Director of Youth Peer Support

Reports to: Chief Operating Officer

FLSA Status: Full-Time, Exempt

Salary Range: $120,000 - $160,000

Hours: 32 hours per week: 10am-6pm Monday through Thursday, and 10am-2pm on Friday. Evening and weekend hours as needed and/or requested by supervisor.

AGENCY DESCRIPTION:

Guided by lived experience and evidence-based practices, the National Alliance on Mental Illness of New York City (NAMI-NYC) helps families and individuals affected by mental illness build better lives through education, support, and advocacy. We offer evidence-based education classes, 40+ support groups, family mentoring, a multilingual Helpline, and more to family members and individuals completely FREE regardless of income, insurance, or immigration status. We’re also the only non-profit directly supporting family members caring for those with mental illness.

NAMI-NYC also advocates for affordable, culturally responsive mental healthcare, mental health education in schools, and decriminalizing mental illness to break the endless cycle of psychiatric hospitalizations, homelessness, and incarceration.

Check out our website at www.naminyc.org and follow us on social.

POSITION DESCRIPTION:

We are seeking a visionary and experienced Director to lead the design and implementation of NAMI-NYC's new Youth Peer Support Program. This initiative aims to empower young people by leveraging peer support to promote mental wellness and resilience. You will play a pivotal role in shaping the program's strategy, structure, and operational framework to ensure it meets the diverse needs of youth in our community. We are looking for an experienced peer (an individual living with a mental health challenge) OR a family member of someone living with a mental health challenge who is passionate about and has significant work experience within youth mental health. Someone who can punch above their weight.

You are a strong leader who is proactive, can solve problems as they arise, and tackle requests and needs with a positive, can-do attitude. You embrace a tactical approach to resolving complex problems and are enthusiastic about program design, implementation and evaluation.

You work intentionally and collaboratively with other departments across NAMI-NYC — for our ultimate shared goal: helping families and youth affected by mental illness build better lives. We are a close-knit team of 30+ staff and the program and services team takes pride in being the heart and soul of the organization. (We also really like taking mental health walks during lunch and singing karaoke at our holiday parties. And we’re NAMI-NYC, so it’s also okay to take your therapy session during the workday. We get it.)

This position offers a unique opportunity to lead a transformative initiative that empowers youth and enhances community mental health support systems. The sky is the limit, and new creative ideas are not only welcomed but expected. We can’t wait to see what our next Director of Youth Peer Support can do.

RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE, BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

Program Strategy and Development

• Enhance and drive the program design for the peer-led Youth Mental Health Program in alignment with NAMI-NYC vision, mission and values.
• Oversee the successful implementation of the department’s strategic plan, ensuring alignment with program goals, objectives, and key deliverables outlined.
• Lead the creation of new program components (i.e. Youth Advocacy Ambassadors, etc.), training materials, activities/events and resources that foster mental health awareness, resilience, and peer support for young people.
• Collaborate with mental health professionals, educators, youth and other key stakeholders to ensure the program is culturally sensitive and age appropriate.
• Oversee the recruitment, training, and ongoing support of Youth Peer Leader(s).
• Develop training materials and resources to equip Youth Peer Leader(s) with core skills including active listening and peer support techniques.
• Oversee implementation of the youth mental health program including the day-to-day operations.
• Conduct external presentations to promote the program/organization and/or help to advance programmatic goals.
• Develop and manage the programmatic budget, ensuring resources are allocated adequately.

Partnership and Stakeholder Engagement

• Conduct direct outreach and work with internal departments (i.e. Outreach, Marketing & Communications, etc.) to both grow the reach of the program and cultivate and maintain relationships with community partners, schools, mental health organizations, and youth-serving agencies.
• Develop and lead an advisory group comprised of relevant stakeholders, including youth representatives, mental health professionals, community leaders, and other key partners.
• Facilitate regular meetings and ensure effective communication and collaboration among advisory board members.
• Utilize advisory board input to enhance program design, quality standards and productivity.

Evaluation and Quality Improvement

• Collaborate with NYU McSilver Institute to establish program evaluation protocols and metrics to assess outcomes, satisfaction and impact.
• Utilize programmatic data and feedback to continuously improve program effectiveness and participant experience.
• Track and analyze real-time data collected via questionnaires after each service to a youth.

General

• Attend internal and external meetings.
• Monitor program deliverables in the internal database(s) and report programmatic data regularly internally and externally as needed.
• Other duties as assigned.
• Support and participate in other NAMI-NYC events, as requested.

QUALIFICATIONS:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• A Master’s degree in a related field required.
• Minimum 5+ years of experience in program development, preferably in youth mental health and/or peer support initiatives.
• Strong understanding of youth development, mental health issues, and trauma-informed care principles.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to troubleshoot.
• Proven leadership and managerial skills, with experience in team building, supervision, and collaboration.
• Strong work ethic, including reliability, flexibility, humility, initiative and ownership, and perseverance.
• Proficient in the use of personal computers, Zoom, Microsoft applications and electronic record keeping systems.
• Ability to work effectively with diverse populations with a high level of integrity, diplomacy, and initiative.
• Be a proactive team player while requiring minimal supervision.
• Commitment to NAMI-NYC’s mission.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills; communicates professionally to all levels of management and adapts to changing priorities.
• Ability to work some evenings and weekends, upon request.
• Sense of humor.

Benefits: We believe in taking care of our team. Our benefits reflect our commitment to a healthy, balanced workplace.

• Work Environment: Fully hybrid model with 2-3 days in the office – coffee and snacks provided in-office
• Schedule: 4.5 day work week
• Paid Time Off: 20 days annually, with an increase at the third year of employment
• Sick Time: 6 days annually
• Holidays: 9 holidays in addition to the week off between Christmas Day and New Years Day
• Health Coverage: Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Retirement: 401(k) with employer matching
• Additional Coverage: Employer-paid life insurance, pre-tax commuter benefits, access to professional development and training opportunities

Physical Demands:

You must occasionally lift and/or move equipment. Evening and weekend work is occasionally required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The above job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. Incumbents will follow any other instructions, and perform any other related duties, as assigned by their supervisor.

To Apply:

We can’t wait to hear from you. Send your cover letter and resume to jobs@naminyc.org with Director of Youth Peer Support in the subject line. Thank you for your time!