Sexual Assault Advocacy Specialist

YWCA Clark County•Vancouver, WA

2d•$26 - $27•Hybrid

About The Position

YWCA Clark County is seeking a full-time Sexual Assault Advocacy Specialist to provide direct services, including general, medical, and legal advocacy, to victims/survivors and their support networks. This role involves working with various agencies and organizations, facilitating support groups, and maintaining accurate documentation. The position emphasizes a strong social justice component, requiring critical thinking through the lens of racism and its intersections with poverty, and grounding principles of anti-racism in daily tasks. Employees are expected to treat all individuals with respect and dignity, regardless of background, and to actively engage in learning about racial, gender, and class equity.

Requirements

High school diploma or G.E.D. required.
Experience working with persons in crisis
Must be able to pass criminal background check which precludes any conviction in the WA Administration code found on: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=170-06-0120.
Dependable means of transportation
Occasional nights and/or weekends required.
Language fluency: verbally and in writing, clearly communicate with participants, co-workers, and community partners in English as needed.
Strong time management skills: effectively manage a supervisor determined case load, related paperwork, and respond to requests and questions.
Ability to work in a self-directed manner: effectively engage in work-related research as needed to support the participants, program operations, or as requested by supervisor.
Ability to work in a team: consistently convey an open, respectful, and solution-oriented approach to addressing challenges, completing work tasks, and when providing or requesting feedback.
Ability to work at a higher level: demonstrate unwavering integrity by taking accountability for mistakes, doing what’s needed to correct them, and supporting fellow co-workers to do the same.
Ability to maintain strong boundaries: use work time to support the program and organization in a manner that supports our participant’s right to privacy.
Strong critical thinking skills: in a self-directed manner, resolve challenges and answer questions while knowing when it’s time to stop and seek additional guidance and/or direction.
Ability to achieve greatness: good employees make sure the day-to-day work gets done; great employees do so while in a way that fosters communication within their program and their own professional growth.
Strong technological skills: strong working knowledge of the MS suite of products, various internet browsers, and video conferencing platforms.
Unparalleled soft-skills: with little to no prompting, adapt work and communication style to mitigate and/or de-escalate, improve the ability to support our participants and forge lasting and mutually beneficial professional relationships.
Strong advocacy skills: utilize empowerment-based advocacy to support participants in a manner that supports the organization’s core values, goals of the program, and organization’s overall mission.
Strong crisis management skills: effectively and respectfully communicate often-times complex and emotionally charged information to participants, law-enforcement, court officials, co-workers, and supervisor.
Self-awareness: ability to recognize impact of working with survivors of trauma and willingness to incorporate vicarious resiliency practices.
Critical thinking through the lens of racism and intersections with poverty.
Knowing the core principles of anti-racism and grounding those principles in everyday work.

Nice To Haves

Bilingual skills preferred.

Responsibilities

Provide direct services including general, medical, and legal advocacy to primary victims/survivors and/or secondary victims/survivors such as family, friends, and guardians including on-site and off-site locations.
Offer support and information over the phone, in person, and via video conferencing software.
Provide in-person or virtual advocacy at schools, Clark County Juvenile Detention Center, Clark County Jail, Children’s Justice Center, Clark County Courthouse and various police precinct stations.
Provide in-person or virtual support during medical forensic exams at Peace Health or Legacy Salmon Creek emergency rooms.
Communicate with law enforcement, legal agencies, community organizations/partners, county/state/federal agencies, national organizations/partners, universities, families, and other relevant programs as needed to provide survivor directed support.
Refer sexual assault program participants to other YWCA Clark County programs according to participant needs and program procedures.
Monitor warrant cases and communicate with legal agencies and families as appropriate.
Work with the program director to establish and effectively manage an active case load and provide advocacy to ongoing cases.
Coordinate and co-facilitate survivor-centered support groups, which may include maintaining and updating group curriculum, facilitating sessions, submitting paperwork, maintaining relationships with community partners, and ensuring a regular schedule for all support groups.
Document and report participant related information in a manner that complies with federal and state requirements as well as in conjunction with program and organization policies and procedures.
Attend community and outreach events at the direction of the program manager.
Attend further education, training, and certification opportunities with director approval.
Develop and maintain strong relationships with community partners and organizations.
Make mandatory reports as legally required.
Collaborate as a team on program special events.
Document and report in a timely manner participant related information, complying with federal and state requirements as well as program and organization policies and procedures.
Maintain Program confidentiality as mandated by program policy and Washington State Statute.
Ensure comprehension of program and organizational policies and procedures and follow them.
Track hours worked and turn in monthly timesheet to supervisor on time.
Assure that participants, staff, volunteers and community partners are treated with respect and dignity regardless of race, ethnic background, gender or socioeconomic background.
Gain approval for, track, and engage in activities that meet the organization’s 1% for Social Change requirement.
Think through the lens of racial equity and its intersections with poverty. Use the core principles of anti-racism and grounding those principles in all daily tasks.
Incorporate the YWCA’s commitment to social justice by understanding how racism, sexism, classism and other oppressions intersect and are embedded in institutions. Seek opportunities for continued learning about racial, gender and class equity.