The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is seeking a Program Manager for their Serious Mental Illness (SMI) Team. The SMI Team has a portfolio of work focused on those clinicians and mental health providers who care for individuals living with serious mental illness, including schizophrenia, major depression, and bipolar disorder. To improve care for this population, the portfolio includes initiatives, supported through funding from grants and contracts, that provide education and skill development on evidence-based interventions, resources that provide guidance, and clinical consultation, to the field of clinicians and practitioners.

The Program Manager works within a team and will oversee the day-to-day functions of an initiative or set of initiatives. The Program Manager is responsible for meeting the requirements and due dates of those initiatives which they oversee. The Program Manager will be responsible for the management of clinical faculty and vendors who deliver live and on-demand education, develop clinical resources, and respond to consultations. The Program Manager will often be the front-line communicator to those internal and external customers and will liaise with other APA divisions to realize the mission of the initiative. The Program Manager may liaise with project teams from external organizations with whom APA is partnering on the initiative(s). The Program Manager will be responsible for tracking of finances allotted to aspects of the initiative(s).

The ideal candidate has evidence of strong project management and interpersonal skills. Ideally they have worked on a contract or grant and understand the reporting requirements of such work. If they have worked in mental health previously, that is a plus. The ideal candidate is innovative, organized, practical and solution-oriented and has experience managing a cohort of employees or vendors. The position reports to the Director of the SMI Team.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Administrative oversight of the initiative(s) managed:
  • Knowledgeable of all requirements of the initiative(s)
  • Develop and maintain detailed timelines and project plans
  • Act as the liaison to the Association divisions relevant to the work scope
  • Act as the liaison to the Funder(s), if applicable
  • Act as liaison to partner organizations, if applicable
  • Lead regular meetings and conference calls as required or needed by the initiative(s)
  • Draft Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and participate in screening and interviewing of vendors
  • Draft and manage contracts and contract amendments for engaged vendors and faculty
  • Track and process invoicing and burn-down rate of finances for engaged vendors and faculty
  • Provide written reports and oral presentations of progress, as required and as requested
  • Regularly update the Director on progress, and come with possible solutions to barriers
  • Provide excellent customer service to project end-users (e.g., Funder, clinicians, APA members), which may include troubleshooting technical issues, providing relevant content, and implementing system changes to be responsive to customer needs.
  • Work with the data analyst to ensure data management, visualization, and data reporting is reliable, informative, and meets requirements of the initiative(s)
  • Lead all aspects of planning and implementation off-site trainings/meetings/conferences
• Product oversight of the initiative(s) managed:
  • Manage engaged vendors and faculty to meet their Statement of Work
  • Provide clear and constructive feedback to vendors and faculty as they progress through their Statement of Work
  • Review deliverables developed for the initiative(s); work through edits; ensure alignment with initiative(s)’ goals, APA mission/brand, and the evidence-base; ready them for marketing and distribution
  • Work closely and collaboratively with the APA Compliance Team to ensure education developed meets Joint Accreditation standards
  • Monitor the education catalog to ensure access and delivery of education developed
  • Ensure education to be delivered live is well rehearsed and then manage the live delivery
  • Manage systems that deliver assets (e.g., consultation system, website, smartphone apps); ensure they are user friendly and changes are implemented as needed
• Communicate effectively with clarity, credibility, and timeliness
• Collaborate with specific departments within the APA Division of Education (Online Learning, Accreditation and Compliance, Office of Scientific Programs) and with other APA Divisions (Marketing and Communications, Publishing, Meetings and Conventions) on key aspects of the initiative
• Communicate and works seamlessly with the Team’s other members
• Performs other duties as assigned
• Flexibility will be needed in work hours related to the federal and state contract and grant requirements

COMPETENCIES

The Program Manager’s performance on these duties and responsibilities will be measured using the following competencies:

SCOPE & IMPACT

The scope includes managing an initiative or set of initiatives that are high-profile and must best represent APA and the Funder and meet the requirements of the initiative.

• Performs tasks that significantly impact the program and require the ability to gather, organize, verify, compose, and/or analyze established concepts, policies, and procedures to complete several multistep functions
• Responsible for specific daily activities for a body of work
• Demonstrates proficiency in the use of specialized skills and techniques
• Success is frequently measured by completing a complex set of tasks and demonstrating complex and nuanced individual and group work environment behaviors

COMPLEXITY, PROBLEM SOLVING & DECISION-MAKING

In response to needs identified by the Funder(s), the Program Manager applies knowledge of mental health and the needs to improve knowledge and skills to improve care to ensure a quality product representative of APA and to meet the needs of the Funder of the initiative(s). 

• Exercises judgment to establish and implement project SOPs to meet guidelines
• Must demonstrate sound decision-making in a range of situations
• Has authority to make decisions relevant to day-to-day operations for which there is an established SOP
• Identifies complex problems and issues.  Designs and implements solutions with management approval
• Recognizes out-of-scope problems and escalates them to the appropriate level

RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT & AUTHORITY

The position requires consistent interaction with key internal APA leadership as well as outside experts, including leadership of national mental health care organizations. These relationships take considerable nurturing, including skillful guidance to get deliverables completed on-time and on-brand. The Program Manager is an outward facing representative of the contract.

• Relationships span levels internally and externally and center on collaborative work efforts
• Has regular contact with outside partners and organizations
• Has extensive contact with management, staff, and colleagues across departments to identify, learn, explain, and report on key issues, trends, and challenges
• Uses diplomatic skills to obtain trust, cooperation, and understanding in order to resolve more complex problems
• May represent the organization as a liaison to APA governance and other external coalitions and audiences with guidance from supervisor

ORGANIZATIONAL KNOWLEDGE

These initiatives represent APA and requires weekly collaboration with a number of Divisions of the Association. Successful collaboration takes both knowledge of and respect for the Association.

• Demonstrates a full understanding of the work or Team's relationships and responsibilities within the Association
• Demonstrates a thorough working knowledge of policies, procedures, and terminology of the related department/field

 SUPERVISION

• Coaches and mentors junior level staff