Income Tax

**Job Description - Taxation & Benefits Specialist**

**FTE Contract - Financial Empowerment Program**

**Start Date - February 3**rd**, 2025**

**End date - December 31, 2025**

For over 50 years Distress Centre has served Calgary and Southern Alberta, providing 24-hour crisis support, information, and resources at no cost. Distress Centre does not define crisis. We do not judge. Anyone can call us day or night.

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Job Objective_**

The Taxation & Benefits Specialist plays a pivotal role in empowering individuals and families by ensuring access to critical financial supports. Specializing in income tax completion and benefits navigation, this role leverages expertise from the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) to help individuals secure entitled benefits. Working within a Financial Empowerment Program and a wraparound support model, the Specialist collaborates with other services to connect individuals at risk of or experiencing homelessness to resources such as Income Support, pensions, financial coaching, and more.

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Duties_**

Income Tax Specialist (80%):

- Working with program participants experiencing or at-risk of homelessness, who may experience multiple barriers to stable housing.
- Provide tax filing services through the CVITP, ensuring individuals access benefits such as the GST credit, Canada Child Benefit, and provincial supports while adhering to CVITP policy, procedures and commitment to CRA while filing Income tax.
- Maintain up-to-date knowledge of tax regulations, benefit programs, and eligibility requirements.
- Support individuals with complex or multi-year tax filing needs to maximize benefit entitlements.
- Assist individuals in identifying and accessing financial supports, including Income Support, pensions (e.g., Old Age Security, Guaranteed Income Supplement), and disability benefits.
- Documenting and creating financial empowerment intake documentation
- Greet, build rapport and establish trust with people seeking support at the location of SORCe, particularly accessing Financial Empowerment services.
- Assess participant needs, provide information, and facilitate connections to programs within the SORCe collaborative or in the community.
- Proactively manage expectations for wait times.
- Ensure the integrity of data in the HMIS database. Create or update participant profile and visit details in the HMIS database. Ensure that all participants are informed of and consent to information sharing policies.
- Track participant data and outcomes to support program evaluation and reporting requirements.

Financial Empowerment Program Support (20%):

- Collaborate with financial coaches and other program staff to integrate tax and benefit services into broader financial literacy and empowerment efforts.
- Work closely within a wraparound service model, coordinating with housing, employment, and health teams to provide holistic support.
- Advocate for systemic improvements to enhance access to tax and benefit resources for marginalized populations.
- Work with the Aspire Collective and Community of Practice to contribute to the body of knowledge around providing financial empowerment programming for people who are experiencing or facing homelessness.
- All program staff at SORCe share responsibility for portions of the participant flow_
- Training and Mentoring (as needed)
- The Distress Centre takes on practicum students year-round. Where required, assist with the supervision, training, and development of practicum students.

**SORCe General (as needed)**
- Collaborate and coordinate with all agencies at SORCe and the Crossroads Collaborative to effectively deliver collaborative programs and services.

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Qualifications and Requirements_**
- Degree or a diploma in Human Services, Accounting, or related field. Appropriate education and experience may be considered.
- Completion of CVITP training or equivalent experience in tax preparation, with a strong understanding of tax filing systems and benefit programs.
- Knowledge of and/or comfortability working with homelessness, addiction, domestic violence, and/or mental health is an asset.
- Demonstrated experience working effectively in a team environment and independently.
- Knowledge of Income Support, pensions, and other government benefit programs.
- Excellent organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple cases and priorities effectively.
- Familiarity with participant data management systems or willingness to learn.
- Commitment to a person-centered, trauma-informed approach in service delivery.
- Knowledge and experience with Indigenous culture, supporting Indigenous people, and social services for Indigenous people is an asset
- Proficient computer skills; Basic navigation of Windows and Office 365 (SharePoint, Outlook, Teams) is required
- Knowledge of and/or ability to learn participant data management systems, specific to the CRA database. U-File is an asset
- Accounting or finance background is an as