Social Services Advocate

Tahirih Justice Center; West Falls Church (VA); Hybrid; USD 60,000 - 71,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, vision and dental insurance

Paid parking

401(k) retirement plan

Flexible work schedules

Professional development and training

Job summary

The Tahirih Justice Center is a national nonprofit serving immigrant survivors of violence. The Social Services Advocate role is based in the Greater DC area with hybrid work status, supporting case-management and trauma-informed services for clients.

Responsibilities include crisis intervention, referrals, documentation, and collaboration with legal and social services teams; strong emphasis on equity, inclusion, and client-centered care.

Qualifications

• Bachelor/Master's Degree in Social Work or related mental health/social sciences field.
• Minimum 1 year of direct social services or case management with trauma survivors.
• Spanish preferred or fluent in a second language.
• Strong time management and prioritization skills.
• Excellent interpersonal, cultural humility, and cross-cultural communication.
• Ability to creatively problem-solve under pressure.
• Commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
• Access to a personal vehicle and/or public transport for local travel.

Responsibilities

• Triage client emergencies, provide crisis intervention and safety planning.
• Collaborate with legal and social services teams on interdisciplinary case-management.
• Provide trauma-informed, client-centered services.
• Enroll clients in USCRI's Trafficking Victims' Assistance Program (TVAP) and manage related tasks.
• Research referrals, advocate and accompany clients to services.
• Write letters of support for clients.
• Maintain regular client communication and accurate case notes.
• Coordinate with Finance and Grants for quarterly reporting.
• Support program development, evaluation and outreach activities.
• Supervise social services volunteers or interns.

Skills

Social services

Case management

Spanish language

Interpersonal skills

Time management

Cross-cultural communication

Problem solving

Diversity & inclusion

Local travel

Education

Bachelor/Master's Degree in Social Work or related field

Job description

Description

The Tahirih Justice Center is a national, nonprofit organization that serves women, girls, and all immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking, and other violence. Our whole-person approach to services provides each survivor with free legal support and social services to secure their rights and build stable lives. We translate our client services work into expert training, outreach, and policy advocacy to ensure that systems, laws, and policies protect immigrant survivors from violence and exploitation. Our programs efficiently and effectively leverage donated professional services from a vast network of attorneys, medical professionals, and other experts to serve as many immigrant survivors as possible. By amplifying the experiences of survivors, our mission is to create a world in which all people share equal rights and live in safety and with dignity.

Tahirih Justice Center, a non-profit legal services organization, is seeking to hire a Social Services Advocate. Based out of Tahirih's Greater DC (GDC) office, this role will require a high degree of emotional intelligence and discretion to support immigrant women and girls fleeing gender-based violence. This position will work in tandem with the Social Services Program Manager to provide programmatic and case-management support to our GDC team to ensure delivery of interdisciplinary, trauma-informed support to our clients. Tahirih is currently on hybrid working status.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Help triage client emergencies, and provide crisis intervention, safety planning, and education about victim's rights to clients.
• Collaborate well and communicate effectively with legal and social services team on interdisciplinary case-management.
• Provide technical assistance where needed, to ensure provision of trauma informed and client centered services to clients.
• Enroll clients in USCRI's Trafficking Victims' Assistance Program (TVAP), oversee ongoing administrative tasks and case-management related to USCRI TVAP provision.
• Research information, provide referrals, advocate and accompany clients, as needed and when safe to do so, to access housing/shelter, food banks, education, transportation, counseling, medical services, public benefits, Crime Victims Compensation, and other social services available locally.
• Write letters of support for clients.
• Maintain regular communication with clients through regular calls and in-person meetings to provide social services case-management.
• Ensure quality control of the client database and files; maintain accurate case notes and data entry; ensure appropriate metrics tracking systems; regularly update Tahirih's case-intensity matrix, update referral and resource database, and follow risk management procedures.
• Work with our Finance and Grants departments for quarterly grant reporting.
• Support the development, implementation and evaluation of interdisciplinary programs and services for clients and synthesize evaluation findings to improve efficiencies.
• Participate in education and outreach activities, including local coalitions, taskforces and working groups.
• Support special events and donations drives, as needed.
• Supervise social services volunteers or interns, as needed.

This Job Description is not designed to cover a comprehensive listing of activities that are required of the employee. The precise duties and responsibilities of the job may change over time.

Requirements

Education

• Bachelor/Master's Degree in Social Work or related mental health/social sciences field

Successful candidates generally possess

• At least 1 year of relevant experience providing direct social services or case management services to survivors of trauma
• Knowledge of program development, implementation and evaluation
• Spanish is strongly preferred and/or fluency in a second language (written and spoken)
• Exemplary time management and prioritization skills
• Strong interpersonal skills, cultural humility, and cross-cultural communication skills
• Ability to creatively problem-solve under pressure
• Commitment to Tahirih's foundational values and mission, and demonstrated commitment to the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion and/or social justice
• Access to a personal vehicle and/or public transportation for work-related local travel

Annual salary and benefits: The salary range for this role is $60,000 - $71,000 per year, with actual salary commensurate with experience. We consider skills, experience and internal equity in determining compensation and use a consultative process to identify where candidates fall inside the posted range. Generous benefits include employee and dependent health, vision and dental insurance (Tahirih contributes 100% of the premium for employees and 60% for dependents); paid parking; a 401(k) defined contribution retirement plan; flexible work schedules; professional development including in-house training programs, staff enrichment retreats and other growth opportunities. Employees have a generous self-managed leave benefit inclusive of vacation, sick and holidays, including office closure the week between Christmas and New Year's.

Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States.

Tahirih Justice Center is committed to equal opportunity and promotes equity and transparency as core values. Tahirih practices inclusiveness in decision making through the use of consultation with employees throughout the organization. Tahirih does not discriminate against any person on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, ability, gender, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information, arrest record or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws. Applicants committed to equity from all backgrounds, experiences, abilities and identities are encouraged to apply. Applicants with questions or concerns should reach out to the Director of People & Operations at [e-mail]. Information about filing a charge of discrimination at the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov.