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Spanish/English Health Advocate and Interpreter

Description: 

WNC Health and Economic Opportunity Program: Spanish/English Health Advocate and Interpreter

Asheville, Brevard, Burnsville, Hendersonville, Highlands, Marion, Marshall, Newland, Rutherfordton, Spruce Pine, Waynesville

Pisgah Legal Services (PLS) is a community-based non-profit legal aid agency governed by a local Board of Directors.  Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina (WNC), Pisgah Legal Services provides free civil legal assistance to low-income people in WNC. The organization currently has offices in Asheville, Brevard, Burnsville, Hendersonville, Highlands-Cashiers, Marshall, Newland, and Rutherfordton.  With over 100 dedicated staff, including over 30 attorneys plus program staff, and an active group of 300 volunteer attorneys, the program provides free services to nearly 20,000 people per year to meet their basic needs, primarily in the poverty law areas of housing, public benefits, domestic violence prevention, health care, immigration, and consumer law. 

Nature and Location of Position: Pisgah Legal Service is introducing a new program, the WNC Health and Economic Opportunity Program (HEOP) to support our mission in 18 Western North Carolina counties as part of a multi-year grant funded expansion of anti-poverty work within the broad areas of free tax preparation/tax credits and outreach/enrollment for Affordable Care Act health insurance.  Counties serviced include:  Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, McDowell, Macon, Madison, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania and Yancey.  The WNC Health and Economic Opportunity Program is designed to have long-term impact through two main priorities: (1) reduce the child poverty rate in each WNC county and (2) increase the insured rate through quality, affordable health care coverage in each WNC county. The program will work in conjunction with the entire PLS legal aid staff to support expanding free legal assistance to help a growing number of low-income people each year to solve problems related to basic needs, particularly housing, domestic violence, health care, and insufficient income.

As part of our mission for the Health and Economic Opportunity Program, we will be working with Spanish-speakers to file their taxes and help them enroll in health insurance, and we will need an interpreter to ensure that we are offering the same quality services to all our clients.  Position will be based from one of our regional offices, but will require travel to our 18 regions as needed.  Company car available for traveling or have travel costs reimbursed.

Key Responsibilities

General:
  • Work collaboratively with Health and Economic Opportunity Program (HEOP) staff and volunteers. 
  • Attend PLS staff meetings and other meetings relevant to HEOP.
  • Utilize web-based software programs to report health insurance enrollment outcomes, outreach, and track consumer forms.
  • Commit to continued learning about the connection between socio-economic factors and health. 
  • Passionately support the idea of access to quality healthcare and access to tax refunds for all people.
  • Provide all information and services in a manner that is culturally and linguistically appropriate and ensure accessibility for individuals with disabilities. 
Interpretation/Translation: 40%
  • Become knowledgeable about specific terminology within taxes and health insurance in both English and Spanish.
  • Answer incoming calls for Spanish-speakers to screen and schedule for health insurance appointments. 
  • Conduct outgoing calls to screen and schedule Spanish-speakers for health insurance appointments. 
  • Serve as back-up for answering and conducting outgoing calls to screen and schedule Spanish-speakers for tax appointments. 
  • Interpret English to Spanish at outreach events, tax clinics and health insurance enrollment events across all 18 counties (with ability to use a company car or have travel costs reimbursed).
  • As able, serve as interpreter for other Pisgah Legal Services legal programs. 
  • Translate HEOP documents, fliers, and other written materials from English into Spanish, and keep Spanish-language documents updated. 
  • Pass and maintain certification to verify documents to help consumers obtain Individual Tax Identification Numbers (ITINs). 
Health Care Enrollment: 40%
  • Pass and maintain the certification to become a Healthcare Navigator/Certified Application Counselor provided by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
  • Work with individuals in one-on-one appointments to support health insurance enrollment in the NC Marketplace or Medicaid. Program services may be offered in person, virtually via Microsoft Teams or Zoom, or a combination of the two.
  • Know and counsel WNC residents regarding the benefits of access to health insurance and how to use health care coverage.
  • Identify and contact consumers who may have a “good story” when requests come from media.

Outreach: 20%

  • Develop relationships with community partners to engage in education, outreach, health insurance enrollment assistance activities, and making referrals.
  • Perform outreach for legal services, health insurance enrollment, and tax assistance.
  • Organize and conduct health coverage education, outreach and marketing with consumers and community organizations alike including social media marketing, building interagency relationships, in-reach referrals, identifying key community leaders to support activities in places including but not limited to:
    • Jails/prisons/detention centers
    • Justice Resource Center
    • Treatment facilities
    • Faith-based organizations
    • Low-income housing communities
    • Community-based organizations
    • Health fairs

Qualifications

  • Commitment to Pisgah Legal Services’ mission, values and vision.
  • Demonstrated fluency in English/Spanish required.
  • Previous experience in interpretation required.
  • Interpretation certification. 
  • Word processing skills.
  • Experience with data entry.
  • Ability to understand, remember, and carry out complex instructions.
  • Demonstrated skills at socio-economic and cultural sensitivity 
  • Commitment to work collaboratively with all constituent groups, including staff, consumers, clients, board members, donors, community groups, member organizations and others 
  • Comfortable with public speaking and representing PLS in a public setting 
  • Self-motivated, able to work independently 
  • Detail-oriented, accurate and organized 
  • Excellent writing and verbal communication skills
  • Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work well with teams
  • Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience in areas such as in social work, public health, public policy or a related field
  • Experience in office and cloud-based systems.
  • Experience working and communicating with low-income population.
  • Must possess a valid driver's license.
  • Must be able to travel within 18 counties (Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, McDowell, Macon, Madison, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania and Yancey)
  • Available to work Monday to Friday, 8:30am-5:00pm, with flexibility for some evening and weekend shifts.

 Required Certificates

  • Final candidates must pass a Spanish verbal and written proficiency test, provided by Pisgah Legal Services. 
  • Upon hire, must be able to pass certification to become a Certified Application Counselor / Navigator for the Affordable Care Act Marketplace. 
Salary/ Benefits

Salary $34,515 - $52,252 based on years of experience. 

Our salary scale is predetermined based on the years of relative professional work experience that qualify for this position to ensure equity in pay.  Pisgah Legal Services is a Living Wage Certified Employer in 18 WNC counties:  Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Clay, Cherokee, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, McDowell, Macon, Madison, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania and Yancey.

 Employees are eligible for medical, dental, vision and life insurance coverage the 1st of the month following the start date.  Pisgah Legal Services (PLS) pays 100% of the Employee and 50% of the Dependent Cost for BCBS Medical and Dental coverage.  PLS pays 50% of the Employee Coverage Cost for BCBS Vision coverage.   PLS pays 100% of Long-Term & Short-Term Disability Coverage, Life Insurance Coverage of 5x base salary + an additional $15,000 Life & AD&D Coverage.  401k Retirement Plan after 6 months of employment.  Additional Fringe Benefits includes Paid Parental Leave, 12.5 Company Holidays, 22 Paid Leave Days, Paid Sabbatical Leave for Attorneys, Employee Assistance Program for entire household and a great working environment with work life balance!

To Apply

Submit your online application with resume and cover letter through our Career Center located at https://www.pisgahlegal.org/jobs.

PLS invites all applicants to include in their cover letter a statement about how your unique background and/or experiences might contribute to the diversity, cultural vitality, and perspective of our staff and legal services practice. 

Pisgah Legal Services is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified persons with disabilities. Prospective and current employees are encouraged to discuss ADA accommodations with our Human Resources department.

COVID-19 Safety Information:

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Pisgah Legal Services has worked tirelessly to promote evidence-based practices across our entire organization. With this in mind, as of January 4th, all Pisgah employees will be required to provide proof of their COVID-19 vaccine.   Employees who are unvaccinated or have an approved exemption will be required to provide verified weekly COVID-19 test results.  We currently have COVID-19 safety precautions in place such as working remotely as our business allows, requiring face masks while meeting with clients or co-workers, providing outdoor meeting areas to meet with clients while wearing masks, limiting onsite visits by meeting virtually or by phone with clients.  Pisgah Legal Services also conducts temperature checks at our location upon arrival.  

To Apply: 

To Apply

Submit your online application with resume and cover letter through our Career Center located at https://www.pisgahlegal.org/jobs.

Information

Submission Deadline: 
August 21, 2022
Organization Information: 
Pisgah Legal Services
62A Charlotte St
Asheville, NC 28801
United States
Phone: 828-210-3412