Director of Waiver Services

ARC OF ACADIANA INC•New Iberia, LA

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director of Waiver Services leads waiver operations across New Iberia, Lafayette, St. Landry, and Vermilion, supporting services that help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities live meaningful lives in their homes and communities. The Director guides Qs and Coordinators, develops employees, and oversees daily operations, quality assurance, regulatory compliance, and participant risk management. The role ensures services are safe, person-centered, timely, properly documented, and consistent with approved plans and agency requirements. The Director oversees operational priorities, caseload balance and coverage, participant admissions and transitions, service continuity, documentation quality, incident response, employee supervision, housing and financial workflows, and administrative systems. The role coordinates with executive leadership and departments including HR, Nursing, Financials, Billing, Scheduling, and Day Programs; supports licensing activities, surveys, audits, and emergency preparedness; and escalates significant compliance, safety, staffing, and service-continuity concerns. Regular travel to participant homes and program locations is required, as is responding to emergencies and operational needs outside normal business hours when necessary. The position reports to the Vice President of Waiver Services.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Communication, Social Work, or Business required.
At least five years of relevant experience in waiver/Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) operations, including person-centered planning and documentation, problem-solving, decision-making, and managing change.
Supervisory or management experience and experience with incident management required.
Knowledge of waiver/HCBS requirements, Medicaid requirements, applicable licensing standards, and services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Strong understanding of person-centered planning, Comprehensive Plans of Care (CPOCs), Supported Independent Living (SIL) requirements, and participant monitoring and documentation.
Ability to lead, coach, and hold Qs and Coordinators accountable while balancing caseloads, coordinating coverage, and managing competing priorities across multiple service areas.
Strong working knowledge of regulatory compliance, survey readiness, quality assurance, emergency preparedness, and risk management practices.
Proficiency with AXIS Care or a comparable electronic service system, and ability to use SharePoint and administrative tracking tools consistently and accurately.
Independent judgment, strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to follow an issue through to resolution.
Strong communication skills and ability to work effectively with leadership, staff, participants, families, guardians, and regulatory agencies.
Valid driver’s license, acceptable driving record, and ability to travel regularly throughout the assigned service areas.
All experience must be confirmed by HR against the approved job classification and applicable Louisiana requirements.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree preferred.
Experience managing multiple service areas, programs, or caseloads preferred.
Experience with waiver/HCBS licensing surveys, Medicaid requirements, and regulatory compliance strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Direct daily waiver operations across all service areas and set priorities, balance workloads, assign coverage, and resolve competing operational demands.
Lead department meetings, case reviews, readiness reviews, and implementation initiatives.
Coordinate with the Vice President, COO, HR, Nursing, Financials, Billing, Scheduling, Day Programs, and other Directors.
Define and enforce role boundaries between Qs and Coordinators while maintaining shared participant accountability.
Review caseloads based on participant count, SIL requirements, day-program participation, geography, travel, health risks, incidents, family communication, and staffing barriers.
Ensure weekly Q/Coordinator caseload reviews occur and produce documented action items; intervene when work is duplicated, unassigned, overdue, or inconsistently completed.
Oversee documentation review, SIL-contact spot checks, CPOC quality review, home and binder review, corrective-action follow-up, and trend monitoring.
Ensure compliance with applicable state and federal requirements; coordinate licensing activities, surveys, audits, and responses.
Ensure required plans, reports, revisions, contacts, training, and follow-up actions are timely and complete; report significant compliance, safety, and service-continuity issues to executive leadership.
Oversee admissions, transitions, placement decisions, service continuity, and high-risk participant situations.
Ensure participant backup staffing and evacuation plans are current and reflected in service planning.
Oversee critical-incident escalation, medical-emergency response, hospital-admission handoff, discharge planning, and systemic corrective action.
Protect participant choice, dignity, rights, health, safety, welfare, and person-centered outcomes.
Supervise Qs and Coordinators; establish performance expectations, provide coaching, conduct evaluations, and coordinate corrective action with HR when required.
Ensure required training, licensing, competency, and participant-specific onboarding are completed.
Ensure DSP supervision and participant-specific staff guidance are effectively carried out through Q/Coordinator partnerships.
Oversee housing transitions, HUD/Section 8 and apartment-renewal workflows, move coordination, and escalation of unresolved housing risks.
Coordinate with Financials regarding budgets, major purchases, petty cash, leases, and participant financial concerns.
Ensure AXIS Care, SharePoint, binders, trackers, payroll follow-up, and required administrative systems are used consistently.
In partnership with the Vice President, maintain a written emergency-response hierarchy, after-hours coverage plan, evacuation process, and relief procedure.
Oversee deployment and utilization of the Mobile/Floater DSP for approved medical transportation, medication deliveries, urgent home response, and emergency coverage.
Ensure emergencies begin with 911 when indicated and that direct support ends at hospital admission unless separately authorized.
Ensure the Floater supplements rather than replaces EMS, Nursing, Medicaid transportation, family resources, or routine DSP staffing; review emergency utilization for recurring staffing gaps and needed corrective action.
Approve operational priorities, portfolio balancing, coverage assignments, and workflow standards; require retraining, documentation correction, case review, or enhanced monitoring when standards are not met.
Escalate staffing, safety, quality, compliance, and participant-risk concerns to executive leadership; recommend personnel actions in coordination with HR and the Vice President.
Monitor success through timeliness and completeness of participant plans, contacts, reports, revisions, and follow-up; required participant monitoring; incident follow-up and corrective-action closure; documentation quality and audit findings; balanced workloads; emergency-response coverage; employee development and performance follow-through; and participant continuity, safety, rights, and outcomes.