Family Advocate

IOWA DONOR NETWORK; Altoona (IA); On-site; USD 57,000 - 72,000; Full time

Job summary

IOWA DONOR NETWORK in Altoona, IA seeks a Family Advocate to support donor families in hospital settings and through grief after donation.

A four-year degree in Social Services, Psychology, Family Services, or related field is required; two years of related experience is preferred.

You will collaborate with the clinical team, coordinate donor family care, and participate in monthly meetings and quality initiatives; schedule is 10 shifts/month plus weekends and holidays.

Qualifications

• Requires a four-year degree in Social Services, Psychology, Family Services, or related field.
• Two years of equivalent work experience involving complex family dynamics preferred.
• Ability to communicate compassionately with donor families in hospital settings.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the donor family by assessing needs, building rapport, and advocating for the family and donation process.
• Oversee timely, respectful communication with interdisciplinary medical teams and IDN staff.
• Ensure continuum of care including grief support, donor family correspondence, events, and support groups.
• Participate in monthly meetings, process improvement, and quality assurance activities.

Skills

Empathy

Communication

Time management

Decision making

Autonomy

Grief support

Education

Bachelor's degree in Social Services/psychology/family services

Job description

Salary Range: $57,300.00 To $71,600.00 Annually

Organization Overview: Our organization is dedicated to transforming lives and inspiring all to donate life. We are a family of professionals working together to increase awareness around the need for organ and tissue donors alongside nurturing and guiding our families throughout the gift of life. We facilitate the recovery of organs, tissues, and corneas in Iowa. We honor donors and support donor families at the time of donation and on a continuing basis.

We believe in going above and beyond to support donor families during and after the donation process. Our core values are what guide us, allow us to excel at serving our community, and keep our culture at Iowa Donor Network alive:

Serve with Heart: We meet our donor families where they are. We are dedicated to providing compassionate service to all.

Drive and Embrace the Future: We are proactive in our pursuit of excellence and work together to continuously evolve with adaptability

Be Clear, Bold, and Respectful: We are genuine and courageous in our communication. If we see an opportunity for improvement, we shy something to make it better.

Always Own It: we are resilient and passionately pursue our mission. We are personally accountable for taking initiative and delivering on commitments.

Have you been searching for an opportunity to be part of something bigger than yourself, make a tremendous contribution to your community, and pursue a mission to save lives daily? If so, Iowa Donor Network could be just the organization you have been looking for.

Job Title: Family Advocate

Location: Must maintain permanent residency within one hour of Altoona, Iowa.

Schedule: 10 (24-hour) shifts per month, 12 weekend days per quarter, 3 Donor Family Care events per year (outside of regular on-call shifts), as well as 3 holiday shifts per year.

Hours: 8am-8am CST *training will require additional availability

Exemption Status: E xempt

Salary Range: $ 57,300 - $71,600

*Iowa Donor Network determines final compensation based on education, experience, and skills relevant to the position.

Job Title:

Family Advocate

Work System:

Honor the Gift

Department/Group:

Donor Family Care

Reports To:

Manager of Donor Family Care

Location:

Altoona

Position Type:

Full-Time

Exemption Status:

Exempt

OSHA Category:

II

IDN Culture Statement:

Our organization is dedicated to transforming lives and inspiring all to donate life. We are a family of professionals working together to increase awareness around the need for organ and tissue donors alongside nurturing and guiding our families throughout the gift of life. We facilitate the recovery of organs, tissues, and corneas in Iowa. We honor donors and support donor families at the time of donation and on a continuing basis.

Position Summary:

This position supports donor families through organ and tissue donation in the hospital setting, and with ongoing grief and bereavement support after donation is complete. Daily activities include collaboration with IDN clinical team members, donor family members, interdisciplinary medical team and other essential stakeholders.Performance is measured by the satisfaction of the care provided to our donor families.

Essential Functions and Performance Responsibilities:

Responsible for collaborating with the donor family by continually assessing family needs, establishing rapport and communicating with families to independently advocate for the needs of the family while simultaneously advocating for the donation process.

Oversee timely and respectful communication and collaboration with interdisciplinary medical team, donor families, and IDN team members.

Ensure excellence in continuum of care for donor families, including grief support, donor family correspondence with recipients, donor family events, and donor family support groups.

Participate in scheduled monthly meetings, process improvement, and quality assurance activities within the work system and organization.

Position Qualifications and Education Requirements:

Requires a four-year degree in the areas of Social Services, Psychology, Family Services, Child Life, Counseling or other healthcare related field. A minimum of two years of equivalent work experience involving complex family dynamics, such as death and dying, grief and loss or supporting families in the hospital setting is preferred.

Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to establish strong, positive connections with diverse audiences, in rapidly changing, stressful, and unpredictable situations.
• Demonstrates a natural tendency to help, but not pressure others.
• Deliver health education suitable for all literacy levels.
• Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to prioritize needs and balance multiple simultaneous projects in a fast-paced and at times stressful environment.
• Exercise judgement in donation advocacy, crucial to the outcome of the case.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrates strong autonomy in decision making.

Physical Requirements:

• Maintain a current valid driver’s license and be insurable through IDN’s insurance.
• Respond to call/page within 10 minutes and arrive to office/hospital within one hour of call as appropriate.
• Travel to the office and donor hospitals through the State of Iowa at any given hour of the day or night. This travel may occur under various weather conditions.
• Must be able to lift up to 20 pounds at times.
• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Must respond timely to IDN communication outside of scheduled shifts.
• Must receive required vaccines based on outlined schedules to protect our employees, healthcare personnel, donors, recipients, and families we may come into contact. (e.g., Influenza obtained annually by December 1st.)
• Duties of the position require travel or onsite response to execute essential job functions required in the facilitation of the donation process.

Organizational Responsibilities:

• It is required that IDN employees demonstrate commitment to the mission and vision, maintain effective communication, exhibit teamwork, respect diversity, follow policies and procedures, maintain confidentiality of all donor, recipient and organizational information, demonstrate accuracy and thoroughness while meeting productivity standards, observe safety and security procedures, be consistently punctual and dependable, actively participate in performance improvement activities and continually demonstrate behavioral expectations and core values.
• Employee’s obligation to maintain the confidentiality of information shall survive the termination of employee’s employment with IDN.
• All requirements are subject to modifications to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed in this position. I will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by my supervisor. Requirements are representative of minimum levels of knowledge, skills and/or abilities. To perform this job successfully, I know that I must possess the abilities or aptitudes to perform each duty proficiently. I realize neither the job description nor this document creates an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an “at will” employment relationship.