Veteran Ambassador

Position Summary

The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay brings help, hope, and healing to people facing serious life challenges or trauma resulting from sexual assault or abuse, domestic violence, financial distress, substance abuse, medical emergency, suicidal thoughts, and emotional or situational problems. The Ambassador must be a Veteran Peer with lived experience who, through that experience, demonstrates the ability to mentor other Veterans experiencing behavioral health challenges. The Ambassador is the face of the Florida Veterans Support Line and will play a significant role in the promotion of the program to the media on both a local and statewide level. The Ambassador works in conjunction with the peer-driven team within Gateway Services as well as subcontracted counties throughout the state. The Ambassador provides representation for the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay on local, statewide, and national platforms, focus groups, panels, etc. as it pertains to Veterans initiatives. This position performs a variety of complex tasks requiring creativity and latitude. The position works collaboratively with leaders locally and statewide leadership team to develop and implement program policies, strategies, and procedures. This position reports to the Director of Gateway and, in their absence, the Senior Director of Gateway Services or the Vice President of Client Services.

Strategic/Transformational Duties and Responsibilities

The primary responsibility is to develop and carry out strategies to engage veteran providers by cultivating and maintaining positive productive connections with subcontractors and the organizations to which they are connected as well as facilitating enrollment in the Gateway Services database/resource system. This includes collection of data, written reports and recruitment and retention of resources.

Transactional/Administrative Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide support to Crisis Center veteran teams with assistance in onboarding, peer certification, quality reviews and day to day service delivery.
• Provide support to statewide veteran subcontracted teams at each stage of new employee onboarding and training orienting.
• Plans and monitors site performance outcomes.
• Ensures subcontracted agencies are in compliance with all contractual responsibilities associated with the statewide veteran initiative.
• Oversee quality control and provide support to agency and subcontracted agency leaders/ staff to achieve performance standards where applicable.
• Facilitates performance meetings with statewide peer teams.
• Conducts periodic desk reviews and on-site service visits with subcontracted agencies.
• Prepares service performance reports by collecting, analyzing, and summarizing data and trends.
• Creates all required reports for funders and completes an annual report for statewide services.
• Maintains professional and technical knowledge by tracking emerging trends in community information exchanges; attending educational workshops; reviewing professional publications; establishing personal networks; benchmarking state of the art practices; participates in professional societies.
• Gather and coordinate information, resolve operations discrepancies and liaison with external technical services team as applicable.
• Develop, implement, and audit procedures and protocols related to systems and flow of information for the contact center.
• Monitor weekly and monthly performance of internal and subcontracted team members through quality assurance and improvement activities. The Ambassador is expected to meet all internal and contracted performance deliverables.
• Perform other administrative and leadership functions as dictated by service area needs.

Required Competencies

• Cooperation/Teamwork - Works toward win/win solutions. Deals with conflict collaboratively. Discusses root causes underlying the problem. Develops effective working relationships.
• Engaging Communication - Relates to people in an open, honest, sincere manner. Treats people with respect. Is friendly and approachable. Listens attentively to others. Communicates ideas clearly. Communicates appropriately with leadership and coworkers.
• Customer Service (Internal & External) - Recognizes and attends to important details with accuracy and efficiency. Treats customers courteously. Responds to customer requests in a timely manner. Elicits feedback from customers to monitor their satisfaction. Considers both short and long-term interests of the customer in making service decisions. Proactively identifies customer needs. Takes responsibility to resolve customer complaints. Takes business or personal risks to serve customers’ long-term interests. Creates strategies to help the organization serve customers more effectively.
• Adaptability - Adapts readily to changes. Works effectively under stress. Needs minimal supervision. Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment. Is reliable, dependable and results oriented. Maintains productivity and composure under pressure. Effectively prioritizes work and establishes clear goals and plans.
• Problem Solving - Views problems as opportunities to create new solutions. Anticipates potential problems and analyzes alternative solutions.
• Judgment - Gathers sufficient input before making decisions. Sees interrelatedness between issues. Considers alternative solutions. Makes appropriate and timely decisions.
• Valuing & Fostering Diversity - Demonstrates respect for individual differences and establishing a climate where all people can be comfortable and productive through sensitivity, empathy, and acceptance of cultural, racial, mental health, and socio-economic diversity.
• Self-Management – Takes responsibility for one’s behavior and well-being; Works effectively under stress and adapting one’s style to changing situations; Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment and needs minimal supervision; Exhibits a professional demeanor.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in a Human Services field or communications, marketing or related field is required.
• U.S. veteran of a branch of the United States Military Forces including the Coast Guard and National Guard (honorably discharged, retired or reservist).
• Copy of DD-214 required as proof of military service.
• Experience working with the veteran population highly desirable.
• At least two (2) years of experience in social case work, counseling, eligibility determination, social service or community resource referral, or closely related work.
• Strong work ethic and self-management skills
• Professional wardrobe and appearance appropriate to the circumstances
• Excellent computer skills, familiarity with relational databases, windows-based software, and telephone systems.
• Strong leadership and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work independently and as a team member is required.
• Comfort with a diverse population and a fast-paced environment is also preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Excellent communication skills, oral and written.
• Public speaking skills and experience.
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Understand the Crisis Center’s impact on the community and have a passion for its mission.
• Ability to work independently, problem solve and make decisions.
• Ability to organize, prioritize projects and produce work in a timely manner.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.
• Skills in operating a variety of software programs on a personal computer.

Physical Demands/Working Conditions

Physical Requirement: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit and talk and is required to stand and walk. The employee must occasionally lift to 20 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, and ability to adjust focus.

Working Conditions: Duties are based in an office setting. However, most of the work will occur in the community and therefore requires the use of personal automobile for local travel with exposure to changing weather. The noise level is generally quiet. There is an opportunity for remote work.

Travel: Occasional. Local and out of town travel will be required.

Hours: Primarily M-F 9:00 to 6:00. However, there is potential for flexibility and remote work. The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay operates as a 24/7/365 service. Employees could be required to report to work during hurricanes and other times of disasters/critical incidents. Occasional evenings and weekends for networking and events will be required.

This job description is not intended to describe, in detail, the multitude of tasks that may be assigned but rather to give a general sense of the responsibilities and expectations of this position. As the nature of business demands change so, too, may the essential functions of this position.

CCTB is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity and affirmative action for our applicants and employees. It is our policy to apply recruiting, hiring, training, promotion, compensation, and professional development practices without regard to actual or perceived race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability or certain classifications based on genetic information, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws, regulations or ordinances.