Housing Counselor (Full-Time) $22-26/hr

FRANKLIN COUNTY REGIONAL HOUSING &

REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
241 Millers Falls Road • Turners Falls, MA 01376

Telephone: (413) 863-9781 • Facsimile: (413) 863-9289

Housing Counselor

The Franklin County Regional Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) serves the housing and

community development needs of the twenty-six towns of Franklin County, Massachusetts. We

work with residents to successfully access a wide variety of housing resources. We also work with

the municipalities of Franklin County to apply for and administer grant funding for various

infrastructure and community development projects.

Position Overview: The Housing Counselor works with clients to coach and motivate them to

achieve their goals for housing stability and financial opportunity with money management, credit,

rental, home ownership, and foreclosure counseling. They take the lead in planning, marketing, and

facilitating workshops on homebuyer education, financial education, and other housing-related

topics. In partnership with HCEC staff, they assist clients with accessing and applying for housing

assistance programs.

Job Class: Full-time (37.5 hours per week), Regular, Non-Exempt

Supervision Received: The Housing Counselor works under the supervision of the HCEC

Operations Manager, with additional guidance from the HCEC Director.

Supervision Given: None

Principal Duties:

1. Develop, advertise, and facilitate educational programs on housing related issues,

specifically including but not limited to first-time homebuying, homeownership, foreclosure

prevention, and money management.

2. Provide information, referrals, brief counseling, and in-depth counseling to clients. Maintain

ongoing communication with in-depth counseling clients.

3. Gather and enter data on applicants and program participants into established databases

for the purposes of tracking and reporting on numbers of clients served and types of

assistance provided.

4. Develop and maintain a ready homebuyer list.

5. Assist with marketing, outreach, and intake for housing assistance programs; assist

applicants with completing applications for programs and services offered by HRA.

6. Maintain an awareness of current rules, regulations, and policies relating to housing

programs administered by the HCEC and HRA.

7. Other duties as assigned.

General Responsibilities:

Rental Assistance • Housing Development • Housing Management • Community Development

Municipal Assistance • Rehab Financing • Housing Counseling and Education • Public Infrastructure

Equal Housing Opportunity

1. HRA is a public agency operating for the benefit of all citizens. Personnel shall conduct

themselves in a manner respectful of all clients and shall adhere to HRA's mission and goals.

Personnel shall act in such a way as to create a positive image of the Agency.

2. Personnel will act in a professional manner while relating to HRA staff, clients and business

contacts seeking to resolve differences or complaints through appropriate agency

procedures.

3. All personnel are responsible for adherence to HRA personnel policies, including the

prevention of conflict of interest, misuse of funds, or abuse of trust and are responsible for

reporting known misconduct to an Executive officer.

4. All personnel shall respect the legal and moral rights and privacy of confidential

information due to all clients and are responsible for upholding HRA's affirmative action

policies.

Minimum Qualifications:

1. A bachelor’s degree, OR

2. An associate degree PLUS at least two years of experience working in housing counseling or

a related field, OR

3. Four years of experience working in housing counseling or a related field.

4. Experience with homeownership and foreclosure prevention.

5. Current HUD housing counselor certification OR ability to receive applicable training to

obtain such certification within two months of hire.

6. Experience successfully completing complex tasks with a minimum of supervision.

7. Access to reliable transportation and the ability to travel across Franklin County and

occasional travel elsewhere for meetings and workshops.

Additional Qualifications:

1. Demonstrated success in developing and delivering public presentations.

2. Ability to work well with both individuals and groups. Respect for and sensitivity to the

challenges faced by people with low income, persons with disabilities and elders required.

3. Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively both in writing and verbally.

4. Strong computer skills and a demonstrated ability to collect, enter, and analyze data.

Experience working with databases preferred.

5. Demonstrated ability to solve problems independently.

6. Demonstrated ability to organize and plan work in a timely manner and to handle a high

volume of demanding work.

7. Spanish language, American Sign Language, or other bilingual skills a plus.

Salary Grade: 6

Salary and benefits are according to state and federal law, Board approved personnel policies and

budget. HRA is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer.

Board Approved: 11/7/2016, Vote #16-151; Revision: 6/26/2023, Vote #17-4384; Revision: Vote#