Bilingual Legal Advocate

Position:   Bilingual Legal Advocate

Employment Status: Full Time, Hourly, Benefits Package

Compensation: $22.00/hr.

Reports to: Program Manager

Job Description:

The Legal Advocate is a member of the Crisis Response and Intervention team. This position provides advocacy (direct client services), support, and crisis intervention to survivors of domestic and sexual violence. The Legal Advocate is also responsible for providing supportive legal services including assisting victims with completing and filing Protective Orders and providing Court Accompaniment. The Legal Advocate will work at the Protection Order Help Center two days out of the week and will attend the Legal Clinic at Washoe Legal Services every Wednesday. The Legal Advocate is not a lawyer and does not give legal advice.

Duties and responsibilities:

Advocacy Responsibilities:

• Assist and advocate for victims in filing protective orders.
• Assist victims with navigating the court system (i.e., assisting in understanding language used in legal documents).
• Accompany victims to court proceedings.
• Provide assistance in filing for crime victim’s compensation and victim impact statements when necessary.
• Provide information and referrals about legal resources.
• Offer survivors emotional support, information about community resources and services (including employment, housing, shelter services, health care, victim compensation, etc.)
• Provide case management and crisis intervention services to shelter residents and transitional housing clients when legal advocacy is needed.

Outreach Responsibilities:

• Identify under-served populations of victims and those most likely at risk in the community and explore means to provide information.

Administrative Responsibilities:

• Maintain accurate and confidential case files.
• Do statistical data entry, complete routine paperwork and produce small reports. Assists with compiling data and narratives for grant and board reports.
• Attend and participate in staff meetings and training courses as requested.

Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in human services, social work, criminal justice, behavioral sciences or related field.
• Must be Bilingual (English/Spanish)
• Knowledge of the judicial system through prior work within the legal system.
• Pass a Federal & State criminal background check.
• Pass a comprehensive drug screen.
• Provide a minimum of three recent professional references that can speak to competency, honesty & reliability.
• Demonstrate passion for helping others (must be evident from previous work and volunteer experience).
• Be able to communicate effectively and professionally, even when under stress.  Both orally and in writing.
• Be computer literate and able to use standard office equipment and software, including copy machines, fax machines, email, MS Office products (Outlook, Word, Excel), shared network drives, etc.
• Possess the ability to manage stress in a crisis environment.
• Possess the ability to set boundaries and maintain ethical relationships.
• Be able to work independently with little supervision.

Desired Qualifications:

• In-depth understanding of the dynamics of interpersonal violence.
• Experience with dual-use shelter programs (domestic violence & sexual assault), homeless shelters, substance abuse programs, social services programs.

Safe Embrace celebrates the diversity in our nation, community and staff.  We will not discriminate because of political or religious affiliation, race, ethnic, or national origin, age, sexual orientation, economic status, education, marital status or other non-merit factors.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $22.00 per hour

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Flexible schedule
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Monday to Friday

Education:

• Bachelor's (Required)

Language:

• Spanish (Required)

Work Location: One location