Director - Warren County Children's Shelter

Founded in 1912 as an adoption agency, Canopy Children's Solutions is Mississippi’s most comprehensive nonprofit provider of children’s behavioral health, educational, and social service solutions. Canopy employs a diverse group of mission-driven individuals committed to honoring the voice of Mississippi children and families. Being an integral part of the Canopy team involves committing to the Core Values that drive our organization forward:

• The voice of our children and families always comes first
• Relationships matter and our differences make us stronger
• We take great joy in service to others
• Our families and our communities deserve our very best

Canopy has been designated a Great Place to Work® for the fifth consecutive year, and is one of only eight companies in Mississippi to qualify for this certification in 2024-2025. Canopy’s employees are charged with building a healthy work culture within their teams, that focus on trust, and the collective goal of helping kids thrive and families to overcome extraordinary challenges.

Shelter Director - Position Overview

• The Shelter Director is responsible for the overall leadership and administration of Canopy’s Warren County Children’s Shelter (WCCS).
• The Shelter Director works with the shelter staff to plan, organize, and lead the solution’s services, including daily operations, child advocacy, clinical practices, staff support/development, and the physical environment.
• Other duties include fiscal stewardship, grant maintenance, community relations, therapeutic/physical environmental management, and on-call administrator responsibilities.
• Strong leadership skills, self-initiative, healthy communication style, and effective administration skills are critical to be successful in achieving outcomes.

Job Responsibilities:

Administrative

• Ensure Integration and understanding of Canopy’s core values, mission, and thematic goals into all aspects of the Solution.
• Cascade pertinent information from Canopy’s leadership to the shelter team within 48 hours.
• Plan, manage, and supervise the Solution in accordance with Canopy, local, state and federal guidelines and evidenced-based practices.
• Maintain appropriate licensure, certification, and accreditation with regulatory agencies including MDHS, MDCPS, MDMH, Safe Place, and The Joint Commission.
• Monitor, Evaluate, and Steward the operating budget, spending, and revenue for the shelter in consultation Sr. Director of Solutions and Canopy’s accounting team.
• Helps seek out and manage applicable proposals/grants in compliance with all regulatory requirements, with support from Canopy’s Director of Grants and Advancement Operations.
• Prepare solution reports as needed/required.
• Develop and recommend annual and long-range plans and Key Performance Indicators for the Shelter and Shelter staff.
• Implement bylaws, plans, policy and procedures of the Board of Directors and/or Sr. Leadership as required.
• Take administrative after-hours “on-call” as scheduled, and is accessible for staff/child emergences as other on-call administrators need support or are unavailable.

Supervision

• Meet with WCCS Leadership/Clinical team on a weekly basis to debrief, advocate, and ensure best practices.
• Provide individual and group supervision monthly to supervisees and document supervision in accordance with Canopy policies and procedures, and keep track of supervision through use of supervisory notes/logs.
• Use organization approved communication channels to share updates with all shelter staff on a routine basis.
• Review and approve timesheets for all designated staff on a bi-weekly basis.
• Ensure adequate staffing and maintenance of staffing patters to meet the needs of the children and youth served.
• Hire, implement disciplinary actions, and terminate personnel - in consultation with the Sr. Director of Solutions and Human Resources.
• Ability to evaluate staff routinely, annually in performance evaluations, and new staff throughout their first 90 days.
• Ensure that staff file incident reports, and provide documentation of the reports to the Sr. Director of Operations within 24 hours of occurrence.
• Attend leadership meetings as assigned or needed.

Relationships

• Establish working relationships with applicable state and local offices (including the Mississippi Department of Health, the Mississippi Department of Child Protective Services, the Warren County Youth Court, the Vicksburg-Warren School District, etc.) as needed.
• Maintain and develop relationships with key stakeholders, community members, and referral sources to secure new and continued partnerships, and to grow support from prospective donors and businesses.
• Recruit and work with approved volunteers and advisory board members to enrich the shelter.
• Maintain and develop relationships and a working knowledge of lines of communication and workflow within Canopy.
• Attend individual supervisions and meetings with the Sr. Director of Solutions, and Canopy Leadership, as required.

Quality

• Direct and ensure quality and innovation improvements within the shelter on an ongoing basis to insure services of the highest quality.
• Develop action plans for improving service delivery.
• Ensures monthly physical maintenance, repairs, and improvements are both prioritized and maintained at the Shelter.
• Ensures outstanding customer service for youth in care, their guardians/families, and referral sources.
• Ensure tracking of meaningful data and subsequent performance improvement projects to ensure that the shelter and associated staff are providing quality services and care.
• Ensure Shelter staff receive all required trainings upon hire and on an annual basis, with encouragement to seek out additional new and improved evidence-based practice trainings above the baseline requirements.
• Educate and supervise new employees with job responsibilities, agency policies, department procedures, and government regulations.
• Implement annual review of policies, procedures, and practices - assuring the effective operation of the Shelter’s treatment programs as needed.
• Helps maintain the privacy and integrity of all medical records, protected health information, and confidential data of the organization and of individuals served, in collaboration with the Director of Corporate Compliance.
• Support and maintain a trauma-informed, and evidenced-based practice, driven culture within the Shelter.

Safety:

• Ensure monthly Environment of Care Checks and reports are completed, and recognized concerns are acted upon.
• Develop plans to decrease the number and severity of significant events pertaining to individuals served.
• Report all significant events to appropriate authorities within twenty-four (24) hours.
• Implements a Debriefing with all involved, and a Plan of Correction, for each reported event within three (3) working days.
• Ensure safety and security of staff and youth in the care of the program.

Other

• Complete other assigned tasks as required by the Senior Director of Operations, Chief of Solutions, and/or Chief Executive Officer.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of a master’s degree in Social Work or related behavioral health field.
• A professional Mississippi License (non-provisional) or certification in the appropriate field.
• Advanced training and certification in behavior analysis with a minimum of five years’ experience, required.
• A track record of three or more years of successful supervisory experience in a social service or social welfare program. Three or more years of experience working with children with serious emotional disturbances (SED) in a similar or more restrictive environment.
• An ideal candidate must have experience with certification/accreditation by the Joint Commission (or other national accreditation) and the MS Departments of Health (DOH), Mental Health (DMH), and Child Protective Services (MDCPS).
• Must be willing to participate in, and initiate, cross-system coordination and advocacy efforts on behalf of youth.
• Must effectively communicate through verbal and written communications.
• Must have a valid driver’s license and be willing to utilize personal vehicle for agency travel.
• Must be at least 21 years of age, have a valid driver’s license, a good driving record, and proof of legally appropriate auto liability insurance, and must be willing to use personal vehicle for organization business

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)