What are the responsibilities and job description for the Ember Residential Overnight Specialist (52946) position at YSS?
YSS is seeking motivated Residential Overnight Specialists to join our Residential Addiction staff. If you are ready to help build coping skills, educate on substance abuse, and motivate youth to be successful in their journey toward sobriety, come work with us!
Due to continued growth and expansion of our services, we are adding new positions to our team. These roles are not replacements — they reflect our commitment to reaching more individuals and increasing our impact in the community.
YSS Residential Addiction Treatment provides a successful, individualized, and evidence-based recovery program for youth ages 12 to 18 in a safe, homelike atmosphere. As a Residential Overnight Specialist, you will supervise and care for residential participants during the overnight and morning hours while providing an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust. This position is one of supervision rather than counseling or therapy. Responsibilities include:
- Supervise participants during the evening, night, and early morning relating to participants in a caring, supportive and therapeutic manner.
- Take an active interest in the participants and be aware of individuals presenting problems.
- Enforce program rules and restrictions consistently, fairly, and firmly.
- Report any non-authorized absences during the night, in accordance with program policy and procedure.
- Provide crisis intervention when needed and alert on-call staff of a medical or counseling emergency.
- Perform bed checks every 15 30 minutes until the participants are asleep, and then hourly.
- Record client behaviors, problems, observations, or events.
- Make sure that participants receive necessary medical attention, dispense medicine, and complete any required documentation.
- Supervise breakfast preparation for participants, and oversees morning schedule of participants, including wake-up and chores, and showers.
- Transport participants as needed.
- Give feedback to other team members concerning participants' overall nighttime behavior.
This description is not a complete list of the responsibilities of this position. Duties may change at any time.
We celebrate the strength in your story.
Have you walked the path of recovery from addiction, mental health challenges, trauma, or housing instability? Are you driven to transform your experience into a source of strength and hope for others? If so, YSS wants to hear from you.
We believe your lived experience brings a compassionate and redemptive perspective that can inspire real change. By sharing your story and offering guidance as a role model and mentor, you have the power to make a meaningful impact at YSS.
For those in recovery, we typically ask for two years of sobriety to ensure stability and leadership readiness, though we may consider candidates with one year on a case-by-case basis.
Your journey matters. If you’re ready to use it to uplift and empower others, we warmly encourage you to apply.
What you can expect in return...
We believe in your potential, we meet you where you are, and we invest in your future. In addition to a welcoming workplace, collaborative and supportive colleagues, and mission-driven work that creates hope and opportunity by putting kids first, YSS offers the following benefits for this position:
- Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance
- Supplemental accident, critical illness, and hospital indemnity insurance
- Accrued PTO, plus paid time off for holidays, your birthday, and volunteering
- Employee Assistance Program
- Employee recognition program
- Personal wellness programs
- Pet insurance discounts
- PSLF Program qualification
- Retirement offerings
- Training opportunities
This isn’t just a job - it’s a chance to be the spark in someone’s story. If you’re ready to inspire, connect, and lead with purpose, apply today and become part of something meaningful at YSS.
Qualifications:
We want to create a world where youth are valued and empowered to stand strong. To do this, we ask our staff to embrace YSS core values - Commitment, Collaboration, Compassion, Innovation, Integrity, and a ”Can Do” Spirit. Additionally, we ask for the following:
MUST HAVES - Required Qualifications
- High school diploma/equivalent.
- One (1) year of experience in the care and management of groups of adolescents.
- Flexibility to serve on the on-call rotation and cover shifts.
- Travel, including transporting clients, is required for this position. For YSS insurance purposes, you must:
- be 21 years of age,
- have a valid, state-issued, driver’s license,
- have a clean driving record, and
- have adequate insurance coverage per YSS policy.
SHOULD HAVES - Preferred Qualifications
- Client focused and able to collaborate, communicate, and coordinate with others.
- Is an active, patient, listener.
- Uses critical thinking skills to problems solve.
- Ability to manage resources effectively.
The IDEAL candidate:
- Is passionate about helping others and excited to come to work every day.
- Is compassionate, patient, and empathetic, with the ability to relate to diverse populations.
- Speaks a language(s) in addition to English.
Who we are (and why you’ll love us)...
We’re YSS – one of Iowa’s oldest and largest nonprofits dedicated to uplifting youth and putting kids first. Our mission? To spark hope, create opportunities, and help young people thrive through education, counseling, and support that actually makes a difference. With a passionate, diverse leadership team and our brand-new, 50-acre recovery campus, we’re growing fast and thinking big. We’re not just keeping up with the times – we’re shaping the future of care for youth and families in Iowa. Want to know more about our mission and all the awesome things we’re up to? Visit yss.org!
At YSS, we don’t just talk about diversity and inclusion – we live it, celebrate it, and grow from it every day. We believe the best teams are made up of all kinds of people, with all kinds of perspectives. That’s what makes us strong, creative, and downright awesome. We’re proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer, and we’re all about creating a space where everyone feels respected, supported, and empowered to succeed – no matter your background, identity, or hairstyle. Our commitment to equity and inclusion is woven into everything we do, and we’re always working to do better, together.
YSS is a nicotine-free workplace.
Heads Up! Don’t Miss Our Messages! - Most of our communication with applicants happens through email – straight from our Paycom system. Be sure to keep an eye on your inbox (and maybe your spam/junk folder too, just in case our message took a detour). Got questions about your application or just want to say hi? Shoot us an email at recruitment@yss.org - we’re happy to help!
The YSS Hiring Process
- Apply – Fill out the online app at yss.org/ysscareers.
- Assessment – We’ll check out your skills and experience.
- Interview – Phone, video, or in-person – we’ll chat and get to know you.
- References – Send us three people who can sing your praises.
- Screening – Background and driving checks (plus license verification if needed).
- Offer – If it’s a match, you’ll get a formal offer through Paycom.
* Applicable Degrees: Addiction Counseling, Addiction Studies, Adolescent Psychology, Behavioral Health, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Child Psychology, Clinical Mental Health, Corrections, Counseling, Criminal Justice, Education, Family Science, Family Studies, Family Therapy, Human Services, Juvenile Justice, Juvenile Rehabilitation, Mental Health, Nursing, Psychology, Public Administration, Public Health, Rehabilitation Services, Social Work, Therapeutic Recreation, Youth Development, Youth Services
Keywords: Abuse, Addiction, Advocacy, Analysis, Assessment, At-risk, Behavioral, Care, Case, CBT, Centered, Client, Coach, Cognitive, Community, Coordination, Counseling, Crisis, Detox, Develop, Education, Engagement, Evaluation, Evidence-Based, Facilitation, Family, Flexibility, Group, Health, Holistic, Human, Individual, Informed, Inpatient, Intervention, Living, Management, Mental, Monitoring, Motivational, Outpatient, Outreach, Peer, Personalized, Planning, Plans, Prevention, Program, Psychiatry, Psychology, Recovery, Rehabilitation, Relapse, Services, Sober, Social, Specialist, Substance, Support, Technique, Therapeutic, Therapy, Trauma, Treatment, Use, Wellness
Salary : $17