Neighbor Care Navigator

Neighbor Care Navigator

About Mobile Loaves & Fishes

Mobile Loaves & Fishes (MLF) is a social outreach ministry that has been empowering communities into a lifestyle of service with the homeless since 1998. Founded in Austin, Texas, the organization serves its homeless neighbors through three core programs: Truck Ministry, Community First Village, and Community Works. Often referred to as the most talked about neighborhood in Austin, Community First Village is a 51-acre master planned development that provides affordable, permanent housing and a supportive community for men and women coming out of chronic homelessness. We are now embarking on a new phase of community expansion, adding more than 1400 new neighbors over the next 5-10 years.

About the Role

The Neighbor Care Team has the privilege of walking alongside our "neighbors" as they apply to live at Community First Village and to provide an opportunity for them to settle, cultivate and care for themselves and others in this unique community. The Neighbor Care Navigator is a collaborative member of the Neighbor Care team, assisting neighbors as they navigate village services and activities by providing information and education about available resources. This position will allow neighbors to have a dedicated person to reach out to with questions and streamline access to services in the community.

This is a full-time, non-exempt position reporting to the Supportive Services Manager. Due to the nature and requirements of the position, hours are flexible to fit need, but typically include 8am-5pm Monday-Friday. Some nights and weekends may be required. The Neighbor Care Navigator will office at Community First Village located at 9301 Hog Eye Road, Austin, TX 78724.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Be the first point of contact for neighbors needing assistance through Neighbor Care
• Develop and maintain positive relationships with neighbors, striving to always create a supportive environment
• Navigate neighbors to the correct person or partner based on request of needs
• Monitor the Neighbor Support Form and make appropriate referrals
• Responsible for creating and tracking partner referrals and following up on all referrals
• Perform regular follow up with neighbors to assess for any additional needs or resources that the neighbor could benefit from
• Maintain up-to-date data and produce reports as needed
• Assist neighbors in getting connected to Dignified Income opportunities
• Receive medical transportation requests from neighbors and schedule them in Trip Master system
• Communicate pick up times for the Medical Transportation Program and any changes in the schedule
• Coordinate Partner Staffing meetings, take notes during the session, and send out action items to all applicable participants
• Responsible for ordering supplies for staff breakroom, creating work orders for any maintenance needs, and being point of contact for staff and partners as the Living Room "Space Steward"
• Responsible for administrative tasks with our HEB RX Delivery Program
• Attend regularly scheduled staff and Neighbor Care team meetings
• Assist MLF and Neighbor Care team in achieving our goals, especially caring for neighbors 
• Assist Neighbor Care leadership and other departments as needed 
• Other Duties & Responsibilities as needed

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities & Principles

• MLF is a faith-based organization whose ideals and philosophy come directly from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As an organization, we strive to reflect this precept in our communications, both internally and externally.
• Commitment to serving those who have experienced homelessness and personal alignment with MLF's vision, mission, core values, and goals.
• 1-2 years of related experience
• The successful candidate will be passionate and knowledgeable about the nonprofit/social sector and MLF's vision, mission, core values and goals in particular
• Experience with evaluating the needs of those that you serve and helping to connect them with the appropriate providers and resources
• Critical thinking skills that involve reasoning, organizing and analyzing information so problems are accurately understood, and solutions are outcome-oriented and purposeful
• Proficient in Microsoft 365
• Experience working with people while they are escalated, De-escalation training preferred
• Attention to detail, and time management skills with a concentrated skill in accurate and timely record keeping, and ability to produce required reports
• Flexible and adaptable, adjusting priorities to unexpected circumstances and styles to meet the needs of others; recovers quickly from problems and setbacks
• Strong interpersonal skills; able to communicate clearly and with a keen sense of discretion and confidentiality
• Ability to manage neighbor concerns with empathy and professionalism
• Demonstrated ability to communicate and respond to neighbors, staff, volunteers, and partners
• Highly autonomous; able to work on their own without guidance.
• Must have a valid driver's license

Work Environment & Physical Demands

• Ability to move about Community First Villages phases
• Ability to work in an office setting
• Work Environment includes being in the center of a high traffic area

Benefits

• Day one 100% Employer paid, Health, Dental, Vision, Life, STD & LTD Insurance
• Generous Paid Time Off & Holiday Pay
• Matching 401(k) Retirement Plan
• Corporate Discount Program
• Professional Development Opportunities
• Employee Assistance Program
• Paid Parental Leave
• Wellness Partnership Benefits

MLF PURPOSE / VISION

We empower communities into a lifestyle of service with the homeless.

MLF MISSION

We provide food and clothing, cultivate community, and promote dignity to our homeless brothers and sisters in need.

GOALS

• Transform the way people view the stereotype of those who find themselves homeless
• Reconnect the homeless to self, family and community
• Help the chronically homeless rediscover and utilize their God-given talents to do purposeful work
• Connect human to human, heart to heart through the fellowship of food and hospitality
• Inspire people into a lifestyle of abundance by giving their best first

BELIEF STATEMENTS

The vision is supported by belief statements centered on our belief that homelessness is the result of a profound, catastrophic loss of family:

• God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life
• By virtue of being created by God in His image, we are all called to live in community and relationship with Him through each other
• The family is the original cell of social life
• You shall love your neighbor as yourself
• All members of the human family are equal in dignity
• The Lord God took the man and settled him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and care for it. Gen 2:15

CORE VALUES

MLF is committed to fostering a culture that prioritizes relational connection. We believe there is opportunity in every aspect of our work to be relational in a highly transactional world. In this culture, transactions are means to relational ends, not the other way around.​

​​This begins with the countercultural love poured out by Jesus Christ and grows as imperfect individuals strive to show this love to each other human-to-human, heart-to-heart.​

​​Each individual's openness to the journey of their own personal growth is essential in building our relational culture, and we believe this culture flourishes as we each continuously strive to more fully embody these four core values:

• Faith: We define Faith as the foundational belief that our world and all our work belong to God. This allows us to engage our work with joy and lightheartedness, knowing that we are not ultimately in control.
• Humility:We define Humility as rightly viewing oneself as a single piece of a grander story. This humility leads to a view of oneself that is neither too high nor too low.
• Generous Spirit: We define a Generous Spirit as a readiness to give more grace, mercy, and hospitality than is necessary or expected. This posture allows us to see others for who they are, not what they do.
• Integrity: We define Integrity as a wholehearted commitment to doing right by God, ourselves, and others. This wholeheartedness shows itself in consistently choosing honesty, responsibility and ownership in all actions and decisions.

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change, or new ones may be assigned at any time with or without notice.

MLF is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Personnel are chosen based on ability without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, genetics, disability, marital status, or sexual orientation in accordance with federal and state law.