Comm. Resource Navigator in Menasha, Wisconsin at Fox Cities Habitat for Humanity

This role complements the work of the Family Services department of Fox Cities Area HFH. Community resources and referrals may include, but are not limited to, identifying barriers to financial security, aging in place, home repair, mortgage readiness, and related needs. The position also supports the organization’s disaster-recovery response by improving coordination among service providers and helping affected households navigate recovery resources. In addition, the Navigator coordinates and facilitates workshops and public events on relevant housing, financial, disaster-recovery, and consumer-protection topics.

• Receive and triage referrals. Receive referrals from Family Services programs and approved community partners; explain the Navigator’s role, service limits, confidentiality practices, and participant choice.

• Conduct a person-centered assessment. Identify the participant’s goals, strengths, barriers, urgency, preferences, language or accessibility needs, existing support, and readiness for next steps without extending into clinical assessment.

• Co-create a navigation plan. Develop a practical, participant-led plan that identifies priorities, action steps, responsible parties, target dates, and the level of assistance needed.

• Provide hands-on navigation support. Research service eligibility and availability; help participants understand processes and required documentation; assist with non-clinical forms; make calls with participants; help schedule appointments; and prepare participants for interactions with providers.

• Complete warm handoffs. With participant consent, directly connect the participant and provider, share relevant information, clarify next steps, and reduce the likelihood that the participant must restart the process with each organization.

• Close the referral loop. Confirm whether the provider received the referral, whether the participant connected, what outcome occurred, and what barriers remain. When a referral is unsuccessful, identify an alternate pathway or return the participant to the appropriate internal specialist.

• Provide timely follow-up. Maintain contact at a frequency appropriate to the navigation plan, encourage self-advocacy, reinforce progress, and adjust the plan when circumstances change.

• Coordinate with specialized staff. Partner with the Family Services team so navigation services reinforce - not replace - program-specific counseling, eligibility screening, underwriting, or service delivery.

• Manage and close the caseload. Maintain an organized, time-limited caseload; document progress and outcomes; and close navigation episodes with a clear summary, remaining needs, and next-step recommendations.

• Maintain an accurate resource network in partnership with Family Services Program Coordinator. Develop and regularly update information on service eligibility, required documents, capacity, waitlists, languages, accessibility, referral processes, and key contacts.

• Build trusted provider relationships. Cultivate collaborative relationships with nonprofit, government, housing, financial-capability, public-benefit, legal-aid, insurance, consumer-protection, disaster-recovery, and other community partners.

• Strengthen referral pathways. Work with providers to establish clear points of contact, shared expectations, consent-based information exchange, and practical procedures for warm handoffs and follow-up.

• Participate in community coordination. Represent the organization at coalitions, case-coordination meetings, recovery groups, and community events, as assigned, while protecting participant confidentiality and maintaining professional boundaries.

• Identify service gaps. Track recurring barriers, delays, duplication, unmet needs, and changes in community capacity; elevate trends and recommendations to department leadership.

• Develop relevant educational programming. Use participant questions, service trends, and partner input to identify workshop topics and learning needs.

• Coordinate qualified presenters. Recruit internal staff and external subject-matter experts when a topic requires legal, insurance, financial, benefits, or another specialized knowledge.

• Facilitate accessible workshops. Plan, promote, and facilitate or co-facilitate public workshops and events using plain language, culturally responsive practices, and accessible formats.

• Support priority topics. Programming may include homeowner-insurance claims and what to expect; consumer protection and scam prevention; freezing credit; estate-planning awareness and referrals; mortgage and home-repair processes; public benefits; and disaster-recovery resources.

• Evaluate and improve programming. Collect participant feedback, document attendance and outcomes, and use findings to improve future events.

• Maintain timely, accurate records. Document assessments, participant goals, action steps, contacts, releases of information, referrals, outcomes, and case closure in the designated client-management system.

• Protect confidential information. Follow organizational policy and applicable privacy requirements when collecting, storing, discussing, and sharing participant information.

• Track program performance. Maintain data needed for internal review, grant or contract reporting, service improvement, and analysis of referral completion and unmet need.

• Collaborate across the department. Participate in case consultation, staff meetings, cross-training, program planning, and coordinated service delivery.

• Exercise sound judgment. Recognize limits of authority, seek supervision when needed, and use established escalation procedures for safety concerns, suspected abuse or exploitation, or needs outside the program’s scope.

• Perform related duties. Complete other duties consistent with the purpose and level of the position.

• High school diploma or equivalent.

• At least two years of relevant client-facing experience in human services, social services, housing, financial counseling, public benefits, community outreach, disaster recovery, nonprofit programs, or a related field.

• Demonstrated ability to provide person-centered, culturally competent, respectful, and empathetic service to individuals and families from diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

• Working knowledge of trauma-informed care best practices and the ability to apply them in routine communication, planning, follow-up, and boundary setting.

• Ability to understand and navigate complex systems, eligibility rules, forms, and multi-step processes and to explain them clearly in plain language.

• Basic working knowledge of common public benefits and community resources, with the ability to learn housing, mortgage, home-repair, insurance, consumer-protection, and disaster-recovery systems.

• Strong relationship-building, advocacy, problem-solving, oral communication, and professional writing skills.

• Strong organization, time management, follow-through, documentation, and caseload-management skills.

• Ability to maintain confidentiality, obtain informed consent, maintain professional boundaries, and use sound judgment.

• Proficiency with standard office software, email, virtual-meeting platforms, internet research, and CRM platforms.

• Case management, care coordination, resource navigation, family coaching, or similar background.

• Associate or bachelor’s degree in social work, human services, sociology, psychology, counseling, community development, public administration, nonprofit management, finance, housing, or a related field.

• Experience with housing counseling, mortgage or homeownership processes, home-repair programs, financial capability, public-benefit applications, disaster recovery, or coordinated community response.

• Experience making warm handoffs, conducting follow-up, tracking referral outcomes, and working with interdisciplinary or cross-agency teams.

• Experience planning or facilitating workshops, community meetings, or public education events.

• Established familiarity with local service providers, public agencies, and community-based organizations.

• Bilingual or multilingual skills that reflect the communities served.

• Person-centered and strengths-based practice. Respects the participant’s expertise, choices, pace, goals, and right to decline services.

• Cultural competence and humility. Recognizes cultural context, power differences, access barriers, and the need to adapt communication and service approaches.

• Trauma-informed engagement. Promotes safety, trust, transparency, choice, collaboration, and empowerment while avoiding practices that may retraumatize participants.

• Systems navigation and resourcefulness. Breaks complex processes into achievable steps and persists through barriers without taking control away from the participant.

• Relationship building and collaboration. Develops credible, respectful relationships with participants, coworkers, and community providers.

• Professional boundaries and ethics. Understands the limits of the role, protects confidentiality, manages conflicts of interest, and seeks guidance appropriately.

• Follow-through and accountability. Tracks commitments, closes communication loops, documents outcomes, and keeps participants and partners informed.

• Facilitation and public education. Translates complex information into understandable, useful learning experiences for varied audiences.

• Adaptability and continuous learning. Responds effectively to changing resources, evolving recovery needs, and new program requirements.

• Work is performed through scheduled office-based, telephone, virtual, community-site, and public-event activities, depending on program needs.

• Local travel to partner organizations, community meetings, workshops, or participant appointments may be required.

• Occasional evening or weekend hours may be scheduled for workshops, outreach, or community events.

• The role routinely requires use of a computer and telephone, review of detailed forms and records, and management of sensitive participant information.

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

This non-clinical, appointment- and referral-based navigation role uses selected case-management practices. The Navigator may help participants understand processes, gather documents, contact providers, prepare for appointments, and follow referrals through completion. The Navigator does not provide psychotherapy, crisis intervention, legal representation or advice, insurance adjusting, mortgage underwriting or approval, licensed financial planning, benefits determinations, or services reserved for regulated or specialized professionals.

When a participant presents immediate safety, medical, behavioral-health, housing, or other emergencies, the Navigator follows organizational escalation procedures and connects the participant to the appropriate emergency or crisis resource rather than managing the emergency within this role.

The above job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. Incumbents will follow any other instructions, and perform any other related duties, as assigned by their supervisor.