Area Director (Safe Havens) - Residential Services

The Bridge Inc. • New York, NY

3d • $92,000 - $98,000

About The Position

The Bridge offers supportive housing and behavioral health services to vulnerable New Yorkers facing behavioral health and substance use challenges. We provide individuals with the tools they need to pursue their dreams and live meaningful lives. The Bridge envisions a world where adults experiencing serious mental illness can live and thrive within their communities. As a recognized leader in developing and operating supportive housing and community-based programs, The Bridge has 70 years of experience helping New Yorkers with mental illness, including those affected by homelessness, incarceration, and institutionalization. Scope of Position: The Area Director provides strategic and operational leadership for The Bridge’s portfolio of DHS-funded programs, including one Specialized Mental Health Shelter and three Safe Havens serving 167 individuals experiencing homelessness and complex behavioral health needs. Reporting to the Assistant Vice President, the Area Director ensures high-quality, compliant, and trauma-informed client care while maintaining audit readiness and adherence to DHS and agency standards. This role oversees daily operations, supervises and develops program leadership and staff, ensures required trainings and certifications, and promotes best practices such as Motivational Interviewing and Harm Reduction. Serving as the primary liaison to DHS and supporting inspections and cross-department coordination, the Area Director is a hands-on leader who maintains a strong on-site presence across Manhattan and Bronx locations and provides 24/7 on-call oversight as needed.

Requirements

• MSW or Master’s degree in a related field.
• At least five years’ experience serving individuals experiencing homelessness and/or individuals diagnosed with a mental illness.
• Previous work in a NYC DHS Shelter and/or Safe Haven.
• Management and Supervisory experience required.
• Willingness to perform CPR/First Aid/AED/crisis de-escalation and overdose prevention (Narcan).
• Experience working with OTDA, DHS, and HRA.
• Knowledge of AWARDS, CARES, CAPS, SMS, and BCS, is strongly preferred.

Nice To Haves

• Bilingual (Spanish) & Driver’s License is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Monitor the appropriateness and quality of standards of client care, ensuring compliance with the agency and DHS’s policies and procedures for Operation and Documentation and ensuring audit readiness.
• Directly provide supervision to program staff, and crisis intervention to clients when needed.
• Oversee the operations of the programs, including interaction with the agency’s Maintenance/Facilities department and knowledge of the DHS building and Operations Manuals/documentation.
• Be present at Callahan and other on-site inspections. Along with Program Directors, the AD will ensure that program supervisors and staff are keeping up to date with all training and certification requirements. This includes Food Handling, CPR, First Aid, and Fire Safety including the attainment of F-80 and F-02 certificates by all staff.
• Ensure the programs implement best practices such as Trauma Informed Care, Client-Centered Care, Motivational Interviewing. and Harm Reduction.
• Supervise personnel activities, including recruiting and hiring, shift scheduling, developing policies and procedures, staff meetings, staff training, performance evaluations, disciplinary actions, and labor/management issues.
• Act as the point of contact for the DHS Administrator/Analyst and assist in the communication and coordination with Outreach Teams when needed.
• Be flexible in scheduling work hours and traveling between Manhattan and Bronx locations to assist and monitor program needs. The position is on-call 24/7 and may require on-site responses on infrequent occasions.
• Any other duties as may be assigned.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director