Centralized Domestic Violence Helpline Director (NB)

Centralized Domestic Violence Helpline Director (NB) New Beginnings, an organization that empowers survivors and mobilizes community awareness and action to end domestic violence, is hiring a director to establish and manage a centralized domestic violence Helpline for King County, Washington . This project, the first of its kind, will be developed and cultivated in collaboration with other gender-based violence response agencies within King County, and will serve survivors of domestic violence, their friends, family members, social service providers and first responders throughout the region. This is an exciting opportunity to develop and lead an innovative, responsive, multi-lingual phone and chat service, centering racial and gender equity. The Director will design the new Helpline from the ground up, and will recruit, hire, train and manage a new team of bilingual, bicultural advocates to staff it. The Director will also be part of the New Beginnings management team and will develop and maintain strong relationships with a large network of community partners. We are seeking an entrepreneurial leader, with a passion for social justice, who is also a collaborative team player. Expertise in domestic violence and/or extensive experience with crisis hotline staffing or management is highly desirable. Successful candidates will have a demonstrated commitment to racial and gender equity. “The person who answered the DV hotline saved my life. She helped me to name the abuse. She gave me safety planning ideas and helped me come up with the right concrete steps to take…..She helped me understand that domestic violence can happen to anyone.” -Survivor, King County, Washington Our vision for the Helpline is that each call or contact will advance survivors’ journeys to autonomy and freedom, and strengthen our communities’ resolve to end gender-based violence. New Beginnings needs you to bring this vision to life! HOURS: 40 hours per week, primarily Monday through Friday with flexible hours as needed, to ensure high quality management of 24-hour Helpline operations. COMPENSATION: $70,000 + DOE. Full-time exempt position; medical, dental and vision benefits; life insurance; retirement contribution; paid time off, education leave and allowance. New Beginnings: The Agency, Mission, and Vision Mission: New Beginnings empowers survivors and mobilizes community awareness and action to end domestic violence. Vision: New Beginnings envisions a world free of violence and oppression, reflected in peaceful relationships and communities. Founded in 1976 as Seattle’s first organization dedicated to ending domestic violence, New Beginnings provides an array of supports to survivors at all steps on their journey with domestic violence. With over 40 years of operation, New Beginnings is a leading force in the movement to end domestic violence. Our programs include: Community based individual advocacy and support groups Legal advocacy and clinics Children’s services Mental Health therapy Bridge housing Rapid Rehousing Technology Enabled Coercive Control (TECC) Clinic Community education and professional training And soon, the new 24x7 centralized Helpline!. New Beginnings strives to build a meaningful, welcoming and equitable workplace, inclusive of diverse voices, experiences and perspectives. The DV Helpline director will have full agency support and authority to develop a program and staff that centers racial equity and social justice. We are currently a predominantly white agency, on a committed journey toward racial equity. It is critical to us and to our community to build a multi-lingual, multi-cultural Helpline that centers survivors from marginalized communities, and this needs to be integral to the leadership, staffing, and culture of this project. Helpline Background and Purpose Outreach to a domestic violence Helpline is the first point of contact to support and services for many domestic violence survivors. The response that survivors receive to their courageous call or chat can mean the difference between hope and despair, between a sense of agency or fear, between safety and ongoing harm. You are in the most frightening situation in your life: you’re being stalked by your ex, you are at risk of losing your job, you’re facing homelessness, your children don’t have food or diapers, and you’re going around and around calling all these different phone lines trying to find help, but somehow you are supposed to figure out the whole system of resources by yourself.” -Survivor Currently, there are three 24-hour domestic violence Helplines within King County, responding to 15,000-20,000 calls per year. Additionally, other domestic violence agencies operate hotlines during business hours to support survivors from geographic and culturally specific communities. The centralized King County Helpline was conceived to simplify access for survivors and their support systems, while offering callers consistent, trauma-informed, culturally sensitive, high quality service. Once the centralized Helpline launches, the three existing 24-hour Helplines will be consolidated into this line. Other agencies offering hotlines only during business hours may direct after-hours callers to the centralized Helpline to ensure survivors receive round the clock support. The Helpline will feature dedicated, trained, bilingual staff who will specialize in Helpline phone and chat response. Our goal is that survivors, their friends and family members, and others who need domestic violence resources will experience the Helpline as a valuable, reliable, trusted and responsive resource, and an effective link to relevant community-based services. Critical to this effort is centering the needs of survivors from communities of color, immigrants and refugees, and LGBTQ people. The Helpline will provide callers with immediate emotional support, crisis intervention, information and harm reduction strategies; a doorway to access advocacy and housing services through a broad spectrum of local agencies; and information and skill building to promote community involvement with domestic violence intervention and prevention. The new Helpline Director will bring energy, focus, organizational skills, and a passion for social justice to hire a strong team and develop new strategies, policies and procedures, evaluation methods and mechanisms for community accountability, while fostering a culture of racial equity. The first six months of the project will focus on establishing, implementing and piloting the Helpline, ensuring it is survivor-centered, trauma informed and responsive to the needs and voices of the most marginalized survivors. The Director will collaborate with New Beginnings’ Executive Director, the Helpline Consultant, other New Beginnings staff and community partners on implementation. Once the Helpline is established, the Director will focus on providing overall management of the Helpline and ensuring that it operates in a way that is consistent with our vision and goals. Primary Responsibilities of the Director Refining and expanding a strategic vision for the Helpline Managing overall Helpline operations to ensure consistent, high quality service Building and maintaining a culture of racial equity for the Helpline Ensuring that staff receives supportive supervision, training and mentoring Participating in and contributing to New Beginnings’ Management Team Providing leadership for the program with community partners, and with funders IDEAL CANDIDATE The ideal candidate will be an experienced team leader with a deep commitment to New Beginnings’ mission of ending domestic violence in our communities. A strong equity lens , as well as an understanding of the dynamics of gender-based violence and how it is rooted in systemic oppression, is required. The new Director will be comfortable working in a collaborative team , but will also be entrepreneurial and excited by the challenge of building a new program from the ground up. As the leader and supervisor of the Helpline’s staff team, they will ideally bring significant background in gender-based violence, mental health, social work, crisis intervention and/or trauma informed care. Previous experience with managing a call center staff and technology is highly desirable. Other important qualities include : Demonstrated success in program leadership, including experience managing a budget and supervising staff. Ability to motivate and inspire colleagues and build teams. Excellent interpersonal skills, with an ability to work effectively with diverse individuals, groups and communities. Excellent oral and written communications skills. Strong organizational skills, ability to meet deadlines and attention to detail. Ability to respond flexibly and engage in creative problem-solving. Strong conflict management and negotiation skills. Ability to represent New Beginnings in a professional manner to donors, community partners and the broader public Proficient with MS office applications, and with data collection and outcomes reporting. Experience with CRM databases a plus Applications will be accepted until July 20, 2020. We welcome people from all cultures and backgrounds, and we strongly encourage applications from survivors of domestic violence, people of color, immigrants, refugees, people with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ community, and people from other underrepresented and historically marginalized groups. #J-18808-Ljbffr New Beginnings