Intake Specialist

About BrighterFutures.Life: BrighterFutures.Life is a faith-based nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering families and individuals to achieve long-term stability and success. Guided by the teachings of Jesus Christ, we provide critical supportive housing, proactive case management, and essential community resources to help combat housing insecurity.

Our mission is centered on fostering meaningful transformation, delivering whole-person care coordination, and providing a reliable foundation from which individuals and families can build secure, independent, and fulfilling lives. We seek to serve each person with dignity, compassion, accountability, and hope while reflecting the love of Christ through both practical support and meaningful relationships.

Position Summary: The BrighterFutures.Life Intake Specialist is an experienced social service professional responsible for the intake and assessment of families seeking participation in the BrighterFutures.Life Housing Assistance Program.

This role requires significant professional judgment, discernment, strong boundaries, and the ability to evaluate complex family circumstances while balancing compassion with responsible stewardship of program resources. The Intake Specialist will gradually assume much of the intake work currently conducted by the Director and will also maintain a limited caseload of families.

The Intake Specialist makes professional recommendations regarding program participation; however, final decisions regarding family acceptance, program-entry month, and the amount and duration of rental assistance remain with the Director of BrighterFutures.Life.

Responsibilities:

Intake, Assessment & Program Recommendation

• Conduct initial interviews with referred families to assess whether BrighterFutures.Life is an appropriate fit and determine whether to invite the family to move forward with an application or decline further consideration following the initial interview. 
• Order required criminal background, credit report, and social media checks as part of the intake assessment and final program review.
• Conduct comprehensive family assessments, evaluating housing circumstances, financial stability, family needs, strengths, barriers, readiness, and other factors relevant to successful program participation.
• Exercise sound professional judgment when determining whether a family appears prepared to meet program expectations and benefit from BrighterFutures.Life services.
• Prepare and present a final intake recommendation to the Director.
• Communicate program decisions and next steps to applicants following Director approval.
• Maintain appropriate documentation of intake assessments and recommendations.

Family Support & Case Coordination

• Maintain a limited caseload of families as they progress through the program.
• Provide experienced guidance when complex family circumstances arise that exceed routine volunteer or administrative support.
• Monitor volunteer and family progress through database reporting systems or verbal communications and recognize when circumstances require additional intervention, guidance, or escalation.
• Provide volunteers with appropriate community, church, financial, employment, housing, educational, and other resources as identified.
• Coordinate with volunteers and other BrighterFutures.Life staff regarding family needs and emerging concerns as needed.
• Ensure family and volunteer significant interactions, progress, challenges, and outcomes are appropriately documented in the system database.

Program Transition & Collaboration

• During the initial transition of this position, work closely with the Director as intake responsibilities are gradually transferred to the Intake Specialist. The Director may continue to conduct or participate in selected family intakes.
• Work collaboratively with the Housing Assistance Associate and Volunteer & Community Engagement Associate to ensure smooth transition of accepted families into active program services.
• Notify and coordinate with the Housing Assistance Associate when a family has been accepted so post-acceptance onboarding, Case Plan development, financial documentation, and volunteer coordination can begin.
• Collaborate in identifying Family Partners and Budget Coaches whose personalities, strengths, and experience align well with each family so that meaningful relationships can develop.
• Recognize circumstances requiring Director-level judgment and escalate those matters appropriately.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in social work, human services, family services, psychology, sociology, or a closely related field preferred.
• Five or more years of professional experience in social work, human services, housing stability, family services, case management, or a closely related field required; 5–10 years of relevant experience strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience assessing complex family circumstances and making thoughtful professional recommendations.
• Strong interviewing, assessment, documentation, and case-management skills.
• Ability to establish appropriate professional boundaries while maintaining compassion and respect for families experiencing significant hardship.
• Demonstrated ability to hear difficult, emotional, or traumatic family circumstances while maintaining professional composure, emotional steadiness, sound judgment, and the ability to make objective program decisions.
• Ability to communicate difficult decisions respectfully and clearly, including when BrighterFutures.Life cannot provide services or when program expectations must be reinforced.
• Ability to identify information that is not openly transparent during the initial interview or after application and appropriately pursue clarification.
• Ability to recognize matters requiring leadership involvement and escalate them appropriately to leadership.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Proficiency with Google Workspace and database/case-management systems
• Spanish language skills a plus.
• Must be a practicing Christian and believer in Jesus Christ and affirm the Statement of Faith of BrighterFutures.Life. 

Relationships:

Reports to: Director, BrighterFutures.Life

• Works closely with: Housing Assistance Associate, Other Intake Specialists, Lead Family Partner Volunteer, Lead Budget Coach Volunteer, Family Partners, Budget Coaches, and other Brighter Futures staff.
• Collaborates with as appropriate: Executive Director, church representatives, community organizations, social-service agencies, and other community partners.

 Expected Hours of Work:
Part-time, approximately 24 hours per week, with flexibility for occasional evening or weekend events, church meetings, community events, or other Brighter Futures activities as needed.

Benefits & Compensation:
BrighterFutures.Life offers part-time employees Paid Time Off that accrues per hours worked and increases with years of service. The estimated pay range for this role is $24-$26 per hour depending upon experience and qualifications

 Physical & Environmental Requirements: 

• Ability to sit or stand and work at a computer for extended periods while completing assessments, documentation, data entry, and other administrative responsibilities.

• Ability to stand and walk throughout the facility as necessary to conduct intakes, orient new clients, and perform other job responsibilities.

• Ability to occasionally bend, stoop, reach, crouch, or otherwise move as necessary to access files, supplies, equipment, and other materials.

• Ability to respond promptly to changing conditions, urgent requests, safety concerns, or other situations requiring immediate attention.

Hand and Arm Use

• Ability to use hands and fingers for keyboarding, data entry, document preparation, telephone use, handling identification documents, distributing materials, and other routine administrative tasks.

• Ability to handle and organize paperwork, files, forms, keys, access cards, hygiene supplies, clothing, food, and other items provided to residents.

• Ability to operate standard office equipment, computers, telephones, printers, scanners, and other equipment necessary to perform job duties.

Lifting, Carrying, Pushing, and Pulling

• Ability to lift and carry routine office materials, files, resident information packets, and other items necessary to perform the essential functions of the position.

• Ability to occasionally move or carry supplies or materials weighing up to approximately 10 pounds, as required by the position.

Communication and Sensory Requirements

• Ability to communicate effectively in person, by telephone, and through written and electronic communication.

• Ability to hear and respond appropriately to clients, coworkers, visitors, and other communications relevant to job responsibilities and safety.

• Ability to read and interpret forms, identification documents, policies, procedures, case notes, electronic records, and other written information necessary to perform job duties.

• Ability to visually observe and assess the immediate environment for routine operational and safety concerns.

Environmental Requirements

The position may involve regular work in an environment with:

• Frequent interaction with individuals with diverse physical, emotional, behavioral, and social needs.

• Potential exposure to challenging or rapidly changing situations requiring adherence to established safety and emergency procedures.

Safety and Emergency Response

• Ability to maintain awareness of the surrounding environment while conducting intakes and interacting with clients.

• Ability to summon or coordinate appropriate assistance when a situation exceeds the employee's role, training, or authority.

Physical Stamina and Work Schedule

• Ability to maintain sufficient physical stamina and alertness to perform essential duties throughout the scheduled work period.

• Ability to alternate between sitting, standing, walking, and other activities as required.

Reasonable accommodations may be provided to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

Other Duties
 This job description is intended to provide a representative summary of the major duties and responsibilities of the position and is not a comprehensive listing of all activities, duties, or responsibilities. Duties and responsibilities may change as organizational and program needs evolve.

BrighterFutures.Life uses E-Verify to verify employment eligibility