Lead Victims Advocate

Lead Victims Advocate

Behavioral Health

Department of Tribal Health

Hourly Wage: $19.69/Regular/Full-Time

This position provides coverage and maintains security at the Crisis Shelter during evenings and daytime hours. Responsibilities include receiving crisis calls, providing crisis intervention, determining, and processing intake of clients, monitoring client meetings and shelter maintenance. Lead Victim advocate is a professional trained to support victims of crime, offers victims information, emotional support, and help finding resources and filling out paperwork. Lead Victim advocate may also be called victim service providers, victim/witness coordinators, or victim/witness specialists.

Examples of Work Performed:

• Coordinates with Shelter Manager in reviewing needs and tasks in the Shelter; provides input and recommendations for improvements.


• Maintains shelter log, details of participant's situations, and needs, and updates file information.


• Appropriately closes participant's file when exited from crisis shelter.


• Completes and assists Shelter Manager in managing data entry into database.


• Accurately maintains participant's files, records inputting, and maintaining data entries, tracking, and reporting requirements.


• Monitors compliance with Shelter rules and policies; interacts with residents to promote and model appropriate behaviors.


• Always maintains strict confidentiality of participants and shelter. Assigns participant to Crisis Advocate for ongoing case management.


• Provides advocacy-based case management.


• Provides Advocates of their schedules and provides coverage as needed for back-up assistance for daytime, evening, on-call, and weekend advocates.


• Maintains security and safety of Shelter facility. As well reporting facility conditions.


• Facilitates initial contact when questions and/or concerns arise with participants and advocates.


• Review and report all incident reports made by advocates and participants and report to the Shelter Manager.


• Attends all staff meetings and advocate meetings as scheduled.


• Answers crisis calls and responds to potential clients. Provides crisis intervention and information; assists in creating personalized safety plans and/or determines appropriateness of Shelter protection needs.


• Provides referrals to outside agencies as needed.


• Screens potential clients accordingly to establish intake procedures.


• Assesses participant's immediate needs and barriers aids in developing individualized service plan.


• Collaborates with community resources to effectively meet clients needs and supporting community efforts in providing services.


• Provides emergency transportation to participants as necessary.


• Provides first aid care to injured women and children; secures needed medical care.


• Attend applicable trainings (local, travel, & on-line).


• Provides training, education, and awareness to local schools, agencies, and businesses on victimization, crime prevention, victim's legal rights & protections, criminal justice processes and other subjects such as sex trafficking, date rape, and domestic violence.


• Advocate and walk hand-in-hand with victims/survivors of sex-trafficking providing them emotional support, connecting them to needed services, and walking alongside them on their journey of healing.


• Provide innovative, trauma-informed, wrap-around-based, intensive case management for victims identified through local agencies, outreach, referral, or the hotline.


• Facilitate group sessions, assist with training & mentoring volunteers, and provide presentations & trainings to community partners.


• Assists victims with Victim Compensation applications.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Knowledge of Historical Trauma and Intergenerational Trauma, and knowledgeable on complex trauma and the impact of complex trauma on the brain.


• Knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite.


• Knowledge, experience, and willingness to conduct presentations and trainings to large groups.


• Knowledge of Advocacy work as it pertains to victims of crime.


• Knowledge of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sex trafficking, and stalking and how it affects victims.


• Knowledge of basic Case Management/Advocacy principles and how to apply them in their case notes and goal setting with clients.

• Ability to demonstrate knowledge and implementation of trauma-informed care.


• Ability to diligently seek, and reach out, in creative ways to assist victims of crime to offer them hope and support.


• Ability to work with women, children, youth, and vulnerable populations, and respond to crisis and/or escalated behavior with calm and confidence demeanor.


• Ability to organize, discern, and problem-solve creatively and under pressure.


• Demonstrate initiative with researching and accessing relevant resources in the community.


• Ability to be flexible and able to respond to leadership directives in a timely manner.


• Ability to give oral testimony in court on behalf of clients.


• Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.

Minimum Requirements:

• Associates Degree Social Worker, Criminal Justice or related field.


• Two years of experience as a Victims Advocate and working with victims of crime or other vulnerable populations.


• Required to pass pre-employment drug test.


• Required to pass pre-employment background check.


• Successful completion and certification of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Trainings.


• Must not have any criminal record against women, children, youth, or vulnerable populations.


• Capacity to work non-customary work hours.


• Must possess a valid Washington State Driver's License with the ability to obtain a Yakama Nation Tribal permit.


• Enrolled Yakama Preference, but all qualified applicants are encouraged to apply.