What are the responsibilities and job description for the Shelter Site Staff position at Volunteers Of America Western Washington?
Job Details
Description
Benefits:
- Vacation and Sick Time: accruals are based on hours worked, available to use after 30 days of employment.
- Holidays: 8 paid per year 2 paid floating holidays
- Medical, Dental, and Vision
- Health Savings Account (HSA)
- Flexible Savings Account (FSA) – medical & dependent care
- Free Employee Assistance program
- 403(b) Retirement Plan matching
- Paid travel time between clients; Mileage reimbursement; and free trainings
General Function:
Volunteers of America Western Washington is hiring seasonal employees to work as Shelter Site Staff to staff the South Snohomish County Weather Shelter in Lynnwood this coming winter. Under the oversight of the Program Manager, the Shelter Site Staff is responsible for providing front-line services to guests of the Cold Weather Shelter. This position requires staff to remain awake and available as a resource to guests throughout the night, including orienting new individuals to the shelter, mediating interpersonal conflict, overseeing volunteers, and productively addressing health and safety challenges if they arise.
The South Snohomish County Cold Weather Shelter will be operational during the months of November- March to serve unsheltered people. The South Snohomish County Cold Weather Shelter will be open with no less than 24 hours’ notice and is anticipated to operate from approximately 6:30 pm to 8:30 am. Cold Weather Shelters in Snohomish County will be opened when the temperature threshold is met. The temperature threshold of 34°F forecasted as the overnight low will activate the opening of a severe weather shelter. Operations are weather dependent.
Principal Activities:
Essential Duties Include, but are not limited to:
- Open and close shelter according to procedures
- Greet and check in guests, orient guests to the shelter,
- Communicate shelter rules and policies to guests.
- Provide blankets and other supplies according to procedures.
- Assist with all aspects of food and beverage service during shift.
- Identify and intervene in emergency situations.
- Perform cleaning tasks as required to maintain a safe and sanitary environment throughout shift.
- Engage in effective de-escalation of hostile or potentially hostile situations to maintain order within the shelter for the safety of everyone.
- Maintain a safe and friendly location for guests.
- Follow protocols around setting up the space, check-in procedures, overnight duties, morning wake up and closing procedures.
- Other work-related duties as assigned.
Qualifications
Qualifications:
- Experience working with an unsheltered population is a must.
- Ability to treat guests with respect and professionalism.
- Ability to communicate and work effectively with staff and guests from various backgrounds who may be displaying a wide range of behaviors.
- Ability to travel to shelter location during severe weather.
- Ability to stay awake through the night during shift.
- Ability to compose thorough and accurate incident reports and other documentation.
- Ability to work independently with strong problem-solving skills.
- Beginner understanding of MS Office products including Word and Excel.
- Ability to navigate electronic web portal systems, email, and basic internet.
- Able to clearly communicate verbally and in writing daily logs, incident reports and status updates to supervisor.
- Must be knowledgeable of working with the homeless population and understand the complexities of homelessness.
- Will be required to be on-call to work overnight from 6pm-8am.
- Must be able to successfully pass a pre-employment background check.
Salary : $24 - $26
