Director Practice Operations Jobs in Washington, DC

Position Summary
As the Director, PI (People Manager), you will lead, develop and empower a high-performing team of project management professionals. This is not a traditional project-leadership role: in our matrixed structure, Project Directors guide the day-to-day work of projects, while you focus on people - coaching team members on their overall growth, helping them navigate challenges they may not yet see, and creating an environment where they can thrive. You will bring an adaptive leadership style, recognizing that supporting people is never one-size-fits-all, and you will build the trust, buy-in and strong relationships that this highly collaborative team values.
You will also help shape how our department manages people. As PI has grown rapidly, we have an opportunity to build a more formal and consistent infrastructure for how we monitor and manage performance, celebrate successes and measure results. You will have real leeway to propose ideas, design new systems and champion them.
This is a people manager role with nine direct reports, with the potential to manage managers (senior managers who supervise individual contributors) and to coach others in their own supervisory practice. While this position can be done remotely from anywhere in the U.S., you must occasionally accommodate our Washington, D.C. business hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET.
Key Responsibilities
People Leadership

• Oversee a team of 8-12 employees (currently nine direct reports), providing a safe and welcoming team environment and ensuring employee growth and development by providing regular coaching, guidance and feedback.
• Provide regular 1:1 supervision to give feedback, discuss performance and professional growth, and address concerns - coaching team members on their development rather than directing the day-to-day of their project work.
• Potentially, coach and support senior managers (M3s) in their own supervision of others, modeling strong supervisory practice and building their confidence and capability as people leaders.
• Establish and track team goals, timelines and deliverables, and ensure alignment with organizational and departmental strategic goals.
• Determine performance ratings, recommend compensation (merit increases) for direct reports, and manage performance issues if necessary.

Performance Management & Development

• Set clear performance expectations and collaborate with team members to establish SMART goals aligned with organizational values, mission and objectives.
• Conduct regular performance reviews, provide timely and constructive feedback, and coach team members to success.
• Identify and address performance concerns directly and with care, developing action plans and implementing performance improvement plans when needed.
• Drive staff development through individual support and guidance around professional development activities, project work, training opportunities and continuing education.
• Recognize and celebrate achievements and outstanding performance to motivate and inspire the team.

Team Culture & Collaboration

• Foster a cohesive, team-oriented culture - identifying shared priorities, working together to accomplish them, celebrating successes and adjusting course when things are not working - rather than a collection of individual efforts.
• Build trust and buy-in through a relational, collaborative leadership approach; help team members understand the "why" behind decisions rather than relying on authority.
• Create a positive, supportive and inclusive work environment that values diversity, equity and inclusion and prioritizes employee well-being and work-life balance.
• Facilitate mentorship, knowledge sharing and best-practice exchange among team members, in collaboration with Project Directors.
• Fairly and effectively manage conflict, implementing resolution strategies that maintain a positive and productive work environment.

Systems & Infrastructure Building

• Help build a more formal and consistent infrastructure for people management at the departmental level, including how we monitor and manage performance, celebrate successes and measure results.
• Propose, design and champion new systems and processes with an entrepreneurial mindset, bringing colleagues on board and operationalizing practices so they are consistent across the department.
• Continuously assess the department's structure, processes and performance to identify and implement opportunities for improvement.

Operational Excellence

• Effectively allocate resources and streamline processes to balance competing demands and maximize team capacity and efficiency.
• Collaborate with fellow Directors, PI, Project Directors and other leaders to identify and assess staffing gaps, matching staff skills and availability to project requirements.
• Anticipate workload fluctuations and adjust resource allocation accordingly.
• Collaborate with Project Directors and Finance to monitor project budgets, identify cost-saving opportunities and ensure financial accountability.

Leadership & Communication

• Maintain a working knowledge of projects to identify opportunities for synergy and alignment, working closely with Project Directors in a matrixed structure.
• Align people-management initiatives with organizational goals and lead departmental change initiatives, ensuring smooth transitions and minimizing disruption.
• Model and facilitate effective communication, serving as a connector of information among direct reports, internal teams and external partners.
• Support cascading communication from leadership, sharing consistent messaging with staff and helping them understand and process decisions - independent of your own opinions - while bringing team perspectives back to leadership.
• Serve as a champion of change, helping advance organizational priorities and supporting the team through transitions with clarity and care.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional experience, including experience managing people and/or leading teams toward shared outcomes.
• Demonstrated management experience required; formal supervision experience (serving as the formal supervisor of record for one or more people) strongly preferred. Candidates without formal supervision experience must show clear evidence of leading, coaching and developing individuals.
• Bachelor's degree in project management, business, public health, social work, mental health, substance use disorder, or a related field.
• Adaptive leadership and coaching skills - the ability to tailor your management approach to each individual and to support people's growth without being in the day-to-day of their work.
• A clear management philosophy, with concrete experience coaching people to success and addressing performance concerns or corrective action with fairness and care.
• Strong relationship-building skills and the ability to earn trust and buy-in and to influence in a matrixed environment without direct authority over the work.
• Demonstrated leadership KSAs such as emotional intelligence, delegation, coaching, strategic thinking and a future focus.
• An entrepreneurial, collaborative mindset - excitement about building systems, championing them and bringing colleagues along.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience managing managers or coaching others in their supervisory practice.
• Master's degree, clinical licensure (e.g., LCSW, LMFT, LPC) or PMP/PRINCE2 certification.
• Background in mental health, substance use disorder, public health or clinical settings, including experience managing in those environments.
• Proficiency in project management tools (e.g., MS Project, Jira, Asana) and methodologies (e.g., Agile, Waterfall).

Salary & Benefits
The salary range for this position is $140,000 to $160,000. Salary decisions within the range are based on experience, education and internal equity.
The National Council offers a comprehensive benefits package, which includes (but is not limited to):

• Medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance
• 403(b) retirement plan with employer contributions after 1 year of service
• Paid time off, including vacation, sick, personal, floating holiday, bereavement and observed federal holidays
• Parental support benefits, including adoption, fertility and surrogacy reimbursement and two weeks paid parental leave
• Free unlimited Relias professional development courses
• Annual professional development and tuition reimbursement funds
• Calm Premium access

Department Summary
The Practice Improvement (PI) department has grown rapidly and recently restructured to separate project direction from people management, creating dedicated People Manager roles focused entirely on developing and supporting staff. This role joins a team of Directors reporting to the Senior Director, PI, and plays a central part in building the people-management systems and cohesive team culture that will carry the department into its next phase of growth.
About Us
The vision of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing is to make mental wellbeing, including recovery from substance use challenges, a reality for everyone. Despite overwhelming need, nearly 30 million people across the U.S. do not have access to comprehensive mental health and substance use treatment.
Founded in 1969, the National Council is a 501(c)(3) membership organization that drives policy and social change on behalf of more than 3,200 mental health and substance use treatment organizations and the more than 15 million children, adults and families they serve. We advocate for policies to ensure equitable access to high-quality services. We build the capacity of mental health and substance use treatment organizations. And we promote greater understanding of mental wellbeing as a core component of comprehensive health and health care. Through our Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) program, we have trained more than 4.5 million people in the U.S. to identify, understand and respond to signs and symptoms of mental health and substance use challenges.
The National Council is growing to meet this moment. We've more than doubled our dedicated team to 240+ employees since 2020. Although we have office space in Washington, D.C., we operate as a remote-first organization, with employees working from their various locations across the United States.
The National Council is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. We embrace individuals from all backgrounds and perspectives, welcoming people of all races, ethnicities, religions, genders, sexual orientations, and ages, as well as veterans, people with disabilities, and those with lived experiences in mental health and substance use challenges to apply. We are committed to fostering a welcoming environment and recruitment process for everyone. If you require accommodation during the application process, please contact us at search@positivelypartners.org.
Department Operations Role Director Locations National Council for Mental Wellbeing, Remote (US) Remote status Fully Remote Organization National Council for Mental Wellbeing