Mental Health Resource Navigator — Hybrid

Istss; Waltham (MA); Hybrid; USD 55,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

The Mental Health Resource Specialist at Jewish Family & Children’s Service (JF&CS) serves as a key contact for callers seeking mental health support, guidance, and referrals. The role emphasizes short-term telephonic intervention, needs assessments, and facilitating connections to internal and external resources to support stability and access to services.

Based in a hybrid, full-time capacity, this position requires collaboration with teams, detailed documentation, and ongoing outreach to

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required. Master’s degree in related field preferred (social work, psychology, counseling, public health, education).
• Minimum of three years of professional experience providing client support, customer service, resource navigation, case management, intake, and/or related human services work.
• Experience conducting needs assessments and assisting individuals in accessing community resources and services.
• Experience working within mental health, social services, family support, and/or community resource programs.
• Knowledge and understanding of public benefits, housing resources, disability services, older adult services, legal resources, and mental health services, and familiarity with the Greater Boston and Massachusetts social service landscape.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, customer service, and relationship-building skills.
• Strong assessment, engagement, and intervention skills with a clinical and client-centered lens.
• Ability to effectively manage multiple priorities and work with individuals experiencing complex and challenging life circumstances.
• Resilience, self-awareness, and a growth mindset when managing role-related challenges and stressors.
• Strong computer proficiency, including Microsoft Office applications and the ability to quickly learn new technologies and databases.

Responsibilities

• Working with and addressing the needs of populations including individuals with mental illness and/or disabling conditions, children and adolescents, parents and other family members, those experiencing housing and economic insecurity, older adults and their caregivers, and other service providers.
• Providing telephonic support, needs assessment, guidance, and supportive counseling to callers around complex clinical situations, personal and family dynamics, and identified problems and unmet needs using a client-centered and strengths-based approach.
• Providing information and education regarding public benefits, housing resources, disability services, legal services, older adult programs, mental health services, and other community-based supports.
• Helping callers understand available systems of care and navigate social service, mental health, housing, and benefits systems throughout Massachusetts.
• Connecting callers to internal JF&CS programs and external community resources based on assessed needs and eligibility, and communicating effectively with internal colleagues regarding referrals, client needs, and service coordination.
• Researching and maintaining current information on community resources, programs, services, and benefits relevant to client needs and contributing to the development and maintenance of the team’s electronic resource database.
• Maintaining accurate and timely clinical and service documentation, and participating actively in team meetings, case consultations, trainings, and program improvement initiatives.

Skills

Client support

Resource navigation

Case management

Needs assessments

Interpersonal skills

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

The Mental Health Resource Specialist at Jewish Family & Children’s Service (JF&CS) serves as a key contact for callers seeking mental health support, guidance, and referrals. The role emphasizes short-term telephonic intervention, needs assessments, and facilitating connections to internal and external resources to support stability and access to services.

Based in a hybrid, full-time capacity, this position requires collaboration with teams, detailed documentation, and ongoing outreach to