Recovery Empowerment Specialist (RES) – Residential Behavioral Health
New Era Mental Health
Employment Type: Full-Time
Work Location: On-Site – Residential Program
Position Type: Live-In or Non-Live-In Opportunities
FLSA Status: Non-Exempt
About the Position
New Era Mental Health is hiring Recovery Empowerment Specialists (RES) to support adults living in Hope & Chance Integrated Health structured recovery housing.
This is a hands-on residential support position focused on one primary outcome:
Keeping residents engaged, accountable, and attending their required treatment services.
The RES helps residents maintain their schedules, get to appointments, participate in treatment, follow house expectations, overcome barriers, and progress successfully through the program.
Housing is contingent upon engagement. The RES helps ensure engagement happens.
This is an excellent opportunity for someone interested in behavioral health, recovery services, peer support, social services, or residential programs who is dependable, organized, comfortable holding people accountable, and able to maintain professional boundaries.
Primary ResponsibilitiesClient Attendance & Engagement
Attendance is the primary responsibility of the RES.
You will:
- Know the treatment schedule of residents assigned to your house.
- Make sure residents know when and where they are expected to attend services.
- Verify attendance daily.
- Follow up immediately when a resident misses a scheduled service.
- Address patterns of non-attendance or disengagement.
- Help identify and remove reasonable barriers preventing attendance.
- Communicate attendance concerns to appropriate clinical and operational staff.
- Reinforce that treatment participation is required for continued participation in the residential program.
Residents may participate in:
- Intensive Outpatient (IOP) services.
- Outpatient (OP) services.
- Individual counseling sessions.
- Psychiatric appointments.
- Medication-management appointments.
- Case-management services.
- Peer-support and recovery activities.
Client attendance is a key measure of RES performance.
Appointment & Schedule Coordination
Help residents:
- Understand their weekly schedules.
- Keep track of appointments.
- Prepare for scheduled services.
- Coordinate transportation.
- Develop consistent daily routines.
The goal is to prevent missed appointments before they happen.
Transportation
Transportation is an important part of this position.
RES staff may:
- Drive residents to the clinic or approved appointments.
- Coordinate Hopelink transportation.
- Help residents use public transportation.
- Resolve transportation problems that could result in missed services.
A valid driver's license is required for this position.
Applicants must:
- Maintain a valid driver's license.
- Have an acceptable driving record.
- Be able to safely operate company vehicles.
- Follow all company vehicle and transportation policies.
Virtual Services
Support residents attending telehealth or virtual services by ensuring:
- They log in on time.
- Required technology is working.
- Cameras are used when required.
- Residents remain present and engaged throughout the service.
Program Progression
Help residents understand and follow:
- Program expectations.
- Phase requirements.
- Treatment participation requirements.
- Housing expectations.
- Behavioral standards.
- Requirements for successful program completion.
The RES supports residents while also holding them accountable.
House Operations
The RES helps maintain a structured, safe, clean, and recovery-focused residence.
Responsibilities include:
- Enforcing House Rules.
- Monitoring curfew.
- Maintaining resident accountability.
- Monitoring chores and cleanliness.
- Checking bedrooms and common areas according to program procedures.
- Ensuring common spaces remain organized and safe.
- Identifying maintenance concerns.
- Maintaining a residence that is inspection-ready.
- Reporting problems promptly rather than allowing them to continue.
Nightly Reviews
Conduct and document required daily Nightly Reviews.
Reviews may include:
- Attendance.
- Upcoming appointments.
- Resident engagement.
- House concerns.
- Behavioral concerns.
- Chores.
- Program expectations.
- Resident questions or needs.
Nightly Reviews are a required responsibility of the position and must be completed consistently.
House Rules & Behavioral Accountability
RES staff enforce:
- Program House Rules.
- Curfew.
- Visitor restrictions.
- Substance-free requirements.
- Housing agreements.
- Behavioral expectations.
- Safety requirements.
RES staff must be able to respectfully tell residents “no” when necessary and enforce expectations even when a resident disagrees.
Professional boundaries are essential.
This role requires compassion without enabling behavior that interferes with recovery or program participation.
Substance-Use Monitoring
When trained and authorized, RES staff may:
- Conduct urine drug screening.
- Conduct BAC testing.
- Follow established testing procedures.
- Document results.
- Report positive tests, refusals, suspected substance use, or contraband.
Safety & Crisis Response
RES staff may respond to:
- Medical emergencies.
- Behavioral incidents.
- Resident conflicts.
- Suspected overdoses.
- Safety concerns.
- Other residential emergencies.
Staff must:
- Remain calm.
- Follow established procedures.
- Contact 911 when appropriate.
- Notify leadership promptly.
- Complete required documentation.
Incident Reports
Complete same-day Incident Reports when required.
Reports must be:
- Objective.
- Factual.
- Accurate.
- Specific.
- Completed on time.
Incident Reports should clearly describe:
- What happened.
- When it happened.
- Who was involved.
- What you personally observed.
- What actions were taken.
- Who was notified.
- What happened afterward.
Documentation
RES staff maintain:
- Attendance information.
- Nightly Reviews.
- Incident Reports.
- Residential logs.
- House documentation.
- Other required compliance records.
Documentation is part of the job—not an optional administrative task.
Employees must also:
- Monitor company communications while working.
- Respond to management.
- Communicate concerns promptly.
- Participate in staff meetings and training.
- Maintain confidentiality and follow HIPAA requirements.
Scope of the Position
The RES is a non-clinical position.
RES staff may:
- Support residents.
- Coordinate appointments.
- Encourage treatment participation.
- Help residents navigate services.
- Enforce program expectations.
- Document observations.
- Communicate concerns to clinical staff.
RES staff may not:
- Diagnose clients.
- Provide psychotherapy.
- Provide clinical counseling.
- Present themselves as licensed clinicians.
Clinical concerns must be referred to clinical staff.
Required Qualifications
Applicants must have:
- High school diploma or GED.
- Valid driver's license – REQUIRED.
- Ability to safely drive company vehicles.
- Strong reliability and attendance.
- Good verbal and written communication skills.
- Basic computer and smartphone skills.
- Ability to complete electronic documentation.
- Ability to work independently.
- Ability to maintain professional boundaries.
- Ability to enforce program expectations respectfully.
- Ability to work with adults experiencing behavioral-health and substance-use challenges.
Certification
Certified Peer Counselor (CPC) certification is required for the position.
Candidates who otherwise meet the requirements and are currently completing an approved pathway toward CPC certification may be considered depending on operational needs.
Additional required training includes:
- CPR / First Aid.
- HIPAA / Confidentiality.
- Agency orientation.
- Required safety and compliance training.
Preferred Experience
Experience in any of the following is helpful but not required:
- Recovery housing.
- Behavioral health.
- Substance-use treatment.
- Peer support.
- Residential programs.
- Homelessness services.
- Social services.
- Case management.
- Caregiving.
- Community-based programs.
- Corrections or re-entry services.
College education is welcome but is not required.
Relevant life experience, professional maturity, dependability, and demonstrated ability to work effectively with people in recovery may be equally valuable.
What We Are Looking For
Strong RES candidates are people who:
- Show up on time.
- Follow through.
- Take responsibility.
- Communicate problems early.
- Notice when something is wrong.
- Don't wait to be repeatedly told what to do.
- Can maintain structure in a house.
- Can build rapport without becoming friends with residents.
- Are comfortable enforcing rules.
- Can have difficult conversations respectfully.
- Complete documentation consistently.
- Accept coaching and feedback.
- Care about helping people succeed.
What This Job Is Not
This is not a position where the primary responsibility is simply being physically present in a house.
The RES is expected to actively manage:
Attendance. Engagement. Accountability. Safety. Structure. Documentation.
Employees who consistently require reminders to perform routine responsibilities or who are uncomfortable enforcing program expectations may not be successful in this position.
Live-In Opportunity
Some RES assignments may include employer-provided housing.
For designated live-in positions:
- Housing is connected to the employee's assigned position.
- Housing may significantly reduce the employee's personal housing expenses.
- Employees are expected to maintain appropriate professional boundaries even while residing at the assigned property.
- Employer-provided housing ends when the associated employment or live-in assignment ends, subject to applicable policy and law.
Specific details regarding the live-in arrangement will be discussed during the interview and hiring process.
Working Conditions
- Residential behavioral-health setting.
- Regular interaction with adults with mental-health and/or substance-use challenges.
- On-site work required.
- Driving may occur regularly.
- Evening and weekend responsibilities may be required depending on assignment.
- Must be able to respond appropriately to residential and behavioral emergencies.
Performance Expectations
RES employees are evaluated based on areas including:
- Client attendance.
- Reduction in missed services.
- Resident engagement.
- Program progression.
- Nightly Review completion.
- Documentation quality.
- Incident-report timeliness.
- House standards.
- Safety and compliance.
- Reliability and communication.
About New Era Mental Health
New Era Mental Health provides integrated behavioral-health and supportive services focused on stability, recovery, independence, and long-term wellness.
Hope & Chance Integrated Health operates structured recovery residences supporting individuals actively participating in behavioral-health treatment.
We believe effective recovery support requires both:
Support + Accountability.
If you are reliable, organized, comfortable taking responsibility, and interested in helping people move forward in recovery, we encourage you to apply.
Pay: $22.00 - $27.00 per hour
Benefits:
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
Application Question(s):
- Experience with sober or recovery housing?
License/Certification:
- WA Drivers License (Preferred)
Work Location: In person
