Assistant Director - CBAT Program

About Walker

Since 1961, Walker Therapeutic & Educational Programs has been a trusted partner for children, youth, and families, navigating some of life’s most difficult challenges. Based in Needham, our mission is to nurture hope, build strengths, and develop lifelong skills in partnership with the children, youth, families, and communities we serve. We provide comprehensive, trauma-informed residential, educational, and clinical services to children and youth with complex social-emotional, behavioral, and learning needs, while supporting their families every step of the way. Through three specialized divisions—Residential & Educational Programs, Behavioral Health & Community-Based Services, and Walker Solutions—we deliver relationship-based care and capacity-building that makes a lasting difference. Today, we serve children, youth, and families from more than 150 communities across Massachusetts.

Make a Difference Every Day—and Gain Skills You Can Use for Life

As the CBAT Program Assistant Director at Walker, you'll work directly with children and youth who are navigating social, emotional, and behavioral challenges. You'll be part of a supportive, multidisciplinary team that helps youth feel safe, connected, and ready to grow. As your career continues to grow in the human services field, this is a chance to build valuable experience while making a real impact.

Assist the CBAT Program Director with oversight of the daily operations of Walker's Needham Campus CBAT Program. Must have excellent skills for working with children (ages 3-13) who present with behavioral and mental health challenges.  Must have strong skills in behavior support and recreational programming. Must have ability to effectively supervise milieu staff and work collaboratively with clinical and medical staff. Must have excellent communication and organizational skills.  Must be willing to work flexible schedule with weekend and evening hours as needed and support other programs on campus as needed. Must be committed to child centered, family focused culturally competent care and strength-based treatment. 

Essential Functions

• Perform in a way that is aligned with the agency mission and core values. This includes but is not limited to services that are trauma informed, relationship based, family involved, developmentally focused, competence centered, and ecologically oriented.   
• Provide individual and team supervision for direct care supervisors, specialists, and staff as assigned, including the evaluation and management of staff performance. In collaboration with program leadership, identify the strengths and areas of growth for individual staff members and teams of staff. The areas to be evaluated should include individual work with children, group management techniques, understanding of child development, work with families, and teamwork.  
• Conduct interviews and participate in the hiring process and unit assignment of new direct care staff, specialists and supervisors, as well as milieu interns as needed.   
• Support staff in ensuring a therapeutic environment on the milieu at all times.  Ensure that structured, therapeutic activities are planned at all necessary times and oversee the coordination of these activities. 
• In collaboration with the full CBAT leadership team, increase the staff’s understanding of and ability to develop, implement, and evaluate individual behavioral support plans for kids.  
• Work with program leadership to increase the use of Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI) philosophy and language including early intervention and de-escalation techniques in the day-to-day running of the program.  
• As a member of the management team, monitor the implementation of Walker guidelines and policies and ensure the CBAT program is operating within licensing standards. 
• Provide direct care in ratio to clients as needed and provide crisis management and support to the CBAT and other campus programs during working hours.   
• Review all incident reports and ensure they are complete and meet all requirements. 
• Participate in multidisciplinary treatment team meetings as well as weekly staff meetings. Interface with families, collateral agencies and various Walker departments to integrate services with educational, medical and clinical disciplines. 
• Work collaboratively with the CBAT program director and campus leadership to assure appropriate staffing for CBAT units. 
• Work with the CBAT Program Director to support all tasks related to the CBAT admission process, including managing referrals, coordinating admissions, and conducting admission assessments. 
• Assist with conducting training for staff as assigned.  
• Assist the CBAT program director with completing payroll tasks. 
• Serve as Administrator On-Call for the campus on a rotating basis.  
• Supervise staff and interns as assigned
• Additional duties as assigned 

Skills and Abilities

• Must be able to successfully pass and apply Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI) training
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to remain calm and make safe decisions in high-pressure situations
• Capacity to work effectively in a stressful and fast-paced environment
• Ability to learn, retain, and apply principles taught in training and supervision
• Physical stamina to participate in activities with children
• Ability to stand, walk, and run for extended periods, perform frequent bending, stooping, stretching, lifting (up to 10 lbs.), sitting, stairs, typing, and looking at a computer screen
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and computer experience is required
• Ability to meet deadlines and follow through with multiple projects simultaneously
• Ability to work flexibly and collaboratively as part of a team, including during times of high stress
• Ability to transport clients in company vehicles

Schedule:

• 10:00am - 6:00pm Tuesday - Saturday with flexibility for evenings or other days based on program and operational needs

Qualifications

Education and Certifications

Required:

• High School diploma or GED required

Preferred:

• Bachelor’s degree in related field

Experience

Required:

• At least three years of experience working in a residential setting required, with at least one year of supervisory experience in a residential setting

Preferred

• At least five years of experience working in a residential setting with increasing leadership and supervisory responsibilities

Other Requirements:

• Obtain Elementary Education and Care (EEC) background check suitability
• Must have reliable transportation
• Valid MA driver’s license preferred

Supervision:

Reports to: CBAT Program Director

Supervises: CBAT supervisors and specialists, direct care staff and interns

Equal Opportunity Statement

Walker is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based upon an individual's race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, genetic information, disability, veteran status, pregnancy, national guard or reserve unit obligations, participation in discrimination complaint-related activities, or membership in any category protected by federal or state law.

Salary : $57,800 - $65,000