What are the responsibilities and job description for the Bilingual Contact Center Advocate position at House of Ruth Maryland?
Brief Description
The Bilingual Contact Center Advocate provides world-class, trauma informed customer service to individuals contacting House of Ruth Maryland via our 24/7 crisis hotline or online chat. The Bilingual Contact Center Advocate is part of the Contact Center team and is responsible for ensuring that every contact victims, family members, community members, perpetrators of abuse etc.- are offered the support, information, referral, crisis intervention counseling, and safety planning consistent with HRM standards.
When individuals contact HRM, they may present as scared, hopeful, worried, angry, concerned and hurt. This role assesses each victim's situation relative to lethality, danger, and service needs to provide appropriate safety planning and referrals. This role requires an empathetic problem solver, who exercises superior communication and interpersonal skills when interacting with contacts, and is a skilled professional with excellent crisis intervention and customer service skills. The Advocate is responsible for developing professional working relationships with their teammates, other HRM programs, and internal and external staff members to ensure the timely, effective, and seamless provision of services.
This position is full time, Monday-Friday 8am-4pm, and is considered an essential position, required to work during weather emergencies and agency holidays. Contact Center staff are expected to be flexible to cover essential crisis services when needed.
- Interfaces with victims, survivors, perpetrators of abuse, and community members to provide trauma-informed crisis intervention, safety planning, resource referral, and advocacy services to remedy intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and other social problems unique to victims within Baltimore and the surrounding area
- Maintains departmental quality assurance standards and trauma-informed principles during live responses to incoming calls, chats, and walk-in contacts during designated shifts
- Attends department-specific training and meetings to maintain knowledge of advocacy best practices, internal and external resources for clients, and community resources and trends
- Demonstrates inclusiveness during interactions with differently abled persons and individuals with varied sexual, gender, racial, ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds
- Provides resources and facilitates a “warm handoff” during referrals to other agencies on behalf of callers seeking access to external recovery services
- Advocates on behalf of high-risk clients to internal stakeholders across programs to facilitate emergency housing options, including emergency shelter and hotel stays
- Performs daily data entry to document each contact and other administrative tasks as needed for essential Contact Center or site functions. This may include filing call reports, organizing call center spaces, responding to voicemails, etc.
- Bilingual fluency in English and Spanish
- High School Diploma/GED
- One year of paid or voluntary experience in either call center, customer service, retail, hospitality, or work with vulnerable populations required. Phone or chat-based experience is highly preferred.
- Demonstrated ability to work quickly and calmly in a crisis required
- Demonstrated ability to make decisions that de-escalate conflict and resolve a crisis effectively required
- Excellent oral and written interpersonal skills with a solid ability to relate to various individuals, including victims, perpetrators of abuse, children, donors, business leaders, and human service providers. Particular emphasis on communication over the telephone and computer
- Demonstrated ability to work independently and juggle multiple tasks
- Must pass Criminal Background Check
The Bilingual Contact Center Advocate provides world-class, trauma informed customer service to individuals contacting House of Ruth Maryland via our 24/7 crisis hotline or online chat. The Bilingual Contact Center Advocate is part of the Contact Center team and is responsible for ensuring that every contact victims, family members, community members, perpetrators of abuse etc.- are offered the support, information, referral, crisis intervention counseling, and safety planning consistent with HRM standards.
When individuals contact HRM, they may present as scared, hopeful, worried, angry, concerned and hurt. This role assesses each victim's situation relative to lethality, danger, and service needs to provide appropriate safety planning and referrals. This role requires an empathetic problem solver, who exercises superior communication and interpersonal skills when interacting with contacts, and is a skilled professional with excellent crisis intervention and customer service skills. The Advocate is responsible for developing professional working relationships with their teammates, other HRM programs, and internal and external staff members to ensure the timely, effective, and seamless provision of services.
This position is full time, Monday-Friday 8am-4pm, and is considered an essential position, required to work during weather emergencies and agency holidays. Contact Center staff are expected to be flexible to cover essential crisis services when needed.