Bilingual Residential Family Advocate

Job Title: Bilingual Residential Family Advocate (English and Spanish)

Supervised By: Director of Housing Services

Hours & Status:  Full-Time, Non-Exempt; Monday-Friday 8am-5pm, on-call responsibilities, some flexible scheduling required

Salary & Benefits: $21.00-$23.00 per hour; generous PTO; 11 Paid holidays; health, dental benefits and HSA with employee match; Simple IRA with employee contribution                     

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Residential Bilingual  Family Advocate provides comprehensive case management support and intervention to shelter residents seeking services related to relationship abuse. Advocates provide crisis response to individuals accessing Safe Haven’s 24/7 free and confidential crisis services, facilitate assessments and ensure survivors have access to trauma informed care when seeking support. The Family Advocate will lead psycho-educational support groups, provide outreach services to survivors, and supervise bachelor’s level interns.

ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW

Safe Haven Ministries—a nonprofit organization located in Grand Rapids, Michigan—believes in a multi-faceted approach to serving victims/survivors of domestic violence and preventing domestic violence in our community. Safe Haven offers comprehensive residential and non-residential services; confidential emergency shelter for individuals and families fleeing domestic violence; psycho-educational support groups; individual case management and advocacy; and primary prevention training and outreach for the entire community.

SUMMARY OF DUTIES (Essential Functions)

• Provide crisis intervention, assessment, advocacy, and case management to meet individuals’ needs seeking crisis support
• Strive to create a caring and safe environment marked by empathy, understanding, and acceptance
• Be available to clients to discuss problems and concerns by using active listening, problem solving skills, and empathy in a professional manner
• Provide trauma informed and comprehensive assessment, case management, legal advocacy, and referral services to residential clients as appropriate and in conjunction with other advocates
• Provide conflict resolution when difficulties arise among/between clients 
• Provide direction, training, and programming overview to childcare staff and volunteers
• Outreach and relationship building with agencies and communities to promote services and awareness of Safe Haven programming
• Share on-call responsibilities
• Ensure appropriate and timely data collection, maintain case notes and complete client files
• Supervise interns as assigned
• Attend and participate in program meetings, weekly staff meetings, individual supervisions, staff in-services, and other meetings as assigned
• Observe professional confidentiality; protect the rights of clients and their families and observe the Safe Haven Ministries Code of Ethics at all times
• Create and strengthen working relationships internally and with relevant community organizations
• Attend conferences and seminars to enhance knowledge and resources in the fields of social work and domestic violence

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES REQUIRED OR PREFERRED

• Bilingual (English and Spanish) Required
• Bachelor’s Degree in social work or related field preferred. Will consider relevant experience in the right candidate in lieu of bachelor’s degree
• Knowledge of the dynamics of domestic violence; previous work with domestic violence preferred
• Active listening, crisis intervention, and problem resolutions skills
• Ability to work independently and as a team
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• A commitment to continued research, training, and education on issues of domestic violence and social work
• Must be self-motivated, self-directed and able to demonstrate a high level of initiative
• Must display professionalism and leadership qualities with strong abilities to adapt, prioritize and demonstrate flexibility as needed
• Strong organizational and time management skills
• Ability to communicate with individuals from diverse cultures and backgrounds
• Reliable transportation

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employees in this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and/or qualifications of employees assigned to this job. Employees are required to perform other duties as requested, directed, or assigned.

Safe Haven is an equal opportunity employer and dedicated to a policy and culture of non-discrimination and equal opportunity for all employees and qualified applicants. People with disabilities, people of color, indigenous people and LGBTQIA+ candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

To apply for this position, please visit www.shmgr.org/careers.