Trauma Survivors Assistant Program Team Lead

City of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh (Allegheny County); On-site; USD 75,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a compassionate Trauma Survivors Assistant Program Team Lead to enhance community health and safety initiatives. This pivotal role involves collaborating with various organizations to support victims of intimate partner violence and other traumatic events. You will lead a dedicated team, ensuring effective communication and resource allocation while providing critical interventions. This position offers an opportunity to make a meaningful impact in the community, fostering resilience and recovery for those affected by violence. If you are passionate about supporting vulnerable populations and have a strong background in social work, this role could be your chance to shine.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience in crisis intervention and victim support required.
• Must have a Master's degree in Social Work and LSW license.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement programs to support victims of violence and trauma.
• Supervise team staff and coordinate community trauma response events.

Skills

Crisis Intervention

Victim Support

Mental/Behavioral Health Support

Collaboration with Community Organizations

Supervisory Skills

Education

Master’s of Social Work (MSW)

Licensed Social Worker (LSW)

Tools

Julota

Job description

The Office of Community Health & Safety (OCH&S) works to address longstanding disparities in health outcomes and criminal legal systems involvement for people in Pittsburgh. Critical to OCH&S’s mission is the Continuum of Support, which develops and implements public health-informed strategies to prevent and respond to crises and elevates community initiatives and partnerships to ensure that Pittsburgh is a healthy and safe city for all.

Reporting to the Social Work Manager, the Trauma Survivors Assistant Program (TSAP) Team Lead will develop and implement collaborative programs and projects with the City’s Group Violence Intervention (GVI), REACH, OCH&S' Continuum of Support, and other community organizations to provide support to victims of intimate partner violence (IPV), other categories of violent crime, and instances of trauma. This support will include assessing needs, providing referrals to appropriate resources, advocating for clients, and providing short term clinical interventions. The successful candidate must have significant knowledge of the existing services available for victims of violent crimes and trauma within Pittsburgh. The TSAP Team Lead will coordinate working relationships with existing community providers to collaborate on service referral and delivery to victims of crime, people experiencing IPV, and people experiencing complex grief and/or recent trauma.

Additionally, they will work with GVI and the appropriate City departments, bureaus, agencies, and offices to develop best practices for supporting victims of violent crimes or traumatic events and those who may have witnessed the event. The TSAP Team Lead will also oversee the coordination of community trauma response events to support communities following a traumatic incident. The TSAP Team Lead will supervise all TSAP team staff, including the Trauma Specialist and Victim Assistance Specialist, providing daily support and guidance related to best practices and complex case navigation.

Department: Public Safety, Office of Community Health & Safety
Salary: $74,069 per year.
Position Type: Announcement
Union: None, this is a non-union position.
Civil Service Classification: Non-competitive

General Application Requirements:

You must submit or show proof of all of the following at the time of filing your application (unless otherwise indicated below) or your application will be disqualified. Disqualifications based on any of these General Application Requirements are not subject to a Civil Service appeal.

• Applicants must submit a complete application including education, work experience, a resume (if applicable) and completed supplemental questions.
• Applicants must be or become City of Pittsburgh residents prior to employment and must remain a resident throughout their employment.
• A current, valid Class C Pennsylvania Driver's License is required prior to appointment and must be maintained throughout employment.
• Must obtain CJIS clearance within 30 days of start date and must maintain throughout employment.

Qualifying Requirements:

Your City of Pittsburgh application will be reviewed, and your work experience and education/training will be evaluated to determine if you meet the qualifying eligibility requirements listed below for this position. You will be sent an eligibility letter regarding your eligible/ineligible status.

• WORK EXPERIENCE: The application must clearly show four (4) years of full-time experience working with those involved in the criminal legal system, crisis intervention, victim support, mental/behavior health support; collaboration or coordination with health and safety programs and working with the public. Supervisory experience preferred.
• EDUCATION/TRAINING:The application must clearly show a Master’s of Social Work (MSW) degree from a fully accredited institution. A current and valid license as a Licensed Social Worker (LSW) is required.
• EQUIVALENCY: None permitted for this position. Therefore, no education/training and/or work experience may be substituted toward the qualifying requirements listed above.

If you meet the qualifying requirements listed above, you will be sent a letter of admission (when applicable) for the following examination(s). You must pass the written and/or performance examination(s) in order to have your name placed on the official Civil Service eligibility list for this position. Candidates who receive job offers must pass a medical examination (when applicable) prior to start date.

• Written: None required for this position.
• Performance: None required for this position.
• Medical: None required for this position.

• Adheres to and practices OCH&S values and principles, with a focus on harm reduction-based, person-first, crisis and trauma-informed principles.
• Provides on-scene assistance and intervention, in situations deemed acutely necessary, to serve victims/survivors and their families post-event affected by violent crimes.
• Coordinates with GVI through regular meetings, provides consultation to their staff, and occasionally joins the organization on-scene.
• Works with the Social Work Manager to develop the Trauma Survivors Assistance Program, policies, and referral pathways.
• Provides day-to-day supervision of the Trauma Specialist and the Victim Assistance Specialist. Triages cases, takes more complex or challenging cases, and assigns appropriate cases to Victim Assistance Specialist.
• Coordinates with Center for Victims and other trauma service providers to contribute assistance to communities after instances of violent crime and instances of trauma.
• Serves as a point of contact to disseminate information about the legal process and resources for cases and educates victims on the process for pursuing criminal charges and what to expect once a complaint/arrest has been made.
• Remains available to victims and their families for crisis intervention and support.
• Assists victims in identifying appropriate resources and referrals to address their needs.
• Provides assessments for Acute Stress Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
• Administers short term evidence-based trauma-informed clinical interventions to victims and survivors of trauma.
• Promotes interest and support at the local level about victim issues and programs by speaking to the public, civic, industry, community, and special interest groups.
• Responds to victims in person, by phone, email, letters, and faxes to assess victim concerns and determine eligibility for victim-witness services.
• Assists with events or crisis-related community support during nonstandard working hours.
• Researches, develops, catalogs, and maintains a library of resource materials for use by victims and witnesses of crimes, as well as community organizations.
• Identifies organizations who will be key partners in providing services and develops relationships with those organizations. Identifies existing gaps in current victim services and the delivery of those services.
• Works with first responders to educate them about victim needs and services.
• Collaborates with community members to organize events which address trauma.
• Provides consultation to the Community Social Workers and other OCHS staff regarding best practices for supporting victims of violent crime and those who experience trauma.
• Partners with Data Analyst and Social Work Manager to develop, execute, and refine staff use of Julota, the software utilized to track engagement with program participants.
• Records detailed documentation of client interactions and referrals in identified database system.
• Responsible for documenting team efforts and presentation of progress in the form of weekly reports, presentations, or other mediums.

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