At arenaflex, we're dedicated to providing hope and support to individuals and communities in need. As a leading regional non-profit, we're committed to preventing substance abuse and suicide, promoting mental health, and addressing a spectrum of needs through intervention, prevention, and advocacy. Our work is guided by a culture of care, compassion, and inclusivity, and we're seeking an experienced and empathetic Crisis Chat & Text Specialist to join our team.
**About arenaflex**
arenaflex is a regional non-profit organization that's passionate about making a difference in the lives of individuals and communities. Our mission is to provide help and hope to those in need, while promoting mental health and well-being. With a focus on prevention, intervention, and advocacy, we're committed to creating a safer, more supportive environment for everyone.
**Remote Crisis Chat & Text Specialist Position Summary**
As a Crisis Chat & Text Specialist at arenaflex, you'll play a critical role in providing emotional support, assessment, crisis intervention, and treatment/support referrals to individuals in need. You'll be part of a dedicated team that's committed to making a difference in the lives of others. This is a full-time, non-exempt position that requires a high level of empathy, communication, and interpersonal skills.
**Key Responsibilities**
* Demonstrate the culture of arenaflex by modeling behavior that supports our goals and philosophies
* Respond to crisis chats and texts with care and compassion, providing emotional support, assessment, crisis intervention, and treatment/support referrals to individuals in a consistent and non-judgmental manner
* Assess each texter for suicide risk following assessment protocols and practices, providing adequate and relevant safety/action planning for each texter
* Follow through on imminent risk chats to ensure emergency contact is made with texters and confirm outcomes or re-engage texters as indicated
* Document chats in an accurate and timely manner with relevant clinical information in an electronic health record system
* Conduct research on community resources in accordance with KPIs
* Place follow-up chats/texts to clients as scheduled by the shift supervisor
* Complete mandatory trainings and workshops to continue learning the latest policies and protocols and stay up-to-date on crisis intervention tools and techniques
* Answer crisis calls as part of the training process
* Perform other duties, such as administrative and organizational tasks, as needed
**Essential Qualifications**
* Meet Qualified Mental Health Associate requirements (https://mhacbo.org/media/QMHA.Worksheet_PDF.pdf)
* Crisis intervention knowledge
* Mature, sensitive, emotionally stable, flexible, and adaptable to varying situations and coverage needs
* Strong empathy, communication, teamwork, and interpersonal skills
* Able to handle high levels of stress
* Proficient in the use of technology, including telephones, computers, software, and email
* Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot common technology issues
* Understanding of and ability to apply mental health assessment, treatment, and service terminology
* Able to implement skill development strategies and identify, implement, and coordinate the services and supports identified in Individual Service and Support Plan (ISSP)
* Strong attendance and punctuality, with the ability to consistently show up on time, work the full scheduled shifts, and provide at least 2 weeks' notice for time off requests or as soon as possible in the event of an emergency
**Preferred Qualifications**
* Graduate degree in psychology, social work, or a behavioral science field, or CADC/Bachelor's degree in psychology, social work, or a behavioral science field, and relevant crisis intervention experience
* Veterans preferred
* ASIST certification
* CADC certification strongly preferred
* Experience in a call center environment
**Training and Development**
* arenaflex requires extensive Crisis Lines Onboarding training, which can be completed remotely. New hires must attend 5 weeks of paid crisis lines onboarding training, which includes 3 weeks of training between 8:30am-5:00pm Pacific Time, Monday through Friday, plus 2 weeks of additional precepting training. The schedule for precepting can vary.
* Training requires participation, full engagement without distractions, and being on camera over Zoom. Equipment is provided. You must have private high-speed internet and a confidential place to take crisis contacts to meet security and technical requirements.
* You'll also receive training on utilizing phone platforms in addition to text and chat, and may be required to answer crisis calls during your shifts.
**Interview Process**
* Interviews are conducted via Zoom with a arenaflex supervisor and HR team members and are recorded so that members of the Hiring Committee who are unable to attend the live interview can watch the recording and give feedback afterwards.
**Work Schedule**
* Our crisis lines are operated 24/7. This position requires working some holidays and working weekends.
* The work schedule will be determined at the time of offer and is based upon arenaflex's crisis contact volume trends. All full-time employees are required to work at least 1 weekend shift per week.
* We're currently hiring for shifts that are all in Pacific Time, including:
+ 9 pm-8 am Sat-Mon (10.5 hr shifts, 31.5 hrs)
+ 9 pm-8 am Wed-Fri (10.5 hr shifts, 31.5 hrs)
+ 6 pm-4 am Wed-Sat (9.5 hr shifts, 38 hrs)
+ 5 pm-4 am Thur-Sat (10.5 hr shifts, 31.5 hrs)
+ 10 pm-8 am Tue-Fri (9.5 hr shifts, 38 hrs)
+ 3 pm-2 am Sat-Mon (10.5 hr shifts, 31.5 hrs)
+ 3 pm-2 am Sun-Tue (10.5 hr shifts, 31.5 hrs)
+ 3 pm-2 am Thur-Sat (10.5 hr shifts, 31.5 hrs)
+ 1 pm-9:30 am Tue-Sat (8 hr shifts, 40 hrs)
**Physical Requirements**
* Work is primarily conducted in an office environment and requires the ability to sit or stand and work on a computer for long periods of time.
* This position requires high energy, patience, and controlling one's emotions, as well as the ability to think analytically.
**Remote Work**
* Telecommuting requires passing a clinical evaluation, having a HIPAA-compliant workspace at home, and meeting technology requirements.
* Supervisors provide support to telecommuters by listening in on acute crisis contacts and using an internal messaging system (Microsoft Teams) to communicate.
**Quality Assurance**
* All crisis contacts are recorded - inbound and outbound. We review them regularly to ensure safety and quality assurance and for training and supervisory purposes.
* You'll have crisis contacts randomly picked for review and receive clinical feedback on how you're doing. This happens every few weeks and is one way that we ensure professional growth of our team.
* Supervisors can listen in to provide support if a crisis contact is particularly challenging or high-risk, which supports our Crisis Intervention Specialists and ensures safety for our crisis contacts.
**Compensation Package**
* The starting wage for the Remote Crisis Chat and Text Specialist position is $24.04/hr. for individuals with graduate degrees in a related field and $21.99/hr. for individuals with bachelor's degrees.
* There is a $1.75/hr. overnight shift differential when working between the hours of 10 pm-5 am Pacific Time and time-and-a-half holiday pay when required to work holidays.
* arenaflex offers a great benefits package valued at over $9,500 per year, including coverage for employee health, dental, vision, short and long-term disability, and life insurance premiums; a matching 401K plan; a flexible spending plan; an employee assistance program; and a free Fitbit.
**EEO Statement**
arenaflex strives to create a diverse, inclusive environment to better represent the communities that we serve. We are an equal opportunity employer.
**Background Check**
All arenaflex employees must be approved to work by the Oregon Department of Human Services' Background Check Unit. Background checks are completed after a conditional offer of employment has been extended.
If you're passionate about making a difference in the lives of others and have the skills and qualifications to excel in this role, we encourage you to apply.
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