The Organization:

The National Council’s vision is to make mental wellbeing, including recovery from substance use challenges, a reality for everyone. Despite overwhelming need, nearly 30 million people across the U.S. do not have access to comprehensive, high-quality, affordable mental health and substance use care when they need it.

Founded in 1969, the National Council is a membership organization that drives policy and social change on behalf of nearly 3,100 mental health and substance use treatment organizations and the more than 10 million children, adults and families they serve. We advocate for policies to ensure equitable access to high-quality services. We build the capacity of mental health and substance use treatment organizations. And we promote greater understanding of mental wellbeing as a core component of comprehensive health and health care. Through our Mental Health First Aid program, we have trained more than 2.8 million people in the U.S. to identify, understand and respond to signs and symptoms of mental health and substance use challenges.

The National Council is growing rapidly to meet this moment; since 2020, both our budget ($77M) and number of passionate staff (270+) have grown more than 50%.

The Role:

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer

Location: Open, with frequent travel to Washington, D.C., after the Covid-19 crisis

Position Summary:

The Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) is a newly created position and a member of the strategic leadership team (SLT) responsible for working across the National Council to create an organization-wide strategy and road map to embed diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) into every aspect of the National Council’s mission, work, and culture.

Leading through executive-level vision, influence and voice the CDO will develop and articulate a clear, compelling, and inspired vision for DEIB. The CDO will collaborate with the CEO, staff, senior leaders and the Board on programmatic innovation and membership engagement to make the National Council a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable organization.

This is an opportunity to join an exceptional organization eager and ready to hasten its DEIB journey at all levels of the organization and externally with its membership, the broader community and through ongoing policy initiatives.

Key Responsibilities:

Develop and implement an overarching diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) strategy and vision that serves to inform, educate and evaluate all functions in the organization

• Develop and implement a DEIB framework in partnership with the SLT that strengthens the broader organizational strategic plan, with the goal of building a DEIB strategy that is sustainable, tangible and ensures DEIB remains central to how the National Council advances its strategic priorities.
• Ensure all major organizational decisions and investments are viewed through a DEIB lens and develop metrics and benchmarks to evaluate DEIB performance.
• Maintain oversight of all DEIB programs and initiatives; partnering with Human Resources to drive and operationalize our core value of championing DEIB at all levels within the organization.
• Serve as a liaison and provide organizational support for the Board DEI Work Group’s activities.

Collaborate across departments on the implementation of all DEIB-related programs and initiatives

• Partner across departments to share best practices in DEIB, providing guidance on how to best operate with a DEIB perspective and consistently communicating the National Council’s DEIB vision and ongoing execution of DEIB initiatives and programs.
• Collaborate with the Marketing and Communications team to develop consistent communication and feedback mechanisms to improve how the organization identifies, discusses and addresses DEIB issues impacting staff and board members.
• Work closely with the Chief People Officer to strengthen the organization’s policies and procedures as best-in-class in the areas of equitable recruitment, retention and development of diverse talent, succession planning, learning and development, performance management and employee engagement.
• Ensure accountability throughout the entire organization for realizing a DEIB mission and vision inclusive of all perspectives.

Foster a positive internal culture for staff of all identities by ensuring that people, practices and systems are equitable and inclusive

• Guide, support, and mentor the DEIB Committee and Employee Resource Groups to help focus their work and inform strategic thinking and goal setting.
• Work across the organization and with outside consultants to develop and implement a DEIB learning agenda for all staff – including staff-wide and targeted trainings, as well as onboarding for new staff.
• Determine the resources necessary to guide leaders to advance DEIB strategy; assess current policies and practices and recommend changes to mitigate bias and/or inequities.
• Drive psychological safety at the National Council by fostering an environment of transparent communication and trust.
• Support and coach the CEO and SLT to consistently utilize strong DEIB practices that frame and guide their work. Of particular importance, supporting the CEO to set clear expectations for organizational leaders regarding DEIB.
• Ensure alignment across all departments to support the unique needs of culturally specific populations; assess and operate at the programmatic and the administrative level to eliminate systematic organizational marginalization.

Embed DEIB values and strategies into the National Council’s external communications and relationships, ensuring alignment with its DEIB practices

• Be the voice of National Council DEI strategy, vision and values externally with partners, members and the behavioral health community.
• Partner with the Marketing and Communications team to develop consistent communication and feedback mechanisms to improve how the National Council identifies, discusses and addresses DEIB issues effecting the Membership.

Candidate Profile:

Experience

• 10+ years of Human Resources, DEIB and program management experience; DEI certification preferred.
• Experience could have been gained in the following sectors: high-growth nonprofits, mission driven corporations, social enterprise, associations, healthcare and organizations focused on mental/behavioral health and/or substance use.
• Evidence of leading, developing and implementing industry-leading DEIB programs and best-practices including organizational structure, culture and development, employee engagement and wellbeing.
• Track record of building complex, cross functional programs/initiatives from the ground floor and aligning DEIB strategy with overall strategic objectives through collaboration and getting buy in on goals and outcomes; provides key metrics and data to guide DEIB road map and measure impact.
• Deep content knowledge of DEIB research; focused on current and future needs to find synergies to advance organizational strategy across the organization.
• Experience developing values and norms of various communities, particularly with communities of color, LGBTQ+ and behavioral health communities.
• Experience building and leading a diverse and inclusive team; able to delegate to achieve right level of involvement on day-to-day operations.

Leadership Characteristics

• Passion for the National Council’s mission and vision, preferably with the knowledge of the needs of people living with or experiencing mental illness/substance use; lived experience a plus.
• Authentic leadership style, confident working inclusively with diverse teams/groups of people with different perspectives and levels of DEIB understanding in a change/growth environment.
• Able to motivate, persuade and influence at all levels to ensure strategic alignment and high impact execution.
• Proven ability to navigate conflict and recognize the power of consensus-building; comfortable having difficult and courageous conversations; patience to gain understanding.
• Experience building and mentoring strong, motivated, collegial and diverse teams with multiple perspectives, to achieve collective understanding and success.
• Identifies opportunities to influence work that isn’t obviously titled “DEIB” but has a DEIB impact.
• Direct and transparent communicator, a relationship builder who promotes trust, collaboration, and partnership between departments.

Compensation: The National Council for Mental Wellbeing offers competitive compensation. The starting salary for this position is $290,000 with a final offer based on the candidate’s years of professional experience and internal equity. In addition to base salary, we offer bonus potential and a comprehensive benefits package.

We are a remote-first organization, with employees located across the United States while maintaining East Coast office hours. To maintain safety, anyone visiting the office must upload vaccination proof and be comfortable with testing protocols.

National Council is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. We embrace diversity, commit ourselves to creating an inclusive environment for everyone. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected Veteran status. We embrace diversity, commit ourselves to creating an inclusive environment for everyone and invite all interested candidates to apply.

National Council uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please contact the Department of Homeland Security at 888-897-7781 or visitwww.dhs.gov/everify.