Shelter Life Skills Coach

Job Title: Shelter Life Skills Coach

Location: Transitional Homeless Shelter for Women and their Families

Reports To: Assistant Director

Job Purpose: Hope House for the Homeless (Findlay, Ohio) is seeking a full-time, experienced individual to
provide support to homeless women and their families. The shelter life skills coach will support adult female
transitional shelter residents and their families while assisting them and their children in advancing their
knowledge of life skills, community resources, and communal living etiquette. This position requires a strong
knowledge of appropriate personal boundaries, a consistently positive attitude, and the ability to deal with
difficult, uncertain, and stressful situations in a constructive manner.

A Life Skills Coach at a Transitional Homeless Shelter is a social worker who helps shelter residents living in transition learn how to manage their emotions more effectively and to develop the practical knowledge and skills they need to succeed in life. They help families by providing support, education, and parenting advice and by mediating disputes during challenging times. Shelter life skills coaches also serve as a link between families and community resources and services. Those who work as a shelter life skills coach must have a thorough understanding of how social service systems work and be able to network with local businesses and professionals. A shelter life skills coach must be able to maintain their composure under pressure and get along well with people who are going through difficult times in their lives. They must have excellent interpersonal and communication skills and possess the ability to motivate others, support shelter households and staff members and be enthusiastic about their work.

Primary Responsibilities:
• Developing a rapport and forming trusting relationships with each shelter household.
• Serving as a mentor and role model for shelter residents.
• Being flexible and adaptable to meet the changing needs of shelter residents.
• Facilitating individual meetings with shelter residents and their children to offer support and
encouragement and to identify specific needs and goals.
• Developing personalized action plans to meet household needs and goals with specific steps that can
be applied in a variety of situations.
• Ensuring that each household is utilizing the resources they need to succeed in their goals.
• Developing and coordinating living skills presentations and education to assist residents with learning
the skillsets necessary for budgeting, cooking, transportation planning, conflict resolution, parenting,
stress management, time management, and financial planning and providing materials to shelter
residents who are unable to attend.
• Coaching shelter residents through challenging situations to help them learn how to develop positive
coping mechanisms.
• Assisting shelter residents with establishing routines for themselves and their children by creating
schedules, monitoring homework time, and ensuring that chores are completed.
• Meeting with each parent to discuss issues concerning their children’s care and custody and assisting
in the development of parenting skills.
• Maintaining familiarity with community resources, the procedures for making referrals, and the
confidentiality requirements inherent to the referral process so that community resources are used to
benefit shelter residents.
• Coordinating the delivery of service provisions and advocating on behalf of clients with employers and
service providers.
• Participating in the application process for public assistance.
• Collaborating with case management staff to ensure each shelter resident’s individual support plan is
followed and services provided are not being duplicated between the two positions.
• Preparing up to date, accurate, and organized client files for each household detailing the services
provided.
• Maintaining precise, accurate documentation and statistics for all activities.
• Assisting with routine indoor and outdoor tasks required to maintain the cleanliness and safety of the
shelter.
• Communicating identified program needs and suggested improvements with the Assistant Director and
CEO.
• Leading volunteer outreach benefitting the shelter program and oversee the scheduling of volunteer
shifts on weekends and holidays.
• Ensuring the volunteer manual, orientation, and education materials are kept up to date.
• Maintaining the volunteer database.
• Participating in on-call rotation as requested.
• Maintaining professional licensure and/or certification and continued pursuit of professional
development opportunities to keep up with best practices.
• Perform other duties as requested by the CEO and Assistant Director.
Education and Experience:
• Bachelor’s degree in social work required.
• LSW preferred.
• Two years of relevant experience in social work is a plus.

Qualifications:
• Commitment to improving the housing situation of homeless and under-resourced women and women
with children.
• Must demonstrate good moral character and an even temper and the ability to gain and maintain
credibility and the trust of those being served.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Exceptional ability to resolve conflicts and disagreements.
• The ability to comprehend, devise, and implement a workable strategy for each household.
• Solid understanding of cultural diversity.
• A professional attitude and the ability to manage time and organize work demands, work effectively in
stressful situations, think critically, and exercise discretion and independent judgement.
• Willing to adhere to the Social Work Code of Ethics.
• Excellent IT and organizational skills.
• Must have valid driver’s license and auto insurance and be flexible to travel within Hancock County and
surrounding areas.

Essential Skills:
• Problem-Solving – Must be proficient at employing problem-solving techniques to address difficulties
as they arise.
• Crisis Management – Must possess crisis intervention skills to properly assist women and children
who are experiencing emotional distress.
• Decision-Making – Must be able to weigh all relevant factors and use strategic thinking to make
informed decisions.
• Collaboration – Must possess the ability to work together with other experts to improve access to
resources and services for homeless women and their families.
• Empathy – Must be able to compassionately help others understand the impact of their actions on
themselves and those around them.
• Communication – Must be an excellent communicator with all constituents.
• Networking – Must be proficient at cultivating relationships with potential collaborators, volunteers, and
service providers.
• Resourcefulness – Must be able to navigate complex systems and resources.
• Attention to detail – Must be a skilled observer.

TO APPLY FOR THIS FULL-TIME POSITION:
Qualified candidates should direct cover letter, resume and three professional references to
[email protected]. Interviews with qualified candidates will be scheduled as resumes are
received. Salary is commensurate with experience and education. Complete benefit package.
HOPE HOUSE MISSION: To provide housing solutions, support, and education to meet the needs of
individuals and families facing homelessness in our community.
More information about Hope House can be located at findlayhopehouse.org Hope House is an equal
opportunity provider