Bilingual Match Support Specialist bei Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Midlands

Big Brothers Big Sisters is a non-profit organization located in Omaha, Nebraska dedicated to empowering youth through mentorship programs. We are currently seeking a Bilingual Match Support Specialist to join our team.  Our Match Support Specialists play a crucial role in ensuring that the mentoring relationships between "Bigs" (mentors) and "Littles" (mentees) are successful, safe, and beneficial. 

Consistently recognized as one of the 50 Best Nonprofits to Work For in the nation by The NonProfit Times, joining our team offers an unparalleled experience. From the moment you come aboard, you'll discover why. 

Guided by our strategic plan, BBBSM aims to increase the number of youth served in our programs over the next three years and beyond. If you're eager for a challenge, this opportunity provides an extraordinary platform to collaborate with our community to help improve the lives of youth and families in our community.

Position Title: Bilingual Match Support Specialist

Job Code: Full-Time 

Overtime Status: Exempt 

Department: Program 

Location: Omaha, NE

Reports To: Director of Match Support 

Number of People Supervised: 0 

Salary Range: $44,828 - $48,030

POSITION PURPOSE

A Bilingual Match Support Specialist in the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) program plays a crucial role in ensuring that the mentoring relationships between "Bigs" (mentors) and "Littles" (mentees) are successful, safe, and beneficial. The role involves providing ongoing support, guidance, and monitoring of the mentor-mentee pairs throughout their time in the program. A portion of this position’s caseload includes supporting families who only speak Spanish, making it essential that their Match Support Specialist is highly fluent in Spanish to provide effective communication and culturally responsive support. Another key element of this role is fostering a strong sense of affiliation with BBBS for both volunteers and families, creating an environment of trust, support, and community. Providing a high-level of customer service will involve visiting the homes of youth enrolled in our program.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Ability to communicate effectively in Spanish with program participants, including:
  1. Conversational fluency for in-person and phone interactions
  2. Clear and empathetic communication 
  3. Accurate translation and interpretation of participant needs and program information
  4. Cultural sensitivity and awareness 
• Provide effective written and oral communication with all parties of a match to assess their satisfaction with the match.
• Assess the safety of the Little through conversation with all parties, inquiring about the activities being performed, where the match is meeting, and whether appropriate boundaries are being held/respected.
• Travel to Littles’ homes to introduce volunteers to the youth and their parent/guardian and begin relationship development.
• Manage our information management database of Bigs, Littles, and Parent/Guardians to maintain accurate records for each match, including communication and dates of contact.
• Provide open communication, advice, information on the structure of a match, and realistic expectations of the match to prevent premature termination.
• Promote individual and group match activities by offering suggestions or any discounts/tickets that BBBS may acquire.
• Collaborate with other Match Support Specialists to sustain match relationships, meet the needs of matches, and communicate progress made or difficulties with matches to the supervisor.
• Identify current/possible problems to address and resolve as early as possible. Develop interventions for matches that may require individual training needs and support and/or in-person meetings. In the event of a match termination, evaluate reasons for match closure in order to assess re-match potential.
• Assess the Little’s academic, socio-emotional, and behavioral outcomes as well as evaluate the overall
• quality of matches via the organization’s surveys.
• Aid in translating program materials as needed.
• Participate in trainings and/or continuing education on relevant material for professional development.
• Support, and collaborate with, other departments, including program, development, and Mission Support, along with the agency’s Employee Development efforts, to accomplish organizational goals.
• Other duties as assigned by supervisor or CEO.

EDUCATION & RELATED WORK EXPERIENCE

Education Level: High school diploma/GED equivalent and one of the following: 

• Bachelor's degree in social work, human services, communication, psychology, counseling, child development or other related field preferred or within six months of degree completion; 
• Associate’s degree plus two years of relevant work experience in social work, human services, communication, psychology, counseling, child development, or other related field; or 
• Four years of relevant work in social work, human services, communication, psychology, counseling, child development or other related field 

Related Work Experience: 

• Professional experience working with youth, families, or community-based programs preferred.
• Must be fluent in Spanish, with the ability to speak, read, and write clearly to support Spanish-speaking families.

SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

Required

• Ability to adapt to diverse situations and cultures.
• Fluent in Spanish
• Ability to collect meaningful data and draw solid conclusions.
• Ability to effectively communicate with diverse age groups.
• Ability to effectively intervene in interpersonal conflicts.
• Ability to manage sensitive situations.
• Ability to work independently.
• Ability to write clearly and professionally in both English and Spanish.
• Comfortable taking the lead and asserting oneself.
• Knowledge of appropriate adult-child interaction.
• Motivation to expand knowledge of the social services field.
• Organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office.
• Proficiency in using, creating, and managing databases.
• Skill in collecting meaningful data and drawing solid conclusions.
• Skill in providing advice on social relationships.
• Skill in time management.

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS/WORK ENVIRONMENT/PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• 20% of the time will be spent on travel in the service area to conduct match introductions in the homes of our Littles.
• Must have a car, a valid driver’s license, and meet state-required automobile insurance minimums.
• Hybrid office environment.
• Flexible work hours to meet customer and agency needs, including evenings and occasional weekends.  

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS OFFERED

• Medical Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Life Insurance
• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Paid Time Off
• Flexible Scheduling
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Longevity Leave
• Parental Leave
• Employee Assistance Program

CORE COMPETENCIES & HIGH-PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

Empathy and Relationship Building: An essential part of the role is creating a supportive environment where both volunteers and families feel valued and heard. Ability to engage with all parties in a supportive and understanding manner, providing clear and compassionate guidance.

Customer Focus: Able to build strong working relationships with agency staff and matches; identify unexpressed customer needs and potential solutions to meet those needs; independently anticipate and meet customer match support needs; prioritize work in alignment with the needs of the match; use match knowledge and feedback to improve the effectiveness of own support results.

Problem Solving & Analysis: Able to gather appropriate data and diagnose the cause of a problem before taking action; separate causes from symptoms; apply lessons learned from others who encountered similar problems or challenges; anticipate problems and develop contingency plans to deal with them; develop and evaluate alternative courses of action.

Flexibility & Achieving Change: Able to positively deal with changes that affect job requirements or work assignments; adapt to shifting priorities in response to the needs of matches; quickly recognize situations/conditions where change is needed; remain calm and professional in emotionally charged interactions; work to clarify situations where information, instructions, or objectives are ambiguous; support organizational change.

Continuous Improvement & Gets Results: Able to identify and apply "best practices" in own work; improve efficiency by planning and organizing work effectively, eliminating barriers and streamlining work processes; monitor, evaluate and track own performance; adapt work practices in order to meet goals and deadlines; persist in the face of ongoing obstacles or setbacks; accept responsibility for the quality and outcomes of own work.

Decisiveness & Judgment: Able to demonstrate sound judgment in routine, day-to-day decisions; think critically to make decisions and take action, even in non-routine situations; rapidly make reasonable assessments with limited information; consider impact of various options when making decisions; use sound judgment in deciding whether to make a decision or escalate it to a supervisor for additional consultation.

Open Communication: Able to use active and attentive listening to confirm understanding; coach others through the use of reflective questioning; personalize communication content and delivery to fit different perspectives, backgrounds or styles of audience; document information about matches clearly and concisely in order to keep records accurate and up to date.

Strategic Alignment: Able to align own work objectives with the organization's strategic plan or objectives; take organizational priorities into consideration when making choices and trade-offs in own work; act with an understanding of how the community affects the business and how own actions and decisions affect other jobs or outcomes; maintain perspective between the overall picture and tactical details.

Valuing Diversity: Able to seek out and work effectively with others who have diverse perspectives, talents, backgrounds, and/or styles; contribute to a team climate in which differences are valued and supported; challenge any stereotyping or offensive comments; seek and respond to feedback from others about own behavior that might be perceived as biased.

Equal Employment Opportunity

BBBSM provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals without regard to race, creed, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or non-disqualifying physical or mental handicap or disability.

Americans with Disabilities Act

Applicants as well as employees who are or become disabled must be able to perform the essential duties & responsibilities either unaided or with reasonable accommodation. The organization shall determine reasonable accommodation on a case-by-case basis in accordance with applicable law.

Job Responsibilities

The statements above reflect the general duties, responsibilities and competencies considered necessary to perform the essential duties & responsibilities of the job and should not be considered as a detailed description of all the work requirements of the position. BBBSM may change the specific job duties with or without prior notice based on the needs of the organization.