Safety & Wellness Program Manager

The Safety & Wellness Manager is responsible for administering, managing, and over-all growth of the IRC San Diego’s Safety & Wellness Program, including the Women's Resilience Center (WRC). S/he/they is responsible for overall program management, program development, budget management, data management and reporting, compliance, and community outreach and representation. The Program Manager will provide leadership, support, and ongoing supervision to advance objectives within the Safety, Health, and Power focus areas of the IRC San Diego’s Strategic Action Plan. This role encompasses a range of responsibilities, including designing and implementing new initiatives and programs, guiding and overseeing implementation and improvement of existing programs, further developing monitoring and evaluation practices and related tools including strong client feedback mechanisms, understanding and applying relevant evidence-based practices, managing program budgets and grants, leading program sustainability through grant writing, cultivating strong partnerships with community stakeholders including partner agencies and donors, engaging in capacity building efforts as needed to support access to high quality services, facilitating coordination with internal and external providers, and promoting a positive working environment and strong professional development opportunities for the Safety & Wellness team. This work is carried out in close coordination with a multidisciplinary team of service providers within the IRC and the local community, and with technical assistance from technical advisors at IRC’s Headquarters.

The Safety & Wellness Program currently focuses on case management for survivors of domestic violence, victims of crime & asylum-seeking families; health navigation for high-need clients; mental health screenings and referrals; and delivering programs and interventions designed for women in a safe space (WRC). The Program Manager will lead program expansion, with a vision toward expanding case management to survivors of trafficking and building comprehensive health navigation and mental health services. This role will be responsible for developing and implementing family support, crisis prevention and intervention and gender-based-violence programming, in addition to working in the community to establish programs and educational services that support women and girls, LGBTQ refugees and immigrants.

Major Responsibilities:

Major responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

Program Design, Development and Management

•Support the Safety & Wellness team in developing and delivering community-based programming for newcomers as well as longer-term immigrant populations, by connecting to and activating traditional healing networks, leveraging existing community support systems, building on client strengths and assets, and tapping into other community resources complemented by IRC resources and curriculum;

•Assure delivery of high-quality services in accordance with goals and deliverables outlined in funder agreements;

•Ensure timely delivery of specialized services for clients with known or highly probable emotional distress including current or prior experiences of trauma or torture, and domestic violence;

•Ensure smooth and coordinated client flow between the IRC San Diego’s different departments and its Safety & Wellness Programs;

•Promote collaboration within the IRC San Diego office to support other departments in conceptualizing client needs in a holistic way and addressing in a proactive and strengths based manner;

•Oversee the El Cajon Community Garden project to support the WRC with grant development, maintaining the Kaiser relationship, program implementation, regular gardener communication, problem solving, taking payments, and regular maintenance of three acres;

•Grant Management (writing, planning, developing, implementing, evaluating): Responsible for identifying grant opportunities, drafting proposals to secure funding for Safety & Wellness Programs and the WRC, and managing existing grants and donors that make the Safety & Wellness team’s work possible;

•Ensure timely preparation and submission of program reports to the IRC San Diego Deputy Director, IRC’s Headquarters, and relevant donors;

•Actively co-facilitate and support grant opening, grant review, and grant closing meetings, and lead all aspects of grant cycle, including developing/implementing monitoring & evaluation plans; and

•Other job duties as assigned.

Supervision and Coaching

•Provide mentorship, support and routine supervision to Safety & Wellness Senior Supervisor, WRC Coordinator, staff, and the Social Work Internship Placement Program to ensure and enhance their ability to provide direct services, make referrals, and coordinate care that responds effectively to clients’ intensive mental health, physical health, crisis and safety needs;

•Provide reflective supervision about racial identity, perceptions of race and how that influences conceptualization, the way services are delivered, and how Safety & Wellness staff interact with clients;

•Provide daily direct supervision to Safety & Wellness staff employing adaptive management techniques to provide regular individual supervision and support; hire, mentor and coach staff, set clear performance expectations and goals, give regular performance feedback, addressing performance concerns, managing disciplinary actions when necessary, help prioritize workloads, help troubleshoot challenges, and maintain appropriate professional development plans;

•Promote and develop a high functioning, collaborative team and ensure effective integration of internships and volunteers within programs; collaborate with other IRC program areas as appropriate to ensure client-centered service; and

•Other job duties as assigned.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Program Quality

•Guide Safety & Wellness staff in conceptualizing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating interventions and programs that are evidence-based, responsive to client needs and relevant to the IRC San Diego’s strategic commitments;

•Oversee the selection and use of appropriate assessment tools for Safety & Wellness clients;

•Oversee and/or conduct regular internal case file reviews (paper files and electronic case files) to ensure compliance with IRC policies as well as any donor requirements;

•Develop/maintain effective quality assurance systems and processes for course correction;

•Frequently discuss best and emerging practices within the mental health world that are culturally appropriate and can be integrated in assessing client needs and or measuring outcomes of programs;

•In collaboration with IRC HQ technical advisors on women’s protection and empowerment, and mental health and psychosocial support, lead local efforts to design and implement safety and wellness interventions that are evidence-based and/or evidence-generating;

•Provide oversight to assure adequate technical capacity and guide staff activity related to data collection and analysis, including accurate and timely program data entry into donor and IRC required databases; and

•Other job duties as assigned.

Community Partnerships and Capacity Building

•Coordinate outreach activities into local communities and partner organizations to promote awareness of available Safety & Wellness programming for refugees, asylum seeking families, and other populations in San Diego County, and facilitate timely access to Safety & Wellness programming;

•Develop and strengthen partnerships with local mental health, healthcare, social services, domestic violence, and other providers, offering technical guidance, mentoring and support that contributes to their capacity to provide appropriate, trauma-informed services to IRC San Diego’s clients and increase clients’ access to the services offered by mainstream providers;

•Identify and respond to needs for targeted training and professional development among the Safety & Wellness team; and

•Other job duties as assigned.

Other

•Participate in all program meetings, staff development activities, and fully engage as a member of the team;

•Adhere to relevant professional and ethical standards, including the IRC Way, client confidentiality, and HIPAA;

•Comply with all policies, procedures and protocols of the agency; and

•Other related duties as assigned.

Job Requirements:

•Graduate degree with an emphasis in Social Work, Psychology, Counseling or an equivalent field of study and licensure in the State of California required;

•At least five years of relevant work experience in Social Service, Mental Health or international development fields and a minimum five years of managing complex teams and programs targeting refugee or immigrant low-income populations;

•Experience developing and managing programming for displaced populations, survivors of trauma or torture, refugees, or similar underserved populations;

•Well-developed understanding of community integration, resettlement, psychosocial support, mental health, and forced migration-related trauma;

•Profound cross-cultural awareness and insight into mental health issues, and have the ability to cope with stressful situations and frustrations;

•Demonstrated leadership and organizational skills;

•Experience working in a diverse setting, and with refugee and immigrant populations strongly preferred;

•Previous multi-cultural experience and demonstrated ability to communicate well with people of varied backgrounds strongly preferred;

•Deep understanding of contemporary race and gender issues as they relate to refugee resettlement;

•Proven ability to contribute both independently and as a key team member;

•Self-starter with excellent problem-solving skills and the proven ability to prioritize and effectively manage competing demands;

•Proven track record in client centered design, grant writing and development, grant management, grant reporting, fiscal management, and program development is required;

•Fluency in written and spoken English; Proficiency in another language strongly preferred;

•Excellent communication skills, including strong presentation skills and technical writing skills required;

•Demonstrated ability to develop and cultivate partnerships in furtherance of program development goals;

•Ability and passion to strengthen programs through best practices and innovative approaches;

•Excellent organizational and time management skills;

•Ability to be flexible and work well under pressure in a fast-paced team environment;

•Proven ability to work effectively as a member of a team and to exercise independent judgment responsibly;

•Computer proficiency, including MS Office, internet applications and case management databases; and

•Must have a valid driver’s license, reliable vehicle, active insurance policy and ability to travel in and around the local community frequently.

Work Environment:  

•Standard professional office environment at IRC offices in San Diego and El Cajon, partial remote delivery of services while IRC offices are closed due to CV-19; reliable internet at home required;

•Offices hours are Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5pm, some evening or weekend activities as needed;

•Travel to field site operations and external stakeholder meetings is required; and

•Ability and willingness to be on-call to support staff responding to crisis situations.