PURPOSE:
Jewish Community Services (JCS) enhances the resilience and mental health of New York City's Jewish community through a population health approach. By equipping Jewish-serving organizations with essential knowledge and resources, JCS strengthens mental well-being and supports communities in navigating both everyday challenges and large-scale crises. This includes tailored training, scalable crisis response models, and operational frameworks designed for preparedness and rapid mobilization.
The Crisis Response and Community Preparedness department strengthens the capacity of Jewish communities and partner organizations to prepare for, respond to, and recover from crises, trauma, and emerging communal challenges through clinical expertise, organizational consultation, preparedness planning, and resilience-building. The department responds when crises occur, builds capacity before they occur, and sustains individuals and communities through specialized stabilization services. Crisis Response provides structured clinical and operational leadership before, during, and immediately following community crises and critical incidents.
This role supports the operation of JCS crisis response. Working under the direction and clinical supervision of the Senior Director, the Crisis Response and Community Preparedness Support Specialist carries crisis operations and coordination, staff and community support, Psychological First Aid, deployment and scheduling of response staff and volunteers, delivery of trainings and toolkits, and response documentation, so that support reaches communities quickly and each response is well run and well captured.
POSITION OVERVIEW:
The Crisis Response and Community Preparedness Support Specialist serves as the operational point person for JCS crisis response and is part of the crisis response lead team. The Senior Director leads each response, provides clinical oversight, and guides the continued development of the program. The Support Specialist coordinates people, logistics, and resources, supports the mobilization of staff and volunteers, and helps deliver the materials and trainings that bring support to the community quickly.
Crisis response is the day-to-day anchor of this role. Program development and community support work is carried out as projects alongside it, structured so the Support Specialist can step fully into a response when a situation is activated.
This is a new role within a growing department. It calls for someone who is clinically grounded, culturally attuned, comfortable working in an evolving environment, and motivated to help build something new. The Senior Director provides clinical supervision alongside direction, guidance, and mentorship. This role offers the opportunity to help build an emerging crisis response and community preparedness program and grow alongside it.
KEY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
Crisis Response Operations and Coordination
Readiness
- Serves as the operational point person and response team coordinator for JCS crisis response.
- Maintains response readiness, including current protocols, contact lists, and resource materials.
Activation and mobilization
- Initiates the internal response protocol and coordinates its execution upon activation by the Senior Director or designated department leadership.
- Mobilizes and deploys response staff and volunteers as directed by the Senior Director, and manages scheduling and coverage throughout the response.
- Sets up and manages response logistics, including booking and scheduling systems, internal communications, and documentation.
During the response
- Provides staff and community support throughout the response.
- Provides Psychological First Aid and trauma-informed crisis support, under the clinical supervision of the Senior Director.
- Produces and distributes response materials and referral information, coordinates translation and interpreter services, and uses culturally appropriate language in materials and communications.
- Tracks and organizes situational information and community updates, and shares them with the Senior Director.
Follow-up and recovery
- Coordinates the logistics of follow-up and recovery planning.
- Documents each response and captures after-action observations, including what worked well and what did not, to inform protocol updates made by the Senior Director.
Program Development and Community Support (Project-Based)
- Resource and toolkit development: produces and maintains crisis response resources, toolkits, referral guides, and language materials shaped in collaboration with the Senior Director, and supports the development of program materials and workflows.
- Individual crisis response: responds to individual crisis situations in support of Community Stabilization Services, providing short-term trauma-informed support and connecting individuals to resources, under the clinical supervision of the Senior Director.
- Training delivery: delivers and facilitates training for crisis response volunteers and staff, and community resilience programming, using curricula developed with the Senior Director, and supports volunteer readiness, scheduling, and coordination.
- Organizational preparedness: supports the Senior Director in facilitating tabletop exercises and organizational preparedness work with partner organizations, preparing materials, managing logistics, and supporting facilitation in the room.
Department Support
- Maintains program data and documentation to support evaluation and reporting.
- Supports departmental planning and continuous quality improvement efforts.
CORE COMPETENCIES for the position include:
Knowledge and Attributes
- Clinically grounded, with training in trauma and crisis intervention.
- Understanding of how trauma and crisis affect individuals, organizations, and communities.
- Culturally attuned, with a commitment to trauma-informed and culturally responsive practice.
- Openness to engaging in continuous learning and putting that learning into practice to support the diverse communities JCS serves.
- Commitment to serving the Jewish community across its full range of practice and observance.
Skills and Abilities
- Remains calm, organized, and decisive under pressure.
- Shifts priorities quickly and responds to urgent situations.
- Strong logistical, coordination, and project management skills.
- Strong facilitation and presentation skills.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, written and verbal.
- Works independently on assigned projects while collaborating closely with the Senior Director.
- Seeks consultation appropriately and integrates clinical supervision and feedback into practice.
- Navigates ambiguity comfortably and helps build new systems in an evolving role and department.
- Motivated to help build something new, with an interest in professional growth through mentorship.
EDUCATIONAL/TRAINING REQUIRED:
- Master's degree in Social Work, Counseling, Psychology, or a related clinical field.
- LMSW licensure in New York State.
- Training or coursework in trauma and crisis intervention.
- Training or certification in Psychological First Aid preferred.
EXPERIENCE REQUIRED/LANGUAGE PREFERENCE:
- Two to three years of professional experience in behavioral health, community mental health, or a related clinical or community-based setting.
- Experience delivering or facilitating training, workshops, or educational programming.
- Experience coordinating logistics, projects, or schedules.
- Ability to work independently and shift priorities rapidly during urgent situations.
- Exposure to crisis response or crisis intervention preferred.
- Experience working with Jewish communal organizations preferred.
- Experience training or coordinating volunteers preferred.
COMPUTER SKILLS REQUIRED:
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel) and comfort with documentation systems and virtual communication platforms.
VISUAL AND MANUAL DEXIERITY:
- The candidate should be able to read paper and electronic documents and perform significant data entry into various computer programs
WORK ENVIRONMENT/PHYSICAL EFFORT
- May be required to respond to emergency or crisis situations requiring immediate attention.
- Travels throughout the New York metropolitan area, sometimes on short notice.
- Works collaboratively across departments, community partners, and volunteers.
- Uses Microsoft Office, virtual communication platforms, scheduling and booking tools, and data management systems.
We are an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
