Diversion Program Director - Youth Resource Center

About the role

Volunteers of America, Utah is an affiliate of a national, nonprofit, faith-based organization that has served communities across the United States for more than 125 years. Volunteers of America, Utah’s mission is to provide community-supported pathways for those who are vulnerable to improve their lives and increase their self-reliance. Our programs serve people experiencing challenges related to mental health, substance use, and homelessness. We encourage all who are passionate about making a difference, including individuals with lived experience, to apply.

The Youth Resource Center provides individualized, trauma-informed support to youth and young adults experiencing homelessness. The team helps youth identify needs and goals, navigate housing and community resources, access behavioral health, employment, education, benefits, and other supports, and address barriers that may impact their stability. Through coordinated services and ongoing engagement, the team supports youth in moving toward safe housing, increased self-sufficiency, and long-term stability.

The Program Manager provides leadership and oversight for multidisciplinary services at the Youth Resource Center, including case management, behavioral health, peer support, employment and education, early intervention, diversion, and connections to community-based services. The position supervises assigned program and clinical staff and supports coordinated, high-quality services for youth and young adults experiencing or at risk of homelessness. The Program Manager is responsible for program and project implementation, staff development and performance, service quality, data and outcome monitoring, community partnerships, and compliance with agency and funding requirements. The position collaborates with internal and external partners to strengthen access to behavioral health and supportive services, improve coordination across systems, and support continuous quality improvement. As assigned, the Program Manager may lead specific grants, contracts, or initiatives and support the development, implementation, evaluation, and sustainability of services in response to emerging client and community needs.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and oversight for assigned programs, grants, contracts, and initiatives, ensuring services are implemented in alignment with program goals, agency policies, funding requirements, and applicable regulations.
• Lead recruitment, interviewing, hiring, onboarding, staff development, performance evaluation, and corrective action for assigned staff, in coordination with Human Resources and agency leadership.
• Oversee the delivery and ongoing development of behavioral health services, case management, early intervention, diversion, peer support, employment and education, and other supportive services for youth and young adults experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
• Ensure participant screening, intake, assessment, service planning, referral, and transition processes are timely, coordinated, and responsive to individual needs.
• Ensure staff follow established procedures for suicide risk assessment, safety planning, crisis response, and coordination with emergency and crisis providers. Address and escalate safety concerns and critical incidents according to agency procedures.
• Strengthen coordination between behavioral health, housing, homelessness response, employment, education, healthcare, benefits, crisis services, and other community-based supports to promote continuity of care and successful referrals.
• Develop and maintain effective program procedures, workflows, referral pathways, documentation standards, and other tools necessary to support consistent and high-quality service delivery.
• Monitor staff caseloads, schedules, service capacity, participant flow, and program operations to ensure effective coverage and responsiveness to client needs.
• Responsible to ensure case management, clinical, and program documentation meets quality, timeliness, and compliance standards with agency, contractual, regulatory, and funding requirements.
• Collaborate with leadership, funders, government partners, evaluators, and community stakeholders on program implementation, data review, quality improvement, evaluation, training, sustainability, and required reporting.
• Use program data, participant feedback, staff input, and quality assurance findings to monitor outcomes, identify service gaps, improve workflows, and recommend program improvements.
• Support implementation of evidence-based and evidence-informed practices, including Housing Problem-Solving, Individual Placement and Support, crisis intervention, behavioral health stabilization, and other approved approaches.
• Represent VOA and the YRC in partner, coalition, funder, and stakeholder meetings and support collaborative relationships that improve access to behavioral health, housing, and other community services.
• Work with the Division Director, Finance, and other agency leadership to support staffing plans, budget monitoring, appropriate use of program resources, required training, and administrative compliance.
• Attend work on a punctual, regular, and predictable basis; maintain an on-site presence consistent with program and supervisory needs; travel within the service area as required; and perform other duties as assigned consistent with the evolving needs of the program and agency.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in social work, counseling, psychology, behavioral science, or a related behavioral health field required.
• Current, unrestricted Utah licensure as an LCSW, CMHC, LMFT, or another independently licensed mental health professional appropriate to the position required. Must meet applicable Utah requirements to provide clinical supervision to assigned staff, including supervision toward licensure when assigned.
• Minimum of two years of experience managing programs or projects serving children, youth, or young adults with mental health conditions and/or co-occurring substance use disorders; experience serving youth or young adults experiencing homelessness strongly preferred.
• Experience supervis