Program Specialist

About Larkin Street Youth Services

Since 1984, Larkin Street Youth Services has helped more than 75,000 young adults in San Francisco with outreach, shelter, housing, education, employment, healthcare, and other services. Today, Larkin Street Youth Services is the largest provider of housing and services to homeless youth in the Bay Area, serving 1,500 youth annually and operating or partnering to provide more than 500 emergency shelter, transitional, supportive, and subsidy-based housing beds at several unique sites across San Francisco. Working at Larkin Street means making a real difference in the lives of young people experiencing homelessness. The team is skilled, diverse, and passionate, with a culture that encourages achievement and professional development, as well as teamwork and self-care. The focus is always on the young people at the heart of the mission, nurturing potential, promoting dignity, and supporting bold steps.

Responsibilities

• Screening applications and interviewing clients.
• Conducting weekly visits/check-ins with clients and hotel management.
• Ensuring upkeep of property.
• Documenting agreements, contracts, and evictions between Larkin Street Youth Services, hotels, and clients.
• Carefully maintaining the budget and ensuring positive relationships between hotels and Larkin Street Youth Services.
• Calculating damages and key deposits and managing cleanup after a client exits services.
• Acting as a liaison between client and hotel management.
• Ensuring clients maintain points of engagement while in services.
• Engaging successfully with a diverse client population who present with a myriad of issues.
• Handling crisis situations through de-escalation techniques and assisting clients as they process social and emotional problems.
• Practicing life skills training for youth through modeling, active counseling, motivational interviewing, and facilitation of groups.
• Promoting the wellness of the community through a harm reduction approach.
• Ensuring the safety and security of all clients, staff, volunteers, and the facility.
• Maintaining the cleanliness and operations of the facility, including preparing and serving meals, cleaning bathrooms, maintaining storage areas, and other tasks assigned by program management.
• Collecting client information through intake and assessment; organizing that information by entering data into paper-based and electronic-based data systems; obtaining additional information by coordinating with other professional sources.
• Participating in professional development activities to enhance counselor skill levels.
• Working in conjunction with other staff members and other agencies to ensure a continuum of services for clients.
• Acting as an advocate and point person to new youth entering the Lark-Inn.
• Performing other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Passion for the Larkin Street Youth Services mission to end youth homelessness.
• Some direct-services, social service experience.
• Experience serving Transitional Aged Youth (TAY), aged 18 to 25, of diverse backgrounds.
• Self-starter and team player; colleagues describe you as compassionate, dependable, and patient.
• Ability to work best in an on-site, in-person working environment. This role is 100% onsite/in person.
• Willingness to work holidays occasionally.
• Valid driver's license.
• Fluency in Spanish and English (required for bilingual incentive pay; see Pay).

Qualifications

• Direct-services, social service experience.
• Experience working in drop-in services, shelter, transitional, and/or permanent supportive housing programs (bonus).

Skills

• Client-Centered approach.
• Trauma Informed Care.
• Restorative Practices.
• Harm Reduction.
• Non-Violent Crisis Intervention.
• Motivational Interviewing.
• De-escalation techniques.
• Active counseling and life skills training.
• Intake and assessment.
• Data entry into paper-based and electronic-based data systems.
• Budget maintenance.
• Advocacy.

Benefits

• Choice of Kaiser and Sutter medical plans, plus dental and vision.
• 3 weeks of vacation annually.
• 11 Paid Holidays.
• 3 Floating Holidays.
• 403(b) retirement plan with employer matching.
• Flexible spending accounts for Healthcare and Dependent Care expenses.
• Life Insurance.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for counseling services.
• Health Advocate Service.
• Commuter Benefits Program.
• Paid Sabbatical following 5 and 10 years of employment.
• Full benefits (this is a full-time position).

Pay

Hourly Rate: $25.00–$26.37 per hour, plus $1.50 per hour bilingual incentive pay. Must be fluent in Spanish and English.

Schedule

• Hours: 8AM to 4PM.
• Working Days: Monday through Friday.
• Working Location: Lark Inn Shelter, 869 Ellis Street, San Francisco, CA 94109.