Community Access Advocate

Asian Family Support Services of Austin; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

100% employer paid medical, dental, &

401k retirement with employer match

Generous PTO, float holidays & public/

Job summary

Asian Family Support Services of Austin (AFSSA) is seeking a Community Access Advocate to raise awareness within Asian communities about AFSSA services for survivors and to build culturally specific presentations for Central Texas. The role emphasizes rural outreach, library programming, and faith community engagement across a ten-county area with a focus on rural counties surrounding Travis County.

The position will support AFSSA’s survivor services, hotline, and education teams while reporting

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in public health, education, sociology, social work, or related field.
• Two years of field-related experience or equivalent.
• Bi-lingual/bi-cultural in an Asian language preferred.
• Ability to interact with diverse groups with cultural sensitivity.
• Experience delivering trainings or presentations.
• Commitment to ending domestic and sexual violence.

Responsibilities

• Develop and nurture relationships with community partners to improve access to services for survivors.
• Raise awareness about sexual assault and domestic violence in Asian communities through culturally grounded trainings and outreach.
• Collaborate with law enforcement, courts, and local leaders; maintain contact database.
• Assess training needs and develop new trainings/materials as appropriate.
• Support and staff AFSSA’s hotline and community education efforts, including events and outreach in rural counties.
• Attend agency meetings and adhere to AFSSA policies.

Skills

Training facilitation

Communication

Interpersonal skills

Cultural competence

Time management

Bilingual (Asian language) preferred

Graphic design

Video production

Social media

Education

Bachelor’s degree in public health, education, sociology, social work, or related field

Job description

ABOUT ASIAN FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES OF AUSTIN (AFSSA)

AFSSA is a non-profit organization located in Austin, Texas with a staff of thirty-seven professionals who are passionate about breaking the cycle of violence in Asian and immigrant communities. Through education, advocacy, and self-advocacy, we empower Asian survivors of sexual violence, domestic violence, and human trafficking by improving their access to services, and increasing the community’s awareness of the various forms of gender-based violence and oppression.

AFSSA supports our dedicated team of professionals by providing medical, dental, and vision insurance at no cost to our employees. AFSSA demonstrates a level of care for our employees that includes competitive compensation, generous PTO, and comprehensive benefits. Time-off includes up to: 192 hours of paid time off; 40 Floating Holidays; and 48 hours of Official Holidays. AFSSA also offers a 401k retirement program with an employer match.

Guided by our core values of Prevention, Advocacy, Responsiveness, and Transformation, AFSSA provides high quality, client-centered, and strength-based survivor and community services in Central Texas.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Community Access Advocate is responsible for raising awareness within Asian communities about the of the services and resources provided by AFSSA for survivors, the dynamics of sexual assault and domestic violence.This position has a strong focus on building community partnerships and developing culturally specific presentations and materials that meet the needs of the diverse Asian communities in Central Texas.

The Community Access Advocate assumes responsibility for specific portfolios:

Rural outreach and library programming

Co-leading congregational and faith community outreach

The position will serve our ten-county area with a focus on growing AFSSA’s presence in rural communities, particularly in the 7 rural counties surrounding Travis County. This position will grow efforts to reach low-tech immigrant communities that aren’t online on mainstream social media, with a focus on AFSSA’s 24/7 Hotline and the survivor support services offered by AFSSA. The Community Access Advocate will report directly to the Manager of Community Access.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

• Develop and nurture relationships with community partners (cultural groups, other direct services agencies, places of worship, Asian/immigrant-owned businesses, etc.) to enhance survivors access to services
• Raise survivor’s awareness about sexual assault, domestic violence. Lower specific barriers faced by Asian survivors through culturally grounded presentations, trainings, social media campaigns, and outreach events.
• Work closely with the Systems Advocacy Team to build relationships with members of local/state law enforcement, the courts, and community leaders, and maintain a database of all contacts.
• Assess any needs for specific trainings, presentations and materials and, when appropriate, taking the lead to develop new ones.
• Uphold AFSSA’s mission to support survivors and educate the community to prevent and recognize the impact of domestic/sexual violence.
• Maintain professional competency by attending trainings and accessing other mechanisms (e.g., technical assistance, online tutorials, reading articles, etc.) for developing new knowledge and skills.
• Maintain accuracy in completing required reports and other documentation (evaluations, sign-in sheets and other data for monthly, quarterly and annual reports) in a timely and complete manner.
• Support the Community Education and Outreach team (examples: maintaining an event calendar, assessing outreach material needs, managing the AFSSA partner newsletter, publicizing events, and staffing outreach event including on evenings and on weekends.
• Support and staff hotline during in-office days and remotely as needed.
• Regular use of self-insured personal vehicle needed for this position, including driving to rural counties within AFSSA’s 10 county service area for rural outreach efforts, programming and community events
• Attend agency meetings as required including staff meetings and weekly community education meetings.
• Adhere to AFSSA policies and procedures.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, ABILITIES AND SKILLS

• Bachelor’s Degree in public health, education, sociology, social work, or related field and two years of field-related experience OR equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Knowledge of Asian & immigrant cultures, respect for all cultures, and ability to interact with diverse groups.
• Demonstrated experience in facilitating/delivering trainings and presentations.
• A passion for social justice and a commitment to ending domestic and sexual violence.
• Strong written/oral communication skills and excellent interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated judgment and discretion with confidential matters.
• Good time management, organizational, problem prevention, and problem-solving skills.
• Availability to work a flexible schedule that could include some weekends and evenings.
• Bi-lingual/bi-cultural in an Asian language (Preferred)
• Pacific Islander and Native Hawaiian community members encouraged to apply
• Lived experience as a rural community member or serving rural communities (Preferred)
• Experience in the field of sexual assault and/or intimate partner violence (Preferred)
• Experience with graphic design, video production, and social media is a plus.
• Other duties as assigned.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Benefits: 100% employer paid medical, dental, and vision insurance. 401k program (up to 3% employer match). Generous Paid Time-Off (PTO, accrued semi-monthly @ 8hrsper pay period), five (5) Floating Holidays, six (6) Official Holidays.
• Hours: 40 hours per week, including evenings and weekend commitments
• Required: Valid U.S. work permit
• Required: Occasional use of self-insured personal vehicle

Note: This position is subject to grant funding AFSSA is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, race, language, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender, gender expression, gender identity, marital status, sexual orientation, or status as a veteran with a disability