Key Facts

Remote From:

Full time

Senior (5-10 years)

English

Hard Skills

Organizational Architecture Workforce Planning Budget Management Cross-Functional Collaboration Business Process Improvement Matrix Management Standard Operating Procedure Performance Management Succession Planning Talent Acquisition Project Management Employee Onboarding Assigning Employees Employee Relations Capacity Planning Conflict Resolution Inclusive Leadership

Other Skills

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People Management
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Supervision
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Leadership Development
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Delegation Skills
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Accountability
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Strategic Thinking
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Dynamic Communication
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Verbal Communication Skills
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Social Skills
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Emotional Intelligence
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Coaching

Roles & Responsibilities

Minimum 10 years of relevant professional experience in behavioral health, public health, or nonprofit sectors.
Minimum of 6 years of progressive supervisory experience, including at least 3 years supervising managers or supervisors.
Master's Degree in Business Administration, Social Work, Public Administration, Organizational Development, Human Resources, Public Health, Public Policy, or a related field.
Demonstrated expertise in organizational design, including experience structuring or restructuring teams, defining reporting relationships, and aligning roles to strategic priorities.

Requirements:

Directly supervise all People Managers, set accountability across the department, conduct regular one-on-one supervision, and foster psychological safety and high performance.
Oversee workforce planning and staffing, forecast capacity, manage budgets and resources for funded projects, and ensure workload equity and effective staffing across projects.
Apply organizational design expertise to assess and evolve the departmental structure, define spans of control, and lead organizational change initiatives as needed.
Develop and standardize department-wide operating procedures, supervision frameworks, onboarding playbooks, and tools for performance documentation, staffing, and project assignment tracking.

Job description

Position Summary

The National Council for Mental Wellbeing is seeking a Senior Director, Practice Improvement to lead the administrative and people operations of the Practice Improvement (PI) department. This is a newly designed position that will shape how the department operates, grows, and supports its people.

As our Senior Director, you will set department-wide frameworks, structures, and standards that enable consistent supervision, effective staffing, and efficient operations across a growing, grant-funded portfolio. You will directly supervise people managers, drive organizational health and workforce stability, oversee budget and resource decisions for funded projects, and mitigate operational risk. This role operates with significant autonomy and requires expert-level judgment in management, organizational design, and matrix supervision.

You are the right fit for this role if you bring deep expertise in building and optimizing operational systems within complex, matrixed environments. You thrive in roles where you can design new ways of working rather than maintain the status quo. You have a track record of leading people managers, standardizing practices, and aligning teams to strategic priorities. You bring both the strategic mindset and the hands-on leadership to build something new.

This is a people manager role with direct reports at the Director (M4) level. While this position can be done remotely from anywhere in the U.S., you must primarily work our Washington, D.C. business hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET.

Key Responsibilities

Supervisory Leadership & People Management

Lead PIC people management by directly supervising all People Managers and setting clear accountability and supervisory expectations across the department.
Conduct regular, structured one-on-one supervision with People Managers; establish and uphold expectations for supervision quality cascading through all management levels.
Partner with peer senior leaders to optimize efficiency and effectiveness in a matrixed environment.
Make autonomous decisions related to staffing, personnel matters, performance management, and departmental structure, escalating to the Vice President only where required by policy or strategic significance.
Build a culture of psychological safety, accountability, and high performance; model inclusive leadership and empower staff at all levels.

Workforce Planning, Staffing & Talent Lifecycle

Maintain oversight of department staffing, including headcount, roles, capacity, and coverage, to ensure operational stability across projects and initiatives.
Partner with People Managers and Project Directors to forecast staffing needs, manage budgets, assign staff to projects, and maintain workload equity and role clarity.
Anticipate capacity and skill gaps and implement solutions before they affect project delivery or staff wellbeing.
Oversee hiring for the department, including role scoping, job description approval, interview participation, and final hiring recommendations.
Standardize onboarding to ensure new hires understand expectations, workflows, and department norms and are set up for early success.
Oversee offboarding processes that support knowledge transfer and protect project continuity.

Organizational Design & Structural Leadership

Apply organizational design expertise to assess, refine, and evolve the departmental structure in alignment with strategic priorities, workload demands, and evolving program needs.
Define clear spans of control, supervisory layers, and role accountabilities across People Managers and staff levels.
Lead or co-lead organizational change initiatives within the department, including restructuring, role realignment, and team reorganization as needed.
Develop and maintain an up-to-date departmental org chart reflecting accurate reporting relationships and role classifications.

Standardization of Departmental Practices & Procedures

Develop and improve standard operating procedures for supervision, onboarding, performance management, communication norms, and staff development.
Establish and maintain a Supervision Framework for the department, defining expectations for frequency, documentation, content, and escalation processes at all supervisory levels.
Create and maintain an Onboarding Playbook that ensures a consistent, high-quality orientation experience for all incoming staff.
Develop standardized tools and templates for performance documentation, supervision notes, staffing matrices, and assignment trackers.

Administrative Oversight & Operational Efficiency

Oversee department operations by ensuring the systems, processes, and infrastructure needed for effective delivery are in place.
Streamline internal workflows including documentation, reporting cycles, meeting cadence, and communication protocols.
Monitor department budgets and resource allocations with the Vice President; flag emerging and forecasted financial or capacity risks.
Contribute to departmental and organizational strategic planning; represent PIC in cross-departmental leadership forums.

Human Resources Partnership

Serve as PIC's primary liaison to HR on people-related matters including hiring, performance management, corrective action, accommodations, and offboarding.
Partner with HR to address employee relations issues fairly, timely, and in accordance with policy.
Collaborate with HR on workforce planning, compensation equity, and succession planning for key roles.

People Leadership

Oversee a team with direct reports at the Director (M4) level, providing a safe and welcoming team environment and ensuring employee growth and development by providing regular coaching, guidance, and feedback.
Establish and track team goals, timelines, and deliverables, and ensure alignment with organizational and departmental strategic goals.
Take ownership and accountability for decisions made by direct reports.
In partnership with the People & Culture team, determine performance ratings, recommend compensation (merit increases) for direct reports, and manage performance issues if necessary.

Required Qualifications

Minimum 10 years of relevant professional experience, with significant experience in the behavioral health, public health, or nonprofit sector preferred.
Minimum of 6 years of progressive supervisory experience, including at least 3 years supervising managers or supervisors.
Master's Degree in Business Administration, Social Work, Public Administration, Organizational Development, Human Resources, Public Health, Public Policy, or a related field.
Demonstrated expertise in organizational design, including experience structuring or restructuring teams, defining reporting relationships, and aligning roles to strategic priorities.
Proven track record in standardizing supervisory, onboarding, and operational practices across a department or division.
Experience collaborating closely with Human Resources on the full employee lifecycle, including hiring, performance management, employee relations, and organizational planning.
Demonstrated ability to function as a decisive, autonomous leader in complex, matrixed organizational environments.
Experience in the development and management of departmental budgets and human resource allocations.
Exceptional written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills; high emotional intelligence with a demonstrated ability to navigate conflict.
Demonstrated leadership competencies including strategic thinking, delegation, coaching, cascading communication, and a future-focused orientation.

Preferred Qualifications

Knowledge of mental health, addiction treatment, or behavioral health service delivery and financing.
SHRM-CP/SCP, SPHR, or similar HR-adjacent certification.
Formal training or certification in organizational design, change management, or leadership development.
Experience with federal or state grant-funded programs and multi-project workforce management.
Prior experience in a national membership association or policy-oriented nonprofit environment.

Salary & Benefits

The salary range for this position is $151,200 to $198,900. 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

Project/Department Summary

The Practice Improvement & Consulting (PIC) department leads the National Council's work in advancing evidence-based practices across behavioral health organizations nationwide. Funded primarily through SAMHSA grants, philanthropic partnerships, and foundation support, PIC operates a diverse and growing portfolio of projects focused on expanding access to high-quality, integrated care. The department supports member organizations in implementing best practices, building capacity, and driving measurable improvements in service delivery for communities across the country.

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 Recruiter@thenationalcouncil.org.

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