Director of Behavioral Health Services
About The Position
Boston Senior Home Care (BSHC), a Massachusetts nonprofit serving more than 3,000 older adults across 19 supportive housing sites in Greater Boston, is hiring a full-time clinical leader for its Supportive Housing program. Residents often experience complex medical, functional, cognitive, social, and behavioral health needs, including limited English proficiency and limited access to culturally responsive care. The Director owns BSHC’s supportive housing clinical model, resident assessment tools, and clinical routing rules, and serves as the final clinical routing authority for complex or ambiguous presentations. The role leads fidelity to Problem Management Plus (PM+), an evidence-based short-term intervention for mild-to-moderate distress, and serves as the licensed field instructor for MSW/BSW interns. The Director also provides clinical consultation and training to Tenant Resource Counselors (TRCs), while their day-to-day supervision remains with the Supportive Housing Program Manager. Reporting to the Senior Director of Supportive Housing, the Director works closely with the Program Manager, TRCs, nursing, and property management partners. The role directly supervises the PM+ Program Coordinator (0.5 FTE), coordinates clinical operations across sites, oversees assessment and outcomes processes, and contributes to program development and sustainability. Regular travel among BSHC supportive housing sites and time at the central office are required. A hybrid schedule may be available consistent with program needs; reliable transportation is required. New employees must clear a CORI before taking on the role.
Requirements
- Active Massachusetts licensure as an Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW).
- Master’s degree in Social Work (MSW) or a related clinical behavioral health field.
- At least 2–3 years of post-licensure clinical experience, including direct practice with older adults and/or low-income, culturally diverse populations.
- Demonstrated experience providing clinical supervision to trainees or supervisees, such as MSW/BSW interns.
- Meets university requirements to serve as an MSW field instructor: an MSW from a CSWE-accredited program and at least two years of post-master’s practice experience.
- Sound clinical judgment in triage, risk assessment, and routing across complex presentations, including possible serious mental illness, substance use, and cognitive impairment.
- Strong program management skills, including experience coordinating multidisciplinary teams and multi-site service delivery.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience preparing reports for organizational leadership or external stakeholders.
- Reliable transportation for travel among supportive housing sites.
Nice To Haves
- Experience with comprehensive geriatric assessment tools, including ADL/IADL assessment, frailty and fall-risk screening, cognitive screening, and pain assessment.
- Experience with structured early-detection or interdisciplinary routing models in healthcare, housing, or aging services.
- Experience in supportive or affordable housing, aging services, or community mental health settings.
- Familiarity with outcomes measurement frameworks.
- Bilingual or multilingual proficiency, such as Cantonese, Mandarin, Russian, or Spanish.
- Experience partnering with academic institutions on field placement or internship programs.
- WHO Problem Management Plus (PM+) certification, or experience with evidence-based short-term psychological interventions for older adults; PM+ certification can be completed after hire if not already held.
Responsibilities
- Own the supportive housing clinical model, including the Annual Older Needs Assessment, MAGIC early-detection framework, and clinical routing rules.
- Maintain and revise resident assessment tools, train TRCs and interns in their use, and apply pilot and outcome data to improve them.
- Ensure assessment findings lead to individualized service plans and appropriate internal or external referrals.
- Provide clinical oversight, risk assessment, and case consultation for residents with complex or overlapping needs.
- Serve as final clinical routing authority for ambiguous presentations and determine appropriate discipline-specific responses.
- Coordinate with nursing, occupational therapy, case management, peer support, and community partners to connect residents with appropriate care.
- Establish a communication pathway for maintenance staff and property managers to raise observed resident concerns through TRCs to appropriate clinical responders.
- Own fidelity and quality for PM+, maintain WHO PM+ certification, and lead quarterly fidelity reviews and pre/post outcome measurement.
- Serve as LICSW field instructor for MSW/BSW interns; recruit, onboard, and provide ongoing clinical supervision.
- Directly supervise the PM+ Program Coordinator (0.5 FTE) and coordinate clinical operations, caseloads, and scheduling across sites.
- Provide clinical consultation, group case review, and training to TRCs and supportive housing staff on resident identification, warm handoffs, and structured behavioral health observation.
- Maintain field-placement partnerships with area universities and develop training materials and a training-of-trainers approach.
- Partner with program staff to strengthen proactive, multi-pathway identification of residents who may benefit from behavioral health or clinical support.
- Ensure services are culturally and linguistically responsive to BSHC residents, including residents who speak Cantonese, Mandarin, or Russian and residents with limited English proficiency.
- Support residents in planning for preferences as they age, including housing stability, aging in place, and connection to appropriate levels of care.
- Oversee validated assessment and screening tools and track outcomes across health, functional, and social-emotional domains.
- Monitor housing stability, service utilization, and resident well-being data for continuous quality improvement.
- Prepare outcome and fidelity reports for BSHC leadership and applicable funders, in coordination with the Senior Director of Supportive Housing.
- Lead consumer satisfaction surveys and resident feedback processes.
- Contribute to sustainability planning and represent BSHC’s behavioral health program in provider, funder, and peer-learning forums.
Stand Out From the Crowd
Upload your resume and get instant feedback on how well it matches this job.
What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
