#120157 Assistant Behavioral Health Clinical Director

DESCRIPTION

Kick It California (KIC), formerly the California Smokers' Helpline, is a statewide counseling/coaching service operated through UCSD Moores Cancer Center. The program was established in 1992 and currently provides telephone-based cessation services in English and Spanish for all California residents, and through the Asian Smokers’ Quitline, counseling/coaching in Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Korean, and Vietnamese for the whole country (N=30,000 enrollees/year).

The Helpline became the first in the nation to offer free, telephone-based services for tobacco users wanting to quit. This program has served as a model for similar services that are now available in all 50 states. Since its inception, KIC has provided free, personalized and confidential services to Californians from diverse communities throughout the state. KIC also provides training and technical assistance to a wide variety of organizations throughout California to increase their capacity in tobacco cessation, including health professionals working in tobacco control, public health, health education, behavioral health, health care, and health system administration.

KIC is renowned for its quality intervention research that has consisted of large, randomized trials testing various counseling/coaching protocols designed to help tobacco users quit. These trials have repeatedly proven the effectiveness of the standard telephone counseling protocol as well as more targeted protocols such as for pregnant smokers, teens, and Asian-language speakers. KIC has also been the setting for conducting research on novel interventions such as using financial incentives to increase counseling adherence among low- income smokers, helping smokers quit through intervention with non-smokers, or determining the role of nicotine replacement therapy in helping smokers quit. KIC is expanding its intervention model to include vaping cessation protocols for adults and teens as well as internet and technology-based protocols like texting, chat, mobile applications and online videos.

The Assistant Clinical Director is a mental health clinician who will help the Clinical Director manage the clinical operations of Kick It California. The Assistant Clinical Director will apply behavioral change theory with an in-depth understanding of the modification of addictive behaviors in the Quitline setting. KIC serves a range of tobacco users and non-tobacco users from varying ethnic, socioeconomic and psychiatric health backgrounds and includes populations such as teens, American Indians, LGBTQ tobacco users, tobacco users with mental health conditions, First 5 clients (pregnant tobacco users and smokers living with children 0-5), nonsmoking family members and friends of smokers (proxies) and those using e-cigarettes and vaping nicotine.

Under general direction from KIC's clinical director, the Assistant Clinical Director will: 1) maintain a clinical caseload, and provide clinical consultation to Helpline coaches and supervisors; 2) provide triage, emergency care and consultation; 3) supervise risk management/crisis intervention and mandated reporting for clients across the state; 4) assist with hiring, training and consultation for clinical staff; 5) help develop, manage, assess and maintain counseling/coaching and tech-based cessation interventions for tobacco smoking, nicotine vaping and other tobacco products; 6) offer technical assistance and training for medical and behavioral health care providers as needed; 7) assist with creating clinically related psychoeducational and promotional materials and preparing scholarly works for presentation or publication; 8) contribute to the conceptualization, design, implementation, and monitoring of intervention studies and: 9) function as acting Clinical Director during temporary absences of the Clinical Director. Specialized knowledge of industry standards for teen, young adult, and adult tobacco cessation intervention and behavioral health care and technology-based interventions is preferred.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Advanced degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training.

• Three (3+) or more years of relevant experience.

• Thorough knowledge and understanding of clinical counseling principles, methods, procedures, and standards.

• Demonstrated skill in the management of serious incidents including suicide intervention and mandated reporting.

• Thorough knowledge of legal and ethical issues related to patients' rights.

• Ability to evaluate the progress of therapeutic approach and modify as necessary.

• Ability to develop and present educational programs and / or workshops.

• Excellent problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.

• Highly effective verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills.

• Knowledge of business software and specialized applications / systems used in behavioral health settings.

• Demonstrated ability to use good clinical judgment and professional boundaries when assessing, counseling and consulting.

• Proven skill in analyzing, planning and implementing clinical interventions based on knowledge of theory of human behavior.

• Strong ability to use evidence based therapeutic techniques to treat tobacco dependent clients and those with co-morbid depression, anxiety and other mental health and substance use disorders.

• Demonstrated ability to lead groups and manage projects of varying levels of complexity.

• Solid experience in assessing clients and determining appropriate therapeutic approach in consultation with other behavioral health professionals as appropriate.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Valid California license as a mental health provider in good standing.
• Ability to communicate in English and one other service language offered at the Helpline (Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, Vietnamese), both orally and in writing, in a clear, effective and culturally-competent manner to serve the counseling, case management and referral needs of clients from various backgrounds.
• Experience with tele-health and tech-based interventions.
• Specific knowledge of intervention strategies for the change of addictive behaviors for tobacco users, including teens, American Indians, First 5 populations, LGBTQ smokers, smokers with behavioral health conditions and non-smoking family members or friends of smokers (proxies).
• Knowledge of and experience with behavior change for teens and young adults in a therapeutic setting.
• Experience in telephone-based smoking cessation programs and tobacco research.
• Interest in and knowledge of research design, IRB approval processes and program evaluation.

SPECIAL CONDITIONS

• Employment is subject to a criminal background check and pre-employment physical.
• Must have flexibility to work occasional evenings and weekends as needed.
• Must have reliable transportation to go to community meetings and events.

Job offer is contingent on successful engagement in the UC COVID-19 Vaccination program (fully vaccinated with documented proof or approved exception/deferral).

If applicable, life-support certifications (BLS, NRP, ACLS, etc.) must include hands-on practice and in-person skills assessment; online-only certification is not acceptable.

UC San Diego Health Sciences is comprised of our School of Medicine, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, The Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, and our Student Health and Well-Being Department. We have long been at the forefront of translational - or "bench-to-bedside" - research, transforming patient care through discovery and innovation leading to new drugs and technologies. Translational research is carried out every day in the hundreds of clinical trials of promising new therapies offered through UC San Diego Health, and in the drive of our researchers and clinician-scientists who are committed to having a significant impact on patient care. We invite you to join our team!

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UC San Diego Health is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, gender identity or sexual orientation. For the complete University of California nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy see: http://www-hr.ucsd.edu/saa/nondiscr.html

UC San Diego is a smoke and tobacco free environment. Please visit smokefree.ucsd.edu for more information.

UC San Diego Health maintains a marijuana and drug free environment. Employees may be subject to drug screening.