Shelter Advocate
Shelter Advocate
The Family Shelter Program seeks two full-time Shelter Advocates. A Shelter Advocate provides face to face services to clients staying at our Family Shelter. This position is responsible for safety planning, client assessments, case management, client support, education, referral and collaborating with internal and external programs.
About SAFE:
- SAFE’s mission is our name: Stop Abuse For Everyone. We achieve our mission by acknowledging and responding to the intersection of child abuse, sexual assault, human trafficking, and domestic violence.
- The SAFE Alliance grew out of the courageous work of the Center for Battered Women, the Austin Rape Crisis Center, and the Austin Children’s Shelter, all respected, women-led human service agencies created by volunteers and informed by survivors who needed support, safety, and justice.
- With over 20 programs and 400 staff, we have been serving the Austin community and beyond for over 30 years.
- The SAFE Alliance strongly encourages members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including Black, Indigenous, and people of color; LGBTQ+ identified people; gender-nonconforming people; individuals with disabilities; veterans; and people who speak a language in addition to English.
About this position:
We need you to fill the role of a Shelter Advocate. This is a full-time, salaried, non-exempt position at The Kelly White Family Shelter located at our Grove Campus. We will pay you an annual salary of $42,000. Candidates who are bilingual in the English and Spanish languages are eligible for a language differential of $3,600 per year. There are two openings for this position; the working hours for both are Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm.
Key Duties:
- Provide trauma informed support and guidance to survivors of child abuse, sexual abuse, domestic violence and/or human trafficking residing in our family shelter program.
- Provide support to survivors living in our Family Shelter program with immediate needs, communal living issues, safety planning and help them access internal and external services to address health, access to benefits, legal, housing needs and anything else that will help them re-establish their lives.
- Maintain a safe environment by de-escalating or responding to crisis situations in a professional and respectful manner, engage the support of emergency services when needed, and document any such incidents according to our program standards.
- Maintain excellent organizational skills and the ability to manage details and multiple priorities effectively and possess the ability to prioritize and meet deadlines.
- Possess exceptional communication and listening skills to effectively be part of an interdisciplinary team to support those we serve.
- Completing all required data entry for clients, such as client service logs.
- Driving an agency van to transport clients, when needed.
Qualifications:
- Possess a Bachelor's degree in social work or related field.
- Two years’ experience in human services is required; however, two years of professional experience in human services may be substituted for each year of bachelor’s level education.
- 1-2 years’ direct client or crisis intervention experience preferred.
- Knowledge of issues and systems related to domestic violence, sexual abuse, human trafficking, child abuse and homelessness preferred.
- Experience providing direct service advocacy or case management services.
- Ability to work in a high stress, fast-paced environment while maintaining a calm and professional demeanor.
- Ability to establish rapport, trust, and boundaries with clients.
- Ability to use office equipment, Microsoft Office products, and other software on a PC platform to enter/update data into our database regularly.
- Bilingual in the English and Spanish languages preferred.
- Pass all required criminal history background checks (including an FBI fingerprint check, if applicable), as well a pre-employment drug screen and TB test.
- Must have a valid, State of Texas Driver’s License, and at least three (3) consecutive years of driving experience OR one (1) year of driving experience if over 27 years of age; AND an acceptable driving record; AND if in possession of an out-of-state license, obtain a State of Texas Driver’s License within 90 days of beginning employment.
- All employees are required to comply with policies regarding COVID-19, which may be subject to change. COVID vaccines are still highly recommended, and we encourage employees to get vaccinated if they are able.
About our benefits:
- Full-time employees receive employer paid health insurance, short-term disability, and life insurance.*
- Optional dental, vision and pet insurance.*
- 403(b) retirement plan with an employer match, and 15 days of Paid Time Off (PTO), 4 Personal Holidays, 7 Paid holidays, and more.*
- We’ll provide you with an amazing work environment where you’ll get to make a difference every day.
Please Note: All new employees regardless of status will be required to start their employment on either the 1st or 16th of the month and will be required to attend a three-day new employee orientation that is held both in-person and virtually.
*Benefits are prorated based on date of hire and hours worked. Eligibility is dependent upon FTE, status, etc.
For the most up-to-date and comprehensive list of our job openings, please visit our career page.