Adults’ Advocate (AA)

Location: On-site at confidential address in San Francisco

Compensation: Full Time (40 hours a week, 10hrs/day, 4 days/week). Anticipated pay rate $28-30 per hour. Pay rate will be determined in part depending on years of experience related to essential duties and responsibilities. Generous health benefits and vacation package.

Summary

The Adults’ Advocate (AA) is responsible for culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and survivor-centered case management of adult shelter clients during their stay at Asian Women’s shelter’s emergency domestic violence shelter. The AA works closely with one other Adults’ Advocate and two Children’s Advocates to coordinate and provide services for survivors and their families at the shelter, including advocacy, case management, educational and recreational activities, crisis counseling and ongoing emotional support. Adults’ Advocates cooperate to maintain, develop, and strengthen all aspects of the shelter program. The Adults’ Advocate also supports transitions of shelter residents into longer term housing programs, and provides some limited follow-up services.

Organization Description

Founded in 1988 and voted the Most Inspiring Nonprofit by SF Weekly’s Best of San Francisco in 2019, Asian Women’s Shelter (AWS) is a dynamic non-profit organization dedicated to ending domestic violence by promoting the social, political and economic self-determination of women and all survivors of violence and oppression. Our staff is passionate, supportive, mission-driven, and committed to teamwork and positive change to strengthen grassroots communities and the movement to end gender-based violence. AWS is a local, regional, and national leader in its field, known for its commitment to cultural responsiveness, multilingual engagement, shared leadership, building effective collaborations, and movement-based services and cultural change programs. We value equity, gender justice, language and cultural responsiveness, integrity, compassion and sustainability. Our approach is survivor-centered, trauma-informed, intersectional, margin-to-center, ethically collaborative, and committed to movement-building. Learn more about the Asian Women’s Shelter at www.sfaws.org.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

1. Manage an assigned caseload of adult residents throughout the full service cycle, including intake, program onboarding, shelter stay, and follow-up period.
2. Assist with incoming residents’ room preparation, pick-up and move-in, and welcome and orientation into shelter.
3. Design and implement a case plan with all adult survivors based on client goals and the family’s needs.
4. In collaboration with Children’s Advocates, design and implement a coordinated case plan with all survivors with children (including survivors who are pregnant).
5. Proactively offer and implement case management from initial meeting and assessment through goal setting and case closing. This will include, but is not limited to:
   1. Provide equitable, holistic, and tailored support and engagement to all clients.
   2. Provide or coordinate language access for clients as needed (by using SFAWS’s Multilingual Access Model’s pool of on-call language advocates or by using outside language resources when necessary).
   3. Build, maintain, and repair trust with clients.
   4. Provide crisis intervention and ongoing emotional support, peer counseling, and safety planning throughout each case.
   5. Develop and drive casework action plans that are proactive, organized and culturally responsive, and that are focused on maximizing client options and meeting client goals.
   6. Design and coordinate resident support plans that integrate volunteers, language advocates and/or other relevant staff.
   7. Connect clients to appropriate service providers and resources within and outside of the organization
   8. Accompany clients to provide support and advocacy at important appointments including legal, public assistance, medical, job training, school enrollment, etc. appointments
   9. Support rotating on-call staff as needed if/when your clients have off-hour emergencies
   10. Connect residents to opportunities for transitional or permanent housing, either by connecting them to an AWS Housing Team advocate or to another housing resource if more appropriate.
   11. Update AWS Shelter Team weekly with case plan progress so that the case is holistically approached and properly supported by the entire Shelter Team.
   12. Work with the Shelter Household Coordinator and Facilities Coordinator to prepare and maintain each room for move-in and move-out and to upkeep of shelter common spaces.
   13. Offer and provide follow up services for up to three months (longer if needed) upon clients’ exit from shelter to support smooth transitions for clients.
6. Coordinate special events for clients (e.g. birthdays, holidays, move-out parties, etc.)
7. Serve as point person to assigned cases for all relevant organizational matters (e.g. invitations to events, communication about visitors or vendors in the shelter, updates on household changes, etc.)
8. Support shelter residents to navigate shared living spaces with each other and each other’s children, and to address conflicts constructively if/when they arise.
9. Support other advocates and activities in the Shelter Program, including being back up support for weekly shelter support group facilitation and dinner coordination.
10. Stay attuned and responsive to shelter household needs and emergencies.
11. Complete timely and accurate entry of all service records into AWS client activity database(s), as well as other documentation of case work and organization of case files.
12. Represent AWS in appropriate coalitions or collaborations that are focused on building service networks.
13. General Office Support & Program Development:
14. Foster a welcoming and supportive environment for shelter residents and survivors in all AWS offices and during AWS events;
15. Engage actively and meaningfully in staff retreats, meetings, professional development trainings, and organizational development activities;
16. Use all organizational communication and documentation channels appropriately;
17. Demonstrate regular, predictable attendance and consistent focus; and
18. Support ad hoc organizational needs when possible.

Supervisory Responsibilities This job has no employee supervisory duties.

Minimum Qualifications

Education and/or Experience: Bachelor’s degree (B.A.) from four-year college or university; or one to two years related education, experience and/or training in direct services/case management, program development and community outreach; or equivalent combination of education and experience in Social Work, Gender Studies, Sociology, Ethnic Studies, Psychology, Public Health, or related fields. Strong knowledge and awareness of issues related to cultural marginalization, poverty, housing, economic inequity, issues related to immigration and language access, gender oppression, etc. Experience building collaborations with other service providers preferred. Experience in project coordination, establishing priorities, time management, and effective verbal and written communication preferred.

Language Skills: Ability to read, write and interpret documents such as program reports, procedure manuals and curricula and outreach materials. Ability to write routine reports, and correspondence. Ability to speak effectively before groups of employees or program participants of the organization. Bilingual/bicultural preferred.

Mathematical Skills: Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs.

Reasoning Ability: Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

Computer Skills: To perform this job successfully, an individual should have knowledge of and ability to perform using Internet software (Chrome, Safari), MacOS (Apple operating system), Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, etc.), Google Suite (Gmail, Google Calendar, Docs, etc.), eSignature tools (Adobe Acrobat, DocuSign), accounting and expense/budget management software (QuickBooks, Divvy), online payroll service (ADP), databases (Apricot), and remote collaboration tools (Basecamp, Zoom, TeamViewer, Dropbox, etc.). Knowledge of basic office equipment should include internet and email, copy and fax machines, telephone and smartphone.

Certificates, Licenses, Registration:

• A valid California driver’s license, proof of automobile insurance, and safe driving record sufficient to insurance companies’ standards and proof of auto insurance are required for any driving for work duties. A motor vehicle report will be run and checked as a condition of employment.
• Documentation of completed California Domestic Violence Counselor Training that meets state requirements for Domestic Violence Counselor Privilege. If training requirements need to be met post-hire, must enroll in first SFAWS semi-annual training provided after hire, and must complete limited essential training components before working alone with clients.
• Because the position works with vulnerable populations including contact with people under 18, another condition of employment is a cleared background check and LiveScan fingerprinting report.

Other Qualifications

• Must have demonstrated knowledge and skill related to trauma responsiveness, self-regulation, and effective navigation of emotional intensity.
• Must be available to work occasional evenings and weekend days.

Physical Requirements

• The work environment includes settings of an office and shelter/communal living environment, and community meeting spaces. The noise level in these settings ranges from quiet to noisy.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to handle or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk and hear.
• This position engages in work that requires time spent sitting, standing, walking up and down stairs, with a significant number of hours each day spent sitting, looking at a screen, using a computer and keyboard, phone, and/or video conferencing.
• The work of the organization includes frequent information-sharing and discussion not just about healing and support, but also about abuse, trauma, violence and systemic oppression. Must be comfortable engaging in conversation about these topics with others. Must be able to discuss these topics in a way that supports trust-building, effective communication, and teamwork.

Generous health benefits and vacation package.

Ability to read, write and interpret documents such as program reports, procedure manuals and curricula and outreach materials. Ability to write routine reports, and correspondence. Ability to speak effectively before groups of employees or program participants of the organization. Bilingual/bicultural preferred.