Senior Manager, Strategic Initiatives

Job Description

ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE:
The Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health (OCMH) coordinates and develops citywide policies and strategies to fill critical gaps in mental healthcare so every New Yorker, in every neighborhood, has the support they need. OCMH was codified into the City Charter by Executive Order 68 and Local Law 155 by the City Council in December of 2021, becoming the first mayoral office dedicated to addressing the mental health of New Yorkers. OCMH coordinates the development of citywide policies and strategies to fill critical gaps and reduce barriers in mental healthcare with a focus on underserved communities. OCMH’s priorities are rooted in equity, racial justice, and cultural responsiveness. It adopts a strength-based and community-centered approach that recognizes diverse perspectives, lived experiences, resilience, and the unique needs of New Yorkers.

OCMH’s priorities are:
- Improving Access to Mental Health Care and Equitable Distribution of Resources.
- Partnering with Communities to Elevate Mental Health Promotion and Community Resilience.
- Building and Supporting the Behavioral Health Workforce in NYC.
- Developing a Coordinated Mental Health Crisis Response System.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:
The Community and Workforce Initiatives portfolio includes convening and coordinating among agency partners and community leaders; providing technical assistance to address gaps and needs of the mental health workforce; and project managing large-scale, ongoing initiatives with multiple partners to strengthen the NYC mental health workforce and improve access to mental health care for diverse communities. Reporting to OCMH’s Director, Community and Workforce Initiatives, the Senior Manager of Community and Workforce Initiatives will play a key role in the full range of this team’s work.

Project Management
o With supervision from the Director, Community and Workforce Initiatives, manage current and future projects within the Community and Workforce Initiatives portfolio by tracking the responsibilities of all partners involved, drafting project plans, managing timelines, drafting agendas, taking and compiling meeting notes, identifying and facilitating the resolution of key issues to ensure a project’s success, determining meaningful measures for a project’s effectiveness, and then collecting, storing, and analyzing data on those measures, as appropriate.
o Support development, implementation and oversight of cross-agency collaborations and citywide initiatives focused on strengthening the behavioral health workforce, building community based mental health capacity, and interagency coordination.
o Draft materials such as presentations, reports, and one-pagers for projects in the Community and Workforce Initiatives portfolio.

The Senior Manager will initially support the following active projects and areas of priority:

Community Resilience:
Build community capacity to address youth mental health
Plan place-based initiatives to strengthen social determinants of health and expand the footprint of community care

o Workforce Development:
Expand apprenticeships in behavioral health
Develop cross-sector partnership for career exposure, entry, and advancement within behavioral health
Senior Manager will also lead special projects as needed and support other current and future projects as assigned by the Director of Community and Workforce Initiatives.

Policy Analysis& Writing
o Research and analyze policy issues related to enhancing the behavioral health workforce and building community capacity.
o Draft policy briefs, white papers, reports and recommendations related to enhancing the behavioral health workforce and building community-based behavioral health capacity.

Preferred Skills:
- Bachelor’s degree and 4+ years of relevant professional experience required or equivalent combination of education and experience
- Experience in policy development, project management, or program implementation in a relevant field
- Excellent ability to build and manage relationships with diverse constituencies
- Excellent organizational and analytical skills, and comfort with project management and data-driven analysis
- Strong operational thinking and skills – demonstrated ability to keep multiple “trains” running on time simultaneously while maintaining attention to detail and quality execution
- Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Studies have shown that women, people of color, and other under-represented groups are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they are able to perform every task in the job description. We are interested in finding the b