Guest Services Specialist

Guest Services Specialist

Location: A Woman's Place, 1049 Howard St.

Reports To: Assistant Manager

Status: Non-exempt, Union

Hourly Wage: $23.70/hour

Schedule: 11 pm - 7 am, Saturday - Wednesday

Community Forward SF is a collection of vital programs that ensures our neighbors experiencing homelessness have effective services designed for their unique needs. Whether one needs housing, medical shelter, a safe place for recovery, or calm in the face of intimate partner violence, we care for those most vulnerable in our community.

We are not just one program. We are a network of programs designed to work together to meet every stage of need. We focus on the hardest-to-reach, most vulnerable people: Women, Medical Crisis, Substance Use Disorder, and Older Adults. Our programs meet the needs of people, rather than demanding that people meet the needs of our programs.

Job Summary

Guest Services Specialists provide culturally appropriate, trauma-informed, supportive services to guests of A Woman's Place Drop-In Center. GSSes are frontline responders and are responsible for the daily operations of the site. They support guests' health, safety, and well-being, provide supportive counseling, resources, information, outreach, and individual and systemic advocacy. The nature of work requires sustained physical effort involving considerable standing, walking, bending, and stooping.

Essential Job Functions

• Support our mission to promote stabilization, hope, and healing for women experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.
• Work collaboratively with clinicians, case managers, security and janitorial contractors, and other employees in an integrated team to meet shared goals.
• Ensure that clients are treated with dignity and respect, and that their physical, emotional, and psychological needs are adequately met while residing at the facility.
• Provide supportive individual peer counseling for guests as needed.
• Monitor and report on health & safety issues (including behavioral health issues) within the building; complete incident reports, safety exit documentation, and other paperwork as needed.
• Provide de-escalation and conflict resolution to guests as needed.
• Monitor all guests in the building to provide privacy and security.
• Respond effectively and in the moment to guest needs and requests.
• Assist guests with laundry, storage of belongings, hygiene supplies, donations, and other needs.
• In conjunction with site management, solicit, receive, and respond to guest input and feedback to improve program services.
• Assist in maintaining the cleanliness of the facility.
• Adhere to established policies and procedures.
• Attend trainings and meetings as needed.
• Other related duties as assigned.

Background & Experience

• High School Diploma or G.E.D.
• Previous experience with the unhoused community.
• Ability to work both independently and cooperatively.
• Ability to effectively de-escalate conflict.
• Knowledge of homelessness, trauma, domestic/intimate partner violence, substance use disorder and recovery, HIV/AIDS, harm reduction, mental health disorders, neurodiversity, LGBTQIA+ communities, and systems of oppression.
• Ability to work sensitively with individuals from diverse cultures, languages, abilities, backgrounds, and identities.
• Ability to write and speak English effectively.
• CPR and first aid certification required within 90 days of hire.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bicultural, bilingual in Spanish or other San Francisco threshold languages.
• Knowledge of San Francisco community resources.
• Experience working with at-risk client populations.
• Lived experience with homelessness and/or recovery.
• Peer Specialist certification or equivalent.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to stand and walk as needed throughout the shift for extended periods of time.
• Ability to lift up to 50 lbs.
• Ability to sit and use a computer, including keyboard and visual display terminal, for extended periods of time.
• Finger, hand, and wrist agility.
• Ability to complete tasks in an environment where interruptions are the norm and background noise is present.
• Ability to move through buildings, commonly including stairs, between buildings, and out in the community.