Family Advocate

Position Overview:

Organizational Overview:

Our organization is dedicated to transforming lives and inspiring all to donate life. We are a family of professionals working together to increase awareness around the need for organ and tissue donors alongside nurturing and guiding our families throughout the gift of life. We facilitate the recovery of organs, tissues, and corneas in Iowa. We honor donors and support donor families at the time of donation and on a continuing basis.

We believe in going above and beyond to support donor families during and after the donation process. Our core values are what guide us, allow us to excel at serving our community, and keep our culture at Iowa Donor Network alive.

Position Overview:

This position will support donor families through the aftercare process of organ or tissue donation. Support is provided remotely and onsite. Daily activities include collaboration with IDN clinical team members, donor family members, and other essential stakeholders.

Job Qualifications:

• Requires a minimum two-year degree in the areas of Social Services, Psychology, Nursing, or other healthcare related field.
• Equivalent work experience involving complex family dynamics, such as death and dying, grief or loss is preferred.
• Crisis management experience preferred.

Schedule:

The schedule will be 12-hour shifts with seven shifts per pay period. Shift times are based on case needs and preferences of the Family Advocate. Weekends and holidays expected.

Organization Responsibilities:

Essential Functions and Performance Responsibilities:

• Establish rapport with donor families while providing support after the donation conversation and paperwork process.
• Oversee timely and respectful communication and collaboration with hospital staff, donor families, and other IDN team members.
• Ensure excellence in continuum of care for donor families, including grief support, donor family correspondence with recipients, and donor family events.
• Ensure accurate and timely completion of required paperwork and aftercare program: including all donor family mailings, grief support materials, follow up care calls, and updates on recipients.
• Access iTransplant, DonorNet and other databases to accurately gather recipient information to compose letters and facilitate the exchange of correspondence between donor family members and recipients.
• Contribute to and monitor donor family website, associated links, Facebook groups, and monthly remote Donor Family support group.
• Participate in scheduled monthly meetings, process improvement, and quality assurance activities within work system and organization.

Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to build rapport quickly in stressful situations.
• Excellent interpersonal and customer service skills to a diverse audience.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to meet deadlines.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to prioritize tasks and to delegate them when appropriate.
• Ability to function well in a high-paced and at times stressful environment.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite or related software.

Physical Requirements:

• Maintain a current valid driver’s license and be insurable through IDN’s insurance.
• Respond to call/page within 10 minutes and arrive to office/hospital within one hour of call as appropriate.
• Travel to the office and donor hospitals through the State of Iowa at any given hour of the day or night. This travel may occur under various weather conditions.
• Must be able to lift up to 20 pounds at times.
• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Must respond timely to IDN communication outside of scheduled shifts.
• Must receive required vaccines based on outlined schedules to protect our employees, healthcare personnel, donors, recipients, and families we may come into contact. (e.g., Influenza obtained annually by December 1st and COVID vaccine upon required timeline.)

Organizational Responsibilities:

• It is required that IDN employees demonstrate commitment to the mission and vision, maintain effective communication, exhibit teamwork, respect diversity, follow policies and procedures, maintain confidentiality of all donor, recipient and organizational information, demonstrate accuracy and thoroughness while meeting productivity standards, observe safety and security procedures, be consistently punctual and dependable, actively participate in performance improvement activities and continually demonstrate behavioral expectations and core values.
• Employee’s obligation to maintain the confidentiality of information shall survive the termination of employee’s employment with IDN.
• All requirements are subject to modifications to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed in this position. I will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by my supervisor. Requirements are representative of minimum levels of knowledge, skills and/or abilities. To perform this job successfully, I know that I must possess the abilities or aptitudes to perform each duty proficiently. I realize neither the job description nor this document creates an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an “at will” employment relationship.
  
•