Senior Donor Family Specialist; Bereavement Specialist

Overview

Summary

Develop and maintain relationships with organ, tissue, and donor-in-spirit donor families during and following donation, including providing resources, updates and connection opportunities, along with identifying and remedying post-donation issues, cultivating readiness to share their stories and fortifying lifelong relationship with Gift of Hope. This position will primarily cover a southwest Chicago area, so ideal locations include Naperville, Oswego, Sandwich, Joliet.

This position requires the ability to speak Spanish.

Compensation range for this position: $64,545- $72,598 annually

In addition to competitive salaries, we offer a comprehensive benefits package:

• Medical, dental, vision, disability and life insurance options for full-time employees
• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) plan
• 403(b) retirement plan with company match
• Tuition Reimbursement up to the IRS-allowed maximum
• Personalized learning and educational development opportunities
• Monthly cell phone and internet stipends
• Paid Parental Leave
• Annual Employer-funded Lifestyle Spending Accounts to support wellness needs
• Support and counseling for personal, work financial or family needs through our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and our partnership with Critical Incident Stress Consultants (CISC)

Essential Functions

The following essential functions are the basic job duties that an employee must be able to perform, with or without reasonable accommodation:

• Advance Gift of Hope's mission, vision and core values: providing compassionate service, contributing to outstanding teams and engaging as one of our passionate people committed to a positive culture that respects the dignity and worth of each individual. Adhere to all policies and procedures in carrying out the responsibilities of this position.
• Develop and maintain relationships with organ, tissue, and donor-in-spirit donor families in assigned geographical areas
• Manage difficult, potentially emotionally charged, conversations with empathy and compassion
• Counsel and provide familial support during and after the donation process including outcomes post-op
• Support the Organ Donor Care Center
  • Arrange and support donor families who come to visit their loved one at the Organ Donor Care Center
  • Assure that donor belongings that are brought to the Organ Donor Care Center are returned to the next of kin
  • Communicate with donor families whose loved one’s donation process is occurring at the Organ Donor Care Center
    • Provide follow up care, answer and questions and/or concerns, support family in grief journey
    • Communicate donation journey updates to family

• Support of donor families during organ donation process, when needed
• Adapt and thrive with shifting priorities, frequent process updates, and evolving objectives. Remain flexible with ambiguity and able to navigate and succeed in a dynamic, ever-changing field
• Analyze and use critical thinking to navigate situations with incomplete or unclear information
• Conduct ongoing bereavement assessment of donor families; provide resources as needed or requested; assess readiness to participate as an Ambassadors for Hope volunteer; identify and offer opportunities to most appropriate donor families
• Investigate and respond to donor family inquiries, compliments, and complaints

• Monitor, maintain, provide content, support and interact with donor families through the virtual Donor Family Support Group and the Donor Family Support Group page on Facebook
• Represent Gift of Hope’s empathetic care by collaborating and cultivating relationships with internal and external partners to facilitate opportunities for supporting donor families & sharing donor family and recipient stories to engage the community and external partners
  • Transplant center coordinators: gather recipient information and encourage and facilitate communication
  • Hospital Development and Partner Relations: serve as a resource to our hospital and other external partners; connect them with our mission and the donor families they help support by providing both bedside and long-term empathetic care; coordinate donor family events within the hospitals; serve on hospital donation committees…