Assistant Director, SafeCampus

University of Washington•Seattle, WA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Division of Campus Community Safety (DCCS) unifies front-line public safety units across the University for a holistic approach to campus community safety, innovation in approaches, and clarity in leadership responsibility and accountability. Key units include UW Emergency Management, SafeCampus, the Seattle Campus UW Police Department (UWPD), and a new Campus Crisis Response Team. Division staff work daily in partnership with units across and outside the UW system to create safer campus environments, prepare for potential natural or human-made disasters, and respond appropriately to incidents. SafeCampus’ mission is to foster a safe and supportive UW community. We strive to help faculty, staff and students prevent violence and be prepared to respond when it occurs by providing direct support to individuals, triaging reported situations, managing the threat assessment process, and connecting individuals with supportive resources. SafeCampus is the UW’s threat assessment unit and is the designated central intake point for concerns regarding actual/potential violence and wellbeing concerns across all UW campuses, three medical centers, and anywhere else the UW does business or provides study opportunities. As Assistant Director of SafeCampus, this position works with the Director to oversee SafeCampus’ direct service efforts to support UW community members who have concerns about gender-based violence, harassment, threats, escalating conflicts at school or work, and suicide concerns. Alongside the violence prevention & response specialists, this position successfully identifies risks and threats, connects individuals with resources, applies UW protocols and policies, and collaborates with campus and community partners. The Assistant Director provides oversight of SafeCampus’ case management and threat assessment efforts, including clinical supervision of MSW practicum students. The Assistant Director also supports training, outreach and program management efforts by occasionally delivering SafeCampus trainings, participating on University committees, consulting with department managers and collaborating on reporting, communications and event scheduling. This position also provides leadership and direction in the SafeCampus Director’s absence. The Assistant Director has responsibility for 1) supervision of case intake & management, 2) conducting threat assessment & management activities, and 3) prevention & education activities. This position has primary responsibility for supervising the SafeCampus helpline during regular business hours. This role requires the ability to conduct effective and complete intake of concerns, to assist callers in varying degrees of distress, identifying effective next steps including safety planning and referral to appropriate resources, and to determine an appropriate plan of action with regard to the ongoing threat assessment monitoring activities. The Assistant Director provides supervision of case management efforts involving concerns regarding workplace and interpersonal violence; gender-based violence; suicide and self-harm indicators; and doxing and cyber harassment. Due to the high profile and sensitive nature of SafeCampus’ areas of responsibility, the efforts of this position have visibility and require exceptional ability to deliver subject matter expertise as well as demonstrate understanding of the University of Washington community, organization and culture. To ensure our campus community feels safe reporting concerns and seeking assistance, this position must quickly recognize how a person’s self-identified culture, sexual orientation, gender, race, immigration status or ability may impact their experience with violence or threats of violence and adapt SafeCampus’ response to the needs of the individuals involved. The SafeCampus Assistant Director plays a critical role in the oversight of SafeCampus’ case management and threat assessment efforts for the University of Washington and has frequent collaboration with partners such as Student Life, UWPD, Title IX and Civil Right Compliance, Human Resources, etc., and UW leadership.

Requirements

Master's degree, preferably in social work, public administration/health, gender, women & sexuality studies, or related field.
3 years' relevant experience, to include: Knowledge and understanding of violence prevention & intervention and a strong theoretical/practical understanding of power-based violence (sexual assault/relationship violence/stalking).
An advanced knowledge of threat assessment concepts, models, and/or instruments.
Practical experience in the field of behavioral threat assessment & management.
Demonstrated ability to respond with empathy and support to individuals in crisis situations and with sensitivity and awareness to persons with a variety of socially defined identities and from diverse cultural, ethnic and social backgrounds.
Trauma-informed approach to working with people impacted by violence.
Ability to work collaboratively with campus and community partners.
Demonstrated ability to work effectively as a part of a team with individuals from diverse identities, cultures, backgrounds, and ideologies.
Demonstrated ability to work independently, prioritize, multi-task, and be well organized with thorough attention to detail.
Excellent oral and written communication skills.
Comfort with public speaking and experience delivering presentations.

Nice To Haves

Primary prevention or response experience in the area of gender-based violence (relationship violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and stalking), including experience with developing tailored safety planning.
Primary prevention or response experience in the area of suicide prevention and intervention.
Supervisory experience in violence prevention and response.
Supervisory experience working on a crisis hotline, specific to calls about violence or suicide.
Experience working in behavioral threat assessment and management within a higher education setting.
Certification in structured professional judgment tools – i.e, WAVR-21, TRAP-18, etc.
Membership and participation in the broader community of threat assessment professionals; for example, the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals.

Responsibilities

Support SafeCampus staff, graduate student employees, and practicum students as they conduct intakes on the SafeCampus helpline.
Answer SafeCampus telephone lines during regular business hours (Monday – Friday 8am-5pm).
Debrief challenging calls with staff and coordinate appropriate level of follow up and intervention.
Clarify, assess and triage calls from members of the UW community with concerns regarding actual/potential violence and well-being concerns.
Ensure that immediate/imminent threats of violence are properly triaged to the appropriate resource.
Assess and monitor high-risk cases over time utilizing evidence-based practices in threat assessment and structured professional judgement tools.
Provide information, assistance in problem solving, and seamless referrals to University and community resources including law enforcement, student life, human resources, victim advocacy, counseling services, etc.
Connect service requests with appropriate resources and ensure that appropriate follow-up occurs.
Exercise independent judgment in interpreting and applying policies, protocols, rules, and regulations related to violence prevention and response.
Independently advise and communicate with students, faculty, staff, and/or the public regarding SafeCampus content, policies, procedures and activities.
Engage in policy and legislative analysis that pertains to SafeCampus operations and violence prevention efforts.
Facilitate Violence Prevention Assessment Team (VPAT) meetings.
Follow up with assessment team participants as needed to verify implementation of risk mitigation action plans and to monitor situations over time.
Reconvene the assessment team if needed.
Organize case summaries and prepare information needed to support case reviews.
Document VPAT Action Plans and send them to participants.
Serve as a Social Work Field Instructor when MSW practicum students are on the team.
Provide leadership and direction in the SafeCampus Director’s absence.
Establish, cultivate and maintain effective working relationships with related UW partner units and organizations on all three campuses, e.g., Student Life, Academic Human Resources, UWPD, UWMC and Harborview Medical Center, etc.
Build relationships and collaborate with other UW and community programs to support university-wide violence prevention and wellness efforts.
Serve on relevant committees to bring in threat assessment perspective.
Engage with off-campus community partners who work in Gender-Based Violence and threat assessment to promote awareness of SafeCampus and to incorporate best practices.
Assist with outreach and education efforts by developing relevant training and co-presenting with other team members.
Perform related duties as assigned.