Senior Victim Advocate; Social Services Specialist III

This position includes a signing bonus of $2,500 (full‑time) for new county hires.

This position works as part of the Division of Domestic and Sexual Violence Services (DSVS) providing community‑based advocacy services to victims of domestic violence, sexual violence, stalking, and human trafficking.

• Provide advocacy services, including crisis intervention, emotional support, options counseling, safety planning, education of the civil and criminal justice system, court advocacy, and court accompaniment.
• Work onsite at the Fairfax Court Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court (JDRDC) and General District Court, handling intake of client requests, court accompaniment, and coordination with court staff.
• Receive and triage client requests from the main line and other referral sources; resolve by providing advocacy services, information, safety planning, or referrals.
• Collect data and report on goals and measures related to advocacy team services.
• Facilitate access to court and legal information for victims of domestic violence, sexual violence, and stalking.
• Perform short‑term case management, including conducting risk assessments, identifying client needs, developing safety and service plans, supporting resource access, monitoring service plan implementation, and documenting all case management activities.
• Represent DSVS in the coordinated community response to domestic violence, sexual violence, stalking, and human trafficking by participating in committees, work groups, and outreach efforts locally and regionally.
• Serve as liaison and subject‑matter expert on domestic violence, sexual violence, and human trafficking, including case staffing.
• Provide training and technical assistance for the county and community agencies.
• Develop and provide court training to DSVS staff and volunteers on victims of domestic and sexual violence and stalking.
• Assist with Lethality Assessment Protocol (LAP) line follow‑up tasks such as reviewing messages and assigning cases to staff.
• Work with the Advocacy Services Supervisor to assess staff and volunteer training needs and arrange necessary training to develop victim advocates and volunteers.
• Provide supervisory assistance and leadership in the absence of the Advocacy Services Supervisor, assisting with schedule setup and coverage.
• Provide rotational coverage of the program’s 24‑hour crisis lines and respond to hospital accompaniment requests.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

• Knowledge of principles of interpersonal violence accountability and community resources for perpetrators.
• Understanding of the relationship between trauma impact and domestic violence problems.
• Knowledge of best practices and domestic violence interventions, particularly in safety planning.
• Ability to assist other professionals with connecting clients to advocacy services.
• Excellent written, oral, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with subordinates, co‑workers, county officials, public and private sector organizations, community groups, and the general public.
• Ability to maintain relationships with partner agencies including court services, legal services, law enforcement, shelter, and other Fairfax County service providers.
• Proficiency with automated systems and technological tools used by the County.
• Ability to interview, assess needs, counsel, and refer clients to other resources.
• Ability to assess safety, risk, and protective capacity.
• Critical thinking skills and ability to apply research.
• Ability to meet deadlines and maintain documentation.

• Minimum of a bachelor's degree in a human services field.
• Or minimum of a bachelor's degree in any field with at least two years of appropriate and related experience in a Human Services area.

• Valid driver's license.

• Master’s degree in social work or a related human services field.
• Three (3) years of progressively responsible, directly…