The Lead Service Coordinator is primarily responsible for supervising Service Coordination staff, training and mentoring new staff, and providing ongoing expertise and technical assistance to staff beyond the probation period. This position works very closely with the Service Coordination Manager as part of the Service Coordination leadership team to ensure that each Service Coordinator is providing consistent, quality services to the program’s participants that are in line with the Program Manager’s vision for the program. As such, the Lead Service Coordinator 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. Additionally, the Lead Service Coordinator is responsible for coordinating the day to day processes and services for victims seeking services with the HRM, including monitoring individual participant progress and ensuring consistent delivery of participant services; managing shift coverage; and welcoming and orienting new participants to the program. The Lead Service Coordinator provides crisis intervention and safety planning, develops intervention strategies, and connects participants to programs while building their support systems. Offsite visits are part of the job. This position is also responsible for contact center coverage on the 24 hour hotline. The Lead Service Coordinator is responsible for developing an excellent working relationship with other HRM program and its staff, as well as external stakeholders, to ensure the timely, effective and seamless provision of services and must have the maturity and leadership skills to work with people from economically and culturally diverse backgrounds in many different capacities.
Primary Responsibilities:
· In conjunction with the Service Coordination Manager, directs, manages, and hires Service Coordinators; oversees and coordinates work allocation, training, supervision and performance evaluation of the staff and ensures that all work related to timely, accurate, and effective delivery of services is completed.
· Establishes and modifies staff schedules as necessary to ensure sufficient programming, including contact with new participants, community outreach, and attendance at professional meetings.
· Provides quality assurance monitoring of services to participants, including file review, attendance records, service plan review, and ETO data entry efforts of staff; ensuring staff have the skills to utilize the software’s capabilities and putting processes in place to ensure consistent, accurate, and quality entries.
· Works closely with the Service Coordination Manager to provide content for and execute training of all new and current Service Coordinators on engagement, services coordination, advocacy, and domestic violence knowledge skills.
· Acts as a mentor to new Service Coordinators, answering questions and facilitating relationships within and outside of the agency.
· Works closely with the Residential Services Director to address service delivery questions and concerns as pertains to residential participants.
· Provides comprehensive coordination of services for a caseload of approximately 8-12 participants referred from HRM 24 hour hotline and other HRM departments. Works with participants to make introductory contact within 24 hours of receiving assignments, provides a thorough assessment of needs through a modified bio-psycho-social assessment, creates a comprehensive service plan with timeline for completion, coordinate with internal and external providers of services, and follow up with participants after closing of participant file.
· Assesses safety needs, make recommendations for action to improve or maintain safety.
· Gathers and synthesizes information on participant from agency sources and from significant recent and current community support systems.
· Works with participants to develop an ECO-Map, clearly identifying support people in the participant’s life and how they might contribute to the participant achieving goals.
· 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.
· Maintains paper and electronic participant files in keeping with program standards. Ensures that program participant documents related to the successful running of the program are accurate, available, and up to date. Monitors resource materials to ensure they are accurate and current.
· Assists Program Manager and Director in compiling necessary statistical data and narrative for grant reports and applications.
· Assesses participant’s mental health and substance abuse needs, makes recommendations for further treatment and coordinate a plan for addressing those needs.
· Coordinates participant’s use of agency and community services to provide comprehensive and unduplicated services that maximize participant success, including organizing team meetings as necessary.
· Visits participants in home environments that have been determined to be safe.
· Participates in weekly Service Coordination Team meetings and Shelter Case Review meetings and makes recommendations concerning individual participant’s eligibility for financial assistance and expected termination date from the program.
· Assists participants in planning for exit from program, including connecting residents with other agency services and outside local resources.
· Provides admissions screening for participants seeking to enter HRM Residential programs and makes recommendations for admissions decisions, including placement assistance for Risk One victims who may require emergency shelter.
· Educates residents on community and agency resources and helps make connections to said resources. Shares resources with Service Coordination team.
· Provides one on one counseling for participants in crisis and to help participants resolve conflict.
· Distributes material goods in accordance with program procedure such as clothing, bus tokens, and personal hygiene supplies.
· Approves financial assistance requests up to $250 and in the absence of the Service Coordination Manager, up to $750.
· Provides relief and back-up coverage in emergency and urgent situations if required.
· Answers 24 hour hotline as part of Contact Center staffing.
· Other Duties as assigned.