Bilingual Hotline Advocate, National Domestic Violence Hotline, Austin, TX

Bilingual Hotline Advocate

Posted on: August 26, 2014
Posted by: National Domestic Violence Hotline

The PT Bilingual Hotline Advocate is a member of the National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH) Program Team and is supervised by the Manager of Hotline Services.

The PT Bilingual Hotline Advocate is scheduled for a 16 hour week Friday-Saturday 2:45 PM to 11:15 PM. Required meetings may necessitate attendance during hours outside of the Hotline Advocate's regular schedule. The PT Bilingual Hotline Advocate responds to incoming calls on the NDVH from victims, advocates, general public and service providers and provides crisis intervention, referrals, information and problem solving to all callers.

Due to NDVH's 24/7, 365 days per year operation, the PT Bilingual Hotline Advocate will be required to work night, weekend, and holidays. This position requires a high level of empathy and sensitivity to all incoming inquiries.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide crisis intervention, safety planning, education, advocacy and referrals to caller's as appropriate.
• Collects demographic information on all calls (including TTY calls), enters caller's needs and caller's situations into caller application and documents referrals given to callers;
• Refers unresolved problems between service providers and the NDVH callers to Hotline Coordinator.
• Assist program administration in keeping the database system updated by reporting all changes to be made in service provider information.
• Respond to caller's requests for domestic violence materials (i.e. Brochures, flyers, posters, handouts and other promotional materials).
• Assist in overall office administration and maintenance, including answering the phone and maintaining common areas as necessary.
• Accepts calls from victims and/or the general public. Provides referrals to local services; provides information/education about domestic violence.
• Accepts calls from service providers; networks with service providers; receives updated service directory information from service providers.
• Places out-going conference telephone calls to service providers to advocate for NDVH callers' needs; refers unresolved problems between service providers and NDVH callers to Hotline Coordinator; documents contacts and results.
• Advocates shall maintain standards of conduct that are empowerment-based and nonjudgmental; Advocates shall respond to all calls in a professional manner with a tone of calmness, sensitivity, empathy and non-judgment; Advocates shall respond to all calls with accurate information; Advocates shall make effective and efficient use of time and information for each NDVH call.
• Participates in monthly in-services, team meetings and supervision with management.
• Adheres to the NDVH's Crisis Intervention Model and Guiding Principles

This description only includes essential functions of the job and does not imply that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee occupying this position. Employees will be required to follow and any other job-related instruction and to perform any other job-related duties requested by his or her supervisor or management.

JOB REQUIREMENTS & RESPONSIBILITIES

• High school diploma or equivalent required. College degree in social work or related field preferred or equivalent. Professional and personal experience may substitute for educational requirements.
• Nine months experience in direct services to victims of domestic violence or similar human services program. Volunteer experience counts as work experience.
• Willingness to participate in extensive training program.
• Six months experience in providing crisis intervention.
• A minimum of 60% of Hotline Advocate positions requires fluency in conversational Spanish.
• Experience/familiarity with computers. Knowledge of Word for Windows and Access preferred.
• Ability to work shifts which will provide coverage of the NDVH 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, including weekends and holidays.
• Ability to attend required meetings (including, but not limited to, Program Team and Advocate Team meetings), which may be scheduled during hours outside of the Advocate's regular schedule.
• Demonstrated ability to manage high stress situations.
• Ability to work as a team member, providing support and constructive feedback in interpersonal interaction.
• Commitment to feminist and nonviolent perspective and behavior and willingness to work in such an environment.
• Ability to adjust work hours to requirements of the organization including occasional overtime as needed.
• Commitment to concept of local, community, volunteer-based delivery of human services by domestic violence shelters.
• Commitment to NDVH program philosophy.
• Experience with membership/nonprofit organizations.
• Understanding of an empowerment-based advocacy model of services.
• Recognition of the dynamics of domestic violence and societal factors that contribute to the continuation of violence against women and children.

• Ability to read, write and converse in English; Spanish required.
• Availability to travel overnight occasionally.
• Must have emotional and physical stamina to tolerate prolonged sitting or standing to deal with a variety of stressful situations, including responses to complaints, difficult requests from programs and individuals in crisis, and internal and external interactions, to effectively work long and at times odd hours, while maintaining a sense of humor.
• Works in a normal office environment, except while traveling, with minimum exposure to dust, noise, or temperature extremes. Requires bending, stooping, lifting and carrying objects up to 25 pounds, with or without accommodations.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and minimum level of work being performed. They are not intended to be construed as exhaustive of all duties, responsibilities and skills required for the position. The employee will be required to perform any other job-related duties as required by the job objectives of NDVH. This description does not modify any employee's at-will-status and is not a contract for continued employment of any duration.

HOW TO APPLY

To see full job description, please visit www.thehotline.org/jobs . To apply, download an application and complete in its entirety. Please email the completed application along with a copy of your resume to mcontreras@ndvh.org or fax to 512.306.9887. A resume without an application will not be accepted.

We are an equal opportunity employer