Jewish Vocational Service (JVS) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 1949 to welcome Holocaust survivors and returning World War II veterans looking to rebuild their lives in Kansas City. Today, JVS welcomes refugees and immigrants from around the world who are fleeing persecution in search of safety and opportunity. JVS embraces, encourages and empowers our newest neighbors in their journey to self-sufficiency. Offering an extensive array of services in community integration, health & wellness, and workforce development, JVS is Kansas City's premier immigrant-and-refugee-serving organization.

JVS offers a number of benefits to employees: health, vision and dental insurance, short-term disability, 403b plan including 3% employer contribution, paid holiday, sick and vacation time, and opportunities for professional development.

Section 1: Overview and Purpose of Position

The Housing and Inventory Manager is responsible for all aspects of JVS’s housing department. This includes utilizing tracking systems and property databases for more than 200 properties, working with landlords to establish collaborative relationships that provide appropriate housing and maintenance, overseeing the quality assurance and set-up of homes for clients before arrival, ensuring consistent inventory, and utilizing volunteers for housing processes. The Manager will identify housing for refugee families, taking into consideration proximity of schools, bus lines, grocery, libraries, and other services as well as safety of the neighborhood and cost of housing. The Manager supervises 5 other team members on the Housing & Donations Team.

Section 2: Qualifications (skills, education, experience)

  • High School diploma, (relevant experience may be substituted for diploma), Bachelors degree preferred.
  • Experience with the housing sector (non-profit housing, real estate, property management, etc.) required.
  • Minimum 1-2 years of experience working with immigrant populations and/or low-income populations preferred.
  • Experience with project management and/or staff supervision required. 1-2 years experience supervising staff is preferred. 
  • Valid driver license with classification appropriate to operate JVS vehicles (including box truck and cargo van), valid auto insurance, clean driving record with no moving violations within the past three years.

 

Section 3: Responsibilities/Duties

  • Consistently update and maintain housing tracking documents including inventory, utilities accounts, housing needs, leases, housing concerns, landlord contacts with maintenance request procedures, 4600 exposure tracking and other tracking systems as needed. 
  • Monitor R&P Service Tracking spreadsheet to determine upcoming housing needs and assign housing to cases.
  • Secure housing for arriving cases utilizing established property management relationships, and work collaboratively with others to cultivate new relationships
  • Request initial rent and deposit checks from accounting and tracking of expenses to clients
  • Ensures coordination for all utilities (electric, gas, internet) to be set up prior to clients’ arrival, including exposure tracking
  • Ensures coordination of schedule for home set-ups, including scheduling JVS staff, temporary workers, and/or volunteers as needed
  • Develop and implement inventory management system for furniture, houseware and other client goods
  • Supervise Housing Case Manager who ensures safety of homes and coordinates home set-ups prior to client arrival
  • Supervise Movers who assist with home set up and donation pick-up
  • Supervise Donations Specialist who responds to in-kind donor calls and solicits other donations in order to ensure needed home furnishings are available for each home set-up
  • Oversees the management of storage/warehouse space and all donated furnishings and household items, including coordination with JVS Facilities on space management.
  • Collaborates with JVS’s External Affairs team in building relationships with local churches, organizations, groups, and other donors to procure regularly needed items.
  • Plan and execute quarterly landlord informational meetings to keep landlords abreast of incoming populations and troubleshoot problems
  • Assists with recruitment and managing volunteers who support housing set-ups and warehouse organization
  • Support and participate in board initiatives around housing
  • Coordinate with program teams to ensure lease terminations for 4600 Solutions are appropriate and timely
  • Other duties as assigned

Section 4: Skills Needed

  • Strong organizational and time management skills, with a proven ability to meet deadlines; able to effectively prioritize, delegate, and execute multiple tasks.
  • Ability to be self-directed and highly flexible in daily work.
  • Ability to work effectively in an environment that is multicultural and multilingual.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to develop positive working relationships with both internal and external collaborators.
  • Effective mediation skills between landlords and client, keeping in mind that advocating for clients is the agency’s primary priority. 
  • Strong computer skills and proficiency in Word, Excel, Google Docs and internet-based communication.
  • Ability to create reports with statistical data relating to landlord retention and expansion, rent amounts, proximity to public services, incoming donation values, and values of out-going donations.
  • Access to reliable transportation.
  • Comfort driving cargo van and box truck. 

Section 5: Working Conditions and Physical Effort

  • Hours- full-time hours, mostly during regular business hours with flexibility for occasional evenings/weekends as dictated by new arrivals schedule and client needs
  • Regular travel to potential homes and landlord meetings in personal vehicle with mileage reimbursement
  • Up to 25% of the job may be completed in the warehouse which has neither heating nor cooling, so tolerance to extremes of heat and cold is required. 
  • When not working in the community, work is typically performed in an interior temperature-controlled office work environment. Position requires periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
  • Position requires bending, squatting, sitting, standing, walking, pulling, pushing, lifting, and moving items that may weigh up to 50 lbs
  • Agency cell phone will be provided for contact with landlords and other community partners.

Salary range: $49,990 – $60,980

A note to Potential Candidates:

Studies have shown that women, trans, non-binary individuals and BIPOC are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they meet every single qualification listed in the job description. Here at JVS we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive organization, and we are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job. That candidate may come from a background less traditional to our field of work and that is okay. JVS strongly encourages you to apply, even if you do not believe you meet every qualification described.

Please submit your resume to recruit@jvskc.org