Appendix B
Affiliate Director Job Description
Affiliate Director Job Description
(This sample job description is for a Affiliate Director in a new Affiliate. Your Board of Trustees will provide you with a detailed job description tailored for your Affiliate.)
Job Objective: To provide case management to homeless families and to coordinate the program components of the Interfaith Hospitality Network—host congregations, volunteers, referring and supporting agencies, day center, and transportation—for the effective provision of services to homeless guests.
Responsibilities
· Provide case management to all guest families. Conduct intake interviews with prospective families; develop family plans; meet with guests to monitor progress in securing housing, employment, job training, and entitlements; assist guests with social service needs, referring them to other organizations as appropriate; advocate with agencies for guests as needed.
· Coordinate all Affiliate components to administer program. Maintain regular contact with coordinators and other individuals at each host congregation as necessary. Communicate regularly with referring and supporting agencies and the day center staff. Actively participate in providers’ groups and other forums with social service agencies. Organize and schedule transportation, including drivers and van maintenance. Manage schedule changes and any other transportation matters related to IHN.
· Train coordinators and hosts in all new host congregations, and conduct at least annual volunteer training thereafter.
· Plan Affiliate Committee agenda and convene the Affiliate Committee every eight weeks during the first year, and quarterly after that.
· Maintain records on Affiliate operations and guests’ progress. Provide reports for die Board of Trustees and as required for funding sources. Provide annual statistics and other information to Family Promise.
· Hire and supervise additional staff.
· Be on call for emergencies during off-hours as scheduled.
· Manage daily expenses and other operational duties as requested by the board.
· Work with the board president to plan board meetings. Work with board committees as necessary.
· Represent the Affiliate to the public and the media.
· Coordinate master schedule of host congregations, updating as necessary to reflect ongoing changes.
9
Appendix B
(continued)
Accountability
The Affiliate Director reports to the Board of Trustees of the local Interfaith Hospitality Affiliate.
Qualifications
The successful candidate for Affiliate Director is an enthusiastic individual with good judgment and compassion for others.
Education and Experience
· B.A. degree; M.S.W. preferred
· Three years experience in a social service environment
· Experience in volunteer management desirable
Skills
· Counseling skills: ability and experience in counseling clients in a social service setting
· Communication skills, oral and written: ability to make presentations to large groups
· Planning and organizational skills: ability, to handle multiple tasks simultaneously
· Interpersonal skills: ability to work effectively with a wide range of people
· Leadership skills: ability to make decisions, solve problems, delegate tasks and responsibilities
Working Hours
The Affiliate Director works a 40-hour work week. In new Affiliates, during the first six months, additional hours are required for start-up activities. After hours, the Affiliate Director is on call for emergencies.
Appendix C
Family Promise Publications
A. Affiliate Development
1. How to Develop an Interfaith Hospitality Network (Development Manual) shows core organizing groups how to develop Affiliate programs from local resources. Content includes specific instructions and suggestions for recruiting host congregations, finding day center space, securing transportation, forming a nonprofit organization, creating budgets, raising funds, and hiring a Affiliate Director.
2. IHN Guide for Core Group Leaders provides help for the volunteer leader charged with keeping the core group on task and moving forward. The guide explores the core group leader’s special concerns, including how to motivate and energize volunteers and how to delegate the work.
Tools for Congregation Recruitment
3. Recruiting Host Congregations is a 19-minute instructional and inspirational video featuring a volunteer recruiter scheduling clergy appointments and making a presentation. Additionally, experienced recruiters from Affiliates across the country share their recommendations on how to get appointments, make effective presentations, and overcome objections.
4. IHN Guide to Recruiting Host Congregations is a 13-page booklet offering guidance to local recruiters. Structure, facts, and advice about recruitment are presented through a discussion of the following topics: recruiting steps and tips, presentation outline, review of frequently asked questions and concerns, and program benefits.
5. An Introduction to the Interfaith Hospitality Network is a 14-page pamphlet that describes the components of the Affiliate program and explains how host congregations and volunteers meet the needs of homeless families in their communities. This recruiting tool provides the essential information that prospective host congregations need to know.
6. An Introduction to the Interfaith Hospitality Network: A Program of Family Promise is an inspirational and informative 8-minute video that clearly depicts the spirit of the hosting experience. The video shows guests, clergy, and volunteers engaged in the daily activities of a Affiliate.
7. What Clergy Are Saying About IHN is a resource for presenting IHN to clergy and congregations. In four pages, 20 clergy members from various denominations describe how participation in a Affiliate has enriched the lives of their congregations.
Appendix C
(Continued)
B. Affiliate Operation
1. Manual for Trustees of Interfaith Hospitality Networks helps board members understand their responsibilities in building and maintaining a Affiliate that fulfills its mission to homeless people in the community. All board members need this manual, with its many suggestions for cultivating strong leadership, organizing effective committees, raising funds, mounting public relations efforts, developing teamwork, and ultimately making a difference in people’s lives.
2. IHN Affiliate Director’s Manual gives new and experienced Affiliate Directors detailed information about Affiliate operations. The manual includes specific instructions and suggestions in case management, volunteer administration and training, and working with the Board of Trustees and local agencies.
3. How to Raise Money for Your Interfaith Hospitality Network provides information about and suggestions for raising money from individuals, foundations, religious organizations, corporations, government and special events. The manual provides effective fundraising techniques for researching and writing foundation and corporate grant proposals, planning and implementing direct mail campaigns, securing major gifts, and organizing and evaluating special events—as well as recommendations on database management, recordkeeping, and acknowledgments.
4. The IHN Experience is an inspirational and informative 4-minute video, geared towards prospective donors. It provides a brief explanation of the program, the types of families helped by IHN, and the success the program enables these families to achieve.
5. Community Initiatives Directory describes programs developed by local Affiliates. These include parenting workshops, transitional housing, clothing and furniture donation programs, and job training programs. Contact information is included.
Appendix C
(Continued)
C. Volunteer Training
1. IHN Guide to Volunteer Training provides information for trainers who conduct training sessions for IHN volunteers. The guide covers training for volunteer hosts and coordinators. This guide is to be used together with the training film How Can I Help, the IHN Guide for Volunteer Coordinators, and the IHN Guide for Volunteer Hosts.
2. IHN Guide for Volunteer Coordinators provides practical information and suggestions for coordinators who run the Affiliate program in their congregations. The guide has five major parts: “The Role of IHN Coordinators,” “Volunteer Management,” “The Accommodations,” and “What Happens During Host Week,” plus appendices that include checklists for the facility; and emergency, health safety, and guest guidelines for posting at the church or synagogue.
3. IHN Guide for Volunteer Hosts introduces volunteers to the Affiliate program and describes policies and procedures. The guide also describes volunteer opportunities for serving homeless families including preparing meals for guests, spending the evening or night at the host congregation, planning special activities for children, helping with homework and job search, ordering supplies, and helping at the day center.
4. How Can I Help? Talking with Guests and Volunteers is a 28-minute training film based on the IHN Hospitality Code. Viewers will see and hear guests and volunteers talking about themselves and their relationships - and dealing with such issues as labeling, judging, parenting, and privacy. The accompanying Video Guide provides discussion questions and key points to help volunteers become effective hosts.
D. Periodicals
1. Hospitality, Family Promise’s quarterly newsletter, features stories about guests, volunteers, and the programs developed by local Affiliates.
2. The Advocate, Family Promise’s educational bulletin and legislative update, keeps volunteers informed about issues and policies impacting low-income people, and provides information to Affiliates for membership action.
3. The Network Leader shares leadership and management strategies with Affiliate Directors, trustees, and organizers. The Leader explores topics such as fundraising and board development.
There are additional materials concerning all aspects of Affiliate development and operation available from Family Promise.
Appendix D
Information for Referring Agencies
Use this sheet to create a form that agencies can post for easy reference. Be sure to fill in your Affiliate information. When you visit an agency, leave the following with the representative: several copies of this form, 20 copies of Appendix E (Information for Guests), a pamphlet about your IHN or one provided by Family Promise, and your business card.
Appendix E
Information for Guests
You can create a guest brochure using the information below. Fill in specific information about your Affiliate. If possible, scan in photos that make the brochure more interesting and meaningful.
The Family Promise of ______welcomes you.
You and your family are invited to stay with the Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN) during this time of transition in your lives. The IHN is a shelter program just for families. It is small, with a maximum of 14 individuals (including children) in the program at a time. Each family has its own private space.
Your family will have dinner, spend the evening, stay overnight, and eat breakfast at a church, synagogue or other house of worship called a host congregation, in our area. There are ____ host congregations in Family Promise of ______. They are located in these communities: (list) Each Sunday, transportation will be provided for you to move from one congregation to the next.
Volunteers will be your hosts while you are guests of their congregations. These volunteers are community residents who recognize that any family can lose a home and that it can take time to find affordable housing. At each congregation, the volunteers want to help you get through the crisis you face, by offering safe, secure, and comfortable temporary lodging and home-cooked meals.
Each day you will go to the day center, located in ______. The day center will be your home base during the daytime and will be your address while you are guests in the Affiliate. A Affiliate van will take you to the day center each morning and return you to the host congregation each evening. You may use your own car if it is available.
At the day center, the director of the Affiliate will meet with you to discuss housing and employment possibilities and to assist you in finding social services that may be helpful to you.
This is not a “normal” time in your in your life, and you may be feeling a great deal of stress. The Interfaith Hospitality Network can help you by providing overnight accommodations, home-cooked meals, a day center, assistance in your housing search, and other services to help you reach your goal of finding a stable home for your family.
We look forward to working with you.
Sincerely,
[Name], Affiliate Director
Affiliate Phone Number:
Day Center Address:
Appendix F
Social Service Terms and Acronyms
Every field has its alphabet soup of acronyms, but social services may win the prize for the most. Every state has its own set of names for entitlements and departments that assist people in need. The names keep changing, too, especially in these days of rapid reform. It may not be possible to be up-to-date on all that’s new and changing, but here’s a list to give you a start.
ACF Administration for Children and Families – Federal department that
provides funding to state and local governments as well as nonprofit
agencies for activities designed to assist children and families.
ADA Americans with Disabilities Act – Administered by the U.S. Department of Justice, determines requirements and specifications for compliance
AFDC Aid to Families with Dependent Children – Former federal welfare program which is now known as TANF.
APS Adult Protective Services – Generic term for agency that handles investigation of elder abuse.
CDBG Community Development Block Grant – HUD funds that are distributed by Cities and Counties. See document Government Funds for Which Family Promise Affiliates are Eligible to Apply.
CPS Child Protective Services – Generic term for state agency responsible for investigating allegations of child abuse/neglect. Child Protective Services may be the actual name, or it may have another name.
Disabled A determination by the Social Security Administration that the person is eligible for benefits because of a permanent disability.
EA Emergency Assistance – Funds provided for the care of eligible families in emergency situations no more than one time per year.
EBT Electronic Balance Transfer Card – The method of payment of TANF in lieu of paper checks used in most States. Upon approval the client receives a debit card that looks just like a bank card and the food stamp and TANF allotment for that client automatically credits to the card at the first of each month of eligibility.
EFSG Emergency Food and Shelter Grant – FEMA funds for which FP affiliates are eligible. See the document Government Grants For Which FP Affiliates are eligible.
EITC Earned Income Tax Credit –Tax refund for eligible low-income taxpayers.
Appendix F
(continued)
Emancipated Refers to the status of a child under the age of 18 who is no longer the legal responsibility of his or her parents, or a child who has attained the age of 18
ESG Emergency Solutions Grant – Formerly Emergency Shelter Grant: HUD funding for programs providing shelter and other homeless services
Food Stamps Federal food program administered by local social service office; eligible clients receive coupons for use at grocery stores (or eligible amount is credited to a debit card referred to as an EBT card). The new name of the program is SNAP – Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.