Housing Specialist - Prevention (Los Angeles)

Job Description

Job Description

Description:

The Housing Specialist – Prevention administers homelessness prevention and eviction prevention financial assistance for programs where HOM serves as Central Fiscal Administrator, including the Santa Monica Renter Aid program with The People Concern, the PATH-led RPHP collaborative, and LACAHSA’s RenterAid program. This position serves as HOM’s primary liaison to the service provider partners, case managers, and legal service partners who refer households for rental assistance and stabilization support. The Housing Specialist reviews referred requests for eligibility, completeness, and cost allowability; verifies landlord, unit, and tenancy information; and moves approved assistance to disbursement within program service levels. Because most referred households are in an active eviction process, this role requires working knowledge of California and Los Angeles County eviction procedure and the ability to negotiate one-time payment resolutions with landlords and their counsel to pause or stop an eviction and preserve the tenancy. The Housing Specialist – Prevention is a non-exempt position.

Primary Job Responsibilities

Provider Partner Liaison & Referral Coordination

• Serve as HOM’s primary point of contact for assigned service provider partners, case managers, program leadership, and legal service partners referring households for financial assistance.
• Receive and review referrals and assistance requests submitted through Padmission Journey, the online intake portal, or the partner’s designated referral pathway, and confirm the request is complete before it enters the review queue.
• Confirm active program enrollment in HMIS/Clarity and verify that the household record, unit, landlord, and tenancy details required for payment are present and accurate.
• Request missing or corrected documentation from the referring provider the same business day a deficiency is identified, stating the specific item needed rather than a general notice.
• Maintain regular standing communication with each assigned provider partner regarding request status, pending items, common deficiencies, and process changes.
• Provide onboarding and refresher guidance to provider staff on HOM’s submission workflow, documentation standards, and eligible cost rules.
• Represent HOM at provider partner meetings, case conferences, collaborative convenings, and external stakeholder meetings.
• Escalate provider non-response, systemic documentation issues, or workflow breakdowns to the Housing Supervisor with specific examples.

Eligibility Review & Financial Assistance Determination

• Review referred requests against the applicable program’s eligibility criteria, including residency, income limits, and prioritization factors established by the funder or program partner.
• Verify that the requested cost is allowable under the applicable funding source and jurisdiction, and confirm the request falls within program limits for the cost type.
• Determine and record the applicable funding source, jurisdiction, and cost category for every request at the point of review.
• Screen for duplication of benefits across funding sources, jurisdictions, and partner programs before approval.
• Apply a progressive assistance approach in coordination with the referring provider, supporting the least amount of assistance necessary to resolve the household’s housing crisis.
• Calculate and validate assistance amounts, including rental arrears, prospective rent, utility arrears and deposits, and other approved stabilization costs.
• Decline requests that do not meet program standards, notifying the referring provider in writing with the specific basis and, where one exists, the correction that would make the request approvable.
• Access participant information through secure computer databases, including HMIS/Clarity, UHA, and other relevant systems, in support of eligibility verification.

Eviction Prevention & Legal Process Coordination

• Maintain working knowledge of California and Los Angeles County eviction procedure and the documents that signal each stage, including 3-Day Notices to Pay Rent or Quit, other notices to quit, a Summons and Complaint for Unlawful Detainer, a Notice to Vacate issued by the Sheriff’s Department, and illegal lockouts.
• Review eviction-related documentation submitted with a referral to determine where the household sits in the eviction timeline and the urgency of the payment required.
• Triage requests by eviction stage, prioritizing households with an active Unlawful Detainer, a scheduled lockout, or a Sheriff’s Notice to Vacate for expedited processing.
• Coordinate directly with legal service providers, including Right to Counsel and eviction defense partners, on cases where a payment may resolve or settle a pending action.
• Negotiate one-time payment resolutions with landlords, property managers, and their counsel to pause, dismiss, or stop an eviction, including agreements to accept payment in satisfaction of arrears and to preserve the tenancy.
• Obtain and document written confirmation of the terms of any negotiated resolution, including the amount, the periods covered, and the landlord’s agreement regarding the pending action, before payment is released.
• Recognize potential illegal lockouts and other apparent violations of tenant rights and refer the household promptly to legal services; HOM does not provide legal advice.
• Track court dates, notice expiration dates, and lockout dates on assigned cases and escalate any case at risk of missing its deadline to the Housing Supervisor before the deadline passes.
• Coordinate with the referring provider on relocation or reunification support where the tenancy cannot be preserved.

Landlord, Payee & Payment Coordination

• Communicate with property owners, property management representatives, and utility providers to obtain documentation required for payment, including itemized ledgers, invoices, and account information.
• Coordinate with HOM Landlord Support staff to establish and verify landlord and vendor accounts, including ownership verification, W-9 collection, TIN matching, and payment account setup.
• Confirm the payee is verified and eligible, including confirmation that a vendor is not debarred, before submitting a request for disbursement.
• Never accept a payment account change on the basis of an inbound email alone; route all account changes through the established callback verification procedure.
• Provide education to landlords and property managers on HOM’s payment process, documentation requirements, and expected turnaround.
• Coordinate with HOM Accounting and Business Operations to ensure timely release of approved payments and to resolve payment holds, returns, and reissues.
• Follow up with landlords following disbursement to confirm receipt and application of the payment where a negotiated resolution depends on it.

Service Levels & Case Management

• Complete review and approval of complete assistance requests within the service level established by the applicable program, generally 1–2 business days.
• Process approved standard payments within program turnaround standards, and process urgent, 24-hour, and same-day requests within the accelerated standard when a case is flagged as emergent by the referring provider, the Housing Stability Linkage Team, or a Legal Services partner.
• Notify the Housing Supervisor before a service level is missed, not after.
• Manage an assigned caseload of referrals and open requests, including self-auditing, reviewing pending payments, following up on missing documents, requesting support from leaders and peers, and reporting on key functions.
• Coordinate and participate in case conferences with provider care teams for households at continued risk of housing loss.
• Coordinate with all HOM departments in support of timely customer service, data entry, problem resolution, payment releases, and reporting.

Documentation, Compliance & Data Management

• Create and maintain participant digital files per HOM compliance policy.
• Document all participant, provider, legal partner, and landlord interactions in the household notes section of Journey.
• Document eviction status, notice types and dates, and the terms of any negotiated resolution on the household record.
• Upload all documents to the file center using the correct naming convention.
• Run all payment and tenancy actions upon completion of data entry into housing software and verification of accuracy.
• Ensure payment activity is recorded back to the applicable system of record in alignment with HUD HMIS Data Standards and program requirements.
• Maintain accurate coding of every payment to the correct funding source and jurisdiction, and escalate rather than recode when a household’s need falls outside what its funding source permits.
• Support monitoring, audits, and fiscal reviews by maintaining complete, retrievable transaction-level documentation.

Job Requirements

Essential Skills

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications including SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, Planner, Outlook, Word, Excel, etc.
• Demonstrated expertise in housing programs, with the ability to support housing stability through informed, customer-focused service.
• Excellent attention to detail and ability to manage high volumes of data and documentation.
• Strong organizational skills with aptitude for project management and multitasking to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Clear and professional written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work closely and consistently with individuals experiencing homelessness, and/or disabled households with an emphasis on de-escalation and respectful communication.
• High-level interpersonal skills to collaborate effectively and build relationships.
• Strong sense of ownership of ownership and accountability for work processes and outcomes.
• Excellent people skills and the proven ability to work well with a wide range of personalities, both internally and externally.
• Advanced problem-solving skills and adaptability in a fast-paced, mission driven environment.
• Working knowledge of California and Los Angeles County landlord-tenant law and eviction procedure, including notice requirements, Unlawful Detainer actions, Sheriff lockouts, and tenant protections against illegal lockout.
• Demonstrated negotiation skills, with the ability to reach and document one-time payment resolutions with landlords and their counsel under time pressure.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with legal service providers while maintaining a clear boundary against providing legal advice.
• Ability to work with households in active housing crisis with an emphasis on de-escalation, trauma-informed engagement, and respectful communication.

Other Requirements

• Team Members will have unrestricted access to sensitive data and information including Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Protected Health Information (PHI), which requires adherence to HOM Security and Privacy Policies, and all hires must pass a financial background check with no findings that impact the ability to fulfill compliance and role responsibilities.
• Team Member may use or disclose PII or PHI through the course of their Financial, and Human duties listed above. All use and disclosure are subject to procedures outlined in Section 1.10 of the HOM Privacy Policies.
• Demonstration of the four (4) focus areas of HOM Inc.’s Competency Model as shown below, Emotional Intelligence, Expertise, Ethics, and Excellence
• Valid California driver’s License, and up to date automobile insurance.
• Willingness to perform duties as needed or as assigned.

Education and Experience

• An associate degree or bachelor’s degree in human services, or a related field.
• Minimum of (2) two years’ experience in an assisted housing-related role, such as affordable housing programs, Landlord engagement, or direct service with vulnerable populations.
• Experience with housing assistance programs, tenant support or property management functions is strongly preferred.
• Knowledge of LAHSA programs, housing subsidies, or landlord incentives is desirable.
• Experience administering homelessness prevention, eviction prevention, or emergency rental assistance is strongly preferred.
• Experience coordinating with legal service providers, eviction defense programs, or Right to Counsel initiatives is desirable.
• Knowledge of LACAHSA RPHP/RenterAid, LAHSA prevention programming, or jurisdiction-specific renter assistance programs is desirable.
• An equivalent combination of education and relevant experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.

HOM Competency Model

HOM, Inc., values each and every employee and the jobs they are hired to perform. We take great pride in stating the “BEST of the BEST” work here. Team members are HOM’s greatest asset and you make us stand out as a leader in our “Housing” community. To continue excelling as an organization and as a team, the HOM Competency Model was developed.

The HOM Competency Model is a collection of the “Four E’s”: Ethics, Emotional Intelligence, Excellence, and Expertise. These skills and attributes together define successful performance for our organization. The model should guide team members in their actions and behaviors to deliver superior performance in their positions. It is our vision that employees will aspire to embody these principles as they carry out their functions at HOM, ensuring the company continues to offer exceptional service to our customers and remains a positive and nurturing work environment.