Employment Specialist

JOB TITLE: Employment Specialist

DEPARTMENT: Education & Innovation

JOB STATUS: Full-time (40 hours); Non-exempt

HOURS & LOCATION:

• Hours: 9 am – 5 pm
• Days: Monday to Friday
• Hybrid remote; minimum 2 days/week in MHASF office, San Francisco

SALARY: $27-$30 Hourly

BENEFITS:

• 100% employer-paid medical (Kaiser HMO or Blue Shield PPO), dental, vision, life, and long-term disability
• Over 30 days of PTO, including 10 vacation days, 12 sick days, and major holidays
• Access to ongoing training and skill-building workshops (paid time)
• Health and Dependent Care FSA, Commuter Check, and 403(b)

REPORTS TO: PROPEL Program Manager

ABOUT THE MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION OF SAN FRANCISCO (MHASF)

MHASF is a mental health peer-run nonprofit located in downtown San Francisco serving people and agencies across the Bay Area since 1947. As mental health consumers ourselves, we center the lived expertise of people with mental health challenges in our advocacy, education, and support programs, and believe that dignity and recovery in mental health are something everyone can experience. Our staff is dedicated to creating spaces for learning and healing around stigmatized and under-resourced areas in mental health-hoarding and cluttering behavior, peer employment support, wellness & nutrition, community-based crisis response, service navigation, and more. MHASF strongly-encourages people with lived experience of mental health challenges to apply and grow with us!

OVERVIEW OF POSITION

The Employment Specialist supports participants in the PROPEL workforce development program, providing evidence-based services that help individuals with lived mental health experiences achieve sustainable employment. This role involves career counseling, resume building, job placement, and ongoing support, prioritizing the principles of peer support and inclusivity.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Build collaborative relationships with participants, fostering an inclusive environment to support competitive employment goals.
• Assess participants’ skills, interests, and values to align job opportunities with personal and program goals.
• Provide career development and job search guidance, ensuring placements are participant-centered and sustainable.

As job descriptions cannot be exhaustive, the above list of responsibilities is intended to provide a general overview of duties to be assigned and in no way is a comprehensive list of position duties and responsibilities.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Lived experience with mental health challenges; knowledge of peer support models required.
• Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist certification (or willingness to obtain within one year).
• Familiarity with Supported Employment practices and Individual Career Plans preferred.
• Professional communication skills and proficiency with Salesforce, Microsoft Office 365, and collaborative tools like Asana and Slack.
• Experience navigating employment-related social benefits (SSI, SSDI, etc.) is highly desirable.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

The position requires long periods of work at a desk, which may involve sitting or standing and the use of a computer, keyboard, mouse, and desk phone. The office building and between floors of the building, and to travel short distances (under 1 mile) is required. Other physical tasks may involve reaching, pulling, pushing, bending, climbing a stepladder, use of a dolly to move items weighing up to 50 lbs., and lifting and carrying up to 20 lbs.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYMENT STATEMENT

Mental health challenges can affect anyone at any time, regardless of identity or background, and consequently the communities we serve are highly diverse. As a peer-run organization, we also recognize the importance of lived experience as an irreplaceable form of expertise and as a basis for building trust and providing effective services. We welcome and strongly encourage people from historically marginalized and economically disadvantaged groups, including people who identify as disabled or neuro-divergent, to apply to work with us.

MHASF is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants for employment and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender or gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other factor not related to ability to successfully fulfill the requirements of the position.