Clinical Administrative Assistant, Student Health - 142056

UC San Diego/UC San Diego Health; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 43,000 - 61,000; Full time

Job summary

UC San Diego’s Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) at the Campus is seeking a Clinical Administrative Assistant to join a high-volume university clinic. The role provides front office, scheduling, crisis support, and administrative assistance to 70+ clinicians and 12 satellite locations, serving UCSD students with empathy and professionalism.

You will handle patient check-in, insurance eligibility, and coordination of care across CAPS services, ensuring accurate documentation and

Qualifications

• Three years of experience in a front office role within a mental health outpatient facility.
• Experience using electronic medical records systems for patient administrative services, registration, and scheduling.
• Ability to support patients in emotional distress and crisis with empathy and professionalism.
• Experience with EPIC or similar scheduling systems.

Responsibilities

• Greet and assist patients in a warm and empathic manner, guiding them to the appropriate resources.
• Provide front office, scheduling, crisis support and administrative assistance to CAPS clinicians and managers.
• Coordinate with CAPS services across campus and support the clinic workflow to ensure smooth operations.

Job description

Payroll Title: BLANK AST 3

Department: COUNSELING & PSYCH SERV

Hiring Pay Scale: $30.89 - $44.27 / Hour

Worksite: Campus

Appointment Type: Career

Appointment Percent: 100%

Union: CX Contract

Total Openings: 3

Work Schedule: Days, 8-Hour Shifts, Monday-Friday

#142056 Clinical Administrative Assistant

Filing Deadline: Tue 11/17/2026

UC San Diego values and welcomes people from all backgrounds. If you are interested in being part of our team, possess the needed licensure and certifications, and feel that you have most of the qualifications and/or transferable skills for a job opening, we strongly encourage you to apply.

UCSD Layoff from Career Appointment: Apply by 11/6/2026 for consideration with preference for rehire. All layoff applicants should contact their Employment Advisor.

Reassignment Applicants: Eligible Reassignment clients should contact their Disability Counselor for assistance.

DESCRIPTION

The mission of the Student Health & Well-Being (SHW) cluster is to promote a culture of health and well-being for the student community, deliver equitable high quality innovative services, incorporate inclusive approaches, and celebrate diversity, with the goal of adoption and maintenance of healthy behaviors contributing to the academic success and personal development of all students.

The UC San Diego SHW cluster, which reports through UC San Diego Health System, plays a leadership role in creating a strong and active wellness culture that enables all students to flourish in body, mind and spirit. This includes promotion and the transformation of existing departments, under the oversight of the Executive Director, into a cohesive, trans-disciplinary source of integrated wellness services. The SHW cluster includes the departments of Student Health Services (SHS); Health Promotion Services (HPS); Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS); Assessment and Analytics (SHAA), Strategic Planning, Innovation and Research (SPIR); and SHW Administration (ADM).

CAPS delivers campus-based mental health services to registered UC San Diego undergraduate, graduate, and professional school students. CAPS' multicultural, multidisciplinary, and student-centered staff strives to deliver trauma informed, culturally proficient counseling and psychiatric services, psycho-educational preventive outreach and early intervention programming, consultation, research, and training opportunities. CAPS is accredited by the International Accreditation of Counseling Services (IACS) and the Post-doctoral Resident Training Program is affiliated with the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Center (APPIC). CAPS is fully committed to self-examination, peer review, and quality improvement through the utilization of metrics, data, clinical outcomes, client experience measurements and feedback.

Under the general supervision of the Clinical Operations Supervisor, the Clinical Administrative Assistant plays a vital role in the delivery of mental health services to UCSD students. As part of a team, the incumbent is based at CAPS Central Office and will provide front office, scheduling, crisis support and administrative assistance to a team of 70+ clinicians and managers, in a high-volume University Counseling Center, supporting 12 satellite locations across campus. As the first point of contact to the campus community, the incumbent is a liaison to CAPS range of services, with key responsibilities of administrative and clinical support and customer service.

The Clinical Administrative Assistant greets and assists patients in a warm and empathic manner and maintains knowledge of complex clinic operations to best assist students navigating mental health resources available to UC San Diego students. The incumbent must be compassionate, highly motivated, possess critical thinking skills, and technologically advanced to assist with troubleshooting any barriers to care including e-checkin, pre-visit questionnaires, patient education, mental health crisis screening and support, service eligibility restrictions, mediating patient complaints, and the use of de-escalation tools to efficiently and empathetically reach conflict resolution and connect patients to the appropriate resource while optimizing clinic workflows.

The Clinical Administrative Assistant assists students in need of support from CAPS services and programs, as well as a wide network of campus resources such as UCSD Study Abroad, Office for Students with Disabilities, Student Affairs Case Management, Financial Aid, Reduced Course Load Letters for International Students (ISEO), etc. The incumbent will educate and provide instructions to connect patients to other ancillary and wraparound services as needed. It is the responsibility of the Clinical Administrative Assistant to understand how these UCSD programs, CAPS eligibility, and UC SHIP insurance operate, and use independent judgment to effectively and compassionately communicate this information over the phone, in person or through written correspondence. Routinely directs students to CAPS website resources and forms, provides customer service by assisting with directions to CAPS services across campus including appointments, group therapy meetings, workshops and forums. Internally, provides a range of administrative assistance to CAPS clinical staff, program managers and business operations, including Triton CORE, Triton Lighthouse, Urgent Care, Outreach, Training & Education, Neuropsychological Testing, Telehealth visits, and UC SHIP Insurance.

Clinic support includes phone and in person verification of visit history, patient enrollment, service eligibility, registration and insurance eligibility; processes and troubleshoots external referral renewals and authorization letters, fulfills medical records requests, schedules appointments for CAPS on the basis of need, urgency, and presenting concerns, and Intakes for students referred to College Mental Health (Dept of Psychiatry), and manages CAPS cancellations following protocols. Follows screening protocol and monitors emotional state of patients, uses judgment through a risk management lens to determine when to escalation; utilizes a multi-line telephone system; handles all internal messages promptly, while maintaining utmost patient confidentiality. Monitors InBasket Pools and replies, redirects and creates entries in Epic Electronic Medical System as appropriate.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum 3 years related experience working in a front office mental health outpatient facility and knowledge of medical, mental health, and insuranceterminology.

• Demonstrated skills and experience using electronic medical records systems to provide patient administrative services, registration, and scheduling in a complex and fast-paced clinic environment.

• Must be able to empathically assist patients with psychological and psychiatric conditions, in emotional distress and crisis, as well as concerned family members and thecampus community. Ability to comfortably navigate sensitive patient encounters which may involve involuntary hospital transports, and/or supporting coordination with law enforcement (UCSD Police).

• Demonstrated ability to work independently, assume responsibility for, and professionally handle evolving situations which may beof a crisis nature in a supportive manner.

• Proven excellent judgment during situations or events in the absence of higher authority, and ability to makerecommendations or decisions that affect office operations and activities.

• Experience and knowledge of EPIC or similar appointment scheduling system, work queues, provider schedule template management, InBasket management, Smartphrases and other EHR tools.

• Proven customer service professionalism delivered in a high volume, multi-phone line and front desk healthcare environment.

• Demonstrated sensitivity, interpersonal, and communication skills to support a culturally diverse population.

• Organizational ability to work under pressure calmly and efficiently, coping with variable workloads, and keep track of many diverseactivities, requests, and directions simultaneously and with an attention to detail.

• Ability to communicate clearly and accurately both verbally and in writing, including knowledge of proper businessformats, grammar, spelling and punctuation. Excellent interpersonal skills, using tact and diplomacy in order to interacteffectively in person or by telephone, with all levels of professional staff and a diversity of patients.

• Demonstrated ability to interpret and adhere to complex departmental policies and procedures, professionalstandards, and use sound judgment. Skill in analyzing information, situations, practices, or procedures to define the problem or objective, identify relevantfactors, formulate logical and objective conclusions, and recognize alternatives and their implications.

• Demonstrated experience handling and processing medical records and understanding of medical record management according to privacy laws and standards.

• Ability to maintain strict confidentiality of patient information and documentation. Ability to maintain confidentiality of administrative and personnel matters. Knowledge and skill in working with HIPAA requirements.

• Ability to use discretion, maintain utmost confidentiality and comply with all requirements in use of computer systems and access to any and all patient, student, employee and University data, in electronic and hard copy formats, in compliance with University, state and federal guidelines, including, but not limited to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act(HIPAA) and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

• Excellent attendance and punctuality.

• Demonstrated experience and competency with standard business equipment, multi-line telephone system, computer technologies and a variety of software including system and networking software, Microsoft Office suite, email and a variety of web-based programs and browsers, with the willingness and ability to update and increase skills as needed to meet the goals of the unit and the division. Proven ability to develop, implement, and maintain computerized andpaper record keeping and filing systems.

• Ability to work collaboratively to promote positive outcomes in a team environment. Ability to uphold and maintain UC Principles of Community.

• Ability to complete Mental Heath First Aid training.

• At all times adhere to UCSD Health Medical Center (C.A.R.I.N.G.) Standards of Performance, and demonstrate the characteristics of professionalism in attire, attitude, conversation, behavior and attentiveness to others. Uphold the UCSD Principles of Community and promote a positive and collaborative team environment. Ability to adhere to and practice the mandatory University Core Values & Safety Standards of performance.

• As appropriate, submit incident reports into the UCSD SHW Incident Report System, RL Datix or current system in use, to report near-misses, process problems or patient or employee injury events. Attend required training and refreshers for use and proper steps to follow.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience in University Counseling Center.

SPECIAL CONDITIONS

• Job offer is contingent upon satisfactory clearance based on background check results.

• Pre-employment physical, TB, and health clearance is required, plus annual vaccinations per COEM requirements.

Pay Transparency Act

Annual Full Pay Range: $64,498 - $92,436 (will be prorated if the appointment percentage is less than 100%)

Hourly Equivalent: $30.89 - $44.27

Factors in determining the appropriate compensation for a role include experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs. The Hiring Pay Scale referenced in the job posting is the budgeted salary or hourly range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position. The Annual Full Pay Range may be broader than what the University anticipates to pay for this position, based on internal equity, budget, and collective bargaining agreements (when applicable).

If employed by the University of California, you will be required to comply with our Policy on Vaccination Programs, which may be amended or revised from time to time. Federal, state, or local public health directives may impose additional requirements.

If applicable, life-support certifications (BLS, NRP, ACLS, etc.) must include hands-on practice and in-person skills assessment; online-only certification is not acceptable.

UC San Diego Health is the only academic health system in the San Diego region, providing leading-edge care in patient care, biomedical research, education, and community service. Our facilities include two university hospitals, a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, Shiley Eye Institute, Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center, the only Burn Center in the county, and dozens of outpatient clinics. We invite you to join our team!

Applications/Resumes are accepted for current job openings only. For full consideration on any job, applications must be received prior to the initial closing date. If a job has an extended deadline, applications/resumes will be considered during the extension period; however, a job may be filled before the extended date is reached.

To foster the best possible working and learning environment, UC San Diego strives to cultivate a rich and diverse environment, inclusive and supportive of all students, faculty, staff and visitors. For more information, please visit UC San Diego Principles of Community.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.

For the University of California’s Anti-Discrimination Policy, please visit: https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/1001004/Anti-Discrimination

UC San Diego is a smoke and tobacco free environment. Please visit smokefree.ucsd.edu for more information.

UC San Diego Health maintains a marijuana and drug free environment. Employees may be subject to drug screening.

Misconduct Disclosure Requirement: As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts an offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of substantiated misconduct with a previous employer.

a. \"Misconduct\" means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicant’s previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, or discrimination, as defined by the employer. For reference, below are UC’s policies addressing some forms of misconduct:

• UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
• UC Anti-Discrimination Policy
• Abusive Conduct in the Workplace