Intake Officer and Receptionist

Communities Resist (“CoRe”) seeks an Intake Officer and Receptionist to join our team combating gentrification, displacement, social disenfranchisement, and structural injustice through organizing and affirmative litigation before housing, state, and federal courts as well as administrative agencies.

CoRe is a legal services organization for housing and community justice steeped in the 50-year tradition of community lawyering in Brooklyn and Queens. We have spent years working together with neighborhood organizations and organizers in representing hundreds of tenants and tenant associations toward enforcing their right to social citizenship by struggling, resisting, and enduring against any attempts to deny working communities, largely of color, their agency.

The primary job responsibilities of the Receptionist and Intake Officer are as follows:

Intake Officer Responsibilities:
1. Referring persons who cannot be served by the office to the appropriate agency, if available, or informing people that no assistance is available if that is the case.
2. Initial screening of applicants for services, including obtaining necessary demographic data, initial determination of financial eligibility, ascertaining type of problem, scope of client’s request for assistance. Filling out required forms including Declaration of Household Composition Income (“DHCI”).
3. Opening files for eligible clients and entering into the case management system.
4. Coordinating follow-up services, including appointments, referrals, client correspondence, and gathering documents and other information.
5. Opening and closing files for clients and ensuring compliance with program protocols.
6. Using language-assistance resources, including translation and interpretation services available to assist clients and community members.
7. Answering questions and helping to acclimate staff to intake procedures.
8. Distributing basic client service information materials as needed.
9. Assisting attorneys with maintaining intake-related client files, including copying, scanning, uploading and distributing documents as needed.
10. Maintaining a system to assign brief advice cases to attorneys and following up with clients and attorneys as needed. Attorneys will decide whether to take full representation.
11. Checking case notes in Legal Server to ensure that attorneys returned phone calls as assigned within four business days. If the attorney did not call, following up with the attorney to make sure they call the clients back.

Receptionist Responsibilities:

1. Operating the central telephone equipment in the office.
2. Taking messages and entering into Legal Server or emailing appropriate staff.
3. Handling all walk-ins and speaking to each prospective client or visitor who enters the
office to determine whether or not they can be helped.
4. Manage the mail-in and mail-out system to ensure that all mail is received and picked up.
5. Keeping supply of flyers, facts sheet, business cards, referral sources by reception.
6. Ensuring safety and security of premises by managing all secured doors.
7. Ensuring all doors are locked when closing the office.

Qualifications and Qualities

● A minimum of at least 3 years’ experience in a similar position in office coordination, for nonprofit organizations.
● Bachelor’s degree in Administration or Business Management.
● Strong working knowledge of Google Suite, Microsoft Office 360, Legal Server.
● A demonstrated ability to work collaboratively as part of a team
● Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to work toward solutions that benefit the organization
● Impeccable attention to detail and excellent organizational, planning, prioritizing, and time management skills
● Fluency in Spanish preferred

*This position is full-time in person 9am-5pm. Lunch should be set 12pm-1pm and a notice must be at the door giving notice of lunch break.

CoRe is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be afforded equal employment opportunities without discrimination because of race, religion/creed, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, military status, predisposing genetic characteristics, victim of domestic violence status or marital status.

Salary range $51,991.00 – $76,404.00 and it will be commensurate experience and comparable with other similar legal services organizations. Excellent health and other benefits. The position is a full-time in-person position that requires you to be in the office Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis.

To apply, forward a cover letter with your resume to:

Angela Piguave, Deputy Executive Director
Communities Resist Inc.
E-mail: apiguave@communitiesresist.org
Please put ‘Intake Officer and Receptionist’ in the subject line.