This is a full-time (40 hours) per week position, starting at $19.82 per hour (full wage range is $19.82 to $26.65/hour).

Purpose of Landlord Liaison

Under the supervision of the Director of Housing Assistance Programs, the Landlord Liaison is responsible for leading agency-wide efforts to effectively market SHA’s programs to new and existing landlords and property managers with the goal of expanding the number of units available to households receiving rental assistance. The Liaison will identify permanent housing units in the rental market throughout the Spokane Metro area, develop partnerships with landlords to overcome barriers that prevent participant households from obtaining permanent housing, and work closely with case managers and/or directly with SHA clients to ensure that both applicants and participants can access and sustain housing.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Outreach, Marketing and Customer Service

• Performs landlord outreach efforts through in person meetings, presentations, and community networking events.
• Establishes relationships with landlords to assist in locating appropriate housing, especially those who have multiple barriers to obtaining permanent housing.
• Develops and maintains relationships with new and current landlords in an effort to help stabilize homeless youth, young adults, and families with children by increasing their access to permanent housing.
• Coordinates landlord outreach efforts with local partners to include apartment associations, tenant councils and other community partners with an emphasis on recruiting additional property owners.
• Recruits new instructors, coordinates participant referrals to class offerings and directly provides Responsible Renters tenant education program to increase likelihood of participant stabilization and retention of permanent housing placement.
• Organizes and coordinates educational seminars for landlords, including but not limited to classes on Washington Landlord-Tenant law, available voucher programs, etc.
• Identifies opportunities for expanding the number of units available to program participants using SHA’s leasing statistics, market data, and other relevant sources of information.
• Partners directly with SHA’s Finance Department and Eligibility Specialists to ensure timely distribution of payments to property managers and landlords and to collaborate on requests for accommodations and other matters regarding client household assistance
• Develops and maintains a network of professional contacts in the property management and real estate industry.
• Maintain assigned hours to provide housing referrals, resources, and information at Spokane’s EnVision Center, working closely with EnVision Center community agencies.
• Creates, updates and delivers rental assistance program orientation to potential and newly participating landlords and property managers.
• Creates and maintains an incentive program for landlords to relax screening criteria for people experiencing multiple barriers to accessing permanent housing.
• Utilizes the Landlord Incentive fund on behalf of eligible households in order to increase their opportunity to obtain housing.
• Maintains in-depth knowledge of the various forms of grants and subsidies provided by SHA-specific policies and procedures.
• Designs creative opportunities for landlords to interact with rental assistance participants.
• Develops and oversees SHA Landlord Advisory Committee.
• Serves as the primary point of contact for property managers/owners concerns and complaints, acting as a liaison and mediator for housing issues.
• Assists Eligibility Specialists in improving the housing process.
• Participates in housing search, eligibility, and approval process for participants and potential units.
• Conducts outreach to clients searching for housing based on the length of time since voucher issuance to prevent vouchers from expiring prior to the client’s ability to obtain suitable housing.
• Conducts semi-annual satisfaction surveys with landlords and property managers, compile data, and partner with case managers and supervisors in improving relationships.
• Conducts annual landlord satisfaction survey.
• Other duties as assigned.

Expansion of Housing Options

• Oversees SHA’s Expanding Housing Opportunities initiative to deconcentrate poverty. Designs socially equitable strategies to persuade landlords who have units located in areas in areas of opportunity (low poverty, low crime; and with access to high performing schools, healthy foods, public transportation, healthcare, etc.) to lease to participants with rental assistance. Collects and evaluates data to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and to adjust program direction as needed.
• Participates on committees and works with fair housing task force groups, local officials, and housing coalition members to help accomplish the mission of improving rental assistance participants’ access to neighborhoods of opportunity.

Documentation, Reporting, and Research:

• Tracks and program initiatives and outcomes; maintains comprehensive documentation and creates monthly reports for management and funding partners.
• Prepares special reports as directed.

Acceptable Experience and Training

High school diploma or GED equivalency is required with five years of experience in a related field. Must have Housing Choice Voucher Mastery certification or be able to pass a HCV Mastery certification within 1 year.

Preference is given towards any of the following: bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, a background in apartment management, experience with Section 8 activities, or experience with a private nonprofit or government agency.

Any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the knowledge and abilities necessary to perform the work of a Landlord Liaison.

Must have an acceptable credit history, and have and maintain a valid driver's license, reliable transportation, satisfactory driving record, and adequate insurance coverage according the SHA’s policy and insurer.

Competency Requirements

Knowledge of:
• Familiarity with the Spokane region’s rental market and all of its neighborhoods including community resources, school system, employment potential, transportation services and more.
• Housing assistance programs.
• Fair Housing and the Landlord/Tenant Act.
• Researching tools to locate and identify landlords with the target market units, discern the right neighborhood data, organize the data findings and build the marketing outreach strategies based upon the research.
• Public speaking and comfortable speaking in front of and communicating to large groups, conducting workshops, seminars, and community presentations including handling tough questions.
• Technology: various electronic systems and programs, including Microsoft Office products such as Outlook and PowerPoint, and database programs; mapping and tracking race and poverty concentrated and non-concentrated neighborhoods and census tracts; developing and maintaining targeted landlord base, measure success of outreach and educational strategies.
• The issues of poverty, adverse childhood experiences, and experience with diverse socioeconomic and racial groups.

Ability to:
• Think of new and interesting ideas for recruiting and retaining landlords.
• Maintain an in-depth knowledge of Housing Choice Voucher, Project Based Voucher and SHA special population program rules and procedures.
• Establish and maintain effective relationships with fellow employees, participants, landlords, partner agencies and the general public.
• Work with individuals and groups of people from diverse backgrounds in a respectful, equitable, and inclusive manner.
• Consistently model a customer-centered, employee-focused approach to achieving results.
• Facilitate conversation with diverse groups and explain the value of housing programs to effectively engage landlord participation and to promote the programs to neighborhood groups, landlord associations, political officials, and other community stakeholders.
• Perform considerable problem solving skills and ability to use basic common sense principles.
• Uphold privacy and confidentiality of agency, client, and personnel information.
• Contribute to employee and team morale and work effectively with all departments and partners.
• Make and present effective decisions based on rules, principles and values.
• Interpret and implement Housing Choice Voucher and housing assistance program regulations, additional Federal (including HUD) regulations, and Fair Housing guidelines.
• Manage stress effectively while working in an environment that has competing priorities and with people who need encouragement to become involved and be able to quickly learn and adapt to changing industry trends, federal regulations, department policies, and Agency practices.
• Communicate orally, read, write, and understand English.
• Initiate own work projects and to work independently.
• Be organized and to manage time effectively.
• Resolve conflicts involving participants, employees, and landlords.
• Occasionally travel out-of-town for networking, auditing, and training purposes.

Essential Physical Abilities

Physical demands include using hands to finger, handle or feel and talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to stand, walk or sit. The employee is occasionally required to reach, climb or balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl or lift. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, and distance vision. The use of computer and adding machine is essential to job performance.

Sufficient clarity of speech and hearing or other communication capabilities, with or without reasonable accommodation, which permits the employee to discern verbal instructions and to communicate effectively in person and on a telephone.

The work environment noise level is usually moderate. The employee can be exposed to outside weather conditions.

Working conditions include being indoor and outdoor, frequent exposure to weather, working with others, working alone, and moving mechanical parts.

The employee in this position must be able to access units, common areas, building systems, and site features that are not accessible to the mobility impaired as an essential part of the job.

Must be able to fully function in a drug-free environment: history free criminal/drug felony convictions.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The statements contained herein reflect general details as necessary to describe the principal functions of this job, the level of knowledge and skill typically required and the scope of responsibilities. They should not be considered an all-inclusive listing of work requirements. Individuals may perform other duties as assigned, including work in other functional areas to cover absences or relief, to equalize peak work periods or to otherwise balance the workload for the good of the organization.