Senior Manager of Behavioral Health

Position Summary

BUILD is seeking an experienced and collaborative Senior Manager of Behavioral Health to provide leadership, management, and operational oversight across the organization's behavioral health services. This senior leadership position is responsible for strengthening program quality, staff performance, service delivery, accountability, and coordination across School-Based Mental Health, Community Mental Health, and other assigned behavioral health initiatives.

The Senior Manager directly supervises the Manager of School-Based Mental Health Services and Manager of Community Mental Health, serving as their primary point of contact for day-to-day program operations, staffing, performance management, problem-solving, quality improvement, and service-delivery concerns. The position works closely with the Director of Mental Health & Therapeutic Services to ensure programs are effectively staffed, meeting performance expectations, responsive to participant needs, and aligned with BUILD's strategic priorities.

A significant initial responsibility of this position will be leading the development and implementation of PYO-TREAT, a SAMHSA-funded initiative focused on preventing overdose and expanding access to substance use prevention, treatment, recovery support, education, and behavioral health services for youth and young adults ages 10-25.

During PYO-TREAT's initial development and launch, approximately 50% of the Senior Manager's time will focus on PYO-TREAT implementation and 50% on management and oversight of School-Based and Community Mental Health programs. Once PYO-TREAT is fully operational, the position is expected to transition to approximately 20% PYO-TREAT oversight and 80% broader behavioral health program management and leadership.

The Senior Manager serves as a critical bridge between program management and departmental leadership, helping BUILD strengthen communication, accountability, staff development, interdisciplinary coordination, compliance, quality assurance, and consistency across its behavioral health continuum.

Key Responsibilities

Directly supervise, coach, and support the Manager of School-Based Mental Health Services and Manager of Community Mental Health.

Conduct regular individual supervision and leadership meetings focused on program performance, staff management, problem-solving, professional development, and accountability.

Establish clear expectations, priorities, deliverables, and performance measures for assigned managers and programs.

Support managers in addressing employee performance concerns, staffing challenges, service-delivery barriers, difficult cases, and escalated partner or participant concerns.

Promote consistent management, supervision, and accountability practices across School-Based and Community Mental Health services.

Monitor caseloads, staffing capacity, service utilization, productivity, documentation, participant engagement, and program outcomes.

Provide leadership oversight for therapists, clinical interns, and other behavioral health staff through the appropriate program managers.

Ensure behavioral health services are trauma-informed, culturally responsive, youth-centered, ethical, and responsive to individuals and families impacted by trauma, violence, and systemic inequities.

Strengthen coordination among behavioral health services, schools, families, mentors, case managers, outreach teams, community partners, and other BUILD departments.

Lead the development, implementation, and successful launch of the PYO-TREAT program.

Translate PYO-TREAT grant requirements into clear workflows, procedures, staff responsibilities, implementation timelines, deliverables, and performance expectations.

Establish effective processes for participant outreach, referral, screening, assessment, treatment connection, recovery support, education, care coordination, engagement, and retention.

Coordinate substance use prevention, treatment, recovery support, overdose prevention, education, and behavioral health services for youth and young adults.

Develop and maintain relationships with treatment providers, healthcare organizations, schools, behavioral health providers, community organizations, government entities, and other stakeholders.

Coordinate appropriate overdose prevention education, naloxone distribution, psychoeducation, outreach, and community engagement activities associated with PYO-TREAT.

Oversee required PYO-TREAT data collection, evaluation, performance measurement, GPRA/SPARS responsibilities, compliance activities, and grant reporting.

Coordinate staff training and workforce development related to substance use prevention and treatment, trauma-informed care, motivational interviewing, harm reduction, recovery-oriented practices, and other relevant approaches.

Monitor PYO-TREAT implementation, outcomes, expenditures, barriers, and emerging needs and provide regular updates to departmental leadership.

Participate in sustainability planning to support continuation and integration of PYO-TREAT services beyond the initial grant period.

Establish consistent quality and performance expectations across assigned behavioral health programs.

Review program dashboards, reports, documentation, service hours, caseload information, productivity measures, participant outcomes, and other performance data.

Use data to identify program strengths, service gaps, trends, training needs, staffing needs, and opportunities for continuous quality improvement.

Support internal audits, quality assurance activities, corrective action plans, and compliance monitoring.

Ensure assigned programs operate in accordance with BUILD policies, grant and contractual requirements, professional standards, and applicable regulatory expectations.

Provide managers with coaching and professional development in supervision, communication, conflict resolution, accountability, performance management, staff development, and team leadership.

Identify professional development needs and coordinate appropriate training opportunities for behavioral health managers and staff.

Assist managers with strategies designed to improve employee engagement, professional growth, recruitment, and retention.

Support the onboarding and development of new managers, supervisors, clinicians, and behavioral health program leadership.

• Promote a collaborative, ethical, supportive, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive workplace culture.
• Serve as a leadership liaison between Behavioral Health and other BUILD departments and programs.
• Participate in interdisciplinary care coordination, departmental leadership, clinical, program, grant, community, and agency-wide meetings as appropriate.
• Represent Mental Health & Therapeutic Services in internal and external meetings as assigned by the Director.

Support managers in monitoring program budgets, grant expenditures, staffing allocations, contractual deliverables, and available resources.

Partner with the Director, Finance, Development, and program managers to ensure expenditures align with approved budgets, program priorities, and funding requirements.

Monitor for potential underspending, overspending, performance risks, staffing shortages, or barriers to meeting grant and contractual commitments.

Assist with grant proposals, renewals, reports, budgets, program development, and sustainability planning as requested.

Support strategic staffing and resource-allocation decisions based on participant demand, service capacity, program requirements, and available funding.

Maintain consistent communication with the Director of Mental Health & Therapeutic Services regarding staffing, program performance, accomplishments, risks, compliance concerns, and emerging departmental needs.

Participate in organizational strategic planning, special initiatives, community events, and fundraising activities as appropriate.

Assume additional program oversight, projects, meetings, and leadership responsibilities based on evolving departmental and organizational needs.

Perform other work-related duties as assigned by the Director of Mental Health & Therapeutic Services.

Position Allocation

During the initial PYO-TREAT implementation period, the Senior Manager will dedicate approximately 50% of their role to PYO-TREAT development and implementation and 50% to the management and oversight of School-Based and Community Mental Health services.

As PYO-TREAT becomes fully staffed, operationalized, and integrated into BUILD's behavioral health continuum, the position is expected to transition to approximately 20% PYO-TREAT monitoring, compliance, sustainability, and oversight and 80% School-Based Mental Health, Community Mental Health, and broader departmental leadership responsibilities.

The allocation may be adjusted based on program needs, grant requirements, staffing levels, organizational priorities, and direction from the Director of Mental Health & Therapeutic Services.

Requirements

Master's degree in Social Work, Counseling, Psychology, Marriage and Family Therapy, Public Health, Behavioral Health, or a closely related field.

Clinical licensure or eligibility for clinical licensure in Illinois strongly preferred, such as LCSW, LCPC, LMFT, or another applicable behavioral health credential.

Demonstrated experience managing or supervising behavioral health, mental health, clinical, youth-development, or community-based programs.

Demonstrated experience supervising managers, supervisors, clinicians, or multidisciplinary behavioral health teams.

Strong understanding of trauma-informed, culturally responsive, youth-centered, and community-based behavioral health practices.

Experience supporting individuals, youth, and families affected by trauma, community violence, behavioral health challenges, substance use, or systemic inequities.

Knowledge of substance use prevention, treatment, recovery support, harm reduction, and overdose prevention practices preferred.

Experience manag