Victim Advocate

Victim Advocate

Crisis Center of Tampa Bay - Tampa, FL 33613

Overview

Position Type: Full Time Job Shift: Day Education Level: 4 Year Degree Travel Percentage: Negligible Category: Nonprofit - Social Services

Description

Position Summary

The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay brings help, hope and healing to people facing serious life challenges or trauma resulting from sexual assault or abuse, domestic violence, financial distress, substance abuse, a medical emergency, suicidal thoughts, and emotional or situational problems. The Victim Advocate provides crisis intervention, emotional support, and advocates on behalf of clients with medical, legal, mental health, and social service systems. The Victim Advocate performs duties of considerable difficulty which require initiative and independent judgment. This position reports to the Manager of Advocacy and in his or her absence the Director of Sexual Assault Services.

Strategic/Transformational Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide exceptional customer service as an advocate to clients who have experienced trauma from sexual assault or abuse in a safe, courteous, and professional manner.
• Participate in the performance quality improvement (PQI) process, and uses data to improve client services and outcomes.

Transactional/Administrative Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive victim services to all clients requesting advocacy.
• Respond to sexual assault exams 24/7.
• Provide community outreach to increase awareness and access to The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay services with an emphasis on minority and underserved populations.
• Provide sexual assault awareness and prevention education presentations to various community groups, schools, social service agencies, and other groups as needed.
• Attend community meetings and professionally represent the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay.
• Develop and maintain relationships with the medical, legal, mental health and social service systems in order to better advocate for victims of sexual violence.
• Have knowledge of State of Florida and Statutes, and policies impacting victims' rights and options.
• Accompany clients to legal and medical appointments as related to their experience with sexual violence.
• Assist clients through the Victim Compensation application process.
• Assist clients through the process of filing for injunctions for protection through the Clerk of the Circuit Court.
• Maintain updated information for Hillsborough County community resources.
• Attend all SAS department and other required Crisis Center of Tampa Bay meetings.
• Use the empowerment model to develop safety plans with clients.
• Develop positive and collaborative relationships with other agencies.
• Have knowledge of and comply with the policies and procedures of the Crisis Center and all partnering agencies.
• Know and comply with HIPAA regulation.

Required Competencies

• Cooperation/Teamwork - Works toward win/win solutions. Deals with conflict collaboratively. Discusses root causes underlying the problem. Develops effective working relationships.
• Engaging Communication - Relates to people in an open, honest, sincere manner. Treats people with respect. Is friendly and approachable. Listens attentively to others. Communicates ideas clearly. Communicates appropriately with leadership and coworkers.
• Customer Service (Internal & External) - Recognizes and attends to important details with accuracy and efficiency. Treats customers courteously. Responds to customer requests in a timely manner. Elicits feedback from customers to monitor their satisfaction. Considers both short and long-term interests of the customer in making service decisions. Proactively identifies customer needs. Takes responsibility to resolve customer complaints. Takes business or personal risks to serve customers' long-term interests. Creates strategies to help the organization serve customers more effectively.
• Adaptability - Adapts readily to changes. Works effectively under stress. Needs minimal supervision. Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment. Is reliable, dependable and results oriented. Maintains productivity and composure under pressure. Effectively prioritizes work and establishes clear goals and plans.
• Problem Solving - Views problems as opportunities to create new solutions. Anticipates potential problems and analyzes alternative solutions.
• Judgment - Gathers sufficient input before making decisions. Sees interrelatedness between issues. Considers alternative solutions. Makes appropriate and timely decisions.
• Valuing & Fostering Diversity - Demonstrates respect for individual differences and establishing a climate where all people can be comfortable and productive through sensitivity, empathy, and acceptance of cultural, racial, mental health, and socio-economic diversity.
• Self-Management – Takes responsibility for one's behavior and well-being; Works effectively under stress and adapting one's style to changing situations; Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment and needs minimal supervision; Exhibits a professional demeanor.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in social work, mental health, or other social sciences related field, and one year advocate and/or crisis counseling experience.
• Must possess reliable transportation and a valid Florida Driver's license.
• Complete 30-hour (within 30 days of hire) training through the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence.

Physical Demands/Working Conditions

Physical Requirement: Employee must be able to sit, climb or balance, hear, use hands, taste/smell, stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl, stand, walk, talk, and reach with hands and arms.

Working Conditions : Duties are performed primarily in an office environment.

Travel : Occasional local travel for community outreach, meetings, trainings and off-site exams within Hillsborough County.

Hours: Determined by assigned schedule. Services available 365 days a year 24-hours a day. Employees are required to be available on-call during holidays, evenings, and/or weekends; and during hurricanes and other times of disasters/critical incidents.

This job description is not intended to describe, in detail, the multitude of tasks that may be assigned but rather to give a general sense of the responsibilities and expectations of this position. As the nature of business demands change so, too, may the essential functions of this position.

CCTB is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity and affirmative action for our applicants and employees. It is our policy to apply recruiting, hiring, training, promotion, compensation and professional development practices without regard to actual or perceived race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability or certain classifications based on genetic information, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws, regulations or ordinances.