CSEC Advocate 1

Safety Compass
ADVOCATE I

Job Description:

Role: Advocate I (1 FTE )

Reports To: Director of Programs, CEO and County Task Force Coordinator

Compensation: $20/hour

At Safety Compass(SC), our mission is to offer support for survivors of commercial sexual exploitation and sex-trafficking navigating the criminal and social justice systems in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. We offer in-person support for survivors, specialized training for professionals and community members, and advocacy during law enforcement interviews. We believe that public education increases awareness, resulting in increased victim identification and better intervention outcomes. We are committed to collaboration with law enforcement and social services providers, believing collaboration is the most effective method to achieving criminal and social justice.

Our advocacy support services are free and confidential. Services include a culturally specific 24-hour advocacy response team, collaborative case management, support groups, and equine assisted advocacy, for commercially sexually exploited youth and young adults (CSEY).

Safety Compass offers a unique and nurturing work culture and operates under Oregon’s confidentiality guidelines for community- based domestic violence and sexual assault victim advocates. Some evening or weekend availability and work hours are required. SC is offering an exciting opportunity to provide emergency response and basic case management services to an incredible population of survivors of CSEY. Duties will include providing crisis intervention, ongoing case management services to CSEY, assisting them in getting basic needs met, advocating across a wide variety of situations, and supporting youth in actualizing their goals, and systems-based collaboration with law enforcement, mental health, community-based advocacy groups, parole and probation and others.

ROLE: Advocates respond to requests from law enforcement, medical staff, and the Volunteer Coordinator, to support survivors of sex trafficking and their families. They take shifts wherein they agree to be within SC "service jurisdiction" and answer their phone for calls connecting them to identified needs for support. The Advocate may be asked to triage the survivor’s needs via telephone to determine the type of response needed. They may offer support to the individual/family via telephone communication, or to respond to secure (meaning cleared for safety by law enforcement) scenes to provide in-person support. In other instances, the Volunteer Coordinator will ask that the Advocate be assigned for more on-going support to one survivor or family or be assigned to a youth that is deemed at "high risk" of becoming commercially sexually exploited as a preventative support role.

Other Duties: To be determined by the CEO/Director of Programs and/or County Task Force Coordinator.

EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: A Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in Social Services, Public Health, or other related fields from an accredited college or university. (Relevant experience may substitute for the required education on a year-for-year basis).

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS NEEDED FOR POSITION:

• Ability to handle crisis situations with compassion, grace, and patience

• Excellent discernment

• Ability to follow directions, policies, and procedures with respect for rules

• A sense of humility in adhering to best practices and ethics in the field.

• Be fueled as much if not more by love, than anger, in the face of injustice

• Working knowledge and a great deal of passion related to serving commercially sexually exploited youth.

• Ability and desire to work collaboratively with law enforcement and other agencies interfacing with the criminal justice system.

• Strong understanding of the dynamics of domestic and sexual violence and how it affects both the individual survivor and community as a whole.

• Crisis intervention and supportive advocacy skills.

• Significant self-direction/self-management skills and the ability to be flexible in an unstructured environment.

• Comfort and/or experience with public speaking and conducting trainings.

• Demonstrated leadership and a commitment to diversity.

• Well-developed organizational, analytical and problem-solving skills

• Intermediate skills in the following computer software: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

• Additional Requirements:

• The person must be able to pass a thorough criminal background check.

• Valid driver’s license and reliable vehicular transportation

VALUES:

• Confidentiality.

• Respect, compassion, and a belief in the resiliency of the survivors.

• A commitment to rooting our motivation for our work in love and celebration for those we serve, regardless of whether they are actively involved in the sex industry or not.

• A commitment to multi-disciplinary collaboration.

• Trauma-informed care.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

FUNCTION 1: EMERGENCY RESPONSE ADVOCATE

• Participate in work-schedule-long on-call rotations on SC’s 24-hour response call-out line, providing in-person and over the phone advocacy to survivors of commercial sexual exploitation. (Salary/or hourly compensation plus stipend for overnight shifts).

FUNCTION 2: CASE MANAGEMENT

• Provide collaborative case management and support to survivors. Includes rapport building, working closely with community partners involved in the participant’s case, safety planning, triaging for needs, and all other activities that assist youth in identifying and meeting their own goals.

• Apply understanding of resiliency/ strengths-based, trauma informed, assertive engagement and motivational interviewing, to support participant safety and facilitate transition out of a life of exploitation.

• Accompany and advocate for youth in a variety of settings including law enforcement interviews, court, shelters, and multi-disciplinary team meetings.

FUNCTION 3: COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

• Establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with partner agencies.

• Participate in community meetings as needed.

FUNCTION 4: ADMINISTRATIVE TASKS

• Abide by all confidentiality requirements and SC guidelines.

• Support the agency’s trauma-informed code of conduct.

• Contribute to a work environment that is mutually supportive, respectful, and diverse.

• Maintain all case files with attention to detail and timeliness.

• Ensure all contractually required forms are executed.

• Collect and report all required data fields required to capture.

• Compile and submit all agency-required forms

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: From $20.00 per hour

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 10 hour shift
• 12 hour shift
• 8 hour shift
• Holidays
• Monday to Friday
• On call
• Weekend availability

COVID-19 considerations:
All staff wear a mask, use hand sanitizer, and practice social distancing while working with participants and out in the community.

Experience:

• Advocate: 2 years (Preferred)

Language:

• Spanish (Preferred)

License/Certification:

• Driver's License (Required)

Work Location: Multiple Locations