Associate Director of Mental Health and Community Services

The Associate Director of Mental Health and Community Services will be responsible for managing and providing clinical leadership to Gads Hill Center’s Mental Health Department and Community Health initiatives, serving children and adolescents, ages birth through high school, as well as their families. In this role, the Associate Director of Mental Health and Community Services will supervise two distinct clinical teams. The first clinical team is Healthy Minds, Healthy Schools: school-based therapists who provide comprehensive mental health services within a primarily public school-based setting on the west and southwest sides of Chicago. Additionally, the Associate Director of Mental Health and Community Services will supervise the Early Childhood Mental Health Team, which supports our Head Start and Early Head Start families across nine sites. The Associate Director of Mental Health and Community Services will also manage and provide leadership to our Healthy Moves program, which focuses on holistic wellness (nutritional, mental, social/civic), directly supervising two Community Programs Specialists. The Associate Director of Mental Health and Community Services will execute the organization’s Civic Engagement and outreach strategies by developing leadership and civic engagement priorities across the organization to become effective advocates for children, families, and the community. Finally, the Associate Director of Mental Health and Community Services will assist with quality assurance, compliance, fiscal accountability, training, and staff development, as well as developing client and stakeholder relationships on behalf of the organization.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

·       Provide leadership in the areas of clinical, educational, health services, program evaluation, program development, and training.

·        Maintain high quality of services by basing program design, staff development, and client therapeutic services on research and evidence-based best practices.

·       Maintain advanced working knowledge of childhood education, development practices and standards, and principles of applied behavioral analysis.

·        Assist with maintaining fiscal viability and productivity standards of programs.

·       Collaborate with the Chief Operating Officer in the area of Community Programs to ensure integration of mental health services throughout all departments.

·       Provide supervision to the Community Programs Specialist, directly overseeing operations and deliverables for the Playstreets and Healthy Moves community programs.

·       Collaborate with Community Programs Specialists to integrate mental wellness components into community programs; provide capacity-building opportunities to Community Programs specialists, Health Promoters, and support staff, as needed.

·       Develop and integrate a Parent Leadership component throughout the organization.

·        Compose concept papers for funding opportunities and develop and maintain stakeholder relationships.

·       Build staff capacity through professional development to support social-emotional program goals.

·       Perform record-keeping functions and other administrative duties, as required, by the agency.

Supervision and Training of Clinical Staff

·        Oversee the recruitment, hiring, training, and supervision of staff and interns, as needed.

·        Provide clinical supervision for all unlicensed and non-independently licensed clinical staff and consultants, in compliance with the standards of county, state, and federal regulatory agencies.

·        Train clinicians and other program personnel, as necessary, on treatment protocols and methods, diagnostic and biopsychosocial assessments, interpretation, and formulation.

·        Train staff on clinical intervention strategies, treatment planning, and screenings, as necessary, to ensure quality mental health service delivery.

·        Review and provide input to treatment or service plans for youth and children being treated by clinical staff.

·       Provide individual case consultations to clinical staff regularly.

·       Audit clinical charts, ensuring compliance and treatment efficacy.

·       Provide short-term crisis intervention strategies and clinical interventions for the most high-risk clients, including the development and implementation of safety plans.

·       Available to be “on-call” for crisis intervention consultation for all programs at Gads Hill Center.

Civic Engagement

·       Build a base of leaders within our staff and integrate civic engagement initiatives across all programs.

·        Identify issues that impact the communities that we serve, particularly around mental health and other issues aligning with the organization’s mission.

·        Remain current with bio-psycho-social-cultural lenses and how federal, state, and local policies impact structural inequities around mental health.

·        Develop leadership skills and critical consciousness of staff through professional development, mobilization, and actions.

· Led Civic Engagement Team to work towards necessary macro-level changes that address inequities affecting children and families, including creating advocacy actions to overcome the issues.

·       Build strategic partnerships with community institutions that support the organization’s mission.

·        Build the organization’s political visibility, influence, and power.

In addition to the responsibilities listed above, all Gads Hill Center employees are responsible for the following:

·       Participating in agency outreach and recruitment events, including evenings and weekends.

·       Participating in supervision meetings and workshops within the agency and outside (if applicable).

·       Participating in civic engagement activities that advance the mission of Gads Hill Center.

·       Advancing parent leadership development.

·        Performing other duties, as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:

·       Excellent interpersonal skills

·       Ability to work well with others or independently.

·       Initiative to problem solve, if necessary

·       Responsibility to complete projects by a pre-determined deadline

·       Ability to be flexible and work on multiple projects simultaneously.

·       Ability to communicate effectively and accurately in oral and written language.

·       Proficient in usage of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Access, etc.

·       Knowledge of Adobe software (Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, etc.) and CANVA a plus

·       Anticipates opportunities and provides solutions beforehand.

·       Ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality.

Accurate and detail-oriented.