3rd Street Youth Center & Clinic is a community-based agency providing youth in the Bayview Hunters Point with medical and behavioral health services that encourage them to make decisions that support their health, safety, and development. 3rd Street Youth Center & Clinic also manages a number of successful Transitional Age Youth (TAY) housing stabilization programs and one of the city's few Youth Access Points

The Lower Polk TAY Navigation Center, or 'TAY Nav' is a low barrier residential program for unhoused Transitional Age Youth (ages 18 to 27) located in San Francisco. 

Built around the ideologies of 'housing first' and 'harm reduction' the program strives to meet young people where they are at and provide a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment for them to stabilize and grow. The TAY Nav provides beds, shower facilities, laundry, food service, case management, behavioral health supports, and linkage to vocational and education supports to assist the residents in developing their independence through achieving short- and long-term goals. 

We are seeking a compassionate and dedicated Substance Use Counselor to help provide support to our residents. In this role, you will be responsible for developing and implementing treatment and recovery plans and identifying behaviors that impede rehabilitation. You will also be required to facilitate individual and group counseling sessions. 

To ensure success, the Substance Use Counselor should be familiar with the latest treatment methods and collaborate with other behavioral healthcare specialists. Top-notch candidates have excellent clinical knowledge and demonstrable counseling experience. 

Duties & Responsibilities: 

The following is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the Substance Use Counselor. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change, or new ones may be assigned as needed. 

● Providing program support to the TAY Nav and its residents and staff, pertaining specifically to areas of Behavioral Health and Substance Use 

● Working with Case Management, Program Monitors, and other onsite Behavioral Health staff to support residents from date of entry to date of discharge. 

● Engaging in rapport building and relationship development with clients to encourage participation in the program and its services 

● Evaluating residents' physical and mental behaviors. 

● Developing and implementing appropriate treatment and recovery plans. 

● Facilitating individual and group counseling sessions. 

● Monitoring residents over time to assess treatment progress. 

● Collaborating with other staff and service providers to support residents. 

● Identifying and addressing behaviors that interfere with treatment and recovery. 

● Maintaining regular meetings with residents whenever possible. 

● Maintaining professional boundaries at all times. 

● Other programmatic duties and tasks as requested. 

About you: 

● Associate degree in chemical dependency counseling, or a bachelor's degree with coursework in chemical dependency, or equivalent combination of education and experience. 

● Master's degree in counseling / Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), or similar preferred 

● Certified Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor (CAADAC) or Certified Co-occurring Disorder Professional, or similar highly preferred 

● Previous experience with the treatment of substance use disorders. 

● Familiarity with electronic health record systems like AVATAR would be advantageous. 

● Experience with co-occurring health and behavioral health problems. 

● Application of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services' (SAMHSA) best practice indicators. 

● Must practice from a harm reduction stance. 

● Experience working with youth, individuals with high risk substance use behaviors, working in a shelter, milieu, or outreach setting all preferred 

● In-depth knowledge of drug and alcohol testing to monitor treatment plans and medical instructions. 

● Excellent written and oral communication skills. 

● Exceptional interpersonal skills and a compassionate nature. 

● Bilingual English and Spanish highly preferred. 

General info: 

● This position is located in our TAY Navigation Center in San Francisco. 

● This position reports to the Clinical Director of Behavioral Health. 

● Availability: The program operates 24 hours a day, therefore some evening or weekend hours and rotating on call shifts will be required. 

Compensation and benefits: 

● This position has an annual salary of $68,640. 

● We offer comprehensive benefits package, including health, dental, vision, 403b, generous time off (vacation, sick, and holidays), and more! 

● We offer supervision for licensure hours for the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) where applicable. 

3rd Street is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, partnership status, gender and/or gender identity or expression, marital, parental or familial status, national origin, ethnicity, alienage or citizenship status, veteran or military status, age, disability, or any other legally protected basis. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance we will consider for employment qualified candidates with arrest and conviction records.