Linking back to table of contents in word document

I am editing a word document (on Mac) which includes a table of contents. The TOC is linked to appropriate places in the document. Great! Links to return to the TOC have been inserted in headers. However, the only time the link works is if I open the header. Therefore, I've tried to bookmark the Table of Contents and create links to it, but when I attempt to add a link elsewhere, no bookmarks appear in the dialogue box. The bookmarks are there, but I can't link to them. ( I did not create the document, but need to finish it, so would appreciate some guidance. Where am I going wrong? Thanks!

The easiest way to allow jumping back to the TOC is to use a bookmark.

Select something near the beginning of the TOC (perhaps the TOC's header) and bookmark it.

You may now create hyperlinks in the document that jump to the bookmark, that could be placed anywhere, perhaps at the end of each section of the document, or in the footer of each page.

You can also use "Go To" to jump to the bookmark.

Another method is to use a small VBA macro to jump to the TOC, where the bookmark is named MyTOC in the example below:

Sub JumpTOC()
    Selection.GoTo What:=wdGoToBookmark, Name:="MyTOC"
End Sub

This macro could be assigned to a keyboard shortcut or even put up on a toolbar.

You can add a bookmark in Word, and then insert a link to the bookmark wherever you want to return back to the table of contents.

See: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/add-or-delete-bookmarks-in-a-word-document-or-outlook-message-f68d781f-0150-4583-a90e-a4009d99c2a0

Bookmark the location of the Table of Contents:

• Select text, a picture, or a place in your document where you want to insert a bookmark.
• Click Insert > Bookmark.
• The Bookmark icon is highlighted on the Insert tab
• Under Bookmark name, type a name and click Add. (for example: TOC)

Note: Bookmark names need to begin with a letter. They can include both numbers and letters, but not spaces. If you need to separate words, you can use an underscore ( _ )—for example, First_heading.

Link to a bookmark:

• You can also add hyperlinks that will take you to a bookmarked location in the same document.
• Select the text or object you want to use as a hyperlink.
• Right-click and then click Hyperlink Hyperlink button.
• Under Link to, click Place in This Document.
• In the list, select the heading or bookmark that you want to link to.

Note: To customize the Screen Tip that appears when you rest the pointer over the hyperlink, click ScreenTip, and then type the text that you want.

• Click OK.