Job Title: Director of Mission and Resident Services
Position Summary: Under the direction of the Executive Director, the Director of Mission and Resident Services provides leadership and oversight for St. Clare’s residential program and resident services for mothers and their babies.
The Director is responsible for ensuring that St. Clare provides a safe, compassionate, stable, trauma-informed, and mission-centered environment that promotes the physical, emotional, psychological, spiritual, and social well-being of mothers and infants.
The Director oversees resident services, residential operations, program development, staff supervision, quality improvement, risk management, regulatory compliance, community partnerships, and related administrative functions. The Director works closely with the Executive Director, staff, healthcare and behavioral health professionals, community agencies, volunteers, donors, and other partners to ensure effective and coordinated services.
Because this position has significant responsibility for the care and well-being of mothers and babies, the Director must have a professional background in medicine, nursing, psychology, social work, counseling, behavioral health, public health, or a closely related healthcare or human-services field, with demonstrated experience working with vulnerable populations.
The Director exercises independent judgment within delegated authority and advises the Executive Director regarding resident needs, program effectiveness, staffing, policies, safety, compliance, risk, and organizational improvement.
The Director is expected to model St. Clare’s mission and values through compassionate leadership, professionalism, accountability, integrity, and respect for the dignity of every resident.
Classification: Exempt, Full-Time
Reports To: Executive Director
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Mission and Program Leadership
- Translate St. Clare’s mission and values into effective daily resident services and program operations.
- Provide leadership for the residential program and ensure services are consistent with the organization’s mission, policies, and strategic goals.
- Establish program priorities, goals, and performance expectations in collaboration with the Executive Director.
- Monitor program effectiveness and recommend improvements based on resident needs, outcomes, and best practices.
- Promote a culture of compassion, dignity, accountability, safety, and respect.
- Serve as a visible and accessible leader to residents and staff.
- Participate in strategic planning and organizational development.
- Resident Services
- Provide overall leadership and oversight of services provided to mothers and babies.
- Ensure residents receive appropriate, compassionate, safe, and coordinated support.
- Oversee resident intake, orientation, service planning, progress monitoring, transition planning, and discharge processes.
- Ensure resident needs are appropriately assessed and that referrals are made to qualified healthcare, behavioral health, and community providers when necessary.
- Support programs that promote healthy parenting, maternal well-being, infant safety, personal development, and successful transition to independent living.
- Ensure resident concerns, complaints, and grievances are addressed appropriately and promptly.
- Protect resident dignity, privacy, confidentiality, and rights.
- Participate in complex resident situations and provide guidance to staff.
- Ensure consistent and appropriate application of residential policies and expectations.
- Maternal, Infant, and Behavioral Health
- Apply professional knowledge in healthcare, psychology, behavioral health, social work, counseling, or a related field to strengthen resident services and organizational practices.
- Promote trauma-informed, strengths-based, and culturally responsive approaches to resident care.
- Support awareness of maternal mental health, postpartum adjustment, infant development, parenting, and family well-being.
- Establish appropriate referral relationships with physicians, hospitals, pediatric providers, mental health professionals, substance-use providers, and other community resources.
- Ensure staff understand how to recognize concerns requiring professional medical or behavioral health assessment.
- Establish appropriate procedures for responding to medical, behavioral health, mental health, and safety concerns within St. Clare’s scope of services.
- Ensure staff do not provide medical, psychological, counseling, or other licensed services beyond their qualifications or legal scope of practice.
- Maintain appropriate boundaries between residential support and professional clinical treatment.
- Resident Safety and Risk Management
- Maintain systems designed to protect the safety and well-being of mothers, infants, employees, volunteers, and visitors.
- Ensure staff understand and follow emergency, safety, incident-reporting, and crisis-response procedures.
- Ensure compliance with applicable mandated-reporting requirements.
- Ensure appropriate response to concerns involving abuse, neglect, domestic violence, substance use, self-harm, threats of harm, or other safety risks.
- Review significant incidents and implement appropriate corrective action.
- Identify operational and resident-care risks and develop strategies to minimize those risks.
- Maintain appropriate emergency preparedness procedures.
- Communicate significant safety concerns and incidents promptly to the Executive Director.
- Personnel Leadership and Staff Development
- Supervise and provide leadership to assigned staff.
- Participate in recruitment, interviewing, hiring, orientation, training, performance evaluation, and retention.
- Establish clear expectations and accountability for staff performance.
- Conduct regular staff meetings and maintain effective communication systems.
- Address employee performance concerns, complaints, conflicts, and disciplinary matters appropriately.
- Ensure appropriate staffing levels and schedules for residential operations.
- Ensure employees maintain required credentials, background checks, certifications, and training.
- Develop and coordinate staff education related to trauma-informed care, maternal mental health, infant safety, crisis intervention, mandated reporting, professional boundaries, emergency response, and other relevant topics.
- Promote teamwork, professionalism, accountability, and a positive organizational culture.
- Quality Improvement and Compliance
- Co-chair, with the designated leader, the Risk Prevention and Performance/Quality Improvement (PQI) Teams.
- Monitor resident outcomes, incidents, complaints, grievances, staffing concerns, and other indicators of program quality.
- Identify opportunities for improvement and develop corrective action plans.
- Monitor the effectiveness of quality-improvement initiatives.
- Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, licensing requirements, and organizational policies.
- Maintain required policies, procedures, records, reports, certifications, and documentation.
- Prepare for and participate in licensing inspections, audits, accreditation reviews, and other external reviews.
- Monitor changes in applicable regulations and recommend policy or operational changes when necessary.
- Administrative and Financial Oversight
- Work with the Executive Director and accounting personnel in developing and monitoring the annual budget.
- Monitor program and operational expenditures and report significant concerns or variances.
- Assist with operational planning, forecasting, and resource allocation.
- Ensure appropriate controls over purchases, expenses, donations, and organizational resources.
- Develop and maintain effective administrative procedures and systems.
- Prepare reports, policies, correspondence, and other materials as requested by the Executive Director.
- Oversee appropriate vendor and service-provider relationships.
- Work with the Executive Director and staff to ensure efficient use of organizational resources.
- Community Partnerships and Fund Development
- Develop and maintain productive relationships with hospitals, healthcare providers, behavioral health professionals, social-service agencies, churches, community organizations, governmental agencies, businesses, volunteers, and other partners.
- Establish referral and resource networks that strengthen services available to mothers and babies.
- Represent St. Clare professionally in the community.
- Support the Executive Director and Board in fundraising and donor-relations activities.
- Participate in donor meetings, community presentations, tours, special events, and fundraising activities.
- Assist with the planning and execution of major fundraising events, including the annual Pink and Blue Gala.
- Provide accurate program information for grant applications, donor communications, and organizational reports.
- Residential Facility and Operations
- Oversee the safety, cleanliness, security, and functionality of the residential environment.
- Ensure compliance with applicable health, fire, sanitation, building, and safety requirements.
- Monitor facility maintenance and promptly address identified hazards or deficiencies.
- Ensure residential spaces are appropriate for mothers, infants, staff, and visitors.
- Coordinate with maintenance personnel, vendors, and other service providers.
- Ensure appropriate emergency preparedness and continuity-of-operations procedures.
- Executive and Board Support
- Provide timely operational and programmatic information to the Executive Director.
- Advise the Executive Director regarding resident services, staffing, safety, program development, compliance, quality improvement, and operational matters.
- Prepare reports and recommendations for the Executive Director and Board of Directors as requested.
- Attend Board and committee meetings when requested.
- Assist with implementation of Board-approved policies and strategic priorities.
- Perform other duties as assigned by the Executive Director.
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
A master’s degree from an accredited college or university in one of the following areas is strongly preferred:
- Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Counseling
- Social Work
- Nursing
- Public Health
- Behavioral Health
- Healthcare Administration
- Marriage and Family Therapy
- Medicine
- Human Services
- A closely related healthcare, behavioral health, or human-services field
A bachelor’s degree may be considered when accompanied by substantial directly relevant professional experience and demonstrated leadership responsibility.
Required Professional Background
The successful candidate must have a professional background in medicine, nursing, psychology, social work, counseling, behavioral health, public health, or a closely related healthcare or human-services discipline.
Experience working with mothers, infants, families, vulnerable populations, residential programs, behavioral health, or trauma-informed services is strongly preferred.
Required Experience
Minimum of seven years of progressively responsible professional experience preferred.
- At least five years of management, supervisory, healthcare, behavioral health, residential, or human-services leadership experience preferred.
- Demonstrated experience supervising staff.
- Experience working with vulnerable populations.
- Experience with program development and implementation.
- Experience with regulatory compliance and quality improvement.
- Experience with risk management and incident response.
- Experience collaborating with healthcare, behavioral health, social-service, governmental, and community organizations.
- Experience with nonprofit organizations is preferred.
Professional Licensure
A current professional license or credential is strongly preferred in one or more of the following areas.
- Licensed Psychologist
- Licensed Clinical Social Worker
- Licensed Professional Counselor
- Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
- Registered Nurse
- Advanced Practice Registered Nurse
- Other appropriately licensed healthcare or behavioral health professional
The Director shall not provide professional medical, psychological, counseling, nursing, or other licensed services outside the individual’s education, training, licensure, certification, and applicable law.
KNOWLEDGE
The Director should possess knowledge of:
- Maternal and infant health and well-being
- Maternal mental health and behavioral health
- Infant development and safety
- Trauma-informed care
- Parenting and family-support practices
- Human behavior and family systems
- Residential services
- Crisis intervention and de-escalation
- Healthcare and behavioral health systems
- Community resources and referral systems
- Applicable laws, regulations, licensing, and accreditation requirements
- Personnel practices and employment law
- Nonprofit management
- Budgeting and fiscal management
- Risk management
- Quality improvement
- Program development and evaluation
- Confidentiality and privacy requirements
- Emergency preparedness and response
SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES
The successful candidate must demonstrate:
- Strong mission-centered leadership
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills
- Compassion, empathy, and sound professional boundaries
- Strong organizational and administrative skills
- Effective problem-solving and conflict-resolution abilities
- Strong critical-thinking and decision-making skills
- Ability to manage sensitive and confidential situations
- Ability to remain calm and effective during crises
- Ability to supervise, coach, motivate, and develop staff
- Ability to establish priorities and manage multiple responsibilities
- Ability to assess resident and organizational risk
- Ability to develop and implement policies and procedures
- Ability to work collaboratively with healthcare and behavioral health professionals
- Ability to represent St. Clare professionally within the community
- Proficiency with computers, electronic records, email, Microsoft Office or comparable systems, and other technology necessary to perform the position
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
Sit, stand, walk, bend, reach, and move throughout office and residential environments.
- Occasionally lift or carry objects weighing up to approximately 40 pounds.
- Move safely throughout residential and administrative areas.
- Operate computers, telephones, office equipment, and other technology.
- Respond appropriately to residential or facility emergencies.
- Maintain sufficient hearing, vision, mobility, and manual dexterity to perform essential job functions.
MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Work effectively in a dynamic residential environment.
- Manage competing priorities and frequent interruptions.
- Maintain professionalism in emotionally difficult circumstances.
- Respond appropriately to crises involving mothers, infants, families, or staff.
- Exercise sound judgment when dealing with sensitive and confidential information.
- Handle conflict constructively.
- Make timely decisions under pressure.
- Maintain appropriate professional boundaries.
- Demonstrate empathy while maintaining appropriate administrative authority.
- Work effectively with individuals from diverse backgrounds and with differing needs and perspectives.
WORKING CONDITIONS
The Director works in both an administrative office environment and a residential program facility.
- Regular interaction with mothers, infants, families, staff, healthcare professionals, social-service agencies, donors, volunteers, and members of the public.
- Exposure to emotionally difficult or crisis situations.
- Occasional exposure to illness or communicable conditions within a residential environment.
- Occasional evening, weekend, holiday, or after-hours responsibilities.
- On-call availability for significant operational emergencies as determined by the Executive Director.
- Attendance at organizational events, fundraising activities, community meetings, conferences, and Board meetings.
- Occasional travel for professional development, meetings, conferences, or organizational business.
Work Authorization:
Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of hire. The Diocese of Charleston does not provide visa sponsorship. Successful candidates will be required to complete Form I-9 and present acceptable documentation verifying identity and employment authorization.
Employment in this position is contingent upon the successful completion of all required pre-employment screening and verification processes, as applicable to the responsibilities of the position. These may include:
- A criminal background check and completion of all Diocese of Charleston Safe Environment requirements;
- A motor vehicle record (MVR) check and verification of a valid driver’s license and acceptable driving record when driving is an essential function of the position; and
- A job-related financial/credit background check when warranted by the position’s level of financial responsibility, access to funds, or fiduciary duties.
All background screenings will be conducted in accordance with applicable federal and state laws and Diocese of Charleston policies. Results will be evaluated based on their relevance to the duties and responsibilities of the position and will not automatically disqualify an applicant from employment.
Interested and qualified candidates, please send a cover letter, resume and 4 professional references ( phone numbers and emails) to apply@charlestondiocese.org
