Associate Director, Crisis Services

Job Title:            Associate Director, Crisis Services

Reports to:         Director of Social Services

Classification:    Regular, Full-Time, FLSA Exempt

Pay Range:         $130,000 - $140,000

Location:            Berkeley, CA 94704

Office Hours:     Monday – Friday 8am-5pm

About Us:  Bonita House, Inc. (BHI) is a nonprofit mental health agency with multiple sites in Alameda County and an operating budget of $14.5 million. Founded in 1971, BHI provides social rehabilitation including a full range of Medi-Cal services to adults with co-occurring serious mental health and substance use disorders.

Our Mission: Building community, dignity, hope and wellness through services that support recovery and self-sufficiency with people who are living with serious mental health challenges.

Our Values: Compassion: Committed to caring, dignity and kindness.  Respect: Honor each individual and provide highly ethical services.  Progress: Leading the way in creating opportunities to change for the better.  Resilience: Channeling hope, building strengths to successfully recover, adapt and grow.  Embracing Differences: Honor and celebrate our diverse communities and individual uniqueness.

Position Summary

The Associate Director of Crisis Services is responsible for effective and efficient operational, financial, and clinical planning, execution, and management of Bonita House’s crisis programs throughout Alameda County. The department encompasses multiple programs with varying oversight bodies. Teams work in collaboration with public safety agencies including law enforcement and EMS. The Associate Director is responsible for maintaining stakeholder relationships and ensuring contract compliance. The Associate Director will continue to develop and maintain tracking of performance measures to report internally for planning and externally to stakeholders. Provides administrative management to all department staff and direct supervision to clinical management.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Direct crisis intervention and crisis management services, including sharing on-call responsibility.
• Responsible for ensuring that crisis teams are adequately staffed, including arranging on-call coverage with adequate lead time. It is a billing requirement that services operate 24/7 without gaps in coverage.
• Recruit, hire, and develop qualified staff.
• Provide administrative supervision to crisis department staff.
• Supervise and oversee clinical supervision responsibilities of Clinical Managers and EMS Manager.
• Facilitate and oversee training, sound supervision, and good judgment in clinical decision-making.
• Develop operational policies and procedures in collaboration with stakeholders and community partners.
• Develop and enhance process improvement techniques and methods for all teams.
• Assure that department initiatives and training are grounded in evidence-based practices and industry standards that align with the most updated research on harm reduction and trauma-informed care.
• Effectively collaborate with regulatory and oversight bodies (Alameda County Behavioral Health, City of Pleasanton, City of Albany, City of Berkeley, SCU steering committee, DCHS, etc.)
• Liaise with community partners, such as Psych ERs, Crisis Stabilization Units, Crisis Residential Programs, Wellness Centers, etc.
• Ensure intra-agency collaboration is enhanced to improve the efficiency of integrated care and care coordination within Bonita House.
• Ensure all quality (internal and external) metrics are met and implement improvement practices to reduce variation.
• Oversee department and program budgets.
• Collect, organize, and report data as required by contract, regulation, policy, or procedure.
• Ensure timely completion of clinical documentation program reports in accordance with agency and regulatory requirements.
• Identify client and community needs and assist in enhancing and developing services to address those needs.
• Contribute to organizational visioning and goal development.
• Participate in the development and implementation of agency treatment philosophy.
• Participate in budget development/management of county contracts, private sector contracts, and private pay sources in conjunction with the Director of Finance and the Executive Director.
• Responsible for the program’s fiscal performance, including managing bottom-line results, budget modifications, and expense/revenue management.
• Assist with program development and ensure compliance with policies and procedures related to risk and funding mandates.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities: This position supervises the day-to-day activities and staff of one or more functional areas and performs related work as required. Incumbents are focused on ensuring that the team’s work is clinically sound, performed timely, effectively, and in accordance with quality requirements and regulations. Oversees the scheduling, assignments, and daily workflow of subordinate staff in the department. Assists with constructive and timely performance evaluations.

Qualifications and Requirements

• Must be a Licensed mental health provider (e.g., LMFT. LCSW, LPCC, Phd/Ph.D.) with at least 5 years of clinical experience providing assessment, psychotherapy, and clinical consultation services in a community-based setting.
• Master’s degree and two years post-licensure in Psychology, Social Work, Clinical or Counseling with Supervisory course work completed for BBS.
• This position requires driving as necessary to fulfill essential duties. A valid California driver’s license, reliable personal vehicle, current personal auto insurance as required by law, and an MVR sufficient to obtain and reasonably maintain insurability under agency auto liability policies are all essential job requirements. 
• This position is federally funded and requires completion of post-offer, pre-employment background checks, physical exam, and drug screen.

Knowledge Skills & Abilities

• The ideal candidate will be experienced in the field of crisis management; committed to the practices and principles of Roberts’ Seven-Stage Crisis Intervention Model (SSCIT).
• A seasoned provider skilled at providing clinical consultation in an emergent community-based setting.
• Experienced in rapid screening and assessment, DSM5 Diagnosis and committed to supervising and developing staff competencies around Evidence-Based Practices for persons of any age (e.g., children, adolescents, and adults), who require brief psychiatric evaluation.
• Must have a strong knowledge and be able to provide practical application of Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (for depression, anxiety, psychosis, substance use disorder, insomnia, and suicide prevention), trauma-informed care, Solution Focused Therapy, mindfulness/mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques, culturally specific mental health needs, and provide linkage to local community resources.
• Demonstrate the ability to communicate and effectively interact with people across cultures, ranges of ability, genders, ethnicities, and races.
• Proficient with Microsoft 365 or related software and experience with Electronic Health Record Systems (eg. Welligent, Clinicians Gateway, Reddinet, Epic).
• Excellent verbal and written skills and the ability to present information effectively.
• Excellent interpersonal, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to function well in a high-paced and at times stressful environment.
• Ability to act with integrity, professionalism, and confidentiality.
• Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to meet deadlines.

Physical Requirements

Physical demands include continual sitting, typing, and repetitive computer use for up to 8 hours a day. The position also requires frequent communication with others, including hearing and speaking clearly with individuals and groups, in person and via phone and video calls. Ability to lift 15 pounds at times. Regular local travel required. These requirements are representative of those that must be met to successfully perform the job’s essential functions. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Bonita House, Inc. is committed to providing equal opportunity to all qualified persons regardless of race, color, citizenship status, national origin, ancestry, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, age, religion, creed, physical or mental disability, marital status, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.