Part-Time Temporary Advocacy Specialist

YWCA Clark County; Vancouver (WA); On-site; USD 36,000 - 43,000; Part time

Job summary

YWCA Clark County in Vancouver, WA is seeking a part-time advocate to provide direct services including crisis intervention and advocacy for survivors. The role requires on-site and off-site work, coordinating with law enforcement and community partners.

You will maintain a caseload, complete intake and reporting per grant guidelines, and participate in group facilitation and outreach activities. A high school diploma or GED and crisis-experience are required; bilingual skills are a plus.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or G.E.D. required.
• Experience working with persons in crisis.
• Bilingual skills preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide direct services including general, medical, and legal advocacy to primary victims/survivors and/or secondary victims/survivors.
• Support and information over the phone, in person, and via video conferencing software.
• Advocate on-site or virtually at schools, detention centers, courts, and police precincts, including during medical forensic exams.
• Coordinate and co-facilitate survivor-centered support groups with curriculum updates and multiple sessions.
• Maintain case loads, document intake and reporting per grant and policy requirements.
• Attend community events and pursue training opportunities with supervisor approval.
• Develop relationships with partners and ensure program confidentiality and privacy.

Skills

Crisis intervention

Advocacy

Communication

Teamwork

Education

High school diploma or GED

Job description

Status: temporary position will last through June 30th, 2027
Schedule: part time, 20 hours per week
Pay Range: $25.96/hour + $1/hour bilingual differential
We’ve identified the day-to-day responsibilities linked to each position. In addition to the position specific responsibilities provided below, each YWCA Clark County employee must share responsibility for upholding and modeling the organization’s core value on a daily basis.

Essential Duties

• Provide direct services including general, medical, and legal advocacy to primary victims/survivors and/or secondary victims/survivors such as family, friends, and guardians including on-site and off-site locations which may include but is not limited to:
• Support and information over the phone, in person, and via video conferencing software.
• In-person or virtual advocacy as needed at schools, Clark County Juvenile Detention Center, Clark County Jail, Children’s Justice Center, Clark County Courthouse and various police precinct stations.Provide in-person or virtual support during medical forensic exams at Peace Health or Legacy Salmon Creek emergency rooms.
• Communicate with law enforcement, legal agencies, community organizations/partners, county/state/federal agencies, national organizations/partners, universities, families, and other relevant programs as needed to provide survivor directed support.
• Refer sexual assault program participants to other YWCA Clark County programs according to participant needs and program procedures.
• Monitor warrant cases and communicate with legal agencies and families as appropriate.
• Work with the program director to establish and effectively manage an active case load and provide advocacy to ongoing cases.
• Coordinate and co-facilitate survivor-centered support groups, which may include:
• Maintaining and updating group curriculum in accordance with grant requirements,
• Facilitating multi-week sessions of a psychoeducational support group (1-2 hour average length of time per session, up to 8 sessions per support group),
  submitting intake, reporting, and feedback paperwork,
• Maintaining relationships with community partners and organization partners in co-facilitating group,
• And ensuring a regular schedule for all support groups is upheld.
• Document and report participant related information in a manner that complies with federal and state requirements as well as in conjunction with program and organization policies and procedures.
• Attend community and outreach events at the direction of the program mangager.
• Attend further education, training, and certification opportunities with director approval.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with community partners and organizations.
• Make mandatory reports as legally required.
• Collaborate as a team on program special events.
• Document and report in a timely manner participant related information, complying with federal and state requirements as well as program and organization policies and procedures.
• Maintain Program confidentiality as mandated by program policy and Washington State Statute.
• Ensure comprehension of program and organizational policies and procedures and follow them.
• Track hours worked and turn in monthly timesheet to supervisor on time.

There is a strong social justice component to all positions within YWCA Clark County, requiring critical thinking through the lens of racism and intersections with poverty. Knowing the core principles of anti-racism and grounding those principles in everyday work are required job skills and core values

Minimum education and experience

• High school diploma or G.E.D. required.
• Experience working with persons in crisis

Language fluency

verbally and in writing, clearly communicate with participants, co-workers, and community partners in English as needed. Bilingual skills preferred.

Strong time management skills

effectively manage a supervisor determined case load, related paperwork, and respond to requests and questions.

Ability to work in a self-directed manner

effectively engage in work-related research as needed to support the participants, program operations, or as requested by supervisor.

Ability to work in a team

consistently convey an open, respectful, and solution-oriented approach to addressing challenges, completing work tasks, and when providing or requesting feedback.

Ability to work at a higher level

demonstrate unwavering integrity by taking accountability for mistakes, doing what’s needed to correct them, and supporting fellow co-workers to do the same.

Ability to maintain strong boundaries

use work time to support the program and organization in a manner that supports our participant’s right to privacy.

Strong critical thinking skills

in a self-directed manner, resolve challenges and answer questions while knowing when it’s time to stop and seek additional guidance and/or direction.

Ability to achieve greatness

good employees make sure the day-to-day work gets done; great employees do so while in a way that fosters communication within their program and their own professional growth.

Strong technological skills

strong working knowledge of the MS suite of products, various internet browsers, and video conferencing platforms.

Unparalleled soft-skills

with little to no prompting, adapt work and communication style to mitigate and/or de-escalate, improve the ability to support our participants and forge lasting and mutually beneficial professional relationships.

Strong advocacy skills

utilize empowerment-based advocacy to support participants in a manner that supports the organization’s core values, goals of the program, and organization’s overall mission.

Strong crisis management skills

effectively and respectfully communicate often-times complex and emotionally charged information to participants, law-enforcement, court officials, co-workers, and supervisor.

Self-awareness

ability to recognize impact of working with survivors of trauma and willingness to incorporate vicarious resiliency practices.

• Must be able to pass criminal background check which precludes any conviction in the WA Administration code found on: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=170-06-0120.
• Dependable means of transportation
• Occasional nights and/or weekends required.

Don't meet every single requirement after reading through this post? You may be just the right candidate for the role or future roles, and please know we value lived experience! Studies have shown that due to white supremacy culture, systemically oppressed communities are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. YWCA Clark County is dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you're excited about this role but your past experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways.