HUD-CERTIFIED HOMEOWNERSHIP COUNSELOR

BEYOND HOUSING INC•Pine Lawn, MO

1d•$52,000 - $57,000•Onsite

About The Position

Beyond Housing is a nationally recognized community development organization dedicated to strengthening families and transforming our under-resourced communities to create a stronger, more prosperous St. Louis, once and for all. The Beyond Housing Academy is a newly launched multi-year economic mobility initiative for families who are ready to build a stronger future. Instead of addressing housing, employment, finances, health, and family needs though separate programs, the Academy brings them together into one coordinated journey building around each family’s goals. Families progress through six stages, beginning with stability, then strengthening finances, growing career and educational opportunities, supporting family well-being, building wealth, and ultimately creating a legacy for the next generation. Each family receives individualized coaching, an Academy Progress Plan, and connections that give families more choices for their future. Position Summary: Housing Counselors work to build healthy communities and expand homeownership. As a HUD-approved Housing Counseling Agency (HCA) and NeighborWorks’ Homeownership Center, Beyond Housing’s goal is to promote and support asset building, and ensure successful, sustainable homeownership for people of all income levels and backgrounds. The HUD-Certified Homeownership Counselor is responsible for facilitating the HUD-approved homebuyer education and counseling sessions, which include pre- and post-purchase group education classes and individual counseling sessions. As both an educator and a coach, the Housing Counselor provides information to enhance the client’s progress toward their goals. The counseling sessions may cover a broad array of areas related to the skills, knowledge, and confidence necessary to qualify for, finance, select, buy, and maintain a home. Specifically, the homeownership counselor will assess the client’s readiness to purchase, analyze credit, budgeting, debt reduction, credit building, and current mortgage guidelines. In addition, the Housing Counselor can provide referrals to Beyond Housing community partners, including professional lenders, realtors, home inspectors and property insurers.

Requirements

Must be at least 18 years old and have a High School Diploma or GED.
Bachelor’s degree with at least two years of experience in consumer credit counseling, housing, real estate, or case management.
Familiarity with the home-buying and loan process, and general underwriting guidelines.
HUD Certified Housing Counselor or ability to obtain HUD certification within 30 days.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Demonstrated presentation skills, public speaking.
Experience with office systems, computer literacy, and knowledge of Salesforce and Microsoft Office applications including Word, Excel, Power Point, OneDrive, Teams, and Outlook
Strong project management, facilitation, and change-management skills.
Ability to interact and articulate effectively and confidently with diverse individuals of all social and economic levels.
Ability to work independently as a productive team member.
Ability to be flexible, adaptive, and positive in a constantly changing environment.

Responsibilities

Facilitates and leads HUD-approved homebuyer education course and financial workshops.
Updates course content and delivery utilizing adult education principles and participatory techniques.
Conducts comprehensive individual one-on-one counseling sessions.
Identifies the required tools and establishes a system for assessing mortgage-readiness status, triaging clients, identifying obstacles, developing strategies to address obstacles, assigning customer tasks, and facilitating clients’ progress toward their goal.
Maintains schedule of appointments for counseling sessions including follow-ups to ensure client is working toward their identified goals.
Maintains electronic file for each counseling customer that includes credit report, household financial analysis, income documentation, action plan(s), budget, referrals to service providers, and other information as necessary.
Maintains and updates the client records both during and after each counseling session and adheres to strict codes of ethics and all policy guidelines established by HUD, NeighborWorks, as well as internally, including compliance and confidentiality of files.
Ensures customer satisfaction is a priority of the counseling program.
Assists other staff with assigned special projects and other tasks deemed necessary to achieve the overall goals and operate a successful homeownership program.
Participates in the establishment of annual goals and outcomes for the programs.
Performs all other duties deemed necessary by the Financial Advising Manager and/or Financial Advising Director.