Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Advocate

ACTS • Dumfries, VA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services Advocate provides crisis intervention, advocacy, and support services to sexual assault survivors and their families. This position delivers immediate and ongoing trauma-informed
services, including hotline response, hospital, police and court accompaniment, emotional support,
resource navigation, and case management. The advocate also facilitates outreach, prevention education,
and support groups, while maintaining accurate client records and statistical data.
Benefits and Rewards:
Full health insurance options with generous employer contribution for medical and 403(b) matching.
Paid lunchtime and vacation, sick, personal and Birthday time off plus Comp Time!
Additional time off from December 25 – January 1
Serve with highly trained, effective crisis specialists.
Grow your skills with free, award-winning on-demand training plus 40 paid hours of crisis intervention training each year.
Use your talents in a successful organization with over 50 years of significant impact in the community.

Requirements

• Excellent spoken and written professional skills.
• Excellent ability to maintain empathy, compassion, and a non-judgmental approach in all survivor interactions.
• Strong crisis management skills and the ability to remain calm under pressure.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, including public speaking and group facilitation.
• Strong organizational skills, including accurate data collection, reporting, and database management.
• Team oriented and collaborative to support organization-wide mission objectives.
• Ability to manage exposure to traumatic content with professionalism and resilience.
• Commitment to strict confidentiality and ethical advocacy practices.
• Working knowledge of MS Word, Excel, Outlook, and Internet navigation, database systems, and the ability to learn new software.
• Valid driver’s license, reliable transportation, and proof of insurance required.
• Meets one of the following three criteria:
• A bachelor’s degree in human services, behavioral sciences or allied field (including criminal justice, education and psychology).
• A degree in human services, behavior sciences or allied field (including criminal justice, education and psychology) with 4 years of documented related experience.
• No college degree in human services, behavioral sciences or allied field (including criminal justice, education and psychology) with 5 years of documented related experience.

Nice To Haves

• Knowledge of best practices in sexual assault advocacy, crisis intervention, and trauma-informed care.
• Experience providing services in a victim advocacy or crisis intervention setting.
• Familiarity with community resources, victim rights laws, and systems navigation for survivors.
• A bachelor’s in human services or behavioral sciences, preferred.
• Experience providing direct services to individuals in crisis, including emotional support, resource navigation, and advocacy, preferred.
• Experience facilitating support groups and delivering presentations to diverse audiences, preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide sensitive crisis intervention to survivors and their families.
• Respond to hotline calls, provide crisis support (hospital, court, law enforcement).
• Assist survivors in understanding and engaging with the criminal justice system, including court accompaniment.
• Provide ongoing case management, including safety planning, emotional support, and resource navigation.
• Coordinate and co-facilitate support groups for survivors and their families.
• Offer information, referrals, and emotional support to ACTS callers.
• Participate in a rotating on-call schedule for 24-hour hotline and hospital accompaniments.
• Arrive on-scene within 90 minutes while on-call.
• Manage crisis situations with professionalism, empathy, and cultural awareness.
• Maintain accurate, timely, and confidential case records.
• Collect, compile, and submit the team’s VADATA statistical reports to the Director of Sexual Assault Services by the end of each month.
• Participate in outreach events to raise awareness of ACTS services.
• Represent the organization on local task forces, coalitions, and community meetings.
• Provide training and community education to allied professionals and public audiences.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with law enforcement, healthcare providers, and partner organizations.
• Provide guidance to crisis line volunteers, advocates, and group facilitators on bilingual service delivery.
• Assist with volunteer recruitment, training, and scheduling as needed.
• Actively participates in supervision, attends staff meetings, community meetings, training and other organization-related activities.
• Complete a minimum of 40 hours of sexual assault crisis intervention training annually.
• Perform other duties as assigned to support the mission of ACTS.

Benefits

• Full health insurance options with generous employer contribution for medical and 403(b) matching.
• Paid lunchtime and vacation, sick, personal and Birthday time off plus Comp Time!
• Additional time off from December 25 – January 1
• Serve with highly trained, effective crisis specialists.
• Grow your skills with free, award-winning on-demand training plus 40 paid hours of crisis intervention training each year.
• Use your talents in a successful organization with over 50 years of significant impact in the community.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level