Direct Care Manager Jobs in Riverside, CA (NOW HIRING)

The Opportunity

At Akido Care, we are redefining healthcare for underserved communities by addressing the needs of populations with complex medical and social challenges. As an ECM Program Manager in the Inland Empire, you'll be at the forefront of this mission, leading teams to provide compassionate, impactful care.

As the program manager, you will supervise an interdisciplinary team of case managers, including but not limited to: a Registered Nurse, Care Coordinator, and Community Health Worker. You will also serve as the team's behavioral health resource—contributing to care planning, providing direct patient support, and ensuring that patients in crisis or with unmet behavioral health needs are connected to the right level of care. This is a hybrid role based in the Inland Empire, with regular in-person presence at Chapparal Medical clinics (particularly Pomona and Rancho Cucamonga clinics), community outreach in the field, and occasional travel to LA for all-hands meetings. Local candidates strongly preferred.

The minimum education requirement for this role is a MSW or MFT, with a California licensure (LCSW/LMFT) preferred. The Program Manager will also need to reside locally to the region served.

What you'll do

• Maintain a personal caseload of patents with behavioral health need and deliver high quality care to patients.
• Conduct behavioral health screenings and assessments to inform individualized care plans, developed in partnership with the patient and the interdisciplinary team.
• Serve as the team's go-to resource for behavioral health questions, warm handoffs, and crisis response protocols—ensuring that patients presenting with suicidality, acute mental health concerns, or SUD crises are appropriately triaged and connected to care.
• Document all encounters accurately and timely in Care Director in compliance with IEHP ECM program requirements, CalAIM standards, and HIPAA.
• Ensure your staff meet their required caseload, optimizing care delivery and patient outcomes.
• Build an engaged and resilient team by supporting case managers with burnout prevention and self-care strategies.
• Oversee patient care plans to guarantee they are implemented effectively and meet quality standards.
• Fully train and onboard new case managers within designated timeframe and ensure they manage a full caseload within designated timeframe.
• Collaborate with the Director to meet audit requirements and track team compliance metrics.

Team Management and Supervision

• Establish a team culture of respect, empathy, and teamwork.
• Approve timecards, time-off requests, and expense reports for direct reports.
• Conduct regular 1:1s to provide feedback, coaching, and support.
• Assign new patients to case managers, ensuring balanced and achievable panel sizes.
• Lead recruitment efforts, including resume screening, interviews, and onboarding processes.
• Serve as subject matter expert in team dependent topics such as harm reduction, and clinical case management.

Program Operations

• Drive team towards quarterly objectives in collaboration with Director. This includes proactively generating ideas to achieve goals and implementing the agreed upon ideas with direct reports.
• Implement quality improvement initiatives to enhance patient outcomes and operational efficiency in collaboration with Director.
• Build, manage, and maintain relationships with key partner organizations.
• Oversee enrollment and disenrollment of patients in alignment with organizational SOPs.
• Manage budget used for supplies, and other inventory.
• Leadership in Akido best practices
• Facilitate huddles, weekly data reviews, and care planning meetings.
• Contribute to monthly all-hands meetings by sharing success stories and showcasing team impact.
• Represent your team in meetings with the Director and external partners.

Training and Development

• Tailor training programs to meet the needs of your team and local environment.
• Mentor case managers, focusing on skill-building, professional growth, and patient care excellence. This includes upskilling staff in motivational interviewing, harm reduction, coaching etc.

Who you are

• Deep understanding of Medi-Cal populations, including those experiencing homelessness, mental illness, or substance use disorders.
• 4+ years experience managing front line staff
• Exceptional organizational and time-management abilities.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, including team coaching and conflict resolution.
• Familiarity with compliance standards, documentation systems, and data-driven decision-making.

Preferred Skills and Qualifications

1. Proven leadership experience, preferably in healthcare or social services.
2. This person will also need to reside locally to the region served.
3. Experience with Medi-Cal/Medicaid populations, CalAIM, or ECM programs.
4. Minimum 2 years of experience in behavioral health case management, care coordination, or direct services with Medi-Cal or similarly complex populations.
5. Familiarity with IEHP and the Inland Empire county behavioral health system preferred
6. Experience working with populations experiencing homelessness, justice involvement, or high emergency department utilization.
7. Bilingual English/Spanish preferred but not required
8. Valid driver's license, automobile insurance, and reliable transportation

License, Certification, and Education Requirements

1. Master's degree in Social Work (MSW) or Masters in Family therapy (MFT)
2. California licensure (LCSW/LMFT) preferred but not required; licensed or license-eligible candidates strongly preferred.

Benefits

• Health benefits include medical, dental and vision
• Paid sick time in accordance in CA law.
• Accrued paid time off (PTO)