments.
Ability to interpret and accurately apply complex policies, procedures and guidelines to ensure compliance with legislation and program requirements
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to interact with diverse landlord and tenant populations and their representatives, staff, external agencies, program partners and political advocates.
Proven ability to assess client needs and making appropriate referrals to community agencies to provide additional support and resources
Ability to use Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Word and Outlook to manage workload and to create reports, coupled with a willingness to be trained on alternative software
Exceptional critical thinking and problem-solving skills to identify and effectively address issues from clients and service providers, ensuring timely and professional resolution while maintaining high standards of service and client satisfaction.
Effective oral and written communication skills.
Ability to meet deadlines, many of which are legislated, in a high-volume fast paced environment while managing conflicting priorities.
Ability to work co-operatively as a team member as well as independently with initiative and minimum supervision.

Nice To Haves

Rent Geared to Income certification will be considered an asset
Knowledge of technical systems such as Yardi (Voyager) and Rent Café will be considered an asset

Responsibilities

Provides specialized administrative support services to a diverse client community.
Reviews applications, confirms current circumstances and eligibility of applicants to ensure initial and ongoing compliance with Rent Geared to Income Program, the Housing Service Act and the City of Toronto’s local rules.
Assists in the process of matching eligible applicants to Rent Geared to Income vacancies, preparing and issuing housing offers to applicants in accordance with legislated guidelines and established program procedures.
Applies legislation, Rent Geared to Income program guidelines and polices to assess and make administrative decisions regarding eligibility, household changes, rent and subsidy amounts, continued eligibility.
Responds to and resolves (applicant) household and landlord inquiries/issues.
Follows established business processes to support applicants and communicate decisions, including general correspondence, notice of decisions, annual rent reviews, rent supplement agreements, and communications related to legislative requirements (Housing Services Act) and Rent Geared to Income Program Guidelines.
Performs rent calculations in accordance with guidelines and communicates with tenant and landlords.
Maintains Rent Geared to Income household records in information systems, ensuring that household composition, income, assets, rent, eligibility status, annual review information, housing provider information, benefit amounts and supporting documentation is captured and maintained in current and accurate condition.
Operates and maintains information systems and related software applications to enter, retrieve, verify, calculate and update RGI household, rent and subsidy information, generate correspondence and maintain accurate electronic records.
Communicates with applicants, tenants, landlords, agencies, and other advocates, in person/phone/writing on a variety of issues in accordance with Municipal Freedom of Information & Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) guidelines and provides support to vulnerable households and works with support agencies to support housing stability and minimize the risk of eviction.
Establishes, fosters, and maintains collaborative working relationships with nonprofit agencies, private landlords and advocacy groups acting on behalf of clients, to enhance business partnerships.
Maintains current knowledge of legislation, community services, resources, policies, programs, procedures, and issues affecting client population.
Assists in the training and orientation of new staff.
Conducts orientation interviews with new households and service providers to ensure they understand their required obligations for ongoing eligibility for the rent geared to income program.
Participates in special projects, focus groups or steering committees, including implementing new technologies and software applications to improve program delivery, data management, file accuracy, reporting and client service.