COMPANY SUMMARY:

The John Stewart Company is a full-service housing management, development and consulting organization that began in 1978 with a commitment to providing high quality service in the affordable housing sector. We work to  enrich the lives of our residents and employees, while delivering our services cost‐effectively, efficiently and with the highest levels of professionalism, compassion, integrity and respect.

 

SUMMARY OF THE POSITION:

The Occupancy Specialist works as part of a team under the direction of the Property Manager, to lease units and provide customer assistance to the clients of the John Stewart Company.  The Occupancy Specialist must relate well to people, exercise good judgment and discretion in dealing with residents, vendors, and co-workers. Key skills for this role include major organization skills, Knowledge of HUD, and Tax Credits, attention to detail and logic, above average customer service, problem identification and solving ability.

 

Nothing in this job description restricts management’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

PRIMARY JOB FUNCTIONS

Administration and Compliance:

• Ensures consistent application of the Resident Selection Policy
• Complies with new policies and forms including leases and addenda with Leasing Staff
• Exercises common sense, good judgment, consistency and self-control in day-to-day contact with Applicants and in other business-related matters.
• Processes, completes and maintains accurate resident files at move-in within established regulatory guidelines.
• Attends training and seminars to keep up to date on trends and changing conditions, as requested and/or required by the Regional Manager.
• Communicates all problems to Regional Manager for assistance in resolution.
• Calculating rents for annual and interim recertification, identifying households with income reporting discrepancies and making rent adjustments.

 

Marketing and Lease Up

• Maintains high level of occupancy for the project.
• Markets units in accordance with an approved marketing plan which considers all federal, state, local and regulatory requirements.
• Maintains and updates Waiting List in accordance with JSCo policy and procedures in addition to all applicable federal, state, local, and regulatory requirements.
• Reviews all completed rental applications and leases for accuracy and completeness, and for conformance to JSCo’s Resident Selection Policy.
• Shows units and conducts tours of the property with prospective residents.
• Ensures resident selection program compliance - HUD, TCAC, Home Program, RHCP, CAL HFA. AHP, etc (as applicable).
• Obtains appropriate documentation, completes certifications, and collects deposits and rents in accordance with program policies and procedures.
• Prepares regular market surveys, as requested.

 

General Duties

• Maintains superb relationship with residents, and adheres to Fair Housing Equal Employment and Equal Housing Opportunity requirements.
• Schedules move-ins and prepare lease agreements and other related paperwork.
• Prepares daily, weekly, and monthly reports as assigned.
• Processes resident program re-certifications and renewals semi-annually and annually as required.
• Assists co-workers with all aspects of running a leasing office.
• Ensures that residents are in compliance with their lease, rules, and regulations.
• Reports any areas or property issues that need attention to the proper departments such as the work order desk, janitorial, etc.
• Any additional administrative, compliance, marketing and/or lease-up duties not detailed above that may be requested by the Property Manager and/or Regional Manager.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Demonstrated experience/training/certification that provides the necessary skills to complete all tasks described in the job description, with or without a reasonable accommodation.

 

KNOWLEDGE

Problem Sensitivity/ Deductive Reasoning — Ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong and then apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.  Use logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems and considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Policies and Regulations — Knowledge of company policies, federal, state and local laws, government regulations and agency rules that pertain to properties managed.

Written Comprehension and Expression — Ability to read, understand and communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.      

Oral Comprehension and Expression — Ability to listen to, understand and speak so others can understand ideas and information presented verbally.  Must be able to distinguish the sounds made by emergency equipment from other environmental sounds.

Mathematical Skills — Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide, using whole numbers, fractions, and decimals.  Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent.  Ability to read and understand basic financial statements and a willingness to learn to prepare annual budgets.

Management of Financial Resources — Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices for creating a realistic budget, banking, understanding financial reports and the ability to use mathematics to solve problems.

Sales and Marketing — Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, and sales techniques.

EXPERIENCE

Experience working with people of various cultural background, especially those with mental health issues or special needs is a plus.

• Demonstrated experience in problem identification, analysis, recommendation of options and development of logical and workable solutions.
• Demonstrated knowledge on Microsoft Office programs such as WORD, EXCEL, and OUTLOOK are essential. MRI software knowledge a plus.
• Demonstrated experience in problem identification, analysis, recommendation of options and development of logical and workable solutions.

 

• Familiarity with the general management of subsidized housing programs.
• Relates well to people, exercises good judgment dealing with owners, employees, residents, visitors & vendors.
• Excellent organizational skills; attention to details, strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Minimum two years’ experience in related housing, social services or related field.
• Tax Credit Specialist, Certified Occupancy Specialist designations, HUD and/or equivalents required.

 

 Benefits for Employees who work 30+ hours/week -

• Medical, dental and vision care; preventative medical care paid at 100%.
• Vacation leave of up to ten days per year in the first year.
• Up to 80 hours of sick time per year.
• Flexible Spending Accounts for Health Care and Dependent Care.
• Company paid Life AD&D Long Term Disability.
• Free, confidential counseling through our Employee Assistance Program.
• Commuter benefit program.
• Discounts for AT&T and ClassPass.
• $100 annual Wellness Reimbursement.
• Matching 401(K) Retirement Savings Plan of up to 2% of your compensation (for any employee who works 20 hours or more per week).

 

Benefits for Employees who work less than 30 hours/week - 

• Free, confidential counseling through our Employee Assistance Program.
• Commuter benefit program.
• Discounts for AT&T and ClassPass.
• $100 annual Wellness Reimbursement.
• Matching 401(K) Retirement Savings Plan of up to 2% of your compensation (for any employee who works 20 hours or more per week)
• Up to 80 hours of sick time per year.

The John Stewart Company provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state, or local laws.

The John Stewart Company will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative.

Effective January 1, 2020, the California Consumer Privacy Act requires businesses that meet certain minimum threshold requirements to provide a “notice at collection” to applicants for employment who reside in California.  The notice at collection describes the categories of personal information to be collected about these California applicants and the purposes for using that personal information.  Therefore, we have posted the Company’s “Notice At Collection For California Applicants” here.  Please review this Notice at your convenience.