Community Care Advocate

United Way for Southeastern Michigan; Detroit (MI); On-site; USD 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

United Way for Southeastern Michigan seeks a compassionate Community Care Advocate to assist low-income clients. This role involves processing calls for social services and providing essential referrals while demonstrating empathy and excellent communication skills. Ideal candidates will have experience in fast-paced environments and customer service.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 1 year experience in a high-volume crisis center.
• Effective listening and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, stressful environment.

Responsibilities

• Process high volume of calls from low-income clients for social services.
• Employ listening skills to understand caller needs.
• Connect callers with local resources for assistance.

Skills

Communication

Problem Solving

Customer Focus

Empathy

Adaptability

Education

High school diploma

Some social services coursework or experience

Tools

MS Word

Outlook

Excel

Job description

The Community Care Advocate answers calls and provides information and referrals to community members who are in need of assistance. The incumbent in this position demonstrates compassion and empathy while employing exceptional listening skills in order to fully understand caller's needs and recommend effective alternatives for resolution.

Key Responsibilities:

• Process a high volume of incoming calls from low-income clients seeking information and referrals for social services. This may include: food, clothing, shelter and housing, and utility bill payment assistance.
• Employ listening skills in order to understand all of the caller's needs.
• Demonstrate a high degree of empathy, showing the appropriate levels of care and understanding, without being, or being perceived as, judgmental.
• Identify and offer effective solutions to both expressed and latent needs.
• Connect callers with resources in the caller's area that offer assistance.
• Utilize the department's database information, demonstrating technical skills that lead to efficient and effective outcomes.
• Report inaccurate database information to the Resource group for correction.
• Record caller data accordingly to prescribed policies.
• Represent United Way 2-1-1 at community events designed to inform people in the community about 2-1-1 services.

In addition to the core responsibilities of the position, may be asked, or may seek, to engage unique abilities, strengths and passions through participation on cross-functional teams.

Competencies:

• Communicates Effectively
• Relationship Management
• Adaptability
• Tenacity
• Continuous Learning
• Self-Management
• Drives for Results
• Problem Solving / Critical Thinking
• Customer Focus
• Teamwork and Inclusion
• Self-Awareness

Demonstrated Abilities:

• High-impact, customer-focused telephone communication skills
• Effective listening and problem solving involving customer service via telephone
• Ability to function successfully in a fast-paced, often stressful work environment

Acquired Knowledge:

• High school diploma, with some social services coursework or experience preferred
• A minimum of 1 year of experience in a high-volume crisis center
• Basic computer skills, including MS Word, Outlook, Excel, and Internet searches

United Way for Southeastern Michigan is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

This job description describes the general nature and level of work performed by employees assigned to this position. It should not be construed as an exhaustive list of all required duties, responsibilities and skills. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable disabled individuals to perform the essential functions of the job.