About Us

The vision of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing 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 3,400 mental health and substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery 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 and supports. 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 (MHFA) program, we have trained more than three 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; both our budget ($77M) and passionate staff (250+) have grown more than 50% since 2020. In addition, while we maintain office space in Washington, DC, we are a remote-first organization, meaning our employees work remotely from their locations across the United States.

We are an equal-opportunity employer. We embrace diversity and commit ourselves to creating an inclusive environment for everyone.

Position Summary

As a Senior Advisor, Business & Strategy, you will function as a technical expert in the Business & Strategy (B&S) department in the Strategy & Growth Office. This is a new position that is intended to formalize an aspect of the Strategy & Growth Office's function for the organization and in the mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD) field in the following ways:

• Identify pain points and challenges in the field
• Draw attention to early-stage solutions and cultivate a process that identifies if and how the National Council can make a positive impact via mid and long-term thinking and action
• Encourage innovation practices in our external audiences, particularly the National Council members, to foster deeper connections with members and promote clinical and
• operational advancements in the field in alignment with public policy and market shifts.
• Maintain a series of short and long-term special projects as needed that will require collaboration with internal and external audiences and familiarity with the key issues and opportunities in the field

By its very nature, this position is intended to be nimble, to serve as a resource to others in support of collaboration and efficiency, and to drive strategic, mid- and long-term growth of the organization and MH/SUD field.

This position is an individual contributor role without any direct reports. While this position can be done remotely from anywhere in the US, you must primarily work the hours of 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM ET.

Responsibilities

• Engage in external outreach activities to help identify, promote, and expand innovations aligned to organizational priorities
• Organize and support meeting facilitation with external stakeholders including governments, philanthropy, nonprofit organizations, corporate partners, academic organizations, and other public/private sector leaders
• Create a culture of innovation and collaboration within the organization to identify, analyze, and promote innovations in the field aligned to the National Council's Strategic Goals and Audacious Aims
• Lead the development of funding concepts, proposals, presentations, reports, and other written summaries to advance qualified innovations
• Contribute to internal strategy development, execution and continuous improvement that support a culture of innovation
• Prioritize and navigate changing priorities while obtaining the support of other key stakeholders
• Create, analyze, and plan strategy for forecasting potential costs and revenue related to the advancement of innovations
• Create, implement, and manage an organization-wide process that encourages staff to be curious and share innovative ideas, behaviors, and processes that can improve how the National Council operates
• Demonstrate competence in the use of data to drive innovation and program development
• Provide recommendations on organization initiatives as needed
• Maintain consistent and proactive communication with B&S department leadership regarding project activities including, but not limited to, progress on deliverables, implementation challenges and mitigation strategies
• Conduct opportunity and risk analyses to continually improve the likelihood that innovations will be sustained over time
• Follow industry trends to target business practices and opportunities

Required Qualifications

• At least 10-12 years of professionally relevant work in the mental health and substance use disorder treatment and recovery field
• At least 5-7 years of demonstrated leadership experience
• Masters' degree or equivalent additional years of experience
• Considered a Subject Matter Expert (SME) on subjects such as workforce initiatives, financing, service delivery, and administrative operations and challenges faced by mental health and substance use disorder treatment and recovery service providers
• Demonstrated experience helping to improve organizational infrastructure, business practices, and strategic growth through innovation
• Demonstrated ability to be highly attuned to our members and navigate dialogue to encourage advancements based in their working realities
• Strong organizational skills and ability to set priorities and respond quickly as priorities change
• Strong interpersonal skills with an ability to build good relationships with peers, external partners, and other diverse stakeholders.
• Demonstrated experience in working within complex organizations and driving internal department consensus and engagement
• Analytical thinking, strategic planning, and the ability to manage large and complex tasks
• Process driven and organized with strong attention to detail
• Outstanding communication skills including in verbal, written, and presentation formats
• Ability to contribute to a strong team-based environment
• Demonstrated organizational and project management skills, and ability to complete tasks as assigned, within timelines
• Experience in the critical analysis of data and technical reports
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office
• Ability to travel up to 15% (average of 1-2 events per quarter)

Preferred Qualifications

• Three or more years of experience in an innovation environment
• Strong knowledge of budget development and management
• Current relationships with member organizations and potential innovation funders