Admissions Specialist, PHP/IOP (PST)

Title: Admissions Coordinator 

Reports to: Central Intake Supervisor  

Department/Location: Remote (PST)

FLSA Status: Non-Exempt, Hourly

Schedule:  Monday-Friday, 8:00-5:00pm PST or  8:00-5:00pm MST 

Required:

• Must hold a Bachelors Degree in healthcare, social work, human services, psychology, or a related field
• Must have experience in behavioral health admissions. 

Role Summary: 

The Admissions Coordinator is a critical member of Guidelight’s Central Intake team and serves as one of the first points of contact for prospective clients and referral partners. 

This is a high-volume, front-line role for someone who is comfortable engaging people who may be anxious, ambivalent, emotionally dysregulated, or in crisis while keeping the interaction focused and moving forward. The Admissions Coordinator builds rapport quickly, gathers relevant information, completes structured screening and intake activities, educates clients about Guidelight’s PHP and IOP programs, addresses barriers and objections, verifies benefits, and coordinates the next steps toward care. 

The ideal candidate brings strong judgment and clinical curiosity without needing to be clinically credentialed. They ask thoughtful follow-up questions, listen for what may not be explicitly stated, recognize potential risk or fit concerns, and understand when to escalate to the appropriate clinical or operational team rather than attempting to interpret or make clinical determinations. 

This role combines genuine care with strong sales and operational instincts. The Admissions Coordinator believes in the value of treatment and can help an ambivalent client take the next step toward care while maintaining clinical appropriateness, ethical standards, and a high-quality client experience. The role is accountable not only for completing tasks, but for owning the outcome—ensuring that clients do not fall through the cracks and that each interaction results in a clear next step or accepted handoff. 

Role Responsibilities: 

Client Engagement & Admissions 

• Serve as a primary point of contact for prospective clients and referring providers through phone and web-based channels. 

• Engage clients with warmth, confidence, and appropriate directness, including individuals who may be anxious, ambivalent, emotionally dysregulated, or experiencing a behavioral health crisis. 

• Build rapport quickly while maintaining structure and control of the conversation. 

• Guide clients through demographics, insurance, screening, program education, scheduling, and next steps in a cohesive and efficient interaction. 

• Conduct structured initial screenings to gather relevant clinical, demographic, and logistical information while maintaining the appropriate boundary between screening and clinical assessment. 

• Recognize potential risk, clinical fit, or other concerns and appropriately escalate to clinical or operational team members. 

• Educate prospective clients and referral partners about Guidelight’s PHP and IOP programs, including program structure, expectations, and next steps. 

• Help clients navigate barriers to accessing care, including ambivalence, scheduling challenges, technology, insurance questions, and other concerns. 

Engagement, Conversion & Client Commitment 

• Use active listening, motivational interviewing, and consultative communication techniques to understand client needs and support movement toward treatment. 

• Help clients understand the value of treatment and confidently move toward an appropriate next step in care. 

• Address questions and objections with empathy, confidence, and sound judgment. 

• Ask directly for commitment and help clients take action when appropriate. 

• Maintain a conversion-minded approach while protecting client experience, clinical appropriateness, and ethical standards. 

• Take ownership of funnel movement and identify opportunities to reduce drop-off and improve conversion. 

• Consider an interaction complete only when there is a clear next step, accepted handoff, or documented resolution. 

Referral & Pipeline Management 

• Proactively manage inbound and outbound referrals and ensure timely movement through the admissions pipeline. 

• Maintain ownership of assigned cases across multiple stages of the intake process. 

• Reliably complete follow-up activities and close loops with clients, referral partners, clinicians, and internal teams. 

• Monitor cases for stalled movement, missing information, or other sources of funnel leakage and take action to resolve them. 

• Coordinate with referring providers and community partners to facilitate appropriate access to care. 

• Ensure clients and referral partners have a clear understanding of next steps and who is responsible for them. 

Insurance & Financial Transparency 

• Verify insurance eligibility and benefits for PHP and IOP services.