Social Work Program Coordinator
Share
Job Location:
Austin, TX - USA
Monthly Salary:
Not Disclosed
Posted on:
Yesterday
Vacancies:
1 Vacancy
Job Summary
Social Work Program Coordinator
APA! BACKGROUND: Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) is one of Austins most dynamic and beloved nonprofits. The organization leads the No Kill movement nationally and is considered a national thought leader in animal welfare. APA! locally rescues treats and adopts out 10000 homeless dogs and cats each year providing the safety net for Austins most at-risk shelter pets which helps Austin to be a No Kill city while also assisting other communities in saving homeless animals. The organization is distinguished by its large volunteer workforce and the scrappiness of its grassroots and its non-traditional community-based animal rescue work.
The organization continues to innovate best practices to save lives and spreads its impact by offering resources and mentorship related to its renowned lifesaving model through American Pets Alive! APA!s national 2020 American Pets Alive! began the Human Animal Support Services (HASS) - an innovative initiative aimed at rethinking the traditional model of animal sheltering. It focuses on supporting both people and pets in the community to reduce the number of animals entering shelters and improve outcomes for both. The project encourages collaboration between animal welfare organizations and community-based services with a goal of providing personalized proactive support that positions animal welfare as a social service.
POSITION SUMMARY/OVERVIEW: Were seeking an innovative creative outgoing social work professional to facilitate our Community Programming and support the organization in their efforts to support staff volunteers and fosters in their wellness.
This role is responsible for providing essential wellbeing support to volunteers staff and fosters as well as contributing to the development and coordination of new & existing community-focused programs. This role is key to ensuring the health and resilience of our internal support network which enables our life-saving mission.
Current community-focused initiatives include our Humane Education Program The Pet Pals Program. This program focuses on introducing at-risk youth (interns) to career pathways in animal sheltering and animal welfare. This 8-week program occurs three times a year - Spring Summer and Fall with a goal of building the next generation of responsible pet owners and exposing youth to the variety of career possibilities available in animal welfare.
As a critical part of our social work team the Social Work Program Coordinator will facilitate programming actively recruit youth build referral sources through connecting with human welfare organizations working with at-risk youth create lesson plans and work with shelter staff to create engaging thoughtful and meaningful hands-on experience opportunities (approximately 60%).
In addition to facilitating the Pet Pals Program this position will require helping to support staff volunteers and those who foster animals through Austin Pets Alive! in their wellness. Running support groups creating and facilitating training regarding compassion fatigue burnout grief and loss and other related topics as well as providing resources as needed (approximately 40%).
Wondering if you may be the right fit for this role in our organization If youre outgoing compassionate creative customer and client-focused and understand the macro and micro social work aspects related to pets and people you might be just who we are looking for!
We are looking for an out-of-the-box thinker who has demonstrated the ability to facilitate and manage projects and programs and a desire to learn new things every single day.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
The organization continues to innovate best practices to save lives and spreads its impact by offering resources and mentorship related to its renowned lifesaving model through American Pets Alive! APA!s national 2020 American Pets Alive! began the Human Animal Support Services (HASS) - an innovative initiative aimed at rethinking the traditional model of animal sheltering. It focuses on supporting both people and pets in the community to reduce the number of animals entering shelters and improve outcomes for both. The project encourages collaboration between animal welfare organizations and community-based services with a goal of providing personalized proactive support that positions animal welfare as a social service.
POSITION SUMMARY/OVERVIEW: Were seeking an innovative creative outgoing social work professional to facilitate our Community Programming and support the organization in their efforts to support staff volunteers and fosters in their wellness.
This role is responsible for providing essential wellbeing support to volunteers staff and fosters as well as contributing to the development and coordination of new & existing community-focused programs. This role is key to ensuring the health and resilience of our internal support network which enables our life-saving mission.
Current community-focused initiatives include our Humane Education Program The Pet Pals Program. This program focuses on introducing at-risk youth (interns) to career pathways in animal sheltering and animal welfare. This 8-week program occurs three times a year - Spring Summer and Fall with a goal of building the next generation of responsible pet owners and exposing youth to the variety of career possibilities available in animal welfare.
As a critical part of our social work team the Social Work Program Coordinator will facilitate programming actively recruit youth build referral sources through connecting with human welfare organizations working with at-risk youth create lesson plans and work with shelter staff to create engaging thoughtful and meaningful hands-on experience opportunities (approximately 60%).
In addition to facilitating the Pet Pals Program this position will require helping to support staff volunteers and those who foster animals through Austin Pets Alive! in their wellness. Running support groups creating and facilitating training regarding compassion fatigue burnout grief and loss and other related topics as well as providing resources as needed (approximately 40%).
Wondering if you may be the right fit for this role in our organization If youre outgoing compassionate creative customer and client-focused and understand the macro and micro social work aspects related to pets and people you might be just who we are looking for!
We are looking for an out-of-the-box thinker who has demonstrated the ability to facilitate and manage projects and programs and a desire to learn new things every single day.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
- Recruit both youth and adult volunteers for the Pet Pals Program
- Build and maintain relationships with other organizations to help ensure steady youth enrollment
- Design & implement curriculum for the 8 week Pet Pals Internship program
- Facilitate weekly on-going programming for several cohorts
- Help support volunteers as they build relationships with youth.
- Facilitate trauma-informed trainings for volunteers
- Facilitate trainings/workshops/support groups designed to support staff volunteers and fosters through challenges related to this work such as compassion fatigue moral injury burnout self-care etc.
- Actively contribute to a volunteer-powered culture by partnering with volunteers during every shift and helping create an inclusive welcoming environment
- Work alongside volunteers to complete daily tasks ensuring the work is shared and collaborativenot siloed
- Support the recruitment and onboarding process by welcoming new volunteers and helping them get oriented to the program
- Help retain volunteers by offering encouragement guidance and feedback during shared work
- Recommend strong volunteers for deeper involvement or specialized roles to your supervisor or volunteer manager
- Contribute to a positive culture by recognizing volunteer contributions through appreciation gratitude and shoutouts
- Help set volunteers up for success by clearly explaining tasks providing hands-on guidance and offering in-the-moment support
- Job duties may include some or all of the above and other duties as assigned by manager
OTHER FUNCTIONS:
- Must demonstrate dependability accountability time management use of reasoning and good judgment skills
- Attend and participate in all required training sessions and meetings
- Maintain open and consistent communication with Program Manager or designee supervisor and other colleagues
- Partner with Volunteer Managers to learn about the volunteer programs and support volunteers interested in your department on an ongoing basis
- Able to react to change productively and perform other related duties as assigned
- Able to work evenings weekends and holidays as needed
- Able to work in a high-volume fast-paced high-stress environment
- Comfortable working autonomously when given goals and deadlines
QUALIFICATIONS SKILLS & EXPECTATIONS:
- MSW or equivalent degree required.
- A minimum of 3 years working in the human services space is preferred.
- Ability to communicate with a variety of people effectively and without judgment or negativity.
- Willing and committed to working well with volunteers interns and staff in all roles
- Must have experience in speaking with groups of people and managing difficult conversations.
- Strong interest in the Animal Support Services field.
- Experience with the human-animal bond traumatic loss grief counseling complex emotional stress prevention and/or conflict resolution preferred.
- Must be able to initiate and navigate conversations around wellness support and highly emotional/sensitive topics.
- Demonstrated experience in social work as well as case management experience.
- Ability to consistently meet deadlines and complete assignments within specified time frames and use time and resources effectively to meet goals and complete assignments quickly and efficiently with little to no supervision.
- Skills such as organization critical thinking and planning are important.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office and/or Google Workplace
- Committed to embodying APA!s Core Values: Innovation Respect Drive Resourcefulness and Inclusion and cultural values: Humble Hungry Smart
- Commitment to APA!s customer experience expectations
- Passion for working well with staff volunteers and customershelping all individuals feel successful appreciated and connected to APA!s mission
- Strong commitment to volunteer engagement and support; dedicated to working well with volunteers across all roles
- Comfortable working cross-functionally and serving as a liaison between volunteers customers and team members
- Effective written and verbal communication skills; able to interpret rules procedures and instructional materials
- Self-starter with strong time management; able to work independently and collaboratively
- Excellent interpersonal skills; maintains a calm and professional presence in all situations
- Strong attention to detail and high standards for quality
- Adaptable to change and able to perform related duties as needed
- Dedicated to delivering an exceptional and inclusive customer experience
PHYSICAL JOB REQUIREMENTS:
- Must be able to work around animals (including diseased injured and/or potentially aggressive animals) loud noises chlorine or other chemicals and inclement weather
- Must be able to comfortably interact with cats/dogs of various health levels including cats who may carry zoonotic diseases such as ringworm scabies intestinal parasites etc.
- Able to be on your feet for multiple hours of the day
- Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer
- Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times
- Must be able to focus in a loud and busy environment despite distractions
- Must be able to walk around shelter as needed - uneven ground keeping a safe distance from dogs and handlers
- If reasonable accommodations are requested reasonable accommodations will be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job absent undue hardship to the organization.
WORK ENVIRONMENT:
- Standard office environment with exposure to environmental conditions that include working with and near animals
- Uses own transportation to travel and transport
- Schedule: Tuesdays - Saturdays during programming weeks.
- Hours: 10am - 6pm & 11am - 7pm
- Work is normally performed inside; some outside work is required
- Occasional after-hours or weekend work may be required to support program needs
TIME COMMITMENT:
- This is a full-time exempt position with an average of 40 hours per week.
- Shift and schedule flexibility is required as weekly schedule is subject to change
- Able to work evenings weekends and holidays as needed
WORKING RELATIONSHIPS:
This position reports directly to the Social Work Program Manager or another individual designated by APA!.
LOCATION(S):
- APA! Main - Town Lake Animal Center 1156 West Cesar Chavez Austin TX 78703
- May travel to offsite locations as needed.
BENEFITS:
Austin Pets Alive! is proud to offer a competitive benefits package for full-time employees including subsidized employer-sponsored medical coverage subsidized and voluntary life insurance voluntary dental vision and short-term disability options all effective the first day of employment. We also offer voluntary wellness and emergency sick plans up to 2% match on 401(K) retirement plan supplemental benefits flexible spending accounts and additional life coverage. Full-time employees receive 10 paid holidays and accrue 10 days paid time off during the first year of employment with an additional 5 days of PTO accrual upon completion of 12 months of employment. Employees will also receive professional development opportunities through APA!s ongoing mission to advance our animal welfare professionals in our life-saving work.
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND ACCOMMODATIONS STATEMENT
Austin Pets Alive! is an equal employment opportunity employer and we value having staff who come from communities that are most impacted by the issues we engage on. We especially encourage people of color LGBTQ people women transgender and gender non-conforming people and people with disabilities to apply.
Austin Pets Alive! does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race color religion sex national origin age disability veteran status marital status sexual orientation gender identity or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Austin Pets Alive! is committed to creating a dynamic work environment that values diversity and inclusion respect and integrity community focus and innovation.
APA! is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in the employment application process. To request an accommodation please contact Talent Acquisition at at least one week in advance of your interview.
Required Experience:
IC
Key Skills
- Project / Program Management
- Program Management
- Developmental Disabilities Experience
- Organizational skills
- Data Collection
- Meeting Facilitation
- Utilization Review
- Administrative Experience
- Program Development
- Public Speaking
- Supervising Experience
- Social Work
About Company
Austin Pets Alive! is not your average animal shelter. We pioneer innovative lifesaving programs designed to save the animals most at risk of euthanasia.
