Move and Portability Specialist for the Division of Tenant and Owner Resources

About The Agency: The New York City Department of Housing Preservation Development (HPD) promotes quality and affordability in the city's housing, and diversity and strength in the city’s neighborhoods because every New Yorker deserves a safe, affordable place to live in a neighborhood they love.

• We maintain building and resident safety and health
• We create opportunities for New Yorkers through housing affordability
• We engage New Yorkers to build and sustain neighborhood strength and diversity.

At HPD, rent subsidy programs are administered by the Division of Tenant & Owner Resources (DTOR). HPD’s rental subsidies, including Section 8 or the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program, provide funding to eligible low-income families for rental assistance toward decent, safe, and affordable housing in a neighborhood of their choice. Families pay approximately 30% of their income toward rent, and the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) pays the difference, directly to the owner. The unit must have a rent that is determined reasonable and affordable by HPD and must meet federal Housing Quality Standards (HQS) to be approved.

Your Impact: HPD's Division of Tenant & Owner Resources (DTOR) is responsible for the administration of rental subsidy programs that include Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), Project Based Voucher (PBV), Moderate Rehab Section 8, Moderate Rehab Single Room Occupancy (SRO), and Continuum of Care (CoC)-Shelter Plus Care (SPC) and NYC 15/15. Through these programs, HPD serves over 40,000 households and 9,000 landlords in all five boroughs. DTOR is responsible for the initial application screening; confirming eligibility requirements; briefing applicants; and issuing vouchers. DTOR also monitors tenant and landlord compliance of their obligations under each program and continues to administer the ongoing subsidies throughout their participation. These continued activities include processing annual and interim recertifications to update family income/assets, household composition, and rent amounts; tenant moves and transfers; approved rent increases; Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) abatements and reinstatements to enforce Housing Quality Standard (HQS) inspection results; and providing customer service to stakeholders through our Client Services office, call center and the DTR Portal.

Your Role: Move and Portability Specialists in the Division of Tenant and Owner Resources are expected to perform case processing and case management functions to provide necessary and important services to assist HPD clients. Move and Portability Specialists provide customer service via telephone using DTOR’s call center system, on line via email accounts, and in person by facilitating appointments with the public as well as various stakeholders. Move and Portability Specialists are also expected to participate in tenant activity programs and conduct projects to coordinate functions, in an effort to improve tenant-management relations and to encourage participation related to Section 8 dealings. Move and Port Specialists will perform duties and responsibilities to ensure participant cases are accurately screened and reviewed for completeness and in compliance with Federal HUD Rules and Regulations.

Your Responsibilities:

• Manage a caseload of assisted or applicant households requesting to move
• Initial voucher application screening
• Determination and verification of eligibility
• Client briefings and voucher issuance {internal and external meetings}
• Assist with reviewing the units email account and virtual mail room in order to route documents and respond to inquiries
• May perform community outreach to assist Section 8 participation
• May perform administrative work in relation to records, files, invoices and reports including data entry and logging
• Prepare and send appropriate correspondence, HAP contracts, Port packages, track responses, and follow up
• Document case notes using in house database and electronic records
• Answer large number of phone calls using a phone operator system
• Rent calculations
• Review of yearly recertification’s of household composition and income/asset information
• Attend mandatory trainings Preferred skills
• Excellent Communication Skills (both orally and in writing)
• Call center/ Customer Service experience a plus
• Great active listening skills
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment
• Strong time management and organizational skills
• Excellent troubleshooting skills
• Computer Proficiency
• Bilingual a Plus
• Section 8 or other Rental Subsidy experience a Plus Authorization to work in the United States is required for this position. The NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development does not provide sponsorship for international employees for visa applications, extensions, or status changes, including H-1B visas. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that they meet all qualifying requirements for this position at the time of application.

Minimum Qualifications

Qualification Requirements

• High school graduation or equivalent and three years of experience in community work or community centered activities in an area related to duties described above; or
• Education and/or experience which is equivalent to "1" above.

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.