Resident Assistant - Our House

Overview

Seeking Resident Assistants to join our Elmira Our House Team

 

Our Full Time opportunities offer:

• Generous time off every year including 14 paid holidays, up to 3 personal days, vacation time, and sick time
• Employer funded Pension Plan (company contributions begin after 1 year of continuous employment)
• Comprehensive Health Care Coverage with low cost employee premiums, co-pays, and deductibles
• Company Paid Basic Term Life Insurance for Employee
• Long Term Disability Insurance
• Eligibility for supplemental insurance plans including Short Term Disability, AFLAC, and Voluntary Term Life
• Flexible Spending Account
• Eligibility for Federal Student Loan Forgiveness Program
• Tax Deferred Annuity (403B)
• Christmas Bonus

 

SCOPE AND PURPOSE OF POSITION:

Under the direct supervision of the House Manager, the Resident Assistant provides on-site residential support and monitoring for Our House, an OASAS-certified Part 820 Reintegration residential service. The Resident Assistant helps maintain a safe, respectful, recovery-supportive living environment; supports residents with daily living and community-living skills; completes required residential documentation; monitors the physical environment; responds to emergencies; and communicates resident and operational concerns to appropriate supervisory or clinical staff.

The Resident Assistant is a non-clinical position. The employee does not independently perform clinical assessments, make level-of-care or admission decisions, develop or approve treatment/recovery plans, provide clinical supervision, interpret clinical findings, or perform other functions reserved for clinical staff or Qualified Health Professionals (QHPs).

Responsibilities

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

RESIDENTIAL MONITORING AND 24/7 PROGRAM SUPPORT

• Provides assigned on-site coverage as part of the staffing pattern required for a congregate Reintegration residence operating twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week.
• Monitors resident presence, arrivals and departures, visitation, and other residential activity in accordance with program policy, resident rights, and approved sign-in/sign-out procedures.
• Conducts regular safety and security rounds throughout the interior and exterior of the residence and documents rounds as required.
• Monitors approved security systems and promptly reports safety, security, or facility concerns to the House Manager or other designated supervisor.
• Maintains professional shift-to-shift communication and relays significant resident, safety, staffing, or facility information to incoming staff and supervisory personnel.

RESIDENT SUPPORT AND RECOVERY ENVIRONMENT

• Maintains a safe, respectful, structured, person-centered, trauma-informed, and recovery-supportive residential environment.
• Treats residents with dignity and respect and supports resident choice, independence, personal responsibility, and recovery goals.
• Encourages and supports development of community-living, personal-care, social, recreational, and independent-living skills consistent with each resident's service plan and instructions from the clinical team.
• Assists with household routines including resident chores, meal preparation and clean-up, common-area expectations, and appropriate use of shared spaces.
• Provides practical support, coaching, redirection, and de-escalation within training and role boundaries and refers clinical, medical, psychiatric, or treatment concerns to qualified staff.
• Supports residents' access to approved community appointments, outpatient services, vocational or educational resources, recovery supports, and other services as assigned.

DOCUMENTATION AND COMMUNICATION

• Completes required residential shift notes, logs, safety-round records, visitor records, incident documentation, and other assigned non-clinical documentation accurately and timely.
• Documents factual observations and resident interactions objectively and avoids clinical conclusions or diagnoses outside the employee's role and qualifications.
• Uses the approved electronic health record, incident-reporting system, and other program systems only as authorized and trained.
• Immediately communicates significant changes in resident behavior, functioning, safety, health, or participation to the appropriate counselor, Program Director / Clinical Supervisor, House Manager, or Assistant Director / Reintegration Program Manager.
• Answers program telephone calls professionally, records messages accurately, and protects confidential information.

RESIDENT RIGHTS, CONFIDENTIALITY, AND PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT

• Protects resident dignity, privacy, rights, and confidentiality at all times.
• Complies with 42 CFR Part 2, HIPAA when applicable, OASAS confidentiality requirements, and Salvation Army privacy and information-security policies.
• Maintains professional boundaries and avoids coercive, punitive, retaliatory, discriminatory, intimidating, or confrontational practices.
• Uses trauma-informed de-escalation and problem-solving techniques and seeks supervisory or emergency assistance when a situation exceeds the employee's training or authority.
• Reports suspected abuse, neglect, exploitation, discrimination, boundary violations, or other resident-rights concerns in accordance with law, regulation, and organizational policy.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE, INCIDENTS, AND SAFETY

• Responds to emergencies, crises, overdose concerns, behavioral incidents, medical concerns, fire alarms, security issues, and other urgent situations consistent with training and established program procedures.
• Calls 911 or other emergency services when indicated and immediately follows the program's supervisory/on-call notification protocol.
• Completes required incident documentation and notifications through approved reporting systems and cooperates with incident review and follow-up.
• Participates in fire drills, emergency-preparedness activities, evacuation procedures, and other required safety activities.
• Maintains current training in CPR/First Aid, overdose response and naloxone administration, de-escalation, and other safety areas required by program policy.

MEDICATION FOR ADDICTION TREATMENT AND HEALTH SUPPORT

• Supports a recovery environment that does not stigmatize or interfere with resident access to Medication for Addiction Treatment (MAT) or other medically appropriate care.
• Refers medication, medical, psychiatric, or health-related questions to appropriately qualified staff or community providers and does not provide medical advice or make medication decisions.
• Follows approved program procedures related to resident self-administration, storage, observation, or documentation of medications only when specifically trained and assigned to do so.
• Supports overdose-prevention practices and access to naloxone consistent with program policy and training.

FACILITY, HOUSEHOLD, AND OPERATIONAL DUTIES

• Conducts routine inspections of common areas and resident-accessible areas for sanitation, safety, security, and maintenance concerns and promptly reports deficiencies.
• Assists with meal preparation oversight, kitchen clean-up, linen and supply organization, and routine household tasks assigned to the shift.
• Completes assigned cleaning, filter, equipment, supply, receipt, food-inventory, or statistical tasks in accordance with written procedures and supervisory direction.
• Maintains receipts, keys, program property, and other assigned items securely and follows established fiscal and property-control procedures.
• Performs assigned duties needed to maintain a safe and orderly residence, provided those duties are consistent with the Resident Assistant role, training, and program policy.

TRAINING AND OASAS COMPLIANCE SUPPORT

• Completes required orientation and annual training applicable to assigned duties, including resident rights, confidentiality, trauma-informed care, crisis intervention, Medication for Addiction Treatment awareness, overdose prevention/naloxone, incident reporting, infection control, workplace safety, and agency policies and procedures.
• Maintains working knowledge of house rules, emergency procedures, resident grievance procedures, confidentiality requirements, and the Resident Assistant's role within the Part 820 Reintegration service.
• Cooperates with OASAS reviews, inspections, audits, quality-improvement activities, and corrective-action processes within the scope of the position.
• Immediately reports actual or suspected regulatory, safety, documentation, resident-rights, or program-integrity concerns to supervisory staff.

ROLE BOUNDARIES / CLINICAL FUNCTIONS:

The Resident Assistant is not a clinical counselor, clinical supervisor, or QHP position. The Resident Assistant may provide factual observations, practical support, recovery encouragement, and residential skill coaching, but clinical assessment, counseling, treatment/recovery planning, level-of-care determination, discharge-plan approval, clinical interpretation, and clinical supervision are the responsibility of appropriately qualified clinical staff. When in doubt, the Resident Assistant shall consult the House Manager, Assistant Director / Reintegration Program Manager, Counselor, or Program Director / Clinical Supervisor.

PERFORMANCE ACCOUNTABILITY:

• Reliable completion of assigned shifts and support of required 24/7 residential coverage.
• Accuracy and timeliness of residential documentation, logs, safety rounds, and incident reporting.
• Resident safety, dignity, confidentiality, respectful interactions, and adherence to resident-rights requirements.
• Timely communication and escalation of clinical, safety, behavioral, staffing, and facility concerns.
• Completion of required training and adherence to OASAS, Salvation Army, and Our House policies and procedures.
• Maintenance of a safe, clean, orderly, and recovery-supportive residential environment.

WORK ENVIRONMENT / PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

Residential-program conditions apply. The employee must be willing and able to work weekends, holidays, evenings, overnights, and other shifts as scheduled. The position requires regular movement throughout the residence, including stairs, and may require standing, walking, bending, reaching, pushing, pulling, and occasional lifting consistent with organizational physical-demand standards. Reasonable accommodation may be made for qualified individuals with disabilities.

The position involves frequent contact with residents who may be experiencing behavioral-health symptoms, psychosocial stressors, or crisis situations. The employee must demonstrate sound judgment, professionalism, confidentiality, emotional self-regulation, and the ability to follow established emergency and supervisory procedures.

 

OTHER DUTIES:

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of all activities, duties, or responsibilities required of the employee. Duties and responsibilities may change based on resident needs, staffing, funding, program operations, changes in OASAS requirements, or other legitimate business needs. Assignments requiring a professional license, certification, credential, or clinical scope of practice shall be performed only by appropriately qualified personnel.

 

Qualifications

MINIMUM EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

Employer minimum qualifications:

• High school diploma or high school equivalency (HSE/GED) required.
• Experience in residential services, substance use disorder services, behavioral health, recovery services, supportive housing, human services, or a related setting is preferred.
• Experience working with adults in recovery or other vulnerable populations is preferred.
• Ability to work evenings, overnights, weekends, holidays, and alternate shifts as required by the residential staffing schedule.

SPECIAL SKILLS, CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, AND REGISTRATIONS:

• Good written and verbal communication skills and ability to communicate respectfully with residents, coworkers, supervisors, and community partners.
• Basic understanding of substance use disorder, recovery, relapse prevention, trauma-informed care, and the role of residential support services.
• Ability to maintain appropriate professional boundaries, confidentiality, and accurate documentation.
• Ability to respond calmly and appropriately to emergencies and behavioral-health crises within training and role boundaries.
• Ability to use electronic documentation, incident-reporting, telephone, security, and standard office systems required by the program.
• CPR/First Aid, naloxone/overdose-response, de-escalation, and other required training must be obtained and maintained within program-established timeframes.
• Valid driver's license meeting The Salvation Army insurance requirements only if driving is an assigned essential duty.

We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.