Helpline Supervisor - Part Time

NAMI Chicago•Chicago, IL

10d•$28•Hybrid

About The Position

The Helpline supervisor supports NAMI Chicago’s mission by directly supervising Helpline shifts and the specialists who are supporting individuals. The NAMI Chicago Helpline provides information, resource referrals, and support to people living with mental health conditions, their family members and caregivers, mental health providers, and the public. The Helpline supervisor provides oversight and live coaching to the Helpline specialists. In addition, the Helpline supervisor provides support, assistance, and resources to individuals contacting the Helpline through phone call, text message, chat, and email. This work centers on listening, supporting everyone’s needs and advocating on their behalf as necessary. This role requires strong communication skills, emotional intelligence, and the ability to remain composed under pressure while multitasking across various platforms and tasks.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a social service field or equivalent experience of at least 3-4 years
At least 1 year of experience providing training, lead work, and/or people management.
At least 2-3 years of relevant experience providing social service support through telephonic outreach, crisis, and/or case management
At least 2 years of experience working with vulnerable populations
Computer Skills: proficiency with Microsoft Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, proficiency with Adobe Acrobat, Google Chrome, Windows operating systems, and other software routinely used by NAMI Chicago.
Experience with and able to demonstrate ability to serve anyone in the greater Cook County area who contacts the Helpline. The NAMI Chicago Helpline is a no-barriers access point to support, education and referrals for individuals and families living with mental health challenges, mental illnesses or other emotional stressors. This is especially true for our underrepresented and vulnerable populations, including social and racial/ethnic minorities, youth and young adults, and those with severe mental illness.
Ability to make real-time rapid assessments of individuals contacting the Helpline and Helpline specialist’s needs, dexterity in judgement and navigation of a situation, recognition of appropriate utilization of leadership support and self-regulation of response to situations.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to effectively communicate with team members, those in crisis, their families, caregivers, and community stakeholders.?
Exhibits sensitivity and empathy regarding human service issues and projects a non-judgmental attitude towards those requiring assistance.
Ability to maintain confidentiality of sensitive information and show professionalism, reliability, and responsibility.
Familiar with community resources and how to work with law enforcement and other community organizations (i.e., hospitals, outpatient clinics, etc.).
Utilizes a growth mindset in supervisory tasks and connections with the Helpline team.

Nice To Haves

Previous experience at a social service warmline or hotline
Master’s degree in a social service field
Qualified Mental Health Professional (QMHP), consistent with the Illinois Administrative code.
Bilingual in Spanish and English
Certification in crisis interaction or suicide prevention
Current ASIST or SafeTALK certification

Responsibilities

Helpline Shift Supervision: Supervise and support, provide oversight, guidance, and immediate direction to a team of Helpline specialists that, in-turn, provide support, information and referrals to contacts on the Helpline. Assist in live coaching in-the-moment, problem-solving and navigating issues as they arise on the Helpline including crisis contacts, in accordance with policies and procedures. Maintain consistent and effective communication throughout the shift with other supervisors, specialists and management. Respond promptly to requests for guidance and support.
Supervision & Leadership: Provide regular clinical and administrative supervision to Helpline specialists to promote the Helpline’s continual growth and improvement. Proactively identify and address program needs to ensure effective service delivery. Foster a collaborative, trauma-informed team culture aligned with NAMI Chicago’s values and the vision for the Helpline. Actively participate in meetings, trainings, and coaching sessions to support team cohesion and service excellence.
Quality Improvement: Quality assurance includes documentation review, and live and recorded conversation monitoring. Ensure the compliance to policy and workflows by Helpline specialists. Provide feedback and clinical consultation support quality improvement and compliance to enhance service delivery and team performance.
Training & Development: Participate in ongoing training and professional development to remain current with best practices. Identify team and individual specialist training needs and retraining needs; collaborate with Helpline management to implement effective learning strategies. Support onboarding and continued training for new staff and interns as directed by Helpline management.
Wellness: Actively engage in your wellness and communicate support needs as appropriate. Support specialists in understanding and accessing wellness supports. Adhere to the organization’s wellness policies.
Helpline Specialist: Serves as a back-up Helpline specialist as needed due to contact volume or staffing needs.
Other Duties: Perform other duties as assigned