With a workforce of over 30,000 people, and opportunities in more than 1,000 different job categories, the City of Philadelphia is the sixth largest city in the United States and one of the largest employers in Southeastern Pennsylvania. As an employer, the City of Philadelphia operates through the guiding principles of service, integrity, respect, accountability, collaboration, diversity and inclusion. Through these principles, we strive to effectively deliver services, to resolve the challenges facing our city, and to make Philadelphia a place where all of our residents have the opportunity to reach their potential. 

Agency Description

The Managing Director’s Office (MDO) is a cabinet-level office with oversight of the City’s operating departments. MDO works to ensure government efficiency and coordination across city government. MDO plays a major role in creating new policies and making sure they are enacted successfully.

Within the Managing Director’s Office, the Office of Criminal Justice (OCJ) advances the Kenney administration’s goals of criminal justice reform by developing partnerships between City agencies, criminal justice partners, nonprofit organizations, and community members. OCJ serves as the mayor’s appointee to Philadelphia County’s Criminal Justice Advisory Board (CJAB) and is the point of contact for various local, state, and federal justice partners.

Position Summary: 

The Project Manager will be tasked with executing Philadelphia’s Stepping Up Initiative: https://stepuptogether.org/

The primary ongoing responsibility is for management of projects and initiatives related to enhancing the City’s efforts to create alternatives to incarceration for the seriously mentally ill. The Project Manager oversees the planning, implementation, and tracking of specific projects, as well as the development of a cohesive strategy. The Project Manager is also responsible for coordinating activities and ongoing collaborations, including communications with community-based organizations, City departments, and other stakeholders.

The Project Manager will frequently have to work with the Police Department, Department of Prisons, Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbilities Services, the First Judicial District, the District Attorney’s Office, and the Defender Association, as well as local, state, and federal elected officials.

Essential Functions: 

As in many municipalities, the Philadelphia Department of Prisons (“PDP”), has become the de facto mental hospital in the region.  Nearly 40 % of the citizens incarcerated in PDP suffer from and are medicated for behavioral health disorders.

Stepping Up is a data-driven, comprehensive, cross-agency effort to reduce the number individuals in jail with mental illness by 1) reducing the number of people booked into jail with mental illness, 2) reducing length of stay in jail, 3) increasing connections to treatment in the community and 4) reducing recidivism.  In Philadelphia, the project manager will assure the success of this initiative by:

• Establishing visible support of the initiative by critical elected officials, county program directors and community advocates and treatment agencies;
• Managing a project team made up of justice system leaders including judges, prosecutors, the defense bar, community supervision staff, corrections and behavioral health professionals; Mental health service directors, community health care providers, health care financial experts, patients, families and advocacy groups;
• Establishing agreement to a shared set of definitions, e.g., behavioral health, including the co-morbidity of substance use disorder;
• Developing benchmarks, performance metrics, and the ongoing tracking of progress;
• Conducting a comprehensive assessment of arrested individuals prior to arraignment, using validated screening instruments;
• Assuring post booking stabilization and diversion when appropriate;
• Establishing real-time sharing of treatment related data between project team components as needed;
• Supporting the implementation of new and innovative programs that incorporate evidence-based practices and a racial equity lens;
• Improving cross-system information sharing within the complex framework of current systems, practices, and legal constraints;
• Completing of an exhaustive, end-to-end process map of current system resources, i.e., an updates sequential intercept map coupled to a process gap identification; 
• Creation and implementation of strategies addressing process and resource gaps to reduce the number of people with mental illness that are in jail, to reduce the length of stay of jailed mental health patients, to increase connections to treatment and treatment plan compliance and to reduce recidivism. 
• Writing grants and other funding proposals to secure resources for initiative components.
• Serve as a liaison with technical assistance providers and other counties participating in the Stepping Up Initiative.

Qualifications: 

• Completion of an advanced degree at an accredited college or university in law, criminal justice, social work, public health, public administration, or similar areas of study required.
• Five years of related working experience in a large jurisdiction preferred.

Competencies, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Proven working experience as a project manager in the criminal justice or social services sector
• Excellent verbal, listening and written communication skills
• Proficient in data gathering and analysis;
• Able to collaborate with all levels of government and private agencies;
• Solid organizational skills including attention to detail and multi-tasking skills
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office, Internet tools and social media.
• Ability to work cooperatively and effectively with others to set goals, resolve problem, and make decisions.
• Prior experience working with criminal justice and behavioral health systems required
• Knowledge of Pennsylvania’s system preferred
• Familiarity with the rules of criminal procedure, HIPAA and CHRIA preferred

Once hired, employees have six months to move into and maintain residency in the City of Philadelphia as a condition of employment.

Complete applications for this position must include a resume and cover letter. Applications without the required documetns will not be considered.  

The City of Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not permit discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age,disability, marital status, source of income, familial status, genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status. If you believe you were discriminated against, call the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at 215-686-4670 or send an email to pchr@ phila.gov. For more information, go to: Human Relations Website at: http://www.phila.gov/humanrelations