Guide Team Lead
Cleveland, OH
Community – Leadership /
Full Time /
On-site
The Guide Team Lead is responsible for providing support to firsthand Guides (peers), Community Resources Guides (social services personnel), and Health Guides (nurse practitioners or physician assistants) in their quest to connect individuals living with serious mental illness to community-based supportive services. This role will serve as a mentor and leader by providing clinical guidance, reflective trauma-informed supervision, and promoting professional growth.
The Guide Team Lead must be able to work in the community, meeting individuals where they are, and be comfortable working in non-traditional settings and unstructured environments. Experience supervising peer recovery specialists and/or community behavioral health staff is required.
As Guide Team Lead, you will:
- Coordinate activities of Care Team consisting of firsthand Guides (peers), Community Resources Guides (social services personnel), and Health Guides (nurse practitioners or physician assistants). Includes direct supervision of firsthand Guides and Community Resources Guides.
- Coordinate the implementation of services and practices in accordance with firsthand’s mission.
- Provide clinical guidance and recommendations for social and behavioral health assessments and care plans.
- Serve as a player-coach by actively participating in outreach and engagement activities with the other members of the Guides team including supporting access to community-based resources and supportive services including SSA benefits, community programs, housing, food, etc.
- Facilitate completion of all training needed by Team members and provide on-boarding support to new team members
- Maintain a robust directory and relationships with community stakeholders/resources.
- Support Guides in completing interviews and obtaining needed documentation for benefits applications.
- Engage in care coordination as part of a multidisciplinary team of peers, social workers, and clinicians to assist individuals in accessing appropriate services and support.
- Assist in outreach and engagement efforts led by firsthand Guides, which may include visiting homes and communities, local homeless shelters and drop-in centers, hospitals, and emergency departments.
- Coordinate access to tools and resources that can be used to reduce barriers for individuals receiving services from the firsthand team, including phone cards, bus passes, gift cards, etc.
- Provide direct assistance, when appropriate, when individuals are facing challenging situations, and triage to appropriate additional interventions.
- Utilize clinical documentation and records to measure progress of an individual’s care plan, improvement in outcomes, and equitable service delivery.
- Advocate for Certified Peer Recovery Support services within the community.
- Provide clinical supervision to staff seeking clinical licensure, as applicable.
- Create an inclusive and equitable work environment for diverse staff
- Manages team after-hours warmline responsibilities on a rotational basis
You will be a good fit if you have:
- Empathy, compassion, and approachability
- Excellent listening, communication, and interpersonal skills
- Desire to help people in need and support their path to wellness
- Clinical knowledge, inclusive of SMI, substance use, and physical health conditions
- Tolerance for ambiguity
- Experience or interest in providing reflective supervision
- Willingness to spend time on staff development
- Comfort working as part of a multidisciplinary team, and enjoy mixed roles and duties - this is a mix of direct service, teaching, and care management
- Cultural humility, knowledge of trauma informed care, and social determinants of health
- Familiarity with local resources and community programs
- Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and writing skills
- Ability to prioritize multiple tasks and meet deadlines
- Ability to maintain professional boundaries and engagement skills with a population with challenges and in non-traditional work conditions
The required experience you bring to this role includes:
- Minimum of two years supervisory experience, idealling in a community setting and preferably with peer specialists
- Meet any state requirements to supervise Certified Peer Recovery Specialists
- SSI/SSDI Outreach Access Recovery (SOAR) certification or willingness to get certified within 6 months of employment (firsthand will support certification process if needed)
- Ability to operate a vehicle, including a driver’s license that is active and in good standing; must be eligible to drive under Company insurance policy
The preferred experience you bring to this role includes:
- Bachelors or Masters Degree in social work, psychology, or related human services field
- Prior experience performing direct in-person outreach and engaging individuals with SMI
- Prior experience in Care Coordination and/or disease management
- Prior experience of managing a program budget
- Trained in motivational interviewing, recovery-oriented services, and/or trauma-informed care
- Trained in Certified Peer Recovery Specialist supervision
- Lived experience with SMI and/or SUD
$70,000 - $70,000 a year
This is a full-time, exempt, salaried position reporting to firsthand's Director, Community Operations. firsthand cares deeply about ensuring pay equity with every team member who joins. Commensurate on candidate experience, the expected compensation for this role’s base salary is $70,000.
