Community Guide (Community Liaison for People with Disabilities)

Adaptive Community Approach Program (ACAP) is seeking a responsible, creative, flexible, and positive individual to work as a Community Guide (Community Liaison for People with Disabilities.) Community Guides help our members achieve their highest potentials through community-oriented programming. ACAP is a 44-year-old day services program for adults with disabilities in the Waukesha region that prides itself on outstanding programming, activities, skills-building practices, and personal care.

“After 32 years at ACAP, I still love coming to work.” – Lisa. Join an outstanding team of 15 program staff who come from a range of work and educational backgrounds to create meaningful experiences for our members every day. This full-time position includes good benefits, including health & dental, short- & long-term disability, paid holidays, vacation, and sick days.

The majority of our staff have college degrees, but we value all kinds of educational and work-experience backgrounds. The right person will find this job rewarding on many different levels, not the least of which are opportunities to have fun on the job, innovate, create, and impact people’s lives. A profession very close to the work we do is Therapeutic Recreation. 

Position purpose:

A Community Guide (CG) provides a full range of supports and assistance for ACAP members to access community resources for personal growth, well-being, and life-enhancement. This includes providing community for them within ACAP and providing access for them to the wider community. CGs create, implement, and facilitate a wide range of opportunities for members to engage others in meaningful ways, through diverse activities. CGs deliver experiences that are skills-building, therapeutic, recreational, and educational, while upholding high organizational standards for service delivery.

Salary Range

$37,440-45,760 depending on qualifications and experience.

Duties and responsibilities include the following:

• Develop, implement, and facilitate opportunities for member participation at ACAP and in the community.
  • Participate in program development as determined by the Program Coordinator.
  • Develop class curricula designed to prioritize community-orientation, meaningful activities, and to further individual goals.
  • Be prepared to facilitate any class offering in the five pillars of programming: advocacy, the arts, education & enrichment, sports & recreation, and community service.
  • Be the primary liaison for a designated group of members and ACAP.
• Facilitate Consumer Meetings and other processes that support operations, communications, and program improvement.
  • Complete member progress reports thoroughly and on time.
  • Gather feedback from members while maintaining focus on relationship-building with them and their care teams.
• Contribute to excellence in all aspects of ACAP as an organization.
  • Demonstrate high standards of professionalism in a dedicated, flexible, mission-centered, team-approach work environment.
  • Work collegially with staff and membership, promoting positive work/services culture.
  • Show problem-solving skills independently and in team-oriented approaches.
  • Invest your personal strengths and interests in our programming.
  • Stay on top of administrative tasks.
  • Be punctual, accountable, and open to change.
  • Adhere and respect ACAP’s organizational philosophy.
• Manifest a people-first, respectful, compassionate manner.
  • Prioritize member needs.
  • Communicate clearly, respectfully, and effectively.
  • Enable members to participate as independently as possible.
  • Respond professionally to challenging behaviors.
  • Support goal setting and progress.
  • Provide personal cares as directed, including washroom, meals, mobility, etc.
• Cultivate community partnerships.
  • Represent ACAP well when out in the community.
  • Be responsive to and appreciative of program and organizational partners, including businesses, volunteers, and groups.
  • Support ACAP to the extent you are able by building pathways to resources that would advance our mission.
• Drive ACAP’s accessible vans for community access and other tasks.
• Support and/or participate in ACAP fundraising events as directed.
• Other duties as assigned.

Education and/or Experience:

• Preferred: Bachelor’s Degree from accredited institution. Naturally aligned professions include Recreation Therapy, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Social Work, Special Education, Education.
• If no college degree, we prefer three year’s comparable experience and/or training; or an equivalent combination of education and experience, particularly in the disabilities community.
• Computer literacy. Ideally, experience with Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Outlook, Word, and Excel. 

Licenses, certificates, registrations:

• Valid driver’s license.

Language skills:

• Ability to read, write, speak, and effectively communicate information independently.
• Ability to speak comfortably in front of groups (i.e., as a class facilitator.)
• Fluency in Spanish or American Sign Language a plus.

Reasoning ability:

• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.
• Ability to interpret a variety of instructions in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.
• Ability to build bridges for members who have communication disabilities, so that their needs are understood and met.

Physical demands:

• Required to stand, walk, and reach with hands and arms.
• Occasionally required to sit, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.
• Required to see, hear, smell, talk, and taste.
• Required to have sufficient physical strength to support vulnerable members in many kinds of situations, including providing personal cares:
  • The ability to turn and twist for full visibility and as needed in personal cares.
  • Frequent lifting and moving of items up to 25 pounds.
  • Frequent lifting, pushing, pulling, moving, and holding of up to 50 pounds.
  • Occasional lifting, pushing, pulling, moving, and holding of more than 50 pounds (i.e., transferring members from wheelchairs, providing personal cares, providing physical support to others).
  • The ability to move fast to intercede in a situation in which a vulnerable member is endangered.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

Essential Functions

• Support members who have a wide range of physical, cognitive, and developmental disabilities in their ACAP experiences.
  • High quality facilitation of classes, opportunities, and community experiences.
  • Personal cares as directed.
  • Advocacy for our members in recognition of their vulnerable status.
• Meets administrative requirements with sufficient skills that ensure that required forms, reports, communications, and tasks are completed on time with little oversight.
• Consistently contributes to a positive workplace culture, with appropriately compassionate, collegial, supportive, and team-oriented attitude.
  • Adheres to organizational processes, procedures, rules, and guidance.
  • Strong communication skills, including the ability to work constructively through conflict.
  • Steps up to assist members and colleagues as needed, understanding that flexibility allows us to create our operational flow.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.

Work environment:

• Active, busy, changeable work environment with committed, capable, fun, and creative colleagues.
• High level of job dedication that puts our members first.
• Outdoor activities might be frequent or occasional, depending on one’s schedule.
• Noise level is generally moderate, but individual classes might be boisterous or quiet, depending on the size, members, and activities.
• Occasional responsibilities outside of regular hours.