Supervisor of Shelter and Hotline Services

Summary

Under the direction of the Director of Shelter and Hotline Services, the Supervisor of Shelter and Hotline Services sets the daily direction of tasks, solves problems, and addresses concerns within the Shelter and Hotline. They will work collaboratively with the other Supervisor of Shelter and Hotline to supervise staff, lead and designate administrative tasks, carry out programming, provide training and support to Shelter and Hotline Advocates and Shelter Program Coordinators as well as interns and volunteers while enforcing rules, providing guidance, and monitoring needed tasks to ensure compliance, safety, and customer service. In accordance with the mission of Sojourner Family Peace Center, this role is critical to ensuring best-case outcomes in crisis circumstances and situations.

This role requires a high level of organization, communication, critical thinking, problem solving, and de- escalation skills, while requiring minimal supervision.

This position is part of the on-call rotation.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Budget: Provide input to the Shelter and Hotline budget. Deliver assigned budget outcomes.
• Staffing: Establish work schedules for direct reports. Resolve scheduling gaps. Review and approve time off requests and timesheets. Facilitate candidate interview process and approve hiring selection decisions.
• On Call: Provide on-call support 24 hours a day for emergencies and staff support and guidance during assigned on-call coverage rotation. Serve as the liaison to on-call staff in the event of a crisis situation.
• Onboarding: Lead onboarding and training of new and transferred direct reports and assigned volunteers and interns. Track completion and provide input for improvement.
• Policies and Procedures: Plan and execute training and onboarding of employees’ review of policies and handbook. Train direct reports on procedures. Implement and enforce policies and procedures.
• Operations and Safety: Prioritize, schedule, and delegate work assignments including shelter and facility conditions, checks, and housekeeping standards. Manage room turnover and make recommendations for optimization. Manage roll call, curfew, and compliance by clients. Possess full knowledge of emergency and safety procedures and manage bed checks and weekly environmental checks.
• Organizational Capability: Create and lead direct reports’ skill development plan and ensure capacity to meet training needs. Train, coach, and develop skills of direct reports. Provide input to create and update job descriptions. Maintain training manuals. Organize and schedule annual training of volunteers and staff.
• Community Living: Support Shelter Program Coordinators in leading house meetings and addressing housekeeping concerns, client non compliance, conflict, and assist with coaching on expectations and life skills. Provide support and interpret house rules and procedures for new and current residents.
• Client Grievances: Train direct report staff on Client Complaint procedures. Lead issue resolution for grievances and escalate per the procedures.
• Compliance: Train direct report staff on documentation and data entry requirements. Ensure all required statistical recordkeeping and data gathering, reports, and staff records are completed in an accurate, clear, timely manner, and are stored according to compliance procedures.
• Data and Statistics: Submit statistical program reports to supervisor. Maintain compliance in accordance with grant and funding requirements. Ensure data integrity within database(s).
• Community Resources: Train staff to use community resources for medical, educational, legal, or psychological services. Develop and maintain positive relationships and coordinate services with existing outside providers, resources, and collaborating community agencies.
• Partners: Develop and maintain positive relationships with partners to deliver current programs and ensure direct report staff complete program audits. Identify and escalate gaps in programming to Director. Facilitate issue resolution with partners as needed and escalate to Director as needed.
• Communication: Create effective communication forums within Shelter and Hotline to meet individual and organization needs. Communicate with Development to make sure donated supplies meet the needs of residents.
• Culture: Role model Sojourner's values and be a coach and resource to the organization. Identify and address barriers and challenges within the Shelter and Hotline organization, and establish priorities when necessary to manage capacity constraints. Provide input to overall diversity and culture competency plans and delivery of trauma informed care.
• Outreach: Provide or assist with external outreach, speaking, and training in support of agency engagements and assist with public relations when requested.
• Documentation: Complete and ensure documentation is properly and accurately being entered into data system. Assist in compiling statistics.
• Programming: Approve and support life skills curriculum for residents.
• Meals: Support Kitchen and Meal Coordinator as needed with meal plans, ordering, and coordinating Peace Dinners. Assist with meal set ups, clean ups, other kitchen procedures, and meal preparations. Assist with meal pick up, food orders, and donations.
• Support: Complete additional tasks requested by the Shelter and Hotline Leadership team. Support Shelter Program Coordinators in updating and completion of resident’s tasks. Know current referral sources. Actively listen and provide a non-judgmental environment for clients.
• Intakes/Outtakes: Oversee Interview and Intake process for new residents and oversee the Outtake process for departing residents. Ensure quality data is entered for all residents who move in and move out immediately into database.
• Extended Coverage: Cover Shelter and Hotline staff when needed.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws.
• Performance Management: Establish job related goals for direct reports, provide ongoing feedback, and facilitate performance improvement process. Create and lead recognition process. Participate in performance and conduct investigations and recommend performance improvement plans, accountability steps, and remediation for performance and conduct incidents involving staff.
• Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring and training employees; planning, assigning and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.
• Ensure that employees are aware of, acknowledge they have read and understand agency and department policies.
• Hold staff accountable for adhering to handbook and all other agency policies, attending new hire orientation, mandatory trainings and meetings.
• Ensure staff and organizational compliance with all agency and department policies and procedures and local, state and federal regulatory agencies, as well as safety and work rules and regulations.
• Promote affirmative action and equal employment opportunity in compliance with the Agency Civil Rights Plan.
• Attend and help lead regular team meetings and individual one to one meetings with direct reports.
• Provide ongoing feedback, evaluation, performance improvement, and accountability for direct reports. Participate in performance and conduct investigations and recommend performance improvement plans, accountability steps, and remediation for performance and conduct incidents involving direct reports.

Universal Responsibilities

• Ability to work a full time schedule and have regular attendance at the workplace.
• Practice agency policies and safety in the workplace.
• Attend all mandatory meetings and trainings, including but not limited to ServSafe Training.
• Uphold and exhibit the agency’s Core Values.
• All other work-related duties and projects as assigned.

Education and Experience

• Associate’s degree or equivalent in human services, social work, criminal justice, psychology, or related field required.
• A minimum of two years of supervisory or management experience.
• Requires comprehensive knowledge of statutory framework for domestic abuse, harassment and child abuse injunctions, and knowledge of and experience working with adults and/or children exposed to interpersonal violence.
• Two years’ experience working with clients who have experienced interpersonal violence, and sensitivity to the needs and concerns of, persons who are homeless, and the ability to be comfortable working with persons of all socioeconomic, religious, and ethnic backgrounds in a non-judgmental manner.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with an ability to facilitate reflective and educational discussion with individuals and groups.
• Ability to work collaboratively with diverse groups of people and to positively influence change.
• Demonstrated ability to understand and maintain client confidentiality.
• Individual must have the ability to make and maintain relationships with community resources and must be able to listen and assist clients develop personal plans for safety and support clients as needed.
• Experience in crisis intervention, behavior management, and/or conflict resolution.
• Good organizational skills, including the ability to coordinate several projects simultaneously.

Preferred Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in human services, social work, criminal justice, psychology, or related field preferred.
• Knowledge of the domestic violence victim advocacy service system through direct work experience preferred.
• CPR certified.
• Bi-lingual in Spanish a plus.

Additional Eligibility Qualifications

Knowledge Requirements

Sensitivity and understanding of domestic violence issues, knowledge of community resources, comprehension of the criminal justice system, communication skills, and ability to advocate for the needs of clients. Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, and measurement of these effects. Knowledge of principles and processes for providing effective client service, including needs assessments, meeting quality standard for services and evaluation of client satisfaction. Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, strategies for effective group facilitation.

Communication Skills

Ability to effectively communicate verbally and in writing with vendors, clients, partners and other employees of the organization. Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to read, comprehend and follow instructions, correspondence, publications and memos. Ability to prepare letters, database entries, reports, memos, correspondence, and documentation. Bilingual in English and Spanish is a plus. Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business articles, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations. Ability to prepare reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals.

Reasoning Ability

Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out detailed written or oral instructions. Ability to deal with problems involving a few concrete variables in standardized situations. Ability to work effectively independently and to work as a collaborative member of a team.

Other Skills and Abilities

Individual must have experience working with adults and/or children exposed to interpersonal violence with demonstrated career progression and increasing roles of responsibility; exceptional strategic planning, analytical, research, writing and oral advocacy skills, as well as the ability to articulate legal concepts and complex issues and communicate them tactfully and effectively to a variety of audiences; initiative, vision and ability to develop and implement short and long-term integrated advocacy strategies.

Familiarity with trauma and domestic violence and knowledge of the domestic violence victim advocacy service system is required. Ability to listen and help clients develop personal plans for safety and assess their needs for legal and other support services; to handle multiple cases simultaneously, pay close attention to detail, have critical problem solving skills, think strategically and work as a member of the team; to work with men and women from culturally diverse backgrounds and make and maintain community connections to resources.

Must have transportation and be willing to transport clients and travel as necessary along with work on-site in community based agencies located throughout the City of Milwaukee. Evening and weekend hours may be required. Requires the ability to operate a variety of standard business machines, such as a computer and the job related software, a keyboard, telephone, photocopier, postage machine, etc.

Reliable Transportation

Must have reliable transportation, valid Driver’s License, insurable driving record, and automobile insurance with minimum limits of:

• Liability Coverage: $25,000 per person and $50,000 of 2 or more people for injury or death
• Property Damage: $10,000
• Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist: $25,000 per person and $50,000 for 2 or more people injured

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit and use hands to finger, handle, or feel. The employee frequently is required to talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The position is an office-based position.