Manager of Support Services

REPORTS TO: Associate Director of Reentry & Support Services

POSITION OVERVIEW: Reporting to the Associate Director of Reentry & Support Services, the manager will oversee a team of life coaches based in the Austin and West Garfield Park neighborhoods. Reporting to the manager, the life coaches work directly with high-risk individuals in the community and accompany them as they navigate the challenges associated to current or past involvement with the criminal justice system, work to establish a healthy and stable lifestyle, and overcome barriers to accomplishing their personal and professional goals. As such, this position will play a key role in the Violence Prevention-Community Support Team (VP-CST) initiative, an innovative effort to provide trauma-informed therapeutic interventions to individuals who have experienced chronic exposure to firearm violence. VP-CST teams are comprised of an outreach worker, life coach and clinician. In addition, the position will also support the Scaling Community Violence for a Safer Chicago (SC2) initiative, an effort to achieve community-level violence reduction by scaling services to individuals at highest risk of violence.
The manager stands at the intersection of several key initiatives and is ideal for someone capable of implementing large-scale projects, is a natural problem solver and is committed to the mission and long-term goals of the organization as well as the CVI field at large. The ideal candidate leads with empathy, patience and a trauma-informed lens and has deep knowledge of therapeutic interventions for CVI participants, preferably including LCSW, LCPC, LMFT, or other clinical licensure.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS/RESPONSIBILITIES:
Leadership & Administration

• Oversee life coaches, including maintaining accountability, completing annual performance evaluations, and issuing corrective action, as needed
• Work to establish high standards of professionalism amongst staff, promoting a culture of accountability, high ethical standards, and personal integrity
• Oversee regular team meetings, professional development activities, and scheduling of trainings, particularly including those required for being a part of a VP-CST team
• Participate in regular meetings with leadership, play a key role in the broad implementation of the VP-CST model and communicate daily with supervisor to provide recommendations for improvement
• Attend monthly budget meetings, maintain active communication with the finance department, and engage with staff regularly to review/approve expense requests
• Make sure that staff complete appropriate documentation of participant progress in required data systems (CiviCore, Apricot, Smartcare). Collaborate with colleagues in data department to make sure outcomes are being tracked and grant deliverables are being communicated in regular reporting
• Participate in the hiring process for new support services staff
• Assist with pressing matters as they arise and perform other duties as required

Program Operations

• Make sure that day-to-day operational tasks are completed (such as case notes and daily logs) and minimum requirements are met (such as minimum participant caseload) for all staff
• Provide one-on-one supervision to life coaches and guidance on how to (1) utilize a trauma-informed approach when supporting participants, (2) model prosocial behaviors and successful interpersonal relationships, and (3) facilitate cognitive behavioral intervention (CBI) groups to support participant self-regulation
• Manage the participant journey for those receiving services, ensuring that participants are connected to and receiving wraparound services, and moving along the journey of coordinated care
• Play a key role in the broad implementation of the Violence Prevention-Community Support Team (VP-CST) model, an innovative effort to provide trauma-informed therapeutic interventions to individuals who have experienced chronic exposure to firearm violence

o Oversee life coach participation in VP-CST
o Work in partnership with leadership of outreach and behavioral health
o Provide continuous feedback/recommendations for improvement as the model reaches more staff and participants

• Support SC2 to achieve community-level violence reduction by scaling CVI services to individuals at highest risk of violence

o Oversee life coach services and support a coordinated care model to SC2 participants
o Work in partnership with the internal SC2 team to make sure all life coach requirements are met and documented appropriately

• Support the organization’s partnerships with corrections and other criminal justice system partners, and work with them to receive referrals and provide necessary supportive services and continuity of care which recognize the unique needs of the reentry population
• In collaboration with supervisor and staff, respond to the unmet needs of participants and support efforts to establish partnerships with external partners to create a strong referral network