Driver - Bridgewell

Bridgewell strengthens communities by providing an unmatched range of social and human services that empower people with disabilities and other life challenges to live safe, self-directed, and productive lives. Bridgewell delivers support through community housing, day programs, outpatient treatment, recovery services, education, and employment training. We're committed to helping people in need, from those with autism to people with substance use disorders, become engaged members of their communities. Bridgewell is also the industry leader in developing innovative offerings responding to unmet or emerging needs.

Our employees take pride in making every day count to its fullest. They are committed to adding value to the lives of the people we support, and they bring energy, ideas, and a passion for service. Does this describe you? Then please consider joining our incredible team!

Connecting People with Possibilities

Mission: Bridgewell inspires hope and empowers people experiencing life challenges to achieve their fullest potential.

DEIB Statement: Bridgewell strives to reflect the diversity of our employees and the people we serve by cultivating an equitable, inclusive environment that empowers everyone to be their authentic selves. We encourage, support, and celebrate the many voices and cultures of Bridgewell. With dignity, caring, integrity, and respect at our core, we embrace the diverse experiences that enrich our community daily.

Summary: The Driver ensures that persons served are transported safely to and from the day site and the residence. They also engage with and monitor passengers for medical and behavioral issues during transport.

Schedule: Monday- Friday 8:00am-4:00pm (40 hours)

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Safely transport persons served to assigned programs and locations, following procedures and protocols in place related to routes and timeframes. Assist passengers in entering and exiting the vehicle from outside the vehicle making certain all passengers are monitored for safe arrival at their destination. Assure all passengers have properly secured seatbelts and/or are secured in their wheelchairs (if applicable).
2. Interact with patience and sensitivity in all contact with passengers, family members, staff, and others while ensuring a positive passenger experience for those in your care.
3. Be familiar with any conditions or behavioral issues that any passenger may have to be able to assist them.
4. Operate the vehicle and vehicle equipment at all times within all federal, state, and local laws and in a manner that ensures the safety of passengers.
5. Have working knowledge of routes and locations of all houses, day facilities, and emergency locations and report any issues to management related to route obstructions that impact services.
6. Assist with vehicle maintenance including but not limited to routine cleaning of exterior and interior of vehicles and weather-specific needs (ie. winter snow removal). Complete safety inspections and obtain yearly vehicle state inspections.
7. Ensure emergency fact sheets for all passengers, route schedules and written directions are present and report any issues to the dispatcher and/or your supervisor immediately.
8. Complete the vehicle safety checklist before beginning your assigned route. Ensure signage in rear windows reflects accurate occupancy status at the beginning and end of routes. Complete the attendance and mileage sheet after completion of each route and report any issues to the dispatcher and/or your supervisor immediately. Verify all passengers off the van at the end of each shift.
9. Immediately notify the dispatcher and/or your supervisor of any variance in route time exceeding 15 minutes.
10. Complete incident reports, as required, under the Bridgewell Incident Reporting Policy and Procedures.
11. Maintain all required certifications including
12. Other duties as assigned.

Required Education/Experience:

1. A minimum of a High School Diploma or GED is required.
2. Must be 19 years of age or older, with at least 3 years of driving experience.
3. Must have a valid MA or neighboring state driver's license and, per MART regulations, maintain a satisfactory driving record history with no egregious violations and no more than 3 moving violations in the last ten years.

Required Skills/Knowledge:

1. Previous experience working with individuals with disabilities is preferred.
2. Ability to interact with patience and sensitivity in all contact with individuals, residential staff, parents, and facility staff.

Required Background Check:

1. Requires acceptable annual CORI according to Bridgewell policy and a fingerprint-based national criminal background check per DDS regulations and policies.
2. A Drug Screen and physical must be conducted as soon as possible after a successful interview; regular employment is contingent upon acceptable results according to Bridgewell policy.
3. An annual driving record history will be verified and results are subject to MART approval based on regulations and annual MART audits.

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 accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

1. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to enter and exit a vehicle and sit for extended periods if in traffic or during transit.
2. The employee must be able to lift and/or move a minimum of 20 but preferred up to 50 pounds.
3. Must be able to drive a 12-passenger van and/or a handicap-accessible van and manually operate the lift when necessary.
4. Must have a normal range of eyesight with or without corrective lenses.
5. Must have a normal range of hearing with or without corrective equipment.

Bridgewell offers:

• Excellent health benefits-medical, dental, vision. We believe our benefits package is one of the most competitive.
• Generous paid time off includes your birthday (that's right, we even give you your birthday off!)
• A collaborative work environment that values new insight and personal contributions
• With over one hundred programs in the North Shore, Lowell, and Merrimack Valley we provide excellent opportunities for training and development.
• Additional compensation for on-call rotations
• Opportunities for professional development and growth

Why Should You Apply: If the top benefits alone don't sway you, our compassionate and collaborative work environment should! Bridgewell is committed to training and developing staff and provides opportunities for you to have a positive impact on the work you do.

Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

Requires acceptable CORI results according to Bridgewell policy.

Bridgewell 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.