Crime Victim Advocate

JOB TITLE:  Crime Victim Advocate                                            DEPARTMENT:  WISH//Homicide and Other Violent Crimes (HOVC)

REPORTS TO:  Victim Services Coordinator

BENEFITS:  Full time position; Health, Dental & Vision Insurance, Vacation/Sick Leave, Simple IRA, Non-Exempt

COUNTIES: Woodbury, Plymouth, Monona

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THE JOB:

This position is responsible for providing trauma informed, survivor centered victim services to survivors of homicide and victims of violent crimes.    

AGENCY VALUES:

• Client Centered – Our clients come first. Meeting them where they are in their journey is a priority.  We will always carry our mission forward.
• Family – The greatest resource in carrying out our mission is our staff. Our work family positively supports each other and promotes self-care.
• Integrity – Honesty, transparency and accountability guide actions and decisions. Reliability preserves trust among clients and coworkers.
• Resilience – The ability to adjust and push forward in times of great difficulty. Able to identify, validate and address concerns.
• Synergy – Working collectively through positive collaboration. Considerate of others and use time, talent and treasure for the benefit of all. 
• Self-Awareness – Able to communicate personal limits and implement solutions. Positive contributor and empowered through a strong sense of role. 

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. To clients:
   1. Provide direct service and support to survivors through face-to-face contacts, cards, telephone calls, and other means; respond in a timely fashion to crisis calls.
   2. Respect client choice and present all options in a warm and unbiased manner.
   3. Adjust schedule while still implementing proper boundaries to allow client needs/crisis to take priority.
   4. Use client centered language, keeping client’s best interest in mind when communicating with other service providers.
   5. Have knowledge of the resources available to survivors, either through private groups, public sponsored programs, or community resources.
   6. Engage in outreach to identify survivors throughout the service area, and provide support and advocacy directly, as well as through the development of local volunteer and professional services; contact survivors as identified through victim-witness coordinators, law enforcement, the media, or other sources.
   7. Participate in survivor support groups.
   8. Plan and implement activities for survivors during Victims’ Rights Week and Survivors of Homicide Victims Awareness Month.
   9. Spend 60% of hours worked each month providing direct services to victims and survivors.

1. Participate in an on-call rotation, if being hired to serve Sioux, Buena Vista, or Clay Counties. An on-call rotation consists of sharing crisis response duties for 7 days at a time as well as rotating Holiday coverage with co-workers. 

1. To Family Crisis Centers:
   1. Actively, assertively, and thoughtfully participate in staff meetings on a regular basis.
   2. Recognize and build on the cultural diversity of our clients and co-workers; actively foster positive working relationships with staff; work in a caring and helpful manner with clients and staff.
   3. Positively support work family and promote self-care.
   4. Attend training as required by the agency, funders, and state training.
   5. Complete job-related paperwork, database entry, and statistics in a timely and accurate manner.
   6. Follow Division Director guidance on maintaining direct service hours and contributing to Division grant goals
   7. Follow FCC’s policies on confidentiality; support the agency’s values.
   8. Keep Division Director informed of relevant issues.
   9. Represent the WISH Unit and agency positively in the public.
   10. Respect the program and agency resources (equipment, supplies, energy, and mileage); organize time and efforts to meet work demands.
   11. Assist and participate in agency wide events.

1. To the community:
   1. Establish and maintain good relations with the social service/legal community; market the WISH Unit program within each service community.
   2. Collaborate with other communities and agencies on a weekly basis with the goal of developing a new contact each week.
   3. Provide training to relevant professionals and community agencies.
   4. Develop and schedule educational presentations in the public sector, including training for law enforcement, schools, and non-profit agencies; implement community awareness activities regarding survivors and their needs.

SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

1. Work in a caring and helpful manner with homicide survivors, vehicular homicide survivors, and victims of violent assault/crime.
2. Respond effectively in crisis and emergent situations and establish a trusting and supportive environment among staff and for victims.
3. Strong crisis intervention skills and ability to work with diverse groups of people.
4. Actively advocate for clients.
5. Able to implement proper boundaries between self and clients.
6. Ability to practice self-care.
7. Maintain client records and ensure client files are current and complete.
8. Establish and maintain effective working relationships with officials of the criminal justice system, community organizations, service providers, healthcare providers, schools, and the general public.
9. Excellent public speaking, verbal and written communication skills
10. Maintain all ethical and professional standards.
11. Produce work product that meets professional standards of quality, neatness, accuracy, and promptness.
12. Observe strict confidentiality policies regarding all information obtained in course of employment.
13. Excellent leadership and organizational/time management skills (i.e. goal oriented and a self-starter, able to manage multiple projects; work independently, good stress management, etc.)
14. Have basic computer skills and knowledge of programs such as word processing, data bases, spread sheets.
15. Be reliable, dependable, solution-oriented, and able to follow protocol and policies.
16. Travel is required for client appointments, outreach, and meetings throughout service area multiple times per week. Travel may also be required, with possible overnight travel involved, for training that occurs outside of the service area.
17. Willingness to work irregular and flexible hours including evenings, weekends, and holidays.

QUALIFICATIONS:

1. B.A. in any human service-related or criminal justice field or equivalent. Professional and personal experience may substitute for educational requirements.
2. Bilingual (Spanish and English) preferred
3. Must be able to pass criminal and child/dependent adult abuse background checks.
4. Must clear Sex Offender Registries.
5. Previous employment or volunteer work in human services, community agencies, or other related nonprofit or social change organizations a plus.
6. Must possess valid driver’s license and have adequate motor vehicle insurance
7. Once hired, successfully complete a mandatory 20-hour victim counselor training.
8. Once hired, complete the Homicide and Violent Crimes Certification within 12 months of employment.

FCC is an equal opportunity employer. FCC is fair and impartial in all of its relations with its employees and applicants for employment and makes all employment related decisions without regard to race, creed, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic status, parental responsibility, language, national origin, age, health status (including HIV-positive), physical or mental disability, or any other categories protected by federal, state, or local law.