Director of Safeguarding and Risk

Kooth

4d • $130,000 • Remote

About The Position

Kooth is hiring a Director of Safeguarding and Risk to lead safeguarding strategy for its US behavioral health services and assist the Global Head of Safeguarding with the global trust and safety framework. The role is accountable for ensuring services are safe and aligned with local and national regulatory frameworks, with policies and procedures embedded and appropriate assurances in place for internal and external stakeholders.

The Director leads the Safeguarding and Trust & Safety functions and frameworks across North America, builds and develops the risk team, and works with the VP of Clinical Excellence on US clinical and safeguarding strategy. The role also covers risk governance, reporting and analytics, incident investigations, stakeholder and commissioner engagement, policy development, regulatory compliance, clinical safety, and on-call support. The position works across internal teams and with local and national healthcare systems and stakeholders to promote safe, effective digital behavioral health services for young people and vulnerable adults.

Requirements

• Master’s degree or higher in Psychology, Social Work, Medicine, Mental Health, Counseling, or a closely related field.
• At least 7 years of experience managing risk in a relevant field, with demonstrated knowledge of regulatory frameworks and challenges related to youth behavioral health.
• Clinical license in a relevant field.
• Demonstrated experience leading safety and safeguarding initiatives in digital healthcare or behavioral health environments.
• People management experience, including leading, developing, and supporting high-performing teams.
• Experience developing, implementing, and managing organizational strategies for safeguarding, clinical safety, and risk management.
• Strong understanding of online trust and safety frameworks, including content moderation, user protection, and digital platform safety.
• Working knowledge of HIPAA and healthcare privacy and compliance requirements.
• Comprehensive understanding of child and adult protection laws, safeguarding regulations, and applicable state and federal regulatory frameworks.
• Experience conducting compliance risk assessments, identifying vulnerabilities, and implementing risk mitigation strategies.
• Experience managing clinical and patient safety protocols, incident response frameworks, investigations, and corrective actions.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including assessing complex risks and making evidence-based decisions.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, including the ability to influence and collaborate with cross-functional teams and senior leadership.
• Ability to navigate sensitive situations with judgment, discretion, empathy, and professionalism.
• Strong strategic thinking and organizational skills, and ability to balance competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Safeguarding and Trust & Safety functions and frameworks across North America.
• Assist and deputize for the Global Head of Safeguarding in agreed areas of responsibility.
• Work with the VP of Clinical Excellence to set US Clinical & Safeguarding Department strategy in alignment with global functions and organizational priorities.
• Build and lead a high-performing risk team, ensuring it delivers strategic objectives and team members are appropriately trained and supported.
• Ensure US practices align with Kooth’s global frameworks and provide compassionate, supportive leadership while maintaining high standards.
• Support HR on confidential performance matters, including leading investigations.
• Prepare monthly reports on function activity, trends, challenges, and improvement plans.
• Help ensure safeguarding-specific organizational risks are visible to the executive team and board of directors.
• Use quantitative and qualitative data from internal and external sources to explain how risks are increased and mitigated.
• Lead practice-related incident reporting, investigations, root cause analysis, and reporting of lessons learned.
• Engage and partner with internal and external stakeholders to clarify the risk team’s responsibilities.
• Represent the company at industry conferences and meetings and build relationships with key stakeholders.
• Develop risk policies with relevant local stakeholders and manage implementation challenges through transparent, supportive discussions.
• Provide timely and accurate risk activity information to local commissioners and stakeholders in accordance with contract requirements.
• Lead timely responses to data requests from local and national stakeholders, including police, in line with duty of care.
• Keep current with evidence-based behavioral health practices, including digital health practices.
• Ensure clinical policies and procedures are fit for purpose and aligned with regulatory and best-practice frameworks for risk.
• Ensure appropriate governance for teams with risk elements, including product, content, and service delivery, and support practice audits as appropriate.
• Apply relevant risk legislation in collaboration with legal and risk teams, identifying and addressing gaps.
• Establish, embed, and review risk management, reporting, and prevention processes.
• Analyze organizational risk-training needs and make recommendations based on analysis and relevant data.
• Advise internal staff as the company expert on risks relevant to youth behavioral health, including vulnerable adults.
• Lead implementation of actions to mitigate identified risks and lessons learned following incidents.
• Oversee development of risk policies and lead their implementation.
• Lead on-call provision, ensuring practitioners are supported and potentially participating in the on-call rotation.

Benefits

• Competitive base salary up to $130,000 annually
• Employee equity program
• Medical coverage
• Dental coverage
• Vision coverage
• 401(k) retirement plan with company match
• Generous paid time off
• Remote-first flexibility and work-from-home support
• Paid parental leave
• Learning and development opportunities
• Eight paid holidays plus two half-day holidays (Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve)

What This Job Offers

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