RELIEF Crisis Support Specialist

Maine Crisis Line 

Pay rate: $23 per hour 

Per-Diem, Remote optional (in Maine)

The Opportunity Alliance is hiring for Relief (per diem) Crisis Support Specialists to join their team at the Maine Crisis Line. 

Apply today to join our extraordinary team, helping individuals and families experiencing a mental health crisis. You will learn how to answer calls and text/chat messages on the crisis line and have the option to do all of this remotely! You will have opportunities for growth and development and the skills you learn in this job will be helpful for any career path. We look forward to bringing you on board!

Mental Crisis Line (MCL) is part of our continuum of crisis intervention and stabilization services and provides 24-hour telephone response for adults, families and children during a mental health crisis. This role provides invaluable experience candidates with a background in social work and who has excellent communications skills, can remain calm in stressful situations, and truly has the desire to help others.

The ideal candidate will have a desire to help people in crisis, with the ability to establish rapport and engage in a calm manner while engaged with callers.

• Have you had a personal experience dealing with mental illness with a family member or friend?
• Do you want to gain a new skill that will allow you to help others?
• Have you ever worked in a call center?  We can help you transfer that experience over.
• An interest in increasing your knowledge and skills to help people with mental illness?
• A background in counseling and/or related field is highly preferred but not required.

As a Crisis Call Specialist, you will:

• Work with callers to assess presenting problems and psychosocial stressors 
• Complete risk assessments to ensure the safety and well-being of callers experiencing a crisis.  
• Use effective programmatic systems to support the effective monitoring and progress toward performance measures and work collaboratively with Crisis Response Services in the eight Districts across the State.

You will receive training to become certified as a Mental Health Rehabilitation Technician from some of the best licensed clinical supervisors and certified in-house trainers in the State of Maine.
 

Schedule: This is a Per-Diem/Relief, hourly position. There is no set schedule and hours cannot be guaranteed.  

This is a 24/7 call line and text/chat line. Varied shifts may be available, day/afternoon/overnight/weekends/holidays.

Location: Office is located in South Portland, but this position has ability to work remotely (in Maine). In-person orientation will be required.

Qualifications: 

• Associate Degree required, along with a year or more of crisis related experience preferred.
• Ability to earn the MHRT-CSP certification within 30 days of employment required – training onsite provided required.
• Must have solid oral communication skills, with the ability to communicate clearly, succinctly, and in a customer friendly manner, along with the competence to communicate with multiple parties during a crisis call.  The ability to learn and understand written crisis call documentation skills.  The ability to manage complex tasks effectively. 
• Previous experience working in a call center, customer service environment a plus
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with complex information to address challenging situations
• Ability to become familiar with DSM-V information.
• Ability to work independently as well as in a team environment.
• Flexible schedule is required.
• Must demonstrate the ability and willingness to learn and understand the use of documentation software and resource applications proficiently enough to perform documentation while simultaneously engaging with clients on the phone.  The ability to use telephone, instant messaging and chat technology.  
• Must be able to able to successfully pass a criminal background, child protective service check & sex offender check and must not be on the state or federal suspension and disbarment list.

Benefits: Our benefits include but are not limited to:

(offered to full-time and part-time employees)

• Generous paid time off accrual
• 9 paid holidays per calendar year and up to 3 floating holidays per calendar year 
• Excellent medical benefits at very reasonable cost 
• Dental and Vision insurance options 
• Agency paid basic life insurance and STD & LTD disability insurances 
• 403(b) retirement with a generous agency match (all employees are eligible)
• Tuition Reimbursement – offered once per year through an application process
• The Opportunity Alliance (TOA) is a qualified employer under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.

To learn more about our benefits please visit, https://www.opportunityalliance.org/explore-our-benefits

Who we are…

The Opportunity Alliance is “Helping People Reach for a Brighter Future”.

Mission: The Opportunity Alliance works with people to build better lives and stronger communities. We provide advocacy, leadership, and support to identify the goals and address the needs of individuals, families, and communities.

The Opportunity Alliance (TOA) is a dynamic, results-focused Community Action Agency providing approximately 50 integrated community-based and clinical programs serving more than 20,000 people annually throughout the state of Maine. With over 50 years of experience, TOA draws from a comprehensive set of programs which address issues such as mental health, substance use, homelessness, lack of basic needs, and access to community supports. Through an extensive array of services, TOA provides opportunities for individuals to stabilize fragile situations and then works with them to achieve self-sufficiency. TOA is client-focused with extensive experience working with diverse client populations. TOA programming includes four key sectors of service:

• Mental Health & Wellness
• Community Building
• Family & Early Childhood Education
• Economic Resources

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If you are viewing this posting on a third-party site, please visit our website at https://opportunityalliance.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/Careers to apply.

Please submit a cover letter and resume along with your application.

Thank you!