Address:  2005 N CENTRAL AVE, PHOENIX, AZ  85004

Salary: $36,779 - $55,000 

Grade: 19

Closing Date: OPEN UNTIL FILLED

The Arizona Attorney General’s Office Criminal Division/Office of Victim Services Section is seeking a Victim Advocate.

Under general or limited supervision, this position will perform case management, human service and administrative duties of moderate difficulty, assisting victims through the complex investigations & prosecutions of the Attorney General's Office including:

• Conducting case management, providing quality trauma-informed crime victim services, including both mandated and non-mandated services, as cases progress through the criminal justice process.
• Handling often high-profile and complex cases such as multi-victim white collar crimes, elder exploitation, human trafficking, and appellate and death penalty cases, including victims' rights notification activities; assisting victims with restitution claims; and promotion of victims' interests and participation in the criminal justice progress.
• Implements program policies and procedures, operating manuals and protocols.
• Reviews and documents case activity and serves as a resource on victims' rights issues.
• Facilitates victim meetings and serves as a liaison between the victim and the investigator, prosecutor and community agencies statewide.
• Provides crisis counseling and intervention (when necessary) and follow-up services to victims, such as referrals to community agencies for assistance, court orientation and escort, personal and legal advocacy.
• Ensures complete and accurate case documentation of activities and services.
• Assists in the selection, training and monitoring of volunteer interns.
• Provides coverage for other advocates.
• Performs crisis response when applicable and requested.
• Completes periodic assignments from the Advocate Program Manager and the Director of OVS.

This position may be eligible to work remotely up to two days a week based upon the department's business needs and continual meeting of expected performance measures. 

• Contact victims by phone or in writing to provide mandated victims' rights and non-mandated services; receive victims' calls; assess victims' needs and concerns; describe program services; explain victims' rights, pre-trial proceedings; accompany victims to court proceedings, interviews, etc.; refer victims for services available throughout community agencies; provide emotional support and empathetic listening; explain status and disposition of victim cases.
• Assist victims in compilation of restitution claims, including assisting with paperwork; assist with completion of victim impact statements; intervene on victims' behalf with employers, creditors and landlords; provide other forms of specialized assistance to victims.
• Promote advocacy and best practices for service to victims by working closely with case agents and prosecutors to strengthen program within the Special Investigations Section (SIS) and understand the dynamics of a law enforcement culture; partner with prosecution teams to ensure effective case management and advocacy; ensure victims' rights compliance within caseload.
• Case Management: examine and review documents, case records, incoming correspondence, memoranda and evaluate appropriate actions to be taken, including formulating responses and conferring with supervisor for advice. Confer with agents, attorneys and victim service experts in order to broaden knowledge, acquire specific information or obtain advice on victims' rights and victim assistance. Attend workshops and training sessions to improve working knowledge and skills.
• Respond to cold calls/emails from members of the public. Responsibilities include providing services to constituents such as referrals to community agencies for assistance, referrals to law enforcement agencies and internal referrals. When called upon, will provide crisis response in conjunction with AGO requests.
• Assist with training and educating volunteer/intern advocates who participate in the Office of Victim Services volunteer intern program. Functions include recruiting and screening of applicants, training on the legal justice system, scheduling, accompany interns/volunteers on scheduled tours, promoting attendance to various trainings and evaluating volunteer performance.
• Participate in and contribute to advocate and staff meetings; review and suggest updates to modify program policies and procedures; conducts New Employee Orientation training for new AGO staff on a rotating basis; complete work assignments and duties of other staff specialists in their absence.
• Produce and maintain monthly stats to reflect services provided to victims identified in AGO cases, including statistics on mandated and non-mandates services provided, number of victims in each case, number of contacts made with justice practitioners, etc.
• Other duties as assigned as related to the position.

KNOWLEDGE
This position requires the candidate to have:
• Considerable knowledge of the criminal justice system process, specifically relating to investigations, prosecutions and restitution.
• Basic knowledge of victims' rights laws, current state and federal laws and local social service agencies are required in order to perform work satisfactorily for this position.
• Knowledge of principles and practices of case management and the effects of victimization, including the social, emotional, physical and financial effects are critical to the work performance required of this position.
• Knowledge of standard crisis models and application is necessary.
• It is also critical that any candidate for this position have knowledge of computers, Microsoft Office software and the ability to generate word processing documents.

SKILLS
Skills that are required or expected to be learned through the training process of this position include:
• The ability to effectively interpret program policies, procedures, rules and regulations.
• The ability to analyze, act on and interpret information from various sources and evaluate cases and make appropriate decisions is fundamental to the success of this position.
• It is expected that the candidate will develop and maintain effective working relationships with members of the justice communities, and be able to maintain effective interpersonal relationship with victims in stressful and demanding situations.
• The ideal candidate should have effective oral and written communication skills, empathetic listening; case management; and effective training and presentation skills.
• The candidate will have exceptional organizational and time management skills that will benefit them when working with interruptions, working against stringent deadlines and having to adapt to changing priorities.

ABILITIES
The ideal candidate for this position will have initiative and self-drive to develop and present ideas for effective implementation of the program and its procedures.
• The ideal candidate should be able to learn how to plan, coordinate, and prioritize work activities for self and employ problem-solving methods.
• The ability to perform detailed work with a high degree of accuracy will rely heavily on the candidate's ability to write and communicate in an effective manner and their ability to edit and review materials for clarity and certainty.
• The ability to exercise good judgment in safeguarding sensitive and confidential information is critical to the services provided by the Office of Victim Services and the AGO.
• Additional abilities include: ability to work with the public; grasp points being made by others, oral or written; ability to organize high-volume victim cases; ability to produce complete, accurate and factual case notes and case summaries; ability to prepare letters, memorandum and e-mail effectively.

Prefer: Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science degree from an accredited university with an emphasis on social science and/or criminal justice; three-five years of experience in victim services or a related field.

• Travel is required for this position. A valid Arizona Driver’s License is required, along with consent to have your driving record run periodically.
• All applicants under serious consideration for hire with the Attorney General's Office are required to be fingerprinted by the Office and complete a criminal background check through State and Federal agencies. A job offer cannot be tendered until the candidate has successfully passed the initial background check. Your record does not automatically constitute a bar to employment. Factors such as, but not limited to, age at time of offense and age of offense, as well as the relationship between the offense and the job for which you apply will be taken into account.

If this position requires driving or the use of a vehicle as an essential function of the job to conduct State business, then the following requirements apply: Driver’s License Requirements.

All newly hired State employees are subject to and must successfully complete the Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program (E-Verify).

The Attorney General's Office offers a comprehensive benefits package to include:
Student Loan Assistance
Sick leave
Paid Parental Leave-Up to 12 weeks per year paid leave for newborn or newly-placed foster/adopted child (pilot program)
Vacation with 10 paid holidays per year
Health and dental insurance
Retirement plan
Life insurance and long-term disability insurance
Optional employee benefits include short-term disability insurance, deferred compensation plans, and supplemental life insurance

Learn more about the Paid Parental Leave pilot program here. For a complete list of benefits provided by The State of Arizona, please visit our benefits page

• Positions in this classification participate in the Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS).
• Please note, enrollment eligibility will become effective after 27 weeks of employment.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Human Resources at (602) 542-8056 or email us at [email protected].

During all phases of the selection process, people with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation by contacting the AG’s Human Resources Office at (602) 542-8056 or via e-mail at [email protected]. The Arizona Office of the Attorney General does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, sexual orientation or age in its programs, activities or in its hiring and employment practices. The following division has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: Operations Division, 2005 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85004, Phone: (602) 542-8056, Fax: (602) 542-8000.
The State of Arizona is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer.