Position Summary: The Resident Advocate is an essential staff position primarily responsible for covering the daily operations of the Shelter program, including welcoming and orienting new residents to the program, providing crisis intervention and conflict resolution services to residents, and daily enrichment activities to improve shelter stay. This position is also responsible for back up coverage on the 24-hour hotline and back up coverage for operations activities such as readying a room for occupancy, accepting and distributing donations, and light housekeeping. Shelter Residents are traumatized both by the intimate partner violence they experienced, and the sudden experience of homelessness. Families may also have unrelated trauma experiences from their lives. The Resident Advocate must be comfortable engaging traumatized people in a sensitive manner and must be comfortable working in a Voluntary Services program model.
Standard Schedule: This position is 100% on site and based at the confidential shelter location in Baltimore City. As an essential staff position, the Resident Advocate is expected to report to work in weather emergencies, and on Holidays that fall within scheduled work days.
Primary Responsibilities
Welcomes new residents, complete paperwork, and orient residents to building and program.
Provides supportive listening, crisis intervention and conflict resolution to residents.
Regularly walks through building and engages residents in conversation, encouragement, and support.
Educates residents on community and agency resources and helps make connections to said resources.
Educates residents on intimate partner violence, safety planning, and life skills through one on one interaction and through informational materials and bulletin boards.
Sorts, inventories, and distributes material goods and donations in accordance with shelter procedure such as clothing, medications, bus tokens, and personal hygiene supplies.
Opens the computer lab and provides guidance and assistance to special event and ongoing volunteers.
Acts as back up to Operations Assistant on room turnover including cleaning/ preparing rooms.
Answer 24 hour hotline as back up to Contact Center and provides triage to police drops off/ walk in participants.
Completes daily documentation of activities through agency software system and paper system. Is responsible for specific data entry tasks related to statistics and funding requirements.
Nothing in this job description restricts management’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.
Authority
Authorizes new admissions to shelter program within guidelines set by program leadership.
Distributes material goods to program residents.
Approves child care agreements between residents.
Distributes bus tokens and cab vouchers to program residents.
Intervenes in urgent threats to harm of self or others through calling appropriate Emergency Response Personnel.
Recommends steps for intervention in non-life threatening resident crisis or conflict to Service Coordination and Residential Leads.
Represents the agency with donors, area service providers, and volunteers.
Accountability/ Measures Of Success
Meets program quality and service targets: including deadlines for timely and accurate completion of data entry efforts, resident intake and exit paperwork.
Residents are well educated on program requirements and resources available to them in Shelter.
Bus tokens and cab vouchers are disbursed within budget and have appropriate documentation to justify expenditures.
Residents and volunteers to the program feel welcomed and have the basic tools they need to be successful (i.e. toiletries and information on meal times for residents, sign in sheets and information on facilities for volunteers)
Computer lab is kept in good working condition with accurate up to date resources.
New resident intake paperwork and resident exit information in entered into ETO within 16 hours of entry or exit from program.
Goals, tasks and targets on six month workplans are consistently met.
Experience/ Requirements
One year paid or unpaid experience working in victim centered advocacy or working in a residential setting (school, hospital, shelter, nursing home, group home, etc). High school diploma/ GED equivalent may substitute for six months experience.
Effective verbal, listening, and writing skills, with a strong ability to relate to a diverse range of individuals including victims, children, donors, and service providers.
High degree of reliability in completing tasks assigned in the manner expected.
Ability to report to work in adverse weather conditions and Holidays as scheduled.
Ability to lift and carry up to 20 pounds.
Must pass a criminal background check.
Highly Preferred Skills Include
Oral fluency in English and another language (Spanish, Urdu, Arabic, French highly preferred)
Experience with conflict resolution/ mediation.
Experience working an awake overnight position.
Knowledge of local human services resources.
Ability to understand intimate partner violence and how it affects the client population.
Seniority level
Entry level
Employment type
Full-time
Job function
Legal
Industries
Non-profit Organizations
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