How to hire a shelter advocate

How to hire a shelter advocate, step by step

Here's a step-by-step shelter advocate hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a shelter advocate job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new shelter advocate
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the shelter advocate you need to hire. Certain shelter advocate roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a shelter advocate to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a shelter advocate that fits the bill.

   This list presents shelter advocate salaries for various positions.

   Type of Shelter Advocate	Description	Hourly rate
   Shelter Advocate	Social and human service assistants provide client services, including support for families, in a wide variety of fields, such as psychology, rehabilitation, and social work. They assist other workers, such as social workers, and they help clients find benefits or community services.	$14-21
   Liaison	A liaison is a middle person responsible for collaborating different institutes, managing professional relationships to create benefiting results that would help a business' meet its goals and objectives. Duties of a liaison include facilitating communications, establishing partnership contract plans and procedures, managing conflicts, providing immediate resolution for concerns, and evaluating collaboration parameters... Show more	$14-45
   Resident	A resident, often known as a resident physician, is a medical doctor who just graduated from medical school and pursued the residency program for further training. Residents work with health care team members to provide direct medical care by diagnosing medical problems and devising appropriate treatment plans... Show more	$21-39

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Crisis Intervention
   • Safety Planning
   • Client Intake
   • Mental Health
   • Cleanliness
   • Social Work
   • Crisis Hotline
   • Advocacy Services
   • Substance Abuse
   • Community Resources
   • Emergency Shelter
   • Support Services
   • Community Services
   • Emergency Situations

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Enter data in HMIS and NCATrak.
   • Complete necessary monthly and yearly statistics for HUD and OASAS.
   • Preform regular chores and cleaning tasks to ensure the safety and cleanliness of the shelter facility.
   • Perform routine chores and cleaning tasks assign by shift to ensure the safety and cleanliness of the shelter facility.
   • Facilitate weekly case management sessions with all residents, focusing on HUD goals of employment, housing and self-determination.
   • Record keeping, data entry into HMIS data-base, statistics, compliance to federal guidelines, chart notes, file management.

   More shelter advocate duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your shelter advocate job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A shelter advocate salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, shelter advocates' average salary in utah is 44% less than in district of columbia.
   • Seniority. Entry-level shelter advocates earn 32% less than senior-level shelter advocates.
   • Certifications. A shelter advocate with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a shelter advocate's salary.

   Average shelter advocate salary

   $36,889yearly

   $17.74 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level shelter advocate salary

   $30,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 15, 2025

   Average shelter advocate salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Massachusetts	$43,340	$21
   2	Hawaii	$40,345	$19
   3	Texas	$39,496	$19
   4	Wisconsin	$38,914	$19
   5	Washington	$37,877	$18
   6	Kansas	$37,500	$18
   7	Minnesota	$36,909	$18
   8	Pennsylvania	$36,458	$18
   9	California	$36,303	$17
   10	Vermont	$35,916	$17
   11	Florida	$34,554	$17
   12	Ohio	$33,905	$16
   13	Arizona	$33,435	$16
   14	Utah	$28,202	$14

   Average shelter advocate salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking	$41,069	$19.74	1
   2	S A F E Inc	$39,066	$18.78
   3	The Spring of Tampa Bay	$38,750	$18.63	5
   4	The Women's Center	$38,502	$18.51	4
   5	Catholic Community Services of Lane County	$37,813	$18.18
   6	Kings Community Action Organization	$37,651	$18.10
   7	Catholic Community Services of Utah	$37,575	$18.06
   8	ywcacentralmass	$37,541	$18.05	5
   9	Community Advocates	$37,477	$18.02	1
   10	Covenant House California	$36,748	$17.67	1
   11	Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio	$36,632	$17.61
   12	Harbor House of Central Florida	$36,582	$17.59	11
   13	Americorps	$36,266	$17.44	2
   14	Child & Family Service	$36,264	$17.43	8
   15	Avalon Center	$36,077	$17.34
   16	YWCA	$35,297	$16.97	18
   17	Simpson Housing LLLP	$34,924	$16.79
   18	The Salvation Army	$34,083	$16.39	28

4. Writing a shelter advocate job description

   A shelter advocate job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a shelter advocate job description:

   Shelter advocate job description example

   Who We Are: CAMBA is a community of staff, volunteers, clients, donors, neighbors and partners who work together to build an inclusive New York City, where all children and adults have access to the resources and supports they need to thrive. We take a comprehensive approach by offering more than 160 integrated programs in: Education & Youth Development, Family Support, Job Training & Employment Support Services, Health, Housing, and Legal Services. We reach more than 65,000 individuals and families each year at our 90 locations, including 10,000 youth. CAMBA serves a diverse cross section of New Yorkers from new mothers in Brownsville to job seekers in the Rockaways. More than half of our clients are immigrants and refugees from around the globe. Over 85% of our families are in living in poverty, reflecting the challenges faced by nearly 1.7 million New Yorkers today.

   The Broadway House Women’s Shelter in Bushwick serves 165 women, approximately 37 of whom are mentally ill and chemically addicted.

   Position: Peer Advocate

   Reports To: Assistant Program Director

   Location: 1245 Broadway, Brooklyn NY 11221

   What The Peer Advocate Does:

   The person who fills this position will report and document outcomes of referrals and interactions with outside providers to appropriate case manager and/or social services supervisor, follow-up with clients and with referral organizations regarding client contact and progress with referral organization. In collaboration with the case manager(s), work with clients to break through barriers to client goals and to assist clients in advocating for themselves and in moving toward self-sufficiency.

   Minimum Education/Experience Required:

   • High school diploma or G.E.D. and/or equivalent experience.

   CAMBA is a City contractor that provides services where employees can be expected to physically interact with members of the public. All CAMBA staff are subject to the City’s October 21, 2021 COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate, whether they have direct involvement with members of the public, or they support others who have direct involvement.

   All new hires must provide proof of vaccination against the COVID-19 virus, unless they have been granted a reasonable accommodation for religious or medical reasons. If you are offered employment at CAMBA, this requirement must be met by your date of hire, unless a reasonable accommodation is received and approved by CAMBA.

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5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right shelter advocate for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your shelter advocate job on Zippia to find and recruit shelter advocate candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit shelter advocates, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new shelter advocate

   Once you've selected the best shelter advocate candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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