Client Intake Specialist chicago, IL $18 – $21 / hour

Elevate Counseling; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 25,000 - 30,000; Part time

Job summary

Elevate Counseling + Wellness is seeking a Client Intake Specialist to be the warm, energetic first contact for prospective clients in the Chicago area. You’ll guide clients through needs assessment and help match them with a therapist who fits their schedule, location, and insurance.

The role starts part-time, about 20 hours weekly, with potential to increase as needed. You’ll collaborate closely with admin and clinical teams to ensure a smooth intake experience.

Qualifications

• Cheerful and personable with warmth in conversations.
• Outgoing and enjoys interacting with people, not afraid to pick up the phone.
• Excellent communicator, friendly emails, clear explanations.
• Responsive and fast-moving; quick follow-up.
• Organized and detail-oriented; manages multiple inquiries and schedules.
• Proactive; raises issues to improve the process.

Responsibilities

• Respond promptly to new client inquiries by phone, email, and text.
• Create a warm, welcoming experience from the first interaction.
• Discuss therapy needs and preferences with prospective clients.
• Help match clients with therapists based on needs, schedule, location, and insurance.
• Explain therapist options clearly and guide clients to a provider.
• Schedule initial appointments and guide clients through intake.

Skills

Warm & friendly

Outgoing

Excellent communicator

Organized

Proactive

Tech-savvy

Active listening

Job description

Elevate Counseling + Wellness

Be the warm, helpful first connection for someone reaching out for support.

Reaching out for therapy can feel vulnerable, overwhelming, and sometimes a little intimidating. The first person a prospective client hears from matters.

At Elevate Counseling + Wellness, we're looking for a Client Intake Specialist who is warm, upbeat, outgoing, organized, and genuinely enjoys talking with people. You'll help prospective clients feel comfortable from their very first interaction with Elevate, learn what they're looking for, and guide them toward a therapist who feels like a great fit.

This is not a role for someone who simply answers emails and processes forms. We're looking for someone who brings energy, personality, warmth, and initiative to the client experience.

Role will start as part-time, approximately 20 hours per week, with the ability to increase hours if desired and the need arises.

What You'll Do

You'll be one of the first points of contact for new clients reaching out to Elevate. Your responsibilities will include:

• Responding promptly to new client inquiries by phone, email, and text
• Creating a warm, welcoming experience from the very first interaction
• Talking with prospective clients about what they're looking for in therapy
• Helping match clients with therapists based on their needs, preferences, schedule, location, and insurance
• Clearly explaining therapist options and helping clients confidently choose a provider
• Scheduling initial appointments and guiding clients through the intake process
• Collecting necessary demographic and insurance information
• Verifying insurance benefits using online portals and direct calls to insurance providers
• Following up with prospective clients who have not yet scheduled
• Answering common questions about Elevate, our therapists, services, insurance, and locations
• Maintaining accurate information in our scheduling and practice-management systems
• Working closely with our administrative and clinical teams to stay current on therapist availability
• Helping us continually improve the client intake experience

Who We're Looking For

The right person for this role is someone who naturally makes people feel comfortable.

You are:

• Cheerful and personable. You bring warmth and positive energy to conversations.
• Outgoing. You genuinely enjoy interacting with people and aren't afraid to pick up the phone.
• An excellent communicator. Your emails are friendly and polished, and you can explain information clearly without sounding scripted or robotic.
• Responsive and fast-moving. You understand that when someone reaches out for therapy, getting back to them quickly matters.
• A good listener. You can hear what someone is looking for and help guide them toward the right next step.
• Comfortable making recommendations. Rather than simply listing options, you enjoy helping people make decisions.
• Organized and detail-oriented. You can manage multiple inquiries, schedules, follow-ups, and administrative details without letting things fall through the cracks.
• Proactive. If someone hasn't responded, you follow up. If you see a problem in the process, you raise it.
• Professional and discreet. You understand the importance of confidentiality and working sensitively with people seeking mental health services.
• Tech-compatible. You're comfortable learning scheduling, email, phone, and practice-management systems.

What Success Looks Like

A great Client Intake Specialist doesn't simply process inquiries.

They make someone think:

"I'm glad I reached out here. They seem kind, organized, and like they're going to help me figure this out."

You'll be successful in this role when prospective clients receive timely responses, feel personally cared for, are matched thoughtfully with the right therapist, and experience an easy path from their first inquiry to their first appointment.

About Elevate

Elevate Counseling + Wellness is a growing, modern group therapy practice serving clients throughout the Chicago area. We've built our practice around excellent clinical care, strong relationships, thoughtful systems, and a collaborative team culture.

We want the experience of working with Elevate to feel different - for our therapists and for our clients. That starts from the very first interaction.

If you're someone who is naturally warm, loves helping people, communicates with personality, and gets satisfaction from turning a complicated process into an easy one, we'd love to hear from you.