Driver (On-Call)

ABOUT US

Channing House is a leading not-for-profit Life Plan Community in Palo Alto, founded in 1960. We believe that older adults thrive in a vibrant setting that supports active, engaged and healthy living. We provide a sustainable, innovative community that promotes this lifestyle, while embracing respect and dignity for all who live and work here. Our team of 200 staff members, from Front-Line to Leadership, drive the mission of Channing House, providing services to the 265 highly engaged residents who call Channing House their home.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Driver safely and reliably transports residents to/from medical and dental appointments. This position is also responsible for providing special trips requested by residents or Management. The driver demonstrates our Core Values: Do the right thing; Be a team player; Focus on quality; Adapt to change. Together with the entire team at Channing House, your role contributes to promoting a healthy and vibrant home for our residents. 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

This position will be responsible for, but not limited to the following essential duties and responsibilities: 

Transportation

• Arrange to pick up and drop off residents on a regular schedule.
• Pick up passengers at prearranged locations.
• Provide passengers with assistance entering and exiting vehicles.
• Communicate with Receptionists by telephone to exchange information and receive requests for passenger service.
• Record name and date information on trip sheets, along with trip information such as time and place of pickup and drop-off.
• Perform medical tasks for residents, such as delivering or picking up lab results and medication.
• Drive company cars to transport passengers.
• Operate vehicles with specialized equipment, such as wheelchair lifts to transport and secure passengers with special needs.

Safety and Vehicle Maintenance 

• Follow safety regulations and state laws governing vehicle operation and ensures that passengers follow safety regulations.
• Takes extra precaution while driving in inclement weather.
• Perform routine vehicle maintenance such as regulating tire pressure and adding gasoline, oil, and water.
• Vacuum and clean interiors, and wash and polish exteriors of automobiles.
• Take vehicles to mechanic for servicing.
• Regularly test vehicle equipment such as lights, brakes, horns, or windshield wipers, to ensure proper operation.
• Notify manager of vehicle problems.
• Complete accident reports when necessary.

Supporting Responsibilities

When there is downtime (when the driver is not out on the road or preparing for a drive) these additional responsibilities shall become the responsibility of all drivers: 

• Scout the property (1^st floor and outside building) for work orders, such as needed repairs or plant care. Document and take pictures of work order needs and e-mail to Facilities Coordinator.
• Escort residents in wheelchairs and walkers from Lee Center to the lobby and back to their apartments.
• Support Activities by participating in 1:1 with residents or helping with group activities.
• Deliver packages for the Front Desk.
• Survey the parking lot in the morning for staff parked in prohibited spaces or resident vehicles that have been parked for extended periods without use. These tasks will be coordinated through the supervisor or department lead on duty.

Upholding Company Standards

• Establish and maintain effective team relationships with fellow staff; apply effective communication and listening skills
• Demonstrate professionalism in all interactions with all residents, colleagues, clients, vendors, and members of the public
• Provide a supportive and caring environment to meet the needs of residents as individuals and as members of a shared community
• Adhere to all company policies, procedures, safety, and compliance practices, and business ethics codes

JOB REQUIREMENTS / QUALIFICATIONS 

To perform this job successfully, a person must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required.

Years of Related Professional Experience:

• 3-6 months related experience preferred
• Equivalent combination of education and experience welcomed

Educational/Position Requirements:

• High School diploma, GED

Computer/Software/Technical Applications:

• Ability to use a computer

Communication:

• Ability to speak and comprehend English the primary language used in the workplace; ability to speak and/or comprehend other languages utilized by clients is a plus.

Required Licenses/ Certifications/ Background:

• Position requires clean CA driving record
• Adult CPR/AED/First Aid certification

Travel Required:

• 50% 

Skills:

• Communication — Able to communicate with others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking — Use logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Writing — Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Service Orientation — Actively looking for ways to help people.
• Customer Service — Manages difficult or emotional situations involving residents, resident families, and/or staff; responds promptly to needs of residents, resident families, and/or staff; responds to requests for service and assistance.
• Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Time Management — Managing one's own time and the time of others.
• Professionalism — Presents self in a highly professional manner to others and communicate with co-workers and other departments with professionalism and respect. Maintains a professional relationship with all coworkers, vendor representatives, supervisors, managers, residents, and resident families.
• Quality Management — Looks for ways to improve and promote quality.
• Safety and Security — Observes and ensures staff compliance with safety and security procedures; determines appropriate action beyond guidelines; reports potentially unsafe conditions; uses equipment and materials properly. 
• Active Learning — Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
• Cultural Awareness — Demonstrates knowledge of EEO policy; shows respect and sensitivity for cultural differences; promotes a harassment-free environment.
• Judgment and Decision Making — Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Organizational Support — Follows policies and procedures; supports organization's goals and values.
• Navigation — the process or activity of accurately ascertaining one's position and planning and following a route:

Abilities:

• Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Learning — Willingness to be open to learning and growing.
• Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Ethics — Treats people with respect; inspires the trust of others; works with integrity and ethically; upholds organizational values.
• Positivity — Ability to maintain a positive attitude.
• Presentability — Maintains high standards for work areas and appearance. Upholds dress code requirements.
• Quality — Demonstrates accuracy and thoroughness; looks for ways to improve and promote quality; applies feedback to improve performance.
• Attendance/Punctuality — Consistently at work and on time.
• Dependability — Follows instructions, responds to management direction; takes responsibility for own actions; keeps commitments.
• Discretion — behaving or speaking in such a way as to avoid causing offense or revealing private information.
• Compassionate — Feeling or showing empathy and concern for others.
• Initiative — Volunteers readily; undertakes self-development activities; seeks increased responsibilities; takes independent actions and calculated risks; looks for and takes advantage of opportunities; asks for and offers help when needed.
• Adaptability — Adapts to changes in the work environment.
• Relaxed presence — Remains calm under pressure and in stressful situations.
• Work Independently — Able to work by yourself with minimal direction and supervision.

Work Environment:

• Regularly exposed to outside weather conditions. 
• Employees are regularly exposed to moving mechanical parts and frequently exposed to fumes or airborne particles and vibration.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually low to moderate.
• Position requires flexibility to work nights, weekends and some holidays based on needs.
• Must be adaptable to changing schedules.

Physical Demands:

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. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to:

• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer and operating phones.
• Possess multi-limb and eye-hand coordination.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision and depth perception.
• Able to reach, bend, stoop, push and/or pull, regularly move 25 pounds and occasionally lift/move up to 50 pounds.

Channing House Diversity Statement:

Channing House is committed to the principles of equal employment. We are committed to complying with all federal, state, and local laws providing equal employment opportunities and all other employment laws and regulations. It is our intent to maintain a work environment that is free of harassment, discrimination, or retaliation based on an individual's race (including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists), color, religion, religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices), national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), genetic information, marital status, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), gender (including gender identity and gender expression), age (40 years and over), sexual orientation, veteran and/or military status, protected medical leaves (requesting or approved for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act or the California Family Rights Act), domestic violence victim status, political affiliation, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local laws. Channing House is dedicated to the fulfillment of this policy in regard to all aspects of employment, including but not limited to recruiting, hiring, placement, transfer, training, promotion, rates of pay, and other compensation, termination, and all other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.