Career Opportunities

Job Title: Grants and Development Specialist

Department: Development

Reports To: Executive Director

 

Overview: The mission of Belair-Edison Neighborhoods, Inc. (BENI) is to foster an

environment where residents, merchants, and other stakeholders feel confident to

invest their time, energy and money. BENI accomplishes this mission by utilizing

four tools — marketing, housing counseling, small business development, and

community organizing.

 

Job Summary: BENI is seeking a dynamic and committed individual in the role of

Main Street Manager. The Main Street Manager will be

Responsible for the successful development of the businesses along  Belair-Edison Main Street corridor

Responsible for the activities required by the designated Main Street grant awarded by National Main Street and Community Development Block Grant

Will develop and maintain a deep knowledge of the local business landscape of Main Street corridor, relevant policy issues, programs, operations, and the approved work plan

Responsible for management and development of relationships with key stakeholders in the corridor to include business owners, residents, nonprofit leaders, government leaders and community leaders,

Will work with the community stakeholders to develop the Main Street Neighborhood Strategy Committee and a corridor
wide strategic plan.

The MS Manager, stewards the relational and programmatic development of the
designated Main Street program following the approved work plan to achieve the outlined objectives;
operating at all times in a transparent, inclusive, ethical and sustainable manner.

 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The following duties and responsibilities are those considered to be essential but

do not represent all job functions that may be required to be performed by this

position. Other comparable duties and responsibilities may be assigned as needed.

Early morning, evening and weekend work required as determined by operational

needs or as assigned.

 

Fundraising

  • Research potential new sources of funding through grant sources and
  • sponsorship.
  • Responsible for the writing and timely submitting well-researched grant
  • proposals and program reports as needed, to comply with grant guidelines.
  • In conjunction with the ED, formulates annual giving goals and strategies to
  • ensure goals are met or exceeded.
  • The specialist will cultivate, solicit, and steward current and prospective
  • corporate, foundation, and government funders and individual donors.
  • Maintain donor database for all donor information.
  • Assist with production of donor acknowledgements and other donor
  • correspondence including invitations, cultivation and solicitation mailings,
  • and newsletters.
  • Contributes written material for brochures, newsletters, and other documents
  • used for outreach and marketing.
  • Maintain Resource Development files; organize, update and purge on a
  • regular basis.
  • Development of social networking fundraising opportunities through Facebook, Twitter, etc.
  • Work with program staff and board for large annual fundraising/”friend-raising” events.
  • Provide research and administrative support for special fundraising events as needed.
  • Answer inquiries from donors and make updates to donor database as requested

 

General

Attend all group and program staff meetings and trainings

Active member of the Development Team

Performs all other duties as assigned

Independent transportation is a must

Ability to work with volunteers as needed and abide by the conflict of

interest and confidentiality policies of the program.

 

Supervisory Responsibilities

None

 

Skills and Abilities:

Exceptional written and verbal communication skills are a must.

Exceptional research skills are a must.

Demonstrated ability to effectively manage multiple tasks and produce high

quality written material under tight deadlines.

Self-motivated, detail-oriented, and proactive. Ability to manage a portfolio of

work independently with minimal supervision.

Ability to conceptualize and describe funding needs in a manner that is

compelling to various types of donors.

Strong interpersonal skills including the ability to cultivate productive

relationships with colleagues and stakeholders and work collaboratively with

diverse groups of people.

Proficiency in MS Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and Google;

Teams donor management software. Experience with Salesforce software a

plus.

Must be proficient in research and in interpreting and analyzing diverse

data, must possess sound critical thinking and independent judgment

skills.

Manage sensitive and confidential information with integrity.

 

Education and Experience

A Bachelor’s degree in PR/Communications, Writing, Journalism, or related field

along with at least 2 years of work experience in grant writing and/or fundraising

activities is acceptable. A non-degreed professional with 6 years or more

experience may be considered. Proven success in developing grant proposals and

applications to both private foundations and government funding is required.

Experience preparing federal grant applications is preferred.

 

Language and Communication Skills

Strong written and oral communications skills are a must. Must have an ability to

read, analyze, and interpret an array of data and procedures. Candidate must

have the ability to write reports and business correspondence. Must have ability

to effectively and persuasively present information and respond to questions from

groups of managers, residents, clients, customers, home seekers, and the general

public. The candidate must have excellent social skills with an ability to quickly build

rapport with existing and potential funders as well as any other target audiences.

 

Mathematical Skills

Basic math skills

 

Reasoning Ability

Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.

Must have the ability to interpret and deal with several abstract and concrete

Variables.

 

Certificates, Licenses and Registrations

None

 

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be

met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to

perform the essential functions.

 

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use

hands to finger, handle, or feel; and talk or hear. The employee frequently is

required to stand. The employee is occasionally required to walk; reach with hands

and arms; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must occasionally lift

and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include

close vision, and distance vision.

The employee will need to be able to provide his/her own transportation.

 

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an

employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities

to perform the essential functions.

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

 

To Apply

Please send resume and letter of interest to:

Denitra Braham

3545 Belair Road

Baltimore MD 21213

or via email to neighborhoods@belair-edison.org with job title in description

Salary Range

Salary commensurate with experience. Full-time position plus benefits.

 

 

Job Title: HUD Certified Housing Counselor

Department: Housing Counseling

Reports To: Executive Director

SUMMARY 

This position is responsible for providing homeownership education for clients seeking homebuyer group workshops, pre-purchase, non-default post purchase, and default/foreclosure prevention counseling services. 

 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

To execute this position effectively, an individual must be capable of performing all essential duties in their entirety. The requirements outlined below represent the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities for successful job performance. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to fulfill these essential functions.

 

To follow are the duties and responsibilities deemed essential to this position; however, they do not encompass all tasks that may be required. Additional comparable duties may be assigned as necessary. Early morning, evening, and weekend work may be required based on operational needs or as directed.

 

Pre-purchase Responsibilities:

  • Provide individual pre-purchase counseling sessions to people interested in pursuing homeownership
  • Thorough knowledge of first-time buyer programs and closing cost assistance 
  • Implementation of BENI counseling procedures 
  • Ability to develop a pool of prospective home buyers to match properties in target areas
  • Development of on-going relationships with pro-city real estate agents
  • Familiarity with all Healthy Neighborhoods target blocks in the neighborhood and the properties for sale (particularly on these blocks) in Belair-Edison 
  • Facilitate homebuyer workshops 
  • Successful completion of all NeighborWorks continuing education counseling courses. 
  • As requested, represent agency at various housing events that the agency has been asked to participate in such as: Live Baltimore Events, school and local college events, etc…
  • Ensure that individual counseling files, both hard copy and electronic, are kept to HUD standards.

 

Post-purchase Responsibilities to include Foreclosure Prevention:

  • Provide financial management and home maintenance education for existing homeowners  
  • Educate households seeking assistance with refinance, home improvement or debt consolidation loans
  • Must understand high-risk mortgage products associated with foreclosures and the ability to analyze loan documents in order to identify predatory or abusive lending. Previous lending experience is a plus. 
  • People must have excellent skills and be passionate about assisting homeowners who are in danger of defaulting on their mortgages while coaching these families on ways they can work on the issues on their own.
  • Must be able to advocate for default/foreclosure clients to servicers or mortgage lenders as needed 

 

Other Responsibilities:

  • Conduct comprehensive follow-up on all cases and maintain accurate, up-to-date electronic and hard-copy client files.
  • Demonstrate a high level of proficiency in Microsoft Office applications.
  • Acquire proficiency in client tracking software, as this capability is essential for effective case management.
  • Adhere to and uphold all established BENI counseling procedures.
  • Exhibit strong customer service abilities and the capacity to build rapport with clients in a timely and professional manner.

 

General 

  • Attend all group and program staff meetings and trainings
  • Performs all other duties as assigned 
  • Independent transportation is a must
  • Ability to work with volunteers as needed and abide by the conflict of interest and confidentiality policies of the program.

 

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES 

None

 

Qualifications

EDUCATION and EXPERIENCE

The candidate must possess current HUD certification. A college degree is preferred; however, in the absence of a degree, some college coursework combined with lending and/or housing counseling experience is required. Additional housing-related certifications are considered advantageous. 

 

LANGUAGE and COMMUNICATION SKILLS 

Strong written and oral communications skills are a must. Must have the ability to read, analyze, and interpret an array of data and procedures.  Must have an ability to write reports and business correspondences.  Must have ability to effectively and persuasively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, lenders, home seekers, residents and the public. Must have excellent social skills with an ability to quickly build rapport with clients and other target audiences.  Must have the ability to organize, analyze, and use industry research.

 

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS 

Basic math skills

 

TECHNOLOGY SKILLS

Must be proficient in all Microsoft Office applications and can learn counseling tracking software, Mpact Pro or the like.

 

REASONING ABILITY 

Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.  Ability to interpret and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.

 

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS 

HUD housing counseling certificate is a must. 

 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

 

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; and talk or hear.  The employee frequently is required to stand.  The employee is occasionally required to walk; reach with hands and arms; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.  The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.  Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, and distance vision.

 

The employee will need to be able to provide his/her own transportation. 

 

WORK ENVIRONMENT 

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

 

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

belair edison main street store front