The Manager Behavioral Health Services - DeKalb reflects the mission, vision, and values of NM, adheres to the organization’s Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with all relevant policies, procedures, guidelines and all other regulatory and accreditation standards.
The Living Room Manager provides leadership, direction, and operational oversight for Northwestern Medicine Ben Gordon Center's Living Room Program, a recovery-oriented crisis stabilization and support program designed to provide immediate assistance to individuals experiencing behavioral health and substance use crises. The Living Room serves as a key component of the community crisis continuum by offering a safe, welcoming, person-centered environment that promotes stabilization, recovery, and connection to ongoing care.
The Manager is responsible for ensuring high-quality service delivery, program compliance, operational excellence, employee engagement, fiscal stewardship, quality improvement, and positive guest outcomes. This position leads a multidisciplinary team and collaborates closely with internal and external stakeholders to advance Northwestern Medicine's mission of providing world-class care and improving the health of the communities served.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Leadership & Staff Development
- Provides direct supervision, coaching, mentoring, and performance management for Living Room team members.
- Creates an environment that fosters employee engagement, accountability, professional growth, and continuous learning.
- Recruits, hires, develops, and retains highly qualified staff.
- Promotes a culture of recovery, inclusion, teamwork, psychological safety, and service excellence.
- Supports workforce development initiatives and succession planning efforts.
Program Operations
- Oversees day-to-day operations of a 24/7 crisis support program.
- Ensures services are delivered in accordance with organizational policies, regulatory standards, grant requirements, and evidence-based practices.
- Develops, implements, and monitors departmental workflows, policies, and procedures.
- Evaluates operational performance and opportunities to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and guest experience.
- Maintains adequate staffing and scheduling to support continuous program operations.
Clinical & Recovery-Oriented Service Oversight
- Supports implementation of trauma-informed, recovery-oriented, and person-centered approaches throughout the program.
- Ensures guests receive timely screening, crisis stabilization, risk assessment, de-escalation support, wellness planning, and linkage to community resources and ongoing treatment services.
- Collaborates with Behavioral Health Services leadership, Mobile Crisis Response teams, law enforcement, emergency departments, inpatient psychiatric services, and community partners to ensure continuity of care.
- Promotes a culture of safety consistent with Zero Suicide principles and best practices in crisis care.
Quality, Compliance & Regulatory Readiness
- Maintains compliance with Northwestern Medicine policies, state regulations, accreditation standards, and grant-funded program requirements.
- Oversees quality assurance, continuous quality improvement, incident review, and risk-management activities.
- Monitors key performance indicators, guest satisfaction data, and outcome measures to drive program improvements.
- Ensures documentation, reporting, and operational practices support regulatory and audit readiness.
Financial & Resource Stewardship
- Supports development and management of departmental budgets.
- Monitors productivity, utilization, staffing resources, and operational performance metrics.
- Collaborates with organizational leadership on strategic planning, grant implementation, and service line growth initiatives.
- Demonstrates responsible stewardship of financial, human, and operational resources.
Community Relations, Strategic Partnerships & State Collaboration
- Serves as a representative of Northwestern Medicine Ben Gordon Center within the community and behavioral health system.
- Develops and maintains collaborative relationships with healthcare providers, emergency departments, schools, law enforcement agencies, emergency responders, social service organizations, and other community stakeholders to strengthen the local crisis continuum of care.
- Serves as the primary program liaison with Illinois Department of Human Services Division of Behavioral Health (IDHS-DBHR) grant managers, fiscal managers, and other state partners supporting Living Room services.
- Participates in required state technical assistance calls, grant meetings, trainings, and policy discussions related to Living Room operations, crisis services, and behavioral health system transformation.
- Represents Northwestern Medicine Ben Gordon Center in Living Room Program Learning Collaboratives, statewide workgroups, and communities of practice designed to advance quality, innovation, and best practices in crisis care.
- Collaborates with state and community partners to implement grant objectives, monitor performance outcomes, and support program growth and sustainability.
- Participates in community outreach, education, coalition work, and crisis system development activities.
- Supports efforts to increase awareness of behavioral health services, recovery resources, and crisis intervention programs throughout the region.
- Identifies opportunities to strengthen partnerships, improve care coordination, and expand access to behavioral health and crisis services.
About The Living Room
The Living Room is a voluntary, recovery-focused crisis support program that provides adults experiencing behavioral health or substance use crises with an alternative to emergency departments and psychiatric hospitalization when clinically appropriate. Guests receive support from trained peer and behavioral health professionals in a safe, welcoming, home-like environment focused on hope, recovery, stabilization, and connection to ongoing care. The program operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and serves as a critical component of the community's behavioral health crisis continuum.