Senior Director Family Engagement Services

LiveOnNY•Long Island City, NY

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Overview Ready for a Life-Changing Career? Join LiveOnNY and Make a Lasting Impact LiveOnNY is a federally designated organ procurement organization (OPO) dedicated to honoring, saving, and transforming lives through organ and tissue donation. As a member of our team, you’ll be part of a mission-driven nonprofit organization working alongside more than 100 hospitals to support organ and tissue donors and their families—helping to bring the gift of life to those on the national transplant waitlist. Serving a vibrant and diverse population of 13 million across New York City and the counties of Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Orange, Putnam, Dutchess, and Rockland, LiveOnNY is proud to be one of the highest-performing OPOs in the country. Over the past three years, we’ve seen a 70% increase in organ donation—driven by the compassion and generosity of New Yorkers. Explore a career where your work truly matters. At LiveOnNY, you’ll grow professionally while helping others live on. The Senior Director, Family Engagement Services directs Family Engagement Services in alignment with this framework and is accountable for consistent, ethical, and compliant execution of Family Engagement practice across both first-person authorization and non–first-person authorization scenarios, in accordance with CMS, OPTN, the New York State Anatomical Gift Act, FDA requirements, and all applicable LiveOnNY policies, SOPs, and directives. This role carries direct senior leadership responsibilities for the day-to-day mission and operational execution of Family Engagement Services, including mission management, people management, staffing and scheduling, training and education, SOP adherence, documentation quality, regulatory compliance, escalation handling, and coordination with other LiveOnNY leadership, departments, and personnel to support the progression and maturity of potential donor evaluation and management through recovery services, allocation and placement, and transportation. The primary work location is assigned donor hospital sites within LiveOnNY’s service area. Presence at hospital locations is essential and required to execute clinical and operational responsibilities, ensure regulatory compliance, preserve chain-of-custody and documentation integrity, coordinate directly with hospital clinical teams, and represent LiveOnNY in real-time decision environments.

Requirements

RN or Bachelor’s degree in social work, psychology, counseling, nursing, or a related field preferred.
A minimum of 8 years of demonstrated leadership experience and ability in managing complex family engagement conversations independently.
Minimum of 8 years of leadership experience in OPO, healthcare, crisis counseling, social work, bereavement services, or family advocacy.
Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with demonstrated ability to navigate difficult conversations with empathy and professionalism.
Demonstrated ability to remain calm, supportive, and effective in emotionally charged and emergency settings.
Valid driver’s license and ability to travel to donor hospitals as required.
Ability to participate in 24/7 on-call rotations.

Responsibilities

Directs Family Engagement Services in alignment with operational compliance requirements and LiveOnNY policy.
Provides direct supervision, coaching, performance management, and corrective action for all FEC personnel.
Directs staffing models, scheduling, coverage, and deployment of Family Engagement resources.
Directs and manages departmental resources, including assigned budgets and staffing allocations.
Directs training, SOP adherence, documentation quality, and audit readiness.
Serves as an escalation authority for complex cases.
Directs and works within established guidelines, exercising critical thinking while adhering to defined regulatory, ethical, and organizational requirements.
Responds on-site to donor hospitals, including but not limited to intensive care units and emergency departments, to provide compassionate support and advocacy to potential donor families on a 24/7 basis as assigned.
Directs standardized processes, creating and using SOPs and regulatory guidance as the primary framework for directing processes and practice.
Engages in critical thinking while directing personnel within a structured environment, maintaining accountability to mission, regulations and leadership.
Creates, implements and performance manages to SOPs to ensure consistent, high-quality output and to support quality assurance across all family engagement activities.
Engages and leads sensitive in-person, and when necessary, telephonic conversations with LiveOnNY personnel, next-of-kin (NYS AGA) regarding organ and tissue donation, in high-pressure and emotionally charged situations requiring leadership.
Independently directs routine and complex family engagement interactions, including elevated emotional situations, potential conflict, and cultural or religious considerations.
Provides direction, education, and advocacy for donation options while respecting grief, cultural, religious, and individual family dynamics.
Applies critical thinking and advanced judgment in assessing personnel, family readiness, dynamics, and support needs.
Serves as a leadership resource for all Family Engagement personnel and other LiveOnNY departments.
Directs and facilitates communication and coordination between donor families, LiveOnNY, hospital medical care teams of physicians and nurses, and LiveOnNY clinical and operational teams to ensure a collaborative, coordinated donation process.
Directs and participates in orientation, training, and skill development of Family Engagement Coordinators.
Directs and maintains accurate, timely, and complete documentation of material family interactions, decisions, and authorization outcomes in compliance with federal regulations, CMS requirements, and LiveOnNY policies.
Directs and ensures all work is performed within established guidelines, exercising advanced judgment while adhering to regulatory and LiveOnNY policy requirements.
Directs and ensures use of regulations and SOPs as the authoritative guide for complex and high-risk practices.
Provides real-time leadership, direction, guidance and coaching to all during challenging family engagement interactions.
Directs and applies advanced regulatory interpretation to support compliant and ethical practice.
Identifies systemic practice issues and directs and ensures quality improvement and training initiatives.
Identifies best practices and deviations from required practice and directs and ensures quality assurance and performance improvement activities and escalates appropriately in accordance with LiveOnNY SOPs.
Directs and participates in essential duties including but not limited to on-call rotations, including nights, weekends, and holidays, and maintains readiness to travel to multiple donor hospitals as needed.
Directs and provides leadership of Family Engagement services in cooperation and coordination with LiveOnNY Case Development, Recovery Services, Allocation and Placement, Transportation, and other departments to sponsor family engagement in support of the progression and maturity of potential donor evaluation and management from referral through recovery.
Performs other duties as assigned.