Job Details
Position Title: Associate Call Taker
Program: Lifeline
Status: Full-time and Part-time Openings, primarily 2nd and 3rd shifts, weekdays and weekends, mostly remote
Family Services of the Merrimack Valley is a seeking full-time and part-time Associate Call Takers for its weekday and weekend 2nd and 3rd shifts. The Associate Lifeline Call Taker is responsible for answering calls to Family Services of the Merrimack Valley's (FSMV) 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Associate Call Takers are primarily responsible for providing compassionate emotional support to individuals who may be experiencing a range of emotional distress from loneliness to acute suicide risk. In fulfilling this responsibility, Associate Call Takers are required to follow Lifeline policies and protocols related to appropriate responses, data collection and documentation, and confidentiality.
B. Duties and Responsibilities
- Primarily responsible for answering calls made to the Lifeline by individuals who may be lonely, depressed, contemplating suicide, in crisis, and/or needing support and a compassionate listener.
- Provide compassionate, thoughtful emotional support to all callers.
- Administer safety assessment on each call and respond appropriately based on risk level.
- Adhere to performance measures in attending to call volume.
- Maintain a calm and friendly demeanor, even in crisis situations, while answering the crisis help line.
- Provide resources to callers for additional support, including follow up calls.
- Protect the privacy and confidentiality of callers as well as the organization and staff.
- Communicate any issues to supervisors when necessary and collaborate with other Lifeline staff regarding repeat/difficult callers.
- Collect required statistical and narrative data, while maintaining confidentiality, utilizing required database tools.
- Adhere to all helpline policies and procedure, upholding standards of practice.
- Participate in all staff meetings, debriefing sessions, groups support and other meetings as required.
Requirements
Qualifications: - BS/BA in a human service or comparable field of study or 5 years' equivalent work experience.
- Background/experience in mentoring and/or youth development.
- Experienced in the creation and delivery of engaging and impactful presentations and/or trainings tailored to audience needs. Highly motivated, energetic, resilient and target driven to produce desired results.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills including comfort with public speaking.
- Proven ability to manage projects, partnerships, and professional relationships.
- Excellent communications and organizational skills.
- Ability to work and communicate effectively in a team environment with colleagues, program providers, community stakeholders, and volunteers.
- Ability to work independently while exercising good judgment. Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite including Outlook, Word, Excel, Publisher and PowerPoint as well as in data management. Bilingual proficiency in English/Spanish in both verbal and written forms is desirable.
- Experience and competency working and connecting with diverse communities (including the Latinx community), cultures, people and partners, as well as a commitment to promoting inclusion in all practices and efforts is desirable.
ABOUT FAMILY SERVICES OF THE MERRIMACK VALLEY FSMV is a non-profit, social service organization located in Lawrence, MA. The organization helps more than 7,000 people in the Merrimack Valley each year through 20+ programs focused on youth development, parent education and emotional health. All of its services are infused with a sense of hope and possibility and enable individuals to thrive in their family, community, workplace and school. For more information, please visit www.FSMV.org.
FSMV is an equal opportunity employer.