Intake Specialist and Program Assistant in Watertown, Massachusetts at Institute for Health

** Note: The Salary range varies and will be determined during the offer process based on education, licensure, and skills (e.g., bachelor’s, master’s, unlicensed, independent license, bilingual language capacity.

Program/Department: Operations

Position Type: Non-Exempt, Full-Time 40 hours/ week – Hybrid Position (remote and on-site)

Location: Watertown

Reports to: Director of Operations

About IHR: The Institute for Health and Recovery (IHR) is a statewide service, research, policy, program development and capacity building agency. IHR designs its services based on an understanding of the impact of trauma. IHR’s CARF accredited treatment programs provide holistic interventions for hard-to-reach and high-risk individuals and families. IHR’s mission, since our founding in 1990, has been to develop and support a comprehensive continuum of care for families, individuals, youth, and pregnant and parenting people affected by alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use, violence/trauma, mental health challenges and other health issues, while advancing principles of health equity and social justice. Our work is focused on addressing and eradicating inequities in our health care, economic, and justice systems, especially as they disproportionately affect women and people of color. We are committed to providing services and creating communities that mitigate the effects of substance use, mental illness, and trauma.

Summary Statement: The Intake Specialist and Program Assistant will provide essential support to IHR’s clinical programs by fielding referrals and managing the point of entry in the Electronic Health Records. Responsibilities will also include administrative support to programs, departments and the Executive and Assistant Directors.

Intake Specialist

• Work closely with the Director of Clinical Services, program directors and supervisors to manage intake support for outpatient, in-home therapy, and programs that offer behavioral health services to individuals, adolescents, and families across the state.
• Manage initial intake process for clinical programs across IHR:

• Receive phone, fax, and email referrals from clients and other agency sources.
• Confirm client’s insurance coverage, if applicable.
• Manage waitlist using IHR’s electronic health records system.
• Provide client and provider follow as needed.
• Support the intake process for Family Engagement Project referrals through use of Virtual Gateway when the Family Engagement Program Coordinator is out of office, as needed.

• Work closely with clinicians, program directors, individuals and referring agencies through the intake and referral process to ensure timely access to services:
  • Act as the resource contact person for state agency representatives, local evaluators, and program staff regarding referral process and other program information.
  • Communicate with stakeholders, staff, and clients before, during, and after a referral has been placed.
  • Update/maintain and communicate waitlist times for outpatient programs to clinical supervisors and to clients and providers, as needed.
  • Consult with billing specialist to ensure that all new clients’ insurance information is accurately entered into the EHR.
• Provide excellent customer service and service knowledge.

Administrative Support to Executives

• Provide administrative support to Executive/Assistant Directors:

• Calendar management and schedule internal and external meetings.
• Conduct electronic filing, general typing, proofread, format, and edit documents, research and information-gathering.
• Logistics coordination for travel; conferences and/or trainings and other events.

• Other support as assigned by Executive and Assistant Directors, and Director of Operations.

Program Support

• Assist with planning, compiling, and submitting new and continuing grant applications; assist with maintenance of grant tracking system and password log.

• Provide cross-agency operational support:
• Assist with special projects related to funding/licensing/accreditation compliance.
• Assist process for Qualified Service Organization Agreement (QSOAs), Memorandum of Agreements/Understanding (MOAs/MOUs) between IHR and partner agencies; track existing QSOAs/MOAs/MOUs for expiration and facilitate renewal of agreements.
• Administer the registration process in Virtual Gateway for clinicians working in programs that require CBHI or ESM/EIM access.
• Submit User Request Forms (URFs) for new staff
• Submit URFs to renew expired credentials for existing staff; add or remove permissions for existing staff when needed.
• Track submitted URFs to ensure staff can register & maintain access to Virtual Gateway.
• Logistics coordination for out-of-state staff travel and/or for conferences and other events, as needed.
• Assist process for offsite storage for record management, maintain inventory of agency’s offsite files, coordinate shredding of files according to funder/license requirements.
• Provide phone/front desk coverage for the agency’s incoming calls, receiving and directing in-person clients and visitors.
• Provide phone/front desk coverage for incoming calls, receive and direct in-person clients and visitors.
• Take minutes for assigned monthly meeting.
• Conduct data entry and quality control for programs as needed.
• Compile, edit, and/or submit reports for programs as needed.

• Work closely with the Director of Clinical Services to support ongoing program-related activities, including administrative support for:

• QA Committee, including scheduling, meeting notes, and record-keeping.;
• Case conference, including presentation assignments and scheduling, meeting notes, and record-keeping.
• Client record review process, including assignments, record-keeping, and follow-up.
• Coordination of clinical on-call system, including maintaining ongoing schedule of on-call clinicians and submission of monthly billing report
• Preparation and distribution of regular reports, including biweekly waitlist summary;
• Ensuring timely administration of client surveys;

• Use cloud-based systems for communication with IHR’s site offices, including shared calendars, timesheets, and supervisor check-ins.
• Attend team and agency staff meetings.

• Bachelor’s degree or at least 2 years equivalent experience preferred
• Must be intuitive and comfortable with technology, including hardware and multimedia equipment and thorough expertise in Microsoft 365
• Sophisticated organizational skills, ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks
• Strong sense of professionalism, responsibility, accountability, and dependability
• Ability to welcome suggestions, guidance and collaboration
• Ability to work well with others and independently; positively contribute to team.
• Familiarity and comfort in working with stakeholders, clients and referral agencies
• Attention to detail, including a high standard of accuracy and diligence
• Commitment to maintaining confidential information
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills

• Clear and effective communication
• Strong organizational skills
• Ability to work effectively in teams
• Self-motivated and independent
• Problem-solving skills
• Adaptability and flexibility
• Commitment to ongoing development and learning
• Dedication to diversity, equity, inclusion and justice

Other Requirements: (If Applicable)

• Reliable Transportation

Physical Requirements: The physical demands of this position include talking, hearing, sitting, standing, walking, lifting, and using hands for activities such as grasping, handling, and reaching. These physical and mental demands are essential for the successful execution of job responsibilities. Reasonable accommodation will be made for qualified individuals with disabilities.

IHR seeks to create welcoming, inclusive and accessible environments for our staff and the people we serve. We welcome and celebrate the diverse social identities of our staff. We recognize the importance of having staff who reflect the identities of the diverse communities that we serve, and we make efforts to hire from within these communities. We are proud to offer an inclusive, recovery friendly, and supportive work environment, and we welcome, and value lived experience of recovery.