Bilingual Outreach Specialist

Position Summary: The Bilingual Outreach Specialist engages persons experiencing intimate partner and/or sexual violence (IPSV) who also have limited English and are often immigrants.  Highly mobile, the Outreach Specialist works in the greater Baltimore area engaging and educating the community about IPSV, services HRM has to offer, and what systems and laws are in place to assist victims and survivors of IPSV.  This position also assesses and connects persons experiencing IPSV with safety and stability services at HRM and provides community based resources as needed.  As part of HRM’s cross disciplinary community engagement team, the Outreach Specialist takes initiative to seek out communities where new immigrants and underserved survivors live and work and routinely participates in community events to build trust in HRM’s ability to help.  The Outreach Specialist’s focus is on engaging survivors of IPSV.  Current populations HRM is focused on reaching include the Spanish speaking and Latinx immigrant communities; Urdu speaking South Asian community; Muslim communities; and LGBTQ communities.  Community education efforts are aimed at helping family, friends and organizations recognize and refer limited English and immigrant survivors to HRM.  All participants served in Bilingual Outreach are victims of IPSV, and have also often experiencing violence during the immigration process, violence in their home country, and community based violence that includes discrimination and hate crimes.  Participants have experienced complex traumatic events that shape how they interact with the people around them.  The Outreach Specialist must have a firm understanding of trauma, the effects of trauma, engaging traumatized people, and must be comfortable working in a Voluntary Services program model. To meet the needs of the client population, this position must be fluent in English and Spanish, or English and Urdu.

Standard Schedule: Standard hours for this position are Monday- Friday, starting between 8:00am-10:00am and finishing between 4:00pm-6:00pm with flexibility up to 30% of the time to attend to critical work activities occurring in the evening or weekend (resource fairs and events, presentation, meeting with participants with schedule conflicts, etc.).  This position is based on site at HRM’s HIghlandtown office.  Local travel around the Baltimore Metropolitan area encompasses up to 50% of the position. 

Primary Responsibilities:

• Provides crisis intervention, safety planning, rights education, systems navigation, empathy and culturally informed support to persons experiencing intimate partner and sexual violence.
• As part of the Victim Coordinate Entry (VCE) team, completes intakes for homeless survivors of intimate partner and sexual violence.
• Assists clients in gathering/obtaining documentation necessary to quickly and efficiently process assistance requests.
• Guides and supports participants to increase self-sufficiency skills, safety, education on domestic violence, and problem solving.  Educates participants on self-advocacy skills and advocates on behalf of participants when necessary to achieve participant goals.
• Carries out the Community Engagement strategy, reaching out to communities where underserved populations live and work, providing information on IPSV, services available, and systems navigation.
• Identifies and reaches out to agencies and organizations that interact with HRM’s underserved populations.  Notifies agencies of programming and services available to survivors facilitates partnerships to serve victims and survivors better.
• Distributes and inventories food pantry commodities to participants in Baltimore City and Baltimore County. 
• Provides direction and support for volunteers working in the food pantry or at outreach events.
• Maintains detailed tracking records for assistance distributed, including timely data entry related to each contact in keeping with program standards.
• Provides safety assessment and services to persons seeking crisis assistance in person at the Highlandtown site.
• Travels to provide in person triage services for walk in victims at HRM sites, and at safe partner locations in the City.
• Visits participants in home environments that have been determined to be safe.
• Participates in HRM Service Coordination Team, Community Engagement, and Highlandtown Site meetings.  Attends external collaborative meetings on a rotating basis.
• Conducts on-site Platicas Informativas groups for participants in the program.
• Makes recommendations concerning individual participant’s eligibility for financial assistance and expected termination date from the program.
• Provide relief and back-up coverage for the Victim Coordinated Entry and Lethality Assessment Program teams when language services are needed.  
• Spanish speaking staff members share coverage and triage services at HRM’s Highlandtown office to ensure victim access for Spanish speaking victims and survivors.

Experience/ Requirements:

• Two years of paid or volunteer experience providing outreach, training, or victim centered advocacy.  Associate degree in Human Services field may substitute for one year experience.
• Demonstrated understanding of how trauma impacts vulnerable population through direct service provision with that population.
• Oral and written fluency in English and Spanish, or English and Urdu.
• Excellent oral and written interpersonal skills with a strong ability to relate to a diverse range of individuals including victims, children, donors, business leaders, human service providers, and donors.
• Demonstrated ability to juggle multiple competing tasks and timelines.
• Clean driving record, current state driver’s license, and reliable personal transportation.
• Ability to lift and carry items up to 20 pounds.
• Must pass Criminal Background Check.
• Highly Preferred Skills:
• Experience in direct service provision with underserved Spanish speaking, Latinx immigrant, South Asian, Muslim, or LGBTQ populations.
• Knowledge and understanding of intimate partner and/or sexual violence. 
• Knowledge of local human services programs/ agencies and housing resources.

https://recruiting.myapps.paychex.com/appone/MainInfoReq.asp?R_ID=5173297