Advocacy & Community Outreach Coordinator/Exempt

The Advocacy & Community Outreach Coordinator (ACOC) is responsible for providing advocacy through medical and legal accompaniment to victims/survivors of sexual assault and their significant others. This position is also part of the on-call staff rotation providing 24-hour crisis response to The Center’s crisis-line and local hospitals. In addition, this position coordinates the volunteer advocates, including training, scheduling and continuing education.  The ACOC is responsible for seeking out opportunities for community outreach and partnerships. Additionally, the ACOC will assist the Program Manager with creating initiatives that enhance the visibility of The Center, educating the community, and responding to the community’s needs.

Responsibilities

Essential functions: (Essential functions may include but are not limited to the functions listed below.)

 Advocacy – 50%

1.      Provide legal advocacy to victims/survivors of sexual assault, including but not limited to:

a.      accompaniment for survivors to police stations, throughout the court process, and to obtain an Order of Protection or a Civil No Contact Order and referrals for other services

b.      discussing alternatives to the criminal justice system

c.      providing referrals for any work-related issues

d.      liaison with uniform police officers, investigators and the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office on behalf of victim/survivor

2.      Provide crisis intervention, emotional support, and appropriate referrals to sexual assault victims/survivors and their significant others by:

a.      responding to crisis calls on The Center’s 24-hour crisis line on a rotating basis

b.      providing medical accompaniment through our partnering hospitals

c.      providing crisis intervention upon walk-in requests

d.      assisting survivors in navigating medical follow-up needs such as reproductive options and STI/HIV follow-up testing

3.      Coordinate Volunteer Advocates to include:

a.      co-facilitating Volunteer Advocate 40-hour training in cooperation with the Volunteer Program & Communication Coordinator

b.      providing continuing education opportunities for volunteer advocates

c.      coordinating volunteer coverage for The Center’s 24-hour crisis line

Outreach – 40%

1.      Assist the Program Manager with creating initiatives that enhance the visibility of The Center, educate the community, and respond to the community’s needs by:

a.      working in coordination with Volunteer Program & Communication Coordinator to implement outreach strategies in effort to increase The Center’s visibility, training opportunities and prevention efforts in the community

b.       creating, scheduling and facilitating ongoing outreach activities for program and service awareness

c.      Tracking and documenting outreach activities in the community

2.      Seek out opportunities for community outreach and partnerships by:

a.      attending and managing resource fairs in the community

b.      develop collaborations with community agencies to reduce the risk of sexual assault, and improver response to victims/survivors

Other duties – 10%

1.      Administrative activities to include but not limited to

a.      Inputting data as required by funding sources

b.      Maintaining of files and records

2.      Support and participate in fundraising events as requested

§ Maintain strict standard of confidentiality

§ Other duties as assigned

§ Participate in ongoing professional development and training

§ Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work or Human Services field preferred. Previous experience in social work and/or advocacy.

§ Minimum of 3 years’ experience providing direct services in sexual violence and/or domestic violence prevention work to primary and secondary victims. Awareness of best practices for sexual violence prevention, harm/risk reduction and survivor support strategies. Demonstrated ability and experience working with diverse populations.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

§ Ability to work as a team player with other staff members.

§ Ability to work in a professional manner with member of families where abuse and/or Neglect is occurring;

§ Knowledge of stages of child development;

§ Knowledge of community resources;

§ Skills of providing crisis intervention services to families;

§ Ability to analyze and evaluate the outcomes related to the provision relate to families who accept advocacy services as compared to family's who may not;

§ Must have good oral and written communication skills;

§ Must have good computer skills.

§ Ability to analyze and evaluate the community's resources for families and barriers that prevent families from receiving prompt and/or immediate services;

§ Sensitivity to diversity issues.

§ Must be self-directed and able to complete projects with limited supervision.