National Council for Mental Wellbeing Project Director, Practice Improvement

Openkrill; United States; Remote; USD 140,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary: $140,000–$160,000

Job summary

Openkrill is seeking a National Council for Mental Wellbeing Project Director, Practice Improvement, based in the United States. You will lead a federally funded initiative to strengthen the integration of primary care and behavioral health, translating priorities into strategic training and technical assistance.

This remote leadership role oversees budgets, grants compliance, stakeholder engagement, and cross-functional teams to improve access to whole-person care.

Qualifications

• At least eight years of experience leading complex federally funded projects.
• Strong knowledge of integrated care and primary care-behavioral health integration.
• Experience managing large federal grants or contracts with compliance and reporting.
• Proven ability to lead diverse partner networks, procurement, and contract oversight.
• Strategic and operational leadership across multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience with evaluation frameworks, quality improvement, and data-informed enhancements.
• Experience engaging federal agencies (HHS, SAMHSA, HRSA, CMS).
• Ability to work remotely within the United States and align with DC business hours.

Responsibilities

• Define and implement project strategy across its lifecycle.
• Develop annual training and technical assistance plans to meet federal requirements.
• Oversee scope, timelines, budgets, deliverables, and quality against milestones.
• Ensure compliance with grant terms and required reporting to funders.
• Manage budgets, sustainability, and contribute to grant proposals.
• Oversee partnerships, procurement, scopes of work, and performance.
• Identify gaps, recruit partners, and expand reach to children, youth, and families.
• Lead evaluation, quality improvement, and data-informed strategy refinement.
• Provide decisive leadership, delegate responsibly, and maintain accountability.
• Foster remote team collaboration and cross-functional teamwork.
• Anticipate policy/funding changes and adapt plans accordingly.
• Present findings and updates to federal agencies and stakeholders.

Skills

Project leadership

Integrated care

Stakeholder engagement

Communication

Team leadership

Strategic thinking

Remote collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Master's degree or PMP/PRINCE2

Tools

Microsoft Project

Jira

Asana

Job description

Our partner is looking for a National Council for Mental Wellbeing Project Director, Practice Improvement based in the United States.

As Project Director, Practice Improvement, you will lead a high-impact, federally funded initiative focused on strengthening the integration of primary care and behavioral health across the United States. You will translate federal priorities, research findings, and real-world provider needs into strategic training and technical assistance programs that improve access to comprehensive, whole-person care. Working across a national network of partner organizations, consultants, and multidisciplinary experts, you will guide project delivery, oversee budgets, and ensure compliance with federal grant requirements. You will serve as a key liaison to federal stakeholders while helping shape the future of integrated care through evidence-based strategies and continuous improvement. This remote leadership opportunity combines strategic thinking, operational oversight, and mission-driven collaboration in a nationally visible and evolving policy environment. You will have the autonomy to guide complex initiatives while working closely with senior leadership and a highly collaborative virtual team.

Accountabilities

• Lead project strategy and execution: Define, implement, and continuously refine the project's strategy throughout its lifecycle in partnership with department leadership, ensuring alignment with federal grant objectives and organizational priorities.
• Translate priorities into actionable plans: Develop annual training and technical assistance plans that respond to federal funding requirements, evaluation findings, and the evolving needs of providers and grantees across the integrated care landscape.
• Oversee project delivery and performance: Manage project scope, work plans, timelines, budgets, deliverables, and quality standards, monitoring progress against milestones and implementing corrective actions when needed.
• Manage federal grants and compliance: Serve as the primary liaison to federal project officers, maintain regular communication with funding stakeholders, oversee required progress reporting, and ensure adherence to grant terms, conditions, and regulatory requirements.
• Oversee financial planning and sustainability: Collaborate with Finance to monitor project budgets, incorporate supplemental funding and emerging federal priorities, contribute to grant proposals, and identify strategies to maximize available resources and support continued funding.
• Manage external partnerships and contracts: Oversee a broad network of partner organizations, consultants, and specialist firms, including procurement, contract development, scopes of work, budgeting, performance monitoring, and contract closeout.
• Strengthen partner capacity and reach: Identify gaps in expertise, service coverage, or audience reach and recruit appropriate partners to address emerging needs, including specialized support for children, youth, and families.
• Drive evaluation and continuous improvement: Lead or oversee project evaluation, quality improvement, and performance measurement activities, using data and lessons learned to refine strategies and strengthen outcomes.
• Provide decisive project team leadership: Synthesize multidisciplinary team input, establish clear priorities, delegate responsibilities, and maintain accountability to ensure timely, high-quality execution.
• Support team development and collaboration: Coach team members on project-related responsibilities in coordination with dedicated people managers, foster connection within a remote team, and encourage effective cross-functional collaboration.
• Manage risk and adapt to changing priorities: Anticipate challenges related to federal policy, funding changes, stakeholder expectations, and project delivery, developing mitigation strategies and adapting plans as circumstances evolve.
• Represent the initiative externally: Present findings, strategies, and project updates to broad audiences while building productive relationships with federal agencies and other stakeholders involved in integrated care.

Requirements

• Extensive project leadership experience: At least eight years of experience managing complex, large-scale projects, including substantial responsibility for federally funded initiatives and multidisciplinary project teams.
• Expertise in integrated care: Strong knowledge of whole-person care and the integration of primary care and behavioral health, consistent with established federal integrated care frameworks. Deep expertise gained through direct work in integrated care settings or leadership of federally funded integrated care projects is strongly preferred. Experience limited to integrating mental health and substance use treatment services alone does not meet this specific requirement.
• Federal grants and contracts management: Demonstrated experience overseeing large federal grants or contracts involving training and technical assistance, including direct communication with federal project officers and responsibility for compliance and reporting.
• Partnership and subcontract management: Experience managing numerous external partners, subcontractors, consultants, and organizations, including procurement processes, contract negotiations, scopes of work, budgets, and performance oversight.
• Strategic and operational leadership: Proven ability to guide multidisciplinary project teams, synthesize complex stakeholder perspectives, make timely decisions, and maintain accountability in matrixed organizational environments.
• Evaluation and quality improvement: Experience developing or overseeing project evaluation frameworks, quality improvement initiatives, performance measurement, and data-informed program enhancements.
• Federal and public-sector stakeholder engagement: Experience presenting to broad audiences and collaborating with federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), or the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
• Adaptability in complex environments: Comfort working at a fast pace within a nationally visible organization subject to evolving federal priorities, complex stakeholder requirements, and a high degree of public and institutional scrutiny.
• Education: A bachelor's degree in project management, business, public health, mental health, or a related discipline is required.
• Communication skills: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex information into clear strategies, recommendations, and actionable plans.
• Integrated care implementation knowledge (preferred): Familiarity with integrated care models, implementation strategies, quality improvement methodologies, and financing and sustainability considerations.
• National organization experience (preferred): Previous experience working within or alongside a national membership organization, nonprofit, or comparable multi-stakeholder institution.
• Advanced qualifications (preferred): A master's degree or a professional project management certification such as PMP or PRINCE2.
• Project management tools (preferred): Proficiency with project management platforms such as Microsoft Project, Jira, or Asana, as well as methodologies including Agile and Waterfall.
• Remote collaboration: Ability to work remotely from within the United States and accommodate core Washington, D.C. business hours of approximately 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time when required.

Benefits

• Competitive salary: Annual salary range of $140,000–$160,000 USD, with placement based on experience, education, and internal equity.
• Comprehensive health coverage: Medic