Suicide Rapid Response Program Lead

Job Description

Job Description

Lines for Life Job Description

Position Title: Suicide Rapid Response (SRR) Program Lead

Status: Full-Time, Non-Exempt

Reports To: Strategy Officer/Assistant Director of Prevention Programs

Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:30 am-5:00 pm, with occasional evening and weekend work to provide postvention services.

Compensation: $27.00 - $34.09/hour plus a $2/hr. differential for employees who possess a Master's degree in a related field, a 2% differential for employees who live and work from Oregon, and a $1/hr. differential for hours worked in the office when regularly working in the office 3 days per week. See below for more details about the compensation package.

Location / Travel Requirement: This position requires regular travel throughout Oregon for Suicide Rapid Response postvention events. The position may also be asked to come into the Portland office for Prevention team meetings and may telecommute when working on administrative activities.

About the Organization: Lines for Life is a regional non-profit that is dedicated to preventing substance abuse and suicide. We offer help and hope to individuals and communities and promote mental health for all. Our work addresses a spectrum of needs that include intervention, prevention, and advocacy. We educate, train, and advocate to prevent issues of substance abuse, mental illness, and thoughts of suicide from reaching crisis levels. But when a crisis arises or support is needed, we are available 24/7/365 to intervene with personalized help.

Suicide Rapid Response Program Lead Position Summary: This position leads the development, coordination, and community-based implementation of Lines for Life’s Youth Suicide Rapid Response (SRR) postvention program. The role helps ensure that safe, evidence-informed, and culturally responsive postvention supports are available to communities statewide. The SRR Program Lead participates directly in community response activities whenever possible, including on-site postvention support, community outreach, partner coordination, group support, and the development of resources for communities across Oregon.

Suicide Rapid Response Program Lead Responsibilities:

Program Development & Statewide Coordination (30%)

• Lead the development of SRR in collaboration with leaders from Prevention, Crisis Lines, and other clinical teams across the organization.
• Create and maintain a system for rapid deployment of culturally appropriate support services to communities experiencing suicide deaths and suicide contagion.
• Develop and maintain a statewide inventory of community suicide postvention resources, services, and supports.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of potential subcontract service providers who can help reduce contagion risk and improve community health.
• Work with Oregon Health Authority (OHA) partners to support deployments, reporting, and PRL onboarding processes.

Community Response & Postvention Support (15%)

• As needed and in collaboration with the Postvention Response Lead, provide on-site grief and crisis support with short notice while coordinating with subcontractors to provide more ongoing support.
• Provide postvention leadership by meeting regularly with OHA and the Alliance, presenting to partners, and leading statewide learning collaboratives for youth suicide prevention.
• Integrate the voices of individuals with lived experience of loss and attempt survivors into suicide prevention and postvention programs.
• Attend meetings with schools, community centers, and Postvention Response Leads to support community response and readiness.

Outreach, Relationship-Building & Technical Assistance (25%)

• Conduct proactive outreach and community engagement to identify, build, and maintain relationships with local suicide prevention, postvention, behavioral health, school-based, culturally specific, and community support resources across Oregon.
• Build relationships with schools, county partners, community-based organizations, behavioral health providers, and culturally specific partners to strengthen local postvention readiness and suicide prevention capacity.
• Provide technical assistance to PRLs on county postvention plans.
• Coordinate and facilitate the Suicide Rapid Response Quarterly Collaborative Meeting to share postvention response practices, including support for front-line workers and behavioral health clinicians.

Reporting, Meetings & Administrative Support (30%)

• Assist with grant reporting and evaluation for suicide prevention programs.
• Create and maintain a statewide resource database.
• Co-lead content and agenda creation for the annual Postvention Summit.
• Perform project management duties, including coordination with communities and schools, template and materials creation, project progress monitoring, and stakeholder reporting.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Suicide Rapid Response Program Lead Required Qualifications:

• Qualified Mental Health Associate or bachelor’s degree in psychology, social work, or a behavioral science field.
• Knowledge of suicide postvention best practices, principles appropriately in community response, postvention, outreach, and group support settings.
• Experience leading a coalition or social services program.
• Strong organizational skills, including the ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects and events simultaneously.
• Knowledge of compassion fatigue and burnout.
• Ability to develop meaningful connections and demonstrate empathy.
• Strong aptitude for networking with diverse groups of people.
• Ability to navigate group settings, including emotionally complex conversations, multi-agency meetings, and community response environments.
• Ability to complete CISM training within three months after hire.
• Proficiency with databases and Microsoft Office applications.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Ability to engage communities, partners, and individuals impacted by suicide in a trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and respectful manner.

Suicide Rapid Response Program Lead Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in psychology, social work, or a behavioral science field, or clinical licensure.
• Suicide prevention and postvention trainer certifications, such as ASIST, Connect, YMHFA, or MHFA.
• Experience providing community-based crisis response, postvention support, suicide prevention outreach, group facilitation, or support following critical incidents, traumatic loss, suicide death, or suicide-related crisis.

Suicide Rapid Response Program Lead Working Conditions:

• This position requires regular travel throughout Oregon and occasional evening or weekend work.
• This position may require short-notice response to community postvention needs.
• This position may involve emotionally complex community response environments related to suicide loss and crisis response.

Benefits Overview:
Lines for Life offers a great benefits package valued at over $14,750 per year, $11,400 in premium coverage for employee health, vision and dental coverage, full coverage of short and long-term disability and life insurance premiums; a competitive paid time off package; a matching 401K plan equivalent to 3% of the annual salary during the first 2 years of employment after passing the match eligibility date; as well as a flexible spending plan; an employee assistance program; a free Fitbit; public service loan forgiveness (PSLF) employment certification; and eligibility to participate in an extracurricular professional development program after 6 months of employment. This is a union position with a step progression based upon years of service at Lines for Life, and below is the current step scale:

0-3 years: $27.00

3-5 years: $28.62

5-7 years: $30.34

7-10 years: $32.16

>10 years: $34.09

This job description is not meant to be an all-inclusive list of duties and responsibilities but constitutes a general definition of the position's scope and function in the company.

EEO: Lines for Life strives to create a diverse, inclusive environment to better represent the communities that we serve. We are an equal opportunity employer. Lines for Life shall not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin. However, it shall not be a violation of this clause for the Lines for Life to extend a publicly announced preference in employment to Indians living on or near an Indian reservation, in connection with employment opportunities on or near an Indian reservation, as permitted by 41 CFR 60-1.5

All Lines for Life employees must be approved to work by the Oregon Department of Human Services’ Background Check Unit. Background checks are completed after a conditional offer of employment has been extended.