Advocate Supervisor - Rural Justice Initiative
Disability Rights Texas (DRTx) is excited to announce that we are now recruiting for a RJI Advocate Supervisor as part of our new Rural Justice Initiative (RJI).
The Rural Justice Initiative Advocate Supervisor is a project-funded position established as part of Disability Rights Texas' (DRTx) participation in the Rural Justice Initiative (RJI), a collaborative effort designed to expand access to civil legal services for low-income Texans living in designated rural communities and legal-desert counties. The Rural Justice Initiative (RJI) Advocate Supervisor, under the direction of the Project Supervisor, is responsible for monitoring the quality of the casework provided by the RJI Advocates for the Texas Access to Justice Foundation Rural Justice Initiative, a five-year, multiregional initiative designed to expand access to civil legal services for low-income Texans with disabilities in designated rural and legal-desert communities.
The Advocate Supervisor serves as the direct personnel supervisor for RJI Advocates assigned across geographic service regions and project-wide issue areas. The position is responsible for advocate performance management, professional development, workload monitoring, casework quality assurance, and coordination with the RJI's multidisciplinary legal service teams and RJI staff.
The Advocate Supervisor works collaboratively with assigned attorneys and the Attorney Project Supervisor to support timely and effective delivery of legal advocacy services. Attorneys retain responsibility for legal advice, case strategy, and legal representation decisions. The Advocate Supervisor retains assigned personnel supervisory responsibilities, consistent with DRTx policies and the approved RJI governance and accountability structure.
The position supports implementation of RJI project objectives and performance measures, including monitoring advocate contributions to case services, documentation requirements, and geographic service delivery goals.A discretionary limited caseload may be useful for maintaining advocacy expertise, addressing staffing gaps, or supporting complex cases, but should not undermine supervisory capacity and d as approved by the Project Supervisor.
As such, the Advocate Supervisor must comply with organizational priorities, policies, and procedures in determining client services which may include interviewing clients, reviewing records, negotiating favorable outcomes, mediating disputes, supervising referrals, and assisting attorneys with representation of clients at administrative hearings and trials. At all times, the Advocate Supervisor will follow the advice, counsel and direction of an attorney when conducting investigations, developing case strategies, identifying case issues, and applying applicable rules, policies, and regulations.
As part of RJI, Community Engagement and education and training will be provided for persons with disabilities, parents, advocates, and professionals/service providers. As such, this position might be needed to attend and participate in various community functions and group events, outreach activities, and the like to promote and present information regarding the organization’s services and programs and create awareness for the RJI initiative.
Essential Functions
- Provide supervision, mentoring, training, support and proper case handling direction to RJI advocates within the RJI structure.
- Coordinate with RJI attorneys assigned to geographic teams regarding advocate assignments and casework needs.
- Monitor RJI advocate workloads across regions and issue areas.
- Identify geographic or substantive service gaps requiring reassignment or additional support.
- Participate in RJI team meetings to address casework coordination, capacity, and barriers to service.
- Monitor advocate contributions to RJI deliverables and timely case progression.
- Follow and implement the organization’s client services policies and procedures regarding client interviews, case records, investigations, and case documentation.
- Master technical information of applicable program areas and relevant statutes and policies. Should be considered a content expert on issue team area of expertise.
- Conceptualize and develop initial and ongoing case strategy for long- and short-term cases within the parameters set by the attorney for both the advocates supervised and the direct case work.
- Develop and maintain a caseload within the level set by the RJI project Supervisor. This will be balanced with the amount of time spent on supervisory duties.
- Collaborate with Outreach manager and community navigators to develop materials for Education and Training programs and speak to the public in order to present information on services and legal rights issues.
- Travel as needed to provide case services and advocate supervision.
- Appropriately prioritize tasks as needed and multi-task numerous responsibilities in a timely manner.Establish personal credibility throughout the organization, in order to be an effective partner and advisor.
- Continuously evaluate and analyze the operations, resources and technology of the team, implementing solutions to improve efficiency, effectiveness and customer service.
- Effectively and regularly communicate with employees, clients, and the public at the individual, team and organizational levels.
- Maintain thorough and complete records.
- Maintain, when required based on subject matter, strict confidentiality of information not meant for other consumption.
- Participate with and support the Supervising Attorney, Project Supervisor and Project Manager in annual budgetary processes, in ensuring efficient and judicious use of capita, and seeing that team programs, activities, labor costs and general/administrative expenses remain within budget parameters.
- Develop and maintain collaborative, cooperative relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including clients, the community, the board of directors as well as employees at all levels of the organization.
- Apply the principles of the organization’s vision and values in all work-related business and interactions.
Additional Duties
Perform other job-related duties as assigned that are consistent with the scope and level of the position and the purposes of the Rural Justice Initiative.
Required Qualifications
Education
- Bachelor’s degree is required, preferably in Social Work, Education, Psychology, Rehabilitation Counseling, Disability Studies, Social Service or other related field of study.
Experience
- Minimum of five (5) years of relevant legal experience.
- A minimum of four (4) years' previous related experience with demonstrated success working with persons with disabilities.
- A minimum of two (2) years’ experience in case management either at a similar or other legal services organization.
Knowledge and Skills
- Demonstrated ability to lead, mentor and train others.
- Ability to work within collaborative team to implement community lawyering
- Ability to create collaboration among stakeholders and other disability groups.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities, substantial travel, client responsibilities, and project deadlines.
- Strong and effective writing, verbal, and negotiating communications skills including the ability to do so in a concise manner, even when doing so regarding complex issues to a variety of people.
- Experience in public speaking and developing effective presentations.
- Excellent interpersonal, relationship-building and collaboration skills to be able to work effectively with others inside and outside of the organization; relationship builder with the flexibility and finesse to “manage by influence”.
- Proven ability to supervise, lead, manage, mentor and train others
- Demonstrated functional knowledge of complex state and federal laws and regulations.
- Knowledge of disability rights laws, programs, initiatives and awareness of issues that affect people with disabilities.
- The ability to take direction and independently follow through on all instructions.
- The ability to create collaboration among stakeholders and other disability groups.
- Excellent detail-orientation, follow-up skills and organizational skills.
- The ability to multi-task and work under challenging conditions while meeting required deadlines.
- Knowledge and skills to appropriately implement case strategies.
- Demonstrated ability to manage individual and team workloads so that services are delivered on a timeline and appropriately.
- The ability to work well in a team environment.
- Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
- Enthusiastic to perform as a hands-on leader of the team in which they lead.
Other Requirements
- Ability and willingness to travel regularly throughout rural Texas, including travel to communities where public transportation and other transportation options may be limited, with or without reasonable accommodation.
- Ability to attend in-person clinics, outreach events, client meetings, and community activities within the assigned service area.
- Ability to work collaboratively with attorneys and staff employed by other Rural Justice Initiative partner organizations.
- Ability to work effectively with individuals from diverse socioeconomic, geographic, cultural, linguistic, and disability backgrounds.
- Commitment to providing high-quality legal services to low-income Texans with disabilities and increasing access to justice in underserved rural communities.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in public interest, legal aid, disability rights, special education, housing, public benefits, or other civil legal services.
- Experience practicing in rural communities or representing clients who live in geographically isolated or underserved areas.
- Experience developing relationships with community organizations, schools, healthcare organizations, government entities, or other community-based institutions.
- Spanish bilingual proficiency (written and spoken).
- Existing professional or community ties to the assigned RJI service area.
Work Environment & Functional Requirements
This position involves regular use of computers, telephones, videoconferencing systems, case-management systems, and other communication tools to perform legal work, including research, documentation, client communication, and collaboration with geographically dispersed colleagues.
Duties may be performed in a seated, standing, or alternative position. The role requires managing multiple priorities, meeting deadlines, traveling throughout the assigned service area, and engaging in complex or sensitive legal matters.
The position includes work performed in a variety of environments, which may include DRTx or partner offices, courthouses, administrative hearing locations, schools, libraries, community organizations, clinics, community events, and other locations within rural communities.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.