Senior Director of NYC Residential Programs

Location: Brooklyn/Queens, NY, with oversight of one Long Island program

Reports To: Senior Vice President of Residential Programs

Department: Residential

Schedule: Full-Time/Hybrid; regular travel and on-site presence required

 

Agency Background

MercyFirst is a not-for-profit human and social service agency serving children, youth, and families throughout New York City and Long Island. The agency provides foster care, residential, prevention, clinical, and family support services grounded in trauma-responsive, relationship-based care.

 

Position Summary

The Senior Director of NYC Residential Programs provides operational and programmatic leadership for MercyFirst’s NYC residential programs and one Long Island program, including a Diagnostic Center and four Pregnant, Parenting, and Postpartum (PPP) Mother-Baby group homes.

The Senior Director is responsible for ensuring safe, consistent, trauma-responsive, and high-quality services across all assigned programs. Key areas of accountability include residential operations, case planning, family engagement, child and infant safety, staff development, regulatory compliance, quality improvement, and measurable program outcomes.

The position requires strong, visible leadership across sites (with exception of the LI program) and responsibility for translating program standards, policies, and evidence-informed practices into consistent day-to-day operations. The Senior Director will ensure quality treatment-team functioning by reinforcing universal safety measures, complete team integration, and a commitment to trauma informed practices in all homes.

 

Essential Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and operational oversight for all assigned residential programs and establish consistent expectations across sites.
• Maintain a regular on-site presence, including leadership rounds, staff coaching, review of high-risk routines, and follow-up on safety or operational concerns.
• Supervise and develop program leadership through coaching, performance management, reflective supervision, and clear accountability.
• Ensure compliance with OCFS, ACS, contractual, licensing, agency, and other applicable requirements.
• Oversee case work supervisors around effective case planning, family engagement, education, permanency, independent living, discharge readiness, and resident participation in treatment planning.
• Strengthen treatment-team functioning by ensuring clear participation, documented action steps, responsible parties, timelines, and follow-up.
• Ensure meaningful integration of clinicians, case planners, parent educators, YSCs, medical providers, and other multidisciplinary staff.
• Establish and monitor consistent infant and child safety practices, including safe sleep, body checks, feeding, bathing, diapering, supervision, environmental safety, and required documentation.
• Ensure that staff understand both their caregiving responsibilities and the expectations placed on young mothers for safe parenting and supervision.
• Lead implementation of trauma-responsive and evidence-informed practices, including Sanctuary commitments, Nurturing Parenting, Motivational Interviewing, and restorative approaches to incidents and behavior.
• Promote staff psychological safety, post-incident support, transparent communication, and learning-focused responses to serious events.
• Partner with Quality Improvement to monitor safety, clinical services, developmental screenings, treatment planning, documentation, training completion, incidents, and corrective actions.
• Ensure that identified deficiencies result in measurable corrective action and sustained improvement rather than policy or training alone.
• Oversee case work supervisors around referrals, admissions, program transitions, and coordination with ACS, OCFS, DSS, schools, medical providers, and community partners.
• Represent MercyFirst at internal and external administrative, regulatory, and planning meetings.
• Responsible for being on-call and providing leadership support during emergencies.

Direct Reports

• Director
• 2 Casework Supervisors
• Family Team Conference Facilitator
• Administrative Assistant

The Senior Director also provides indirect leadership oversight to Program Managers, After-Hours Supervisors, Youth Support Counselors, caseworkers, and other program staff.

 

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Social Work, Psychology, Counseling, Education, Human Services, Public Administration, or a related field.
• Minimum 5 years of progressively responsible experience in child welfare, residential treatment, behavioral health, foster care, or related human services.
• At least 3 years of significant supervisory or program leadership experience.
• Experience managing multiple residential or community-based programs strongly preferred.
• Experience working with adolescents, families, and child welfare-involved youth required.
• Experience with pregnant and parenting adolescents or early childhood services is strongly preferred.
• Strong knowledge of OCFS, ACS, child welfare practice standards, and CONNECTIONS.
• Demonstrated ability to lead quality improvement, corrective action, staff development, and organizational change.
• Knowledge of trauma-responsive care, adolescent development, family engagement, and evidence-informed practice.
• Strong leadership, communication, analytical, organizational, and crisis-management skills.
• Valid New York State driver’s license and ability to travel regularly among program sites.
• Ability to work a flexible schedule and respond to significant program emergencies.

 

Preferred Qualifications

• LMSW, LCSW, or comparable professional credential.
• Training in Nurturing Parenting, Motivational Interviewing, Sanctuary, reflective supervision, or related trauma-responsive practices.
• Experience with ACS/OCFS audits, corrective action plans, incident review, and quality improvement.

Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $90,000–$95,000 annually
Hiring Incentive: $1,500 after 500 hours worked

MercyFirst offers medical, dental and vision coverage; 403(b) retirement benefits; employer-paid life and long-term disability insurance; paid time off; employee assistance services; professional development; wellness programming; and employee recognition activities.

MercyFirst is an inclusive, anti-racist, multicultural organization and an Equal Opportunity Employer who welcomes prospective employees from diverse backgrounds for all levels at the agency. We strive for a workforce that is reflective of the communities we serve, and do not discriminate on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, national origin, alienage or citizenship status, religion or creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, disability, age (18 and over), military status, prior record of arrest or conviction, marital status, partnership status, care giver status, pregnancy, genetic information or predisposition or genetic characteristic, unemployment status, status as a victim or witness of domestic violence, sex offenses or stalking, consumer credit history, or any other status protected by federal, state, and/or city law. This includes, but is not limited to, employment actions against and treatment of employees and applicants for employment.