Helpline Associate, Bilingual (Spanish)

Reports to: Helpline Manager

FLSA Status: Full-Time, Non-Exempt

Salary: $50,000 - $60,000

Hours:

32 hours per week, Monday through Thursday 10 AM – 6 PM, Friday 10 AM – 2 PM (the organization closes every Friday at 2 pm), with evening and weekend hours as needed. Approximately once a month, the Associate will work on Fridays from 2-6.

Hybrid work schedule with 2-3 days in the office.

About NAMI-NYC

Guided by lived experience and evidence-based practice, the National Alliance on Mental Illness of New York City (NAMI-NYC) helps families and individuals affected by mental illness build better lives through education, support, and advocacy. We offer evidence-based education classes, 30+ support groups, family mentoring, a multilingual Helpline, and more to family members and individuals free of charge, regardless of income, insurance, or immigration status. We’re also the only non-profit directly supporting family members caring for those with mental illness.

NAMI-NYC also advocates for affordable, culturally responsive mental healthcare, mental health education in schools, and decriminalizing mental illness to break the endless cycle of psychiatric hospitalizations, homelessness, and incarceration.

Check out our website at www.naminyc.org and follow us on social media. 

Position Description:

Reporting to the Helpline Manager, the Helpline Associate will primarily serve on the Helpline, responding directly to incoming calls, texts, chats, and emails from the public. The Helpline Associate must speak and write Spanish fluently.

The Helpline Associate will work approximately 28 hours per week on the Helpline, providing emotional support, psychoeducation, and resources to help seekers.

You are a strong and empathic communicator who is proactive, can solve problems as they arise, and tackle responsibilities with a positive, can-do attitude. You work intentionally and collaboratively with the Helpline team for our ultimate shared goal: helping families and people with mental health challenges

Your Responsibilities

To perform this job successfully, you must speak and write Spanish fluently and be able to perform the following duties satisfactorily; other tasks may be assigned as the Helpline continues to evolve and grow. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this job. 

• Provide emotional support, psychoeducation, and referrals/resources to help-seekers on NAMI-NYC’s Helpline. This includes responding to calls, emails, texts, and chats.
• Provide written information to help-seekers, ensuring that they receive information and resources as requested.
• Accurately and efficiently document help-seeker interactions in our database.
• Collaborate with Helpline staff/team to identify gaps and support the growth of our resource database.
• Communicate with Spanish-language help-seekers on calls, chats, texts and emails.
• Attend and actively participate in weekly staff and team meetings
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Spanish language fluency required.
• Knowledge of and experience with mental illness, recovery, crisis intervention, and the mental health system.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience working in a mental health setting.
• Experience with a hotline, helpline, or crisis text line is a plus.
• Superior listening, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Ability to maintain professional demeanor when handling crisis and other difficult interactions.
• Understanding of trauma-informed care and Motivational Interviewing a plus
• Excellent writing skills.
• Empathy, patience, healthy boundaries, and a recovery-oriented mindset.
• Ability to work effectively with diverse populations with a high level of integrity, diplomacy, and initiative.
• Experience with the Microsoft 365 Platform
• Experience with electronic recordkeeping and call center systems a plus
• You have lived experience. You understand what it’s personally like to have mental health challenges, or you are a family member or close friend to someone who does.

What Makes you Successful:

• Strong work ethic, including reliability, flexibility, humility, initiative, ownership, and perseverance.
• You are detail-oriented and have excellent time-management skills.
• Respect and compassion for individuals and families affected by mental illness.
• Ability to work effectively with diverse populations with a high level of integrity, diplomacy, and initiative.
• Commitment to NAMI-NYC’s mission.
• Capacity to adapt to different situations with a positive attitude and a sense of humor.
• Work intentionally and collaboratively with other departments across NAMI-NYC to achieve our shared goal of helping families and people with mental health challenges.

Benefits: We believe in taking care of our team. Our benefits reflect our commitment to a healthy, balanced workplace.

• Work Environment: Fully hybrid model with 2-3 days in the office – coffee and snacks provided in-office
• Schedule: 5 day
• work week
• Paid Time Off: 20 days annually, with an increase at the third year of employment
• Sick Time: 6 days annually
• Holidays: We observe 9 federal holidays plus 2 week-long “rest up” weeks (one between Christmas Day & New Years Day and another around the 4th of July)
• Health Coverage: Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Retirement: 401(k) with employer matching
• Additional Coverage: Employer-paid life insurance, pre-tax commuter benefits, access to professional development and training opportunities

Physical Demands:

You must occasionally lift and/or move equipment. Evening and weekend work is occasionally required.

The above job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. Incumbents will follow any other instructions, and perform any other related duties, as assigned by their supervisor.

To Apply:

We can’t wait to hear from you. Send your cover letter and resume to jobs@naminyc.org with Helpline Associate in the subject line. Thank you for your time!

We believe in taking care of our team. Our benefits reflect our commitment to a healthy, balanced workplace.

• Work Environment: Fully hybrid model with 2-3 days in the office – coffee and snacks provided in-office
• Schedule: 5 day
• work week
• Paid Time Off: 20 days annually, with an increase at the third year of employment
• Sick Time: 6 days annually
• Holidays: We observe 9 federal holidays plus 2 week-long “rest up” weeks (one between Christmas Day & New Years Day and another around the 4th of July)
• Health Coverage: Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Retirement: 401(k) with employer matching
• Additional Coverage: Employer-paid life insurance, pre-tax commuter benefits, access to professional development and training opportunities

Must speak Spanish fluently