Social Worker (Short-Term), Preserving Affordable Housing Program

Organization Overview:

Since 1968, Brooklyn A has provided free legal services for low-income residents of Brooklyn, pursuing neighborhood-based mission of justice, empowerment, and community development. For over half a century, we have utilized an array of legal and advocacy strategies—community organizing, affirmative civil rights litigation, and eviction defense to defend the rights of individuals and families. Collaboration with the city, state, and federal officials to enforce housing laws and develop legislative solutions is also an integral part of our strategy. Brooklyn A has three core programs—Preserving Affordable Housing (PAH) Program, Consumer & Economic Advocacy (CEA) Program, and Community & Economic Development (CED) Program—each of which has unique initiatives and plays a vital community role to ensure basic needs are met and fundamental rights affirmed.

The Preserving Affordable Housing Program uses legal and advocacy strategies to preserve and protect Affordable Housing, prevent evictions, combat tenant harassment and discrimination, and ensure that working families, individuals, older adults and others live in stable environments and within their financial means.

Position Summary:

Brooklyn A seeks a Social Worker who will be responsible for referral services and limited counseling to clients in support of or related to their legal issues. They will advocate on behalf of clients to obtain services and entitlements. Reporting to the Program Director, the Social Worker will develop, conduct, and participate in community outreach, education, and training which may occur during evenings and weekends. They will strategize and support staff attorneys and other advocates on how to best interact with and support clients with medical, mental health and other special needs and prepare necessary reports, proposals, and other documents relating to the work. This is a temporary full-time position ending June 30, 2024 with possible extension.

To be successful in this role, the candidate must have:

• Master’s Degree in social work, counseling or related field;

• New York State Certification and/or licensed social work preferred;
• Minimum 3 years’ working with clients who have emergency housing issues, mental illness, experiencing domestic violence and substance abuse, etc.;
• Interest in working with clients from low-income communities;
• Excellent interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to effectively communicate with individuals from diverse backgrounds, local organizations, and people in desperate crisis;
• Demonstrated ability to interact with client/tenants of different races, ethnicities, ages, and sexual orientations in a multicultural environment and a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion;
• Ability to write with minimal error memorandum, correspondence, and other documentation;
• Excellent advocacy skills in English, bi-lingual Spanish or other language preferred;
• Ability to work independently with strong motivation, to manage a high case load, track case data, meet deadlines, and to be flexible;
• Computer proficiency sufficient to independently review and generate case notes and reports;
• Maintain up-to-date client information in Brooklyn A’s case management system to ensure accurate data collection and statistical tracking;
• Collaborate as needed with program managers and development team to write narrative reports for grant and contracts;
• Basic knowledge of New York City and State housing laws and rules; and
• Thorough commitment to Brooklyn A’s mission.

Compensation & Benefits

Annual salary $69,000-$77,000, dependent on experience. Benefits highlights - 27 days vacation; employer paid health, dental and vision insurance; employer contribution to 401(k); and paid parental leave.

To apply:

If you are interested in this position, you must submit your resume and a cover letter telling us why your experiences would make you a good fit for this role. This Brooklyn-based position is hybrid - in-office 3 days/remote work 2 days.

Brooklyn A is a diverse team that is committed to recruiting, supporting, retaining, and promoting a talented staff with diverse backgrounds and experiences that share the organization's commitment to racial, economic and social justice. At Brooklyn A, diversity encompasses a variety of characteristics, lifestyles, and perspectives, including race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, education, disability, socio-economic status, and family status. We firmly believe that a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment is essential to both the quality of our client services and the personal satisfaction of our staff.

We encourage applicants of diverse backgrounds to apply, including women, people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, LGBTQ people, people from low-income backgrounds, and with lived experiences in the communities we serve. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, age, physical disability, or length of time spent unemployed.