Care Navigator (Bilingual Cantonese), Women's Cancer Program

Shanti is a San Francisco based non-profit that builds human connections to reduce isolation, enhance health and well- being, and improve quality of life.

OUR HISTORY: Dr. Charles Garfield founded the Shanti Project (Shanti) in 1974 as a young psychologist working on UCSF’s oncology unit. It was there that he became aware of the profound isolation and loneliness experienced by so many of his patients as they faced a short life span. He resolved that no one should have to experience a life-threatening illness alone. And so, he began to train volunteers to provide sophisticated emotional and practical support while listening deeply, with compassion, to the stories and needs of people facing serious illness and death. This was the beginning of San Francisco Bay Area’s Shanti Project, one of the first organizations in the world to train lay volunteers to treat what mainstream medicine does not and cannot treat - isolation and loneliness.

POSITION SUMMARY: Created in 2001, The Margot Murphy Women’s Cancer Program supports underserved women with cancer in San Francisco to overcome barriers to care with special emphasis on women of color and those who face additional burdens due to immigration status. This position allows someone to have a direct impact on clients and be part of a supportive community. The Care Navigator will provide emotional and practical support to women living with Cancer in San Francisco. This role requires one to compassionately connect with, engage and support Shanti clients with advocacy to access their needs within the system of care, appointment accompaniment, and psychosocial support. The Care Navigator will need to be innovative, flexible, and adaptive to be able to exercise sound judgment and support clients as well as collaborate with clients’ support networks.

The Bilingual Care Navigator position is a highly mobile, field-based position that will deliver services to clients in the community. The position is based at Shanti’s Tenderloin location. Currently, WCP is supporting a hybrid work structure.

PRIMARY DUTIES:

• Responsible for providing bilingual Cantonese/English Care Navigation services to 1.0 FTE caseload of clients with cancer including: case management and individualized care planning, emotional support, client needs assessments, patient and social services advocacy, appointment accompaniment and high-touch referrals to other resource providers within the community
• Provide emotional support and practical assistance to clients which includes but may not be limited to offsite visits in locations such as social service offices, client’s home, and medical facilities
• Input and maintain clients’ physical charts and electronic files, including units of service (UOS), activities, and progress notes in the agency’s database according to program expectations and as required by contracts and grants
• Collaborate closely with team members, case workers, social workers, healthcare providers and community partner agencies to support client access to services and care, such as but not limited to: UCSF, Kaiser Permanente, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC)/Sutter Health, Northeast Medical Services (NEMS), Kaiser Permanente, Chinese Hospital, and others
• Participate in regular staff meetings, staff training programs, and supervisory sessions
• Facilitate/Co-facilitate and provide support to our Health & Wellness Activities for clients in survivorship
• Participate in the development of positive and collaborative team and agency relationships
• Propose Peer Support Volunteer match to clients (if appropriate) and provide support to the matches
• Other duties as assigned

SECONDARY DUTIES:

• Facilitate/Co-facilitate Shanti Peer Support Volunteers Training
• Participate in case conferences, client outreach, fundraising events, and other related activities
• Assist with administrative, interpretation and translation assignments
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS/REQUIREMENTS: We seek highly qualified candidates with as many of the following areas of knowledge, ability, skills and experience as possible

• Minimum 2 years of experience providing direct services (including individual and group services) to targeted communities and/or degree in a social work/public health or related field
• Bilingual in Cantonese is required; proficiency in Mandarin is preferred but not
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and transparently with clients, colleagues, community partners, community-based organizations, and governmental agencies toward a collective goal
• A passionate advocate for underrepresented and underserved communities affected by systemic barriers, and commitment to collaborative approaches with client and community partners together
• Understanding of cancer and/or women’s health issues
• Detail-oriented, with excellent communication (written and verbal), organizational, and interpersonal skills; proficient in Microsoft Office suite, Outlook, and electronic client management systems
• Meticulous documentation practices and understanding the importance of privacy compliance
• Strong organizational skills and ability to multi-task with demanding timeframes
• Sensitive to the diversity of communities, including but not limited to issues of health equity, poverty, homelessness, mental illness, substance abuse, sexual orientation, gender, language, spirituality, and culture
• Highly collaborative and relational: values team cohesion and positivity with the ability to support team in a dynamic, changing environment
• Ability to use sound judgment in responding to issues and concerns and escalating these concerns to supervisors if necessary
• Knowledge of and commitment to the Shanti Model of Peer Support
• Ability to work flexible hours
• All Shanti employees must provide proof of vaccination for COVID-19 or complete weekly

COMPENSATION/BENEFITS: Shanti offers a competitive non-profit salary ranging from $57,500 - $60,489 and comprehensive benefit package, including multiple fully covered medical options as well as dental and vision. Other benefits include life insurance, long term and short-term disability, chiropractic/acupuncture, Employee Assistance Program and an optional Teledoc plan. A 403B saving plan is also available to all employees.

Shanti allows for flexible schedules as well as promotes a culture of self-care for all our employees. In the first year of employment, employees earn 90 hours of sick time and 112.5 hours vacation annually and begin accruing sick time and vacation time starting their first day of employment with no waiting period (i.e. you can use as you accrue). Employees also receive 2 personal days annually as well as 16 paid holidays.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to navigate and travel around the city of San Francisco using public transportation and be comfortable walking or standing for extended periods.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY: Shanti is an equal opportunity employer that supports and lives diversity in our staffing and values. Shanti complies with applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. We actively encourage and seek qualified candidates of all backgrounds. We also will consider employment for qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

APPLICATION PROCESS: To apply, please send a resume and a cover letter to Ai May Tan, Director of Women’s Cancer Program at: atan@shanti.org. Please no phone calls.