Homeownership and Financial Assistance Navigator

Position Summary

The Homeownership and Financial Assistance Navigator serves as a primary point of contact for individuals and families seeking rental, housing stabilization, financial assistance, and homeownership support through PHDC and community programs. Reporting to the Housing Manager, the Navigator conducts client intake, reviews preliminary eligibility, develops individualized housing and homeownership action plans, and guides clients through program requirements, applications, documentation, referrals, and follow-up. The role coordinates with PHDC staff and community partners including housing counselors, lenders, and real estate professionals to help clients make progress toward stable housing and homeownership. The Navigator maintains accurate, confidential client and assistance records and provides culturally responsive service while observing professional boundaries and avoiding legal, tax, mortgage, or real estate advice.

Client Intake and Housing Navigation

• Serve as a primary point of contact for individuals and families seeking rental or homeownership assistance.
• Respond promptly and professionally to inquiries received by telephone, text message, email, referral, walk-in, or scheduled appointment.
• Conduct comprehensive intake and assess each household’s housing needs, income, priorities, barriers, and goals.
• Review preliminary eligibility for PHDC housing services and external rental, financial-assistance, and homeownership programs.
• Help clients develop individualized housing plans with clear goals, required actions, referrals, and timelines.
• Manage multiple active client cases while prioritizing urgent and time-sensitive housing needs.
• Explain applications, program requirements, required documents, deadlines, and next steps in clear and accessible language.
• Provide culturally responsive, client-centered, and trauma-informed assistance.
• Refer clients to appropriate PHDC programs and external community resources when additional needs are identified.
• Maintain regular communication with clients and document their progress toward stable housing or homeownership.

Rental and Housing Financial Assistance

• Complete financial-assistance intake for eligible households, including clients seeking rental, deposit, moving, or housing-stabilization support.
• Receive scheduled clients and walk-ins requesting housing financial assistance.
• Help clients gather the documents needed to verify household income, residency, housing costs, and potential program eligibility.
• Review applications for completeness and refer them to the appropriate PHDC staff member, government agency, nonprofit organization, or funding program.
• Assist clients with applications for eligible city, county, nonprofit, philanthropic, and private assistance programs.
• Track application requirements, deadlines, submissions, approvals, denials, payment status, and follow-up needs.
• Coordinate with PHDC’s administrative staff regarding approved assistance and payment processes.
• Maintain accurate records of financial-assistance commitments and expenditures.
• Help clients understand that eligibility screening does not guarantee approval or payment.
• Protect confidential household, income, housing, and financial information.

Homeownership Education and Readiness

• Assist the Housing Program Manager in developing and implementing PHDC’s homeownership education program.
• Help clients understand the major stages of homeownership, including readiness assessment, financial preparation, housing counseling, mortgage preapproval, property search, inspection, closing, and post-purchase responsibilities.
• Conduct or assist with preliminary homeownership-readiness assessments.
• Coordinate educational workshops and counseling sessions with approved housing partners.
• Help clients identify barriers to homeownership and connect them with appropriate credit, budgeting, savings, employment, or financial-counseling resources.
• Assist clients with developing individualized homeownership action plans.
• Help households gather income, employment, banking, tax, identification, and other documents commonly requested during the mortgage-readiness process.
• Track clients’ participation in workshops, counseling, lender appointments, and other homeownership activities.
• Provide ongoing encouragement and follow-up as clients work toward their homeownership goals.
• Clearly communicate that PHDC does not guarantee mortgage approval, financial assistance, property availability, or a successful home purchase.

Lender and Real Estate Professional Coordination

• Connect clients with approved bilingual housing counselors, lenders, real estate professionals, inspectors, insurance providers, attorneys, and other homeownership resources.
• Schedule appointments and help clients prepare questions and gather necessary documents.
• Serve as a communication resource during interactions with housing and finance professionals while maintaining appropriate professional boundaries.
• Assist clients with understanding routine communications and refer technical questions to the appropriate licensed professional.
• Support clients with organizing mortgage and financing application materials.
• Follow up with clients and service providers to document progress, outcomes, and additional needs.
• Maintain an updated directory of bilingual and culturally responsive housing professionals.
• Assist PHDC in developing relationships with local housing and finance organizations.
• Avoid recommending specific financial products, interpreting contracts, negotiating transactions, or providing legal, tax, mortgage, or real estate advice.

Required Qualifications

• Associate degree or higher in social work, human services, public administration, legal studies, community development, nonprofit management, or a related field; relevant professional experience may substitute for formal education.
• Experience in housing navigation, social services, legal-services intake, case coordination, utility assistance, benefits navigation, community outreach, or a related client-service role.
• Professional proficiency in spoken and written English and Spanish.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work compassionately and professionally with individuals experiencing housing instability, financial hardship, or crisis.
• Ability to manage multiple client cases, priorities, deadlines, and follow-up activities simultaneously.
• Excellent organizational, time-management, documentation, and recordkeeping skills.
• Ability to explain complex processes and application requirements in clear, accessible language.
• Sound judgment and the ability to recognize situations requiring immediate referral or supervisory support.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work respectfully with people from diverse cultural, economic, and personal backgrounds.
• Ability to maintain professional boundaries and protect confidential information.
• Ability to work independently and contribute effectively as part of a collaborative team.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and Google Workspace, including documents, spreadsheets, email, calendars, and shared digital files.
• Ability to maintain a consistent full-time schedule and attend occasional evening or weekend events.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with Latino communities, immigrant families, or historically underserved populations.
• Experience with a nonprofit housing organization, legal-aid provider, community development corporation, government agency, or human-services program.
• Familiarity with homeownership process, landlord-tenant resources, eviction-prevention services, rental assistance, utility-assistance programs, and housing-stabilization services.
• Knowledge of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County housing, legal, utility, and emergency-assistance resources.
• Experience working with attorneys, utility providers, landlords, government agencies, or community-based organizations.
• Training in trauma-informed service, crisis response, mediation, fair housing, or housing navigation.
• Familiarity with case-management, customer relationship management, or client-tracking systems.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

The Pittsburgh Hispanic Development Corporation is an equal-opportunity employer. PHDC does not discriminate in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, parental status, military or veteran status, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, or any other status protected by applicable law.