Hotline Operator

ABOUT THE WAISN HOTLINE

The WAISN Deportation Defense Hotline (“the Hotline”) is the ears of Washington’s immigrant community, a two-way line of communication rooted in mutual aid, feminism, and care that serves as the foundation for WAISN’s priorities, initiatives, and immigrant justice work. 

The WAISN Hotline was created in 2017 to empower and protect community members by sharing knowledge and resources for the safety and well-being of immigrants in the face of harmful immigration enforcement, providing a place to report ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) and CPB (Customs & Border Protection) activity in the state. Hotline operators facilitate access to WAISN’s immigrant-centered deportation defense mutual aid work through comprehensive and rapid care programs such as accompaniment to court and immigration appointments, Know Your Rights training, and the WAISN Fair Fight Bond Fund and post-detention release support. Our operators also facilitate referrals to an extensive list of community information and resources people need to survive and thrive, all vetted for accessibility to immigrants, anticipating and addressing potential barriers immigrants might face.

As the only statewide hotline for immigrants and refugees, particularly undocumented immigrants, in the state of Washington, the WAISN Hotline is an immigrant-led and trusted infrastructure of support made up and run by directly impacted immigrants dedicated to listening, responding to, and supporting the needs of immigrants of every race, ethnicity, embodiment,  gender identity, sexuality, nationality, location, language, and culture in Washington, available in nearly 300 languages. We strive to meet community members where they are in terms of technical proficiency, ability to read or write, education, and life experience.

POSITION SUMMARY

The primary purpose of the Operator position is to answer calls from community members to the WAISN Hotline. All Hotline Operators are expected to use a range of tools and vetted resources to provide high-quality informed, culturally humble, and caring service to callers based on Hotline Call and Service Standards.

This position is directly overseen by the Hotline Manager and works closely with other WAISN departments.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

People-Centered Work (75%)

• Promptly and in a time-sensitive manner, answer incoming calls to the Hotline and/or return any missed calls.
• Tactfully engage community members in a culturally situated, humble, thorough, and professional conversation to identify immigrant needs.
• Practice effective and active listening to proactively create an environment where community members feel valued and heard.
• Strategically and in alignment with organizational priorities, utilize WAISN tools and systems to locate and share appropriate and vetted information and resources.
• Assist in making referrals and completing internal and external forms and applications for community members to access resources and funds specific to immigrants or of particular interest to immigrant communities.
• Provide clear instructions and/or information—verbally and/or in writing—with the necessary disclaimers regarding any next steps involved in accessing resources and applications to empower immigrant community members with knowledge and agency to make the best decisions about themselves, families, and by extension communities.  
• Maintain community member confidentiality.
• Take responsibility for follow-through when further action is required to assist a community member and keep the Hotline Coordinator and/or Manager informed of any issues that arise.
• Respond to community members' queries on Facebook and Instagram during low call volume.
• Communicate with nuance and deep understanding about all things WAISN, its mission, values, advocacy efforts, programmatic priorities, and services available to immigrants, encouraging them to get involved in the organization.
• Proudly and unapologetically embody and represent WAISN’s values and mission in all interactions, building trust with community members through excellent and people-centered customer service that welcomes people of diverse sexualities, genders, races, ethnicities, immigration status, class, caste, embodiments, and creating a welcoming and friendly space for sex workers, people in underground economies, or folks seeking reproductive health resources, abortions, and/or gender-affirming care.

Collaboration and Teamwork (25%)

• Assess the level of urgency and alert WAISN staff in the event of immigration enforcement activity in progress in a timely manner so that rapid response protocols can be initiated.
• Demonstrate superb attention to detail with outstanding written communication skills to document salient details of all conversations on any given call while capturing all data requested in WAISN’s Call Intake Form to facilitate grant reporting and inform WAISN’s larger programmatic and advocacy efforts.
• Meticulously collect demographic information from community members to further inform WAISN advocacy efforts and priorities.
• Communicate in writing with other Hotline team members, other WAISN staff, and community partners in a clear, and effective manner, utilizing the appropriate tools: email, Slack, Signal messaging app, responding in a timely manner and keeping up to date on messages.
• Provide clear, evidence-based, consensual, and constructive feedback to the Hotline Coordinator and Manager regarding any issues with WAISN tools, systems, protocols, and procedures.
• Serve as an “ear to the ground” for WAISN, sharing any trends, concerns, or key stories with WAISN personnel and in designated spaces for Hotline Operators to actively participate and engage in discussion and feedback loops.
• Engage in a culture of radical acceptance, love, joy, and respect to actively foster a positive and collaborative work culture. 
• Attend and actively participate in all team huddles, check-ins, in-service sessions, and trainings.
• Be accountable for and take ownership of personal and professional growth through ongoing reflection and engagement with supervisors to build on strengths, identify and work on areas of growth, take advantage of coaching, and refine skills.
• Foster team spirit within WAISN by supporting all other WAISN departments, forming synchronicity between the Hotline team and other parts in WAISN by attending meetings and training for tasks outside of the Hotline.
• Strengthen our advocacy and demonstrate the value of WAISN and the Hotline by providing current, real-life examples of the gaps in services, barriers, and exclusion of immigrant and refugee communities, and how the Hotline was able to support community members through storytelling, making regular contributions to the WAISN story bank.

JOB REQUIREMENTS AND DESIRED PERSONAL TRAITS 

Qualifications

• Bilingual in Spanish and English.
• Access to a phone (cellphone, smartphone). 
• Access to reliable Internet (high-speed, can work from home).
• Computer proficiency with experience in email, Microsoft systems, and Google Workspace.
• Maintain a valid driver’s license. Ability and willingness to travel occasionally and must live in Washington state.

Knowledge and Skills

• Strong listening, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills: ability to communicate proficiently and strategically to ensure goals are met and relationships are strengthened.
• Demonstrated effective writing skills with excellent grammar.
• Ability to use different media (email, text, Slack, Signal, etc.) constructively in order to ensure smooth flow of communication within teams and with community members.
• Experience working in a fast-paced team environment, hotline or call center is highly preferred. 
• Excellent judgment to make decisions and troubleshoot complex situations.
• Attention to detail.
• Ability to organize personal workspace and time to manage multiple tasks, ensure efficiency, and be self motivated while working remotely. 
• Capacity to work independently, collaboratively, and creatively in order to accomplish assigned responsibilities.
• Ability to digest and synthesize a range of materials, information, and content, remaining up to date on information, protocols, and procedures in an agile working environment.
• Flexibility to adapt and pivot to meet the dynamic and changing needs of the immigrant community.
• Sensitivity to individuals’ unique cultural characteristics and capacity to display a positive, optimistic, accepting attitude toward all personnel and immigrant communities.
• Ability to engage and build strong connections and trust across race, gender, class, and other group identities, both internally and externally.  
• Demonstrated self-awareness of your own multiple group identities and your unconscious biases, and ability to adjust to different spaces accordingly.
• Ability to engage in feedback with colleagues and supervisors and to take advantage of professional guidance and supervision. 
• Knowledge and willingness to learn about the U.S. immigration system and issues and best practices related to providing services to immigrants in a community setting—including an understanding of the nuance and complexity of resource accessibility issues faced by immigrants—preferably with lived experience as an undocumented person, immigrant, or immigrant family. 
• A demonstrated commitment to social and racial justice issues and understanding of challenges facing the immigrant community, including communities of color, queer and transgender communities, and socioeconomically disadvantaged people.
• A demonstrated commitment to cutting-edge progressive values that champion an intersectional decolonial and transnational feminist agenda centered around the dismantling of all systems of oppression. 

Benefits package includes generous paid time off, vacation, and sick leave. Part-time employees with WAISN are eligible for Kaiser Permanente Medical Insurance, Delta Dental Insurance, and VSP Vision Insurance.

TO APPLY Please send resume, cover letter, and list of three references to jobs@waisn.org. All documents must be in a single PDF in one email with “Hotline Operator” in the subject heading. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled. No phone calls please.