Digital Support Specialist for the Division of Budget & Program Operations (City HAP Program)

Your Team

The Office of Housing Access and Stability ("HAS") consists of the divisions of Housing Opportunity, Tenant and Owner Resources, Housing Stability, Budget and Program Operations, and Program Policy and Innovation. The mission of the office is to ensure fair, efficient, and transparent access to affordable housing.

The Office provides subsidies, placement services, and tools that connect New Yorkers to affordable housing and ensures vulnerable households in subsidized housing have the support they need to be safely housed. Housing Access is committed to expanding housing choices, affirmatively furthering fair housing, and stabilizing the financial health of buildings.

The Division of Budget and Program Operations (BPO) within the Office of Housing Access and Stability provides support services to the Division of Housing Opportunity, Division of Tenant and Owner Resources, the Division of Housing Stability, and the Division of Policy and Program Innovation. BPO assists with monitoring and supporting program budgeting and planning, including both staffing and procurement support.

The Division also manages the Housing Quality Enforcement and related inspection functions for the Office. In addition, the BPO team coordinates technology initiatives and analytics across the Office in coordination with key technology stakeholders across the agency, providing support on key systems to internal and external stakeholders.

Your Impact

The City Housing Assistance Program (CHAP) is a city funded rental assistance program administered by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD).

The program provides rental assistance to low-income households with incomes at or below 50% of Area Median Income (AMI) who are at risk of homelessness, including eligible rent-stabilized households facing eviction for nonpayment of rent and certain households residing in shelter who do not qualify for existing rental assistance programs.

CityHAP helps eligible households maintain stable, permanent housing by subsidizing their rent, with the household generally contributing 30% of its adjusted monthly income toward rent. The program provides targeted assistance to New Yorkers facing housing instability while helping preserve rent-stabilized housing and prevent homelessness.

Your Role

The Digital Support Specialist will be responsible for ensuring that timely and accurate information is relayed to landlords, tenants, applicants, HPD employees and other users of HPD systems; that clients and staff have access to HPD systems; that digital and paper documents and emails are processed and routed appropriately.

Your Responsibilities

The Division of Budget and Program Operations is seeking a Digital Support Specialist to:

• Provide support to HAS employees and clients, landlords and portal users via dedicated voice, email, chat and telephone support lines and provide accurate, satisfactory answers to their inquiries and concerns.
• Provide guidance, open tickets, and make referrals on behalf of clients and employees.
• Review client accounts in order to provide them with accurate updates.
• Prepare and send appropriate correspondence as well as track responses.
• Assist with reviewing email accounts and virtual mail room in order to route documents to corresponding units.
• Perform routine system administrative functions including setting up or updating accounts; password resets; transmitting, downloading, processing of files; and distributing reports.
• Track issues, document resolutions, and produce reports.
• Monitor email accounts, network folders, digital documentation systems, and make adjustments and referrals where necessary.
• Document case files and electronic records, file preparation and upload to digital file storage and other systems.
• Convert paper into digital equivalent.
• Liaise with other units and offices to resolve issues and ensure clients concerns are addressed.
• Participate in the deployment and support of new systems.
• Work independently or as part of a team.
• May perform administrative work in relation to records, files, invoices and reports including data entry and logging.
• Attend mandatory trainings.
• Assist on special projects as assigned by the supervisor or manager.

Preferred skills

• Excellent Communication Skills (both orally and in writing)
• Call center experience
• Great active listening skills
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment
• Strong time management and organization skills
• Strong Customer Service Focus
• Computer Proficiency
• Great active listening skills
• Excellent troubleshooting skills
• Bilingual English / Spanish a plus.
• Rental Subsidy experience a plus.

Qualification Requirements

• High school graduation or equivalent and three years of experience in community work or community centered activities in an area related to duties described above; or
• Education and/or experience which is equivalent to "1" above.