Mental Health Specialist

Mental Health Specialist

Oakland and Union City, CA

Full-time, 40 hours/week non-exempt, with benefits

Position through June 30, 2026, with possibility of yearly renewal

Starting Date: August 18, 2025

Filipino Advocates for Justice (FAJ) is a non-profit based in Alameda County California. We are a nearly 50-year-old service, community organizing, and social justice organization in the San Francisco East Bay Area. FAJ’s mission is to build a strong and empowered Filipino community by organizing constituents, developing leaders, providing services, and advocating for policies that promote social and economic justice and equity. FAJ’s work is guided by its vision for an empowered Filipino community with the power to advance social and economic justice and realize democratic and human rights for everyone. FAJ’s programs are rooted in values of: Bayanihan, a Filipino demonstration of social justice principles where a community comes together to help those in need; Kapwa, the interconnected-ness experienced in community; and Makibaka, fighting for collective power. More information is available at www.filipinos4justice.org

Position Overview

FAJ's Community Health and Wellness program ensures that the Filipino community, particularly youth and young adults, caregivers, and immigrants in central and southern Alameda county have access to psycho-social and case management support to serve their needs as well as ensure additional culturally and linguistically sensitive preventative counseling and mental health referral support services. This includes offering mental health screening and then referring clients with emotional distress and trauma to the Mental Health Specialist or relevant partners. The Mental Health Specialist will implement the Prevention and Early Intervention (PEI) program funded through Alameda County Behavioral Health. The Mental Health Specialist will provide preventative counseling and supportive services to individuals who are isolated, trauma exposed and anyone at-risk of early onset of serious mental illness with a focus on serving the Filipino community. This position works in a team with the Mental Health Clinician, Youth Wellness Group Program Specialist, and a healing advisory committee to implement healing frameworks to youth and broader organizational programming. This position reports to the Mental Health Clinician and the Prevention Services Director and would support FAJ's work in-person as needed and remotely through its Oakland and Union City offices.

Essential Responsibilities

Mental Health (70%)

• Provide culturally sensitive preventative counseling for individuals who are socially isolated, have previous exposure to trauma and are at risk of mental illness.
• Perform intakes, screenings, and service planning to ensure clients mental health needs are met.
• Provide in-field and office based preventative counseling sessions including problem solving, empathetic listening, crisis intervention and stabilization.
• Oversee development of psychoeducation sessions to target populations in group settings.
• Provide risk management for clients, and triage with referrals (i.e., with special attention to culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health partners) and provide technical assistance for staff with case management clients.
• Maintain strong collaboration with the Youth Services Director to seek out community partners for the development of psychoeducation curriculum and workshop schedule/calendar.
• In collaboration with the Prevention Services Director to seek out community partners and collaborations to increase clients’ access to mainstream mental health services.
• Attend meetings requested by ACBH and/or other state and local partners.
• Adhere to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations with client records, notes, and all documentation (i.e., Ensure completion of documentation in a timely manner, maintain security of confidentiality, and ethical usage of Efforts to Outcomes system).
• Provide data required for contract reports and assist with reporting.
• Become familiar with and abide by the standards of service delivery outlined by the FAJ, State of California, and Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services.
• Ensure that program services are provided in accordance with quality assurance standards of FAJ, State and accrediting organizations.
• Other responsibilities as assigned.

Leadership (15%)

• Work with Youth Wellness Program Specialist to implement healing justice framework in program curriculum and delivery for Youth Wellness Program, an afterschool leadership group for high school youth.
• Work with FAJ Prevention team and the Mental Health Clinician and Youth Wellness Program Specialist to develop outward-facing narrative and messaging about mental health, stigma and normalizing help-seeking and collective healing to support base-building and issue education.

Organization-wide responsibilities (15%)

• Participate in FAJ grassroots fundraising campaigns and events. Participate in occasional organization-wide campaign events. Participate in cross-department committees and teams.
• Support some finance processes and projects as needed, such as the annual budgeting process or providing information to finance staff for payroll reconciliation.
• Other duties as needed.

Required Experience and Skills

• Licensed Practitioner of Healing Arts. LCSW, LMFT Licensing in California or Graduates pre-licensure requires clinical supervision.
• 2 years of relevant work experience in the mental health field servicing isolated and/or under resourced communities (i.e., including, but not limited to newly arrived immigrants, low-wage workers, youth-at-risk, LGBTQ or displaced populations).
• Driver's license, car insurance and access to a car; willing and able to travel to and reach out Alameda County-wide.
• Capacity to work remotely / provide telehealth.
• Strong understanding of impacts of migration on mental health, cross-cultural awareness.
• Familiarity with and empathy for challenges faced by immigrant/migrant communities.
• Strong abilities and experience with crisis management.
• Superior time management skills.
• Well versed in mandated reporting and client safety policies and procedures.
• Proven ability to work as a team member in a cross-cultural environment and provide strong interpersonal cultural competency to develop a therapeutic relationship with clients.

Preferred Qualifications

• Ability to speak and write Tagalog fluently.
• Intergenerational experience/skills
• Energetic and inspired by individual and community empowerment
• Comfortable in a fast paced (sometimes intense) work environment; self-starter, detail-oriented and organized; able to ask for help
• Appreciation for and experience working in collaboration with diverse community stakeholders
• Openness towards traditional healing frameworks and a mind/body/spirit orientation
• Social justice orientation that recognizes the oppression of marginalized groups and the importance of movement-building aimed at promoting systemic change.

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to: Mental Health Clinician and Prevention Services Director

Position directly supervises: No current supervision

Other Internal and/or external contacts:

Internal: Wellness Coordinator, Office Manager, Leadership Committee, Coordinators Committee, Prevention staff, and Organizing team, program participants and youth interns

External: Vendors, school staff (various schools in Alameda County), partners such as Alameda County Behavioral Health, Asian Health Services, Union City Youth & Family Services, etc.

Location: Primarily our Union City office and Union City school sites but also our Oakland office and virtually.

Compensation: The salary is $70,000 annually. FAJ provides a generous benefits package, including fully paid health insurance (medical, dental, and vision) for full-time employees as well as partial coverage for their dependents, FSA program, yearly $1,200 personal development stipend and a 401K Savings Plan with 4% match. We also offer substantial vacation days and time off.

How to Apply: Send your resume and a cover letter demonstrating your interest and qualifications to jolais@filipinos4justice.org with the subject line “Mental Health Specialist – Your Name.”

Filipino Advocates for Justice is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. People of color, women, lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/gender non-conforming, and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.