Community Disaster Program Specialist Bilingual Spanish

American Red Cross • Houston, TX

21h

About The Position

Joining the American Red Cross is like nothing else – it’s as much something you feel as something you do. You become a vital part of the world’s largest humanitarian network. Joining a team of welcoming individuals who are exceptional, yet unassuming. Diverse, yet uncompromising in unity. You grow your career within a movement that matters, where success is measured in people helped, communities made whole, and individuals equipped to never stop changing lives and situations for the better. When you choose to be a force for good, you’ll have mentors who empower your growth along a purposeful career path. You align your life’s work with an ongoing mission that’s bigger than all of us. As you care for others, you’re cared for with competitive compensation and benefits. You join a community that respects who you are away from work as much as what you do while at work. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW (Job Overview): As a Community Disaster Program Specialist, you will guide, lead and support teams of trained volunteers to deliver comfort and care in times of disaster. You will also create and maintain a foundation of continuous and robust volunteer engagement using established processes and collaborating with volunteer services staff. You will work with volunteers to ensure that the communities you serve are ready to respond to disasters. Join us in meeting the needs of continuous disaster response! Regional disaster employees are required to deploy to disaster relief operations outside of their region at a minimum of once a year. Deployments contribute to skill building, career development and exposure to different types of disasters. Allowances may be provided for personal circumstances and local response activity. Employees must meet all training and physical capacity requirements for deployment. This position is not eligible for relocation assistance. We are currently seeking a Disaster Program Specialist (Houston, TX) This position will work 8:00am to 5:00pm Monday through Friday, and some weekends and evenings will be required during times of business need. Travel will also be involved up to 20% of the time. Bilingual Spanish preferred. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW (Job Overview): Provide functional support to Disaster Program Manager and Leadership at a regional level or take full cycle responsibility to provide service delivery programs within a defined geography. Support the Disaster Program Manager and volunteer workforce to support local communities by providing services to include but are not limited to: response to recurrent local disasters (house fires, floods, etc.), capacity building for mass care service delivery, participation in the Home Fire Campaign, and direct assistance and recovery services to those impacted by disasters. Develop, guide, and support team of trained volunteers, as well as implement and develop initiatives to increase Red Cross visibility through program/service delivery of disaster preparedness, response, and recovery programs. Provide support, development and/or leadership guidance to all volunteers. Perform all duties and responsibilities in compliance with standard operating procedures and other applicable Federal, State and local regulations.

Requirements

• Education: Bachelor's degree required, or equivalent combination of education and related experience required.
• Experience: Minimum 3 years of related experience.
• A valid driver’s license and a clean MVR.
• Ability to coordinate staff and volunteer activities.
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills.
• Proven record of accomplishment of collaboration with diverse groups and individual’s representative of all the demographics of this community, managing multiple priorities, facilitation, problem solving, marketing, leadership, and partnership management.
• Intermediate level proficiency with Microsoft Office software, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
• Ability to work outside of regular duty hours including nights and weekends.
• Chapter-based positions: Geographic Community Disaster employees are expected to work daily in their assigned geographic area to engage and mobilize communities and support volunteers.
• Regional positions: Regional leadership and functional employees are expected to work daily within their region's geographic area to provide leadership and functional support, engage and mobilize communities, and support volunteers.
• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to handle or feel; and talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 15 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 30 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus. The work environment will consist of moderate noise (i.e. business offices with computers, phones and printers, light traffic). The employee must have the ability to work in a small cubicle and have the ability to sit at a computer terminal for an extended period of time.

Nice To Haves

• Bilingual English/Spanish
• Must be able to hit the ground running
• Must have great interpersonal skills
• Must be able to build teams
• Must have experience working with and leading volunteers.
• Other nonprofit experience helpful.
• Recruiting and engaging volunteers
• Must be comfortable public speaking

Responsibilities

• Empower Volunteers: Facilitate and support a diverse volunteer team responsible for the implementation of volunteer-led disaster cycle services programming as well as ensure disaster cycle services are delivered in a rapid, accessible, and equitable manner, both culturally and linguistically, to meet the urgent, disaster-caused needs of our clients, with a focus on frontline communities.
• Support the Program: Assist with the successful implementation of either specific disaster cycle services program activities, or a specific disaster cycle services function within an assigned geographic area.
• Mission Capacity Building: Engage disaster volunteers who are the primary workforce, and representative of the communities they serve, both culturally and linguistically.
• Engage Community: Support local efforts to prepare and mobilize communities and engage partners to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters and emergencies.
• Manage in a Matrix: Implement plans to meet assigned targets for volunteer engagement and volunteer-led Disaster Action Team response to local home fires or support specific function tasks within assigned geographic area.
• Know Your Communities: Act as the local point of contact for partners and communities. Partner with local organizations and leaders supporting frontline communities and community resiliency before, during and after disasters.
• Ready to Respond: Participate in disaster response operations in the region in alignment with the Disaster Cycle Services Concept of Operations, upon completion of training requirements

Benefits

• Medical, Dental Vision plans
• Health Spending Accounts & Flexible Spending Accounts
• PTO: Starting 15 days a year; based on FLSA status and tenure
• Holidays: 11 paid holidays comprised of six core holidays and five floating holidays
• 401K with 6% match
• Paid Family Leave
• Employee Assistance
• Disability and Insurance: Short + Long Term
• Service Awards and recognition

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level