Assistant Program Director III - Outpatient Behavioral Health

Pay: $38.46/hour (additional $5,000 annually for bilingual candidates fluent in eligible languages)

About the Role

The Assistant Director of Behavioral Health Services will provide support to the Director of Behavioral Health Services in the development, implementation, and maintenance of program clinical operations, expectations, practices, and business goals. The Assistant Director will share responsibility for outpatient and home-based clinical services and will have direct responsibility for a service area including intake and assessment and/or some aspect of the clinical care.

Responsibilities

• Support the Director in ensuring that the goals and objectives of the site are met and act on behalf of the Director in their absence or as requested.
• Manage day-to-day operations of outpatient and home-based services to ensure that the highest quality clinical care is provided and documented in keeping with best practice standards, regulatory standards, and agency standards.
• Ensure that clinicians and counselors under the Assistant Director’s purview meet or exceed productivity expectations.
• Work with the Director of Behavioral Health Services to ensure that all training, quality assurance, and compliance standards are met in the center, with specific responsibility for documentation in a service area specialty (outpatient or home-based).
• Demonstrate professionalism, ethical practice, and compassionate regard for consumers/clients, including competency, reliability, honesty, integrity, respectfulness, continued learning, effective collaboration, positivity, mutual support, active listening, and attention to job responsibilities.
• Model a supervision philosophy and clinical practice that:
  • Promotes client-centered care adhering to best practice standards and recognizes “client voice and client choice.”
  • Recognizes multiple perspectives of clients and their caregiving system.
  • Actively develops clinical skills supporting inclusion, equity, and diversity.
  • Utilizes active and reflective listening, and exchanges supportive and effective feedback.
  • Orients oneself in a strengths-based approach.
  • Develops an understanding of the impact of trauma and substance abuse.
  • Provides positive regard, empathy, curiosity, respect, and professionalism.
  • Establishes and maintains clear expectations and strong professional boundaries.
  • Attunes to the client and their family and natural support system.
  • Ensures clinical care meets medical necessity.
  • Remains cognizant of and proactive about safety/risk issues.
• Manage clinical service specialty area to meet all program specifications, policies, procedures, and regulatory requirements.
• Assist with recruitment, hiring, and training of staff as needed, including personnel management, supervision, evaluation, and professional development.
• Provide direct supervision to staff as appropriate to credentialing, licensure, and programmatic expertise.
• Collaborate with the Director to develop and monitor program budgets, ensuring productivity expectations are met or exceeded.
• Address any issues or concerns related to risk (client, staff, facility, or programmatic) or ethical misconduct immediately with leadership.
• Review reports on insurance, authorization, eligibility, productivity, copayments, failed activities, waitlists, and other metrics as needed.
• Serve on inter-agency or external committees and represent the agency at community events.
• Work collaboratively with other departments and provide assistance as needed.
• Provide occasional trainings inside or outside the agency within the scope of expertise.
• Provide direct clinical services as determined or appropriate.
• Serve periodically as part of the on-call/after-hours rotation.
• Develop specialty service area competency and/or coordinate daily operations of specialty programs, including clinical services such as JSI, Substance Use Services, Psychological Assessment, PUNCH, BRACE, Early Childhood, Middle Childhood, Adolescence, Transitional Age Youth, and Adult clinical services.

Requirements

• Demonstrated strong knowledge of child/youth and family clinical care, as well as mental health, educational, developmental care, child welfare, and juvenile justice systems.
• Valid driver’s license, acceptable driving record, and personal transportation to fulfill essential job functions. Vehicle must have current state registration, safety inspection, and meet minimum insurance requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to exercise discretion, confidentiality, collaboration, and independent judgment.
• Innovative, creative, analytical, and decisive problem-solving skills.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Strong administrative and organizational capabilities.
• Knowledge of program specifications (outpatient or CBHI), regulatory requirements, licensing, credentialing, HIPAA, and other laws related to clinical care.
• High level of competency in direct psychotherapeutic clinical care, including risk assessment, safety planning, comprehensive assessment, treatment planning, service delivery, and discharge planning.
• Ability to ensure clinical care meets medical necessity and compliance standards.
• Ability to supervise, manage, and direct program staff, including administrative staff, program directors, clinical supervisors, and clinical staff.
• Active CANS certification required.

Qualifications

• Master’s or Doctoral Degree in Psychology, Social Work, Mental Health Counseling, or related field required.
• Independent Licensure in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as an LICSW, LMHC, LMFT, or licensed psychologist.
• Minimum of 3 years of clinical and supervisory experience in a behavioral health setting (outpatient and/or CBHI/home-based service delivery), preferably with child, adolescent, and family services.
• Minimum of 1 year of program coordination/management experience.
• Familiarity with Electronic Health/Billing Record required.
• Bilingual (Spanish/English) capabilities preferred.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to perform sedentary aspects of the position, including desk and electronic work, driving to meetings and trainings, and transporting clients as necessary.
• Ability to perform duties with or without reasonable accommodation.
• May be required to intervene to de-escalate and/or ensure safety, including physical management of clients using agency-approved methods for ambulatory and home-based settings.
• Must complete the agency’s human service worker safety and/or home-based worker safety training.