Behavioral Health Navigator

California-Health-Collaborative-; Hanford (CA); On-site; USD 48,000 - 66,000; Full time

Job summary

California Health Collaborative is seeking a Behavioral Health Navigator to join the ARCH Project in Kings County. The role connects participants to resources, conducts screenings, and provides follow-up support including warm handoffs, referrals, and barrier mitigation.

A compassionate team player is essential for timely documentation and quality improvement. The BHN engages in outreach, assessments, care coordination, and education, with travel within the service area and occasional

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED required; 2+ years in community settings.
• 2 years of experience with individuals facing behavioral health or substance-use challenges.
• Valid California driver’s license and reliable transportation.
• Bilingual Spanish/English preferred.
• Strong documentation and reporting skills.

Responsibilities

• Conduct outreach to potential clients with behavioral health and substance-use needs.
• Perform in-depth assessments to identify medical, behavioral health, and social needs.
• Support care coordination with scheduling and engagement for services.
• Provide health education and basic psychoeducation within BHN scope.
• Ensure accurate documentation for outreach and services.
• Collaborate with an interdisciplinary team and community partners.
• Attend trainings and travel within the service area up to 60%.
• Occasionally work evenings and weekends to support outreach.
• Provide direct services as needed and support program development.

Skills

Bilingual Spanish/English

Documentation & reporting

Effective communication

Team collaboration

Education

High school diploma or GED

Tools

Microsoft Office

Canva

Adobe Acrobat

Job description

TheCalifornia Health Collaborative (CHC) is seeking a Behavioral Health Navigator(BHN) to join the ARCH Project in Kings County. With guidance from the Project Director and Program Manager, the Behavioral Health Navigator plays a vital role in connecting program participants to the resources and support they need to thrive. The BHN conducts one-on-one screenings to identify participants who would benefit from resource linkages, then provides hands-on follow-up support including warm handoffs, behavioral health referrals, appointment coordination, and barrier mitigation. This role requires a compassionate, detail-oriented individual who can build trust with participants while maintaining timely, accurate documentation to support program reporting and continuous quality improvement.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Conduct outreach to potential clients, including individuals with behavioral health and substance use related needs.
• Conduct in-depth assessments with program participants to identify medical, behavioral health, and social needs and goals.
• Support care coordination by assisting with scheduling, follow up, and engagement for medical, behavioral health, and substance use services.
• Provide health education and basic psychoeducation within BHN scope, including coping strategies, treatment adherence, and use of crisis resources.
• Ensure accurate, timely carerecording and reporting related to outreach, engagement, and services provided.
• Function as part of an interdisciplinary team, including collaboration with behavioral health providers and community partners.
• Attend trainings and conferences as required by job duties or funding sources, including behavioral health related trainings.
• Willingness to travel within assigned service area as required.
• Willingness to work occasional evenings and weekend hours to support outreach efforts and community engagement.
• Maintain travel logs in Outlook Calendar or other systems as directed.
• Provide direct services to program participants as needed, including health education, advocacy, engagement, and support.
• Perform other duties as needed to support program development and sustainability.

Cross-Program Collaboration

Collaboration across CHC programs to increase awareness of CHC services, promote CHC-branded programs and standardized referral pathways, and consistently utilize CHC’s online referral asset (including the CHW Navigation hub and related support programs) to strengthen access, coordination, and continuity of care.

External Awareness & Representation

Proactively promote CHC priorities, programs, and referral assets to all external stakeholders—including enrollees, partner organizations, and community entities—to eliminate fragmentation, prevent missed referral opportunities, and ensure consistent awareness and utilization of CHC services.

Employees are expected to maintain a professional and business-appropriate appearance and conduct during all work-related interactions, including virtual meetings.

The employee is required to have their camera turned on and remain visibly present during all company business meetings conducted through Teams, Zoom, or other approved virtual meeting platforms unless otherwise authorized by management due to exceptional circumstances.

Employees participating in virtual meetings must present themselves in a professional manner consistent with workplace expectations, including maintaining appropriate attire, a professional appearance, and a distraction-free environment suitable for business communications.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to fulfill each essential duty satisfactorily. The qualifying requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, judgment, and/or abilities required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

REQUIRED EDUCTION AND/OR EXPERIENCE:

Education and experience requirements are a high school diploma or GED,and a minimum of two years’ experience working in the community with individuals facing social, behavioral health, or substance-use-related challenges from rural communities and diverse cultural backgrounds.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Work will be performed in a variety of settings, including office environments, community centers, schools, partner agencies, outdoor venues, and event locations which may involve exposure to varying weather conditions, temperature changes, noise levels, and large crowds.

Physical demands will include sitting, bending, lifting up to 25 pounds, driving and walking.

Regular local travel is required to support community engagement efforts, including attendance at community events, outreach activities, partner meetings, health fairs, presentations, and other public-facing functions throughout the service area. Travel is expected to comprise approximately 60% of work time and may occur during evenings and weekends as needed to support program objectives. Occasional overnight travel may be required for trainings, conferences, or special events.

OTHER KNOWLEDGE/SKILL/ABILITIES

Ability to follow verbal and written instructions accurately.

Ability to document and summarize project activities in clear, concise written formats.

Ability to share updates and observations during team meetings to support program improvement.

Ability to communicate effectively with program staff, participants, parents, and community partners in culturally diverse settings, conveying information in a clear and accessible manner.

Bilingual skills in Spanish/English preferred.

Proficient in Microsoft Office, Canva, Adobe Acrobat, and other relevant software programs.

A valid California Driver’s License, reliable transportation, and current vehicle insurance.

California Health Collaborative is an equal opportunity employer. We comply with federal and state disability laws and make reasonable accommodations for applicants and candidates with disabilities. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact Human Resources at [e-mail].