Director of Programs & Clinical Services

About Hospice of Santa Barbara Hospice of Santa Barbara is a community-based nonprofit providing compassionate care and support to individuals and families experiencing grief or serious/life-threatening illness. Through professional counseling, patient care services, volunteer support, education, and community initiatives, HSB serves people throughout South Santa Barbara County at no charge.

For more than 50 years, HSB has worked collaboratively with healthcare providers, schools, nonprofit organizations, and community partners to respond to the evolving needs of our community.

Hospice of Santa Barbara (HSB) seeks an experienced, collaborative, and forward-thinking Director of Programs & Clinical Services to provide strategic leadership for the organization's programs, people, and community impact.

As a member of HSB's Senior Leadership Team, the Director of Programs & Clinical Services will help shape the future of HSB's services while ensuring programs remain responsive to evolving community needs. This leader will engage in all key program areas, including Bereavement Services, Patient Care Services, Volunteer Services, and Community Engagement. The Director will also work closely with others across the organization, partnering with Development to communicate program needs and impact and collaborating with Finance, Operations, and Human Resources to align people, resources, and systems with program priorities.

This is an opportunity for a mission-driven leader who combines strong program and people leadership with clinical expertise, strategic thinking, and a deep commitment to community.

Ensure HSB's programs remain high-quality, accessible, effective, and responsive to changing community needs while identifying opportunities for innovation and growth.

Develop strong managers and emerging leaders and support program staff while fostering the collaborative, supportive, and mission-driven culture that is central to HSB.

Expand Community Impact & Access Strengthen partnerships and community engagement while advancing HSB's ability to reach culturally diverse and historically underserved populations.

Strengthen program systems and use data, program evaluations, and community needs to guide decisions, planning, and organizational sustainability and measured growth.

Provide oversight for HSB's clinical services and clinical supervision structure, ensuring adherence to professional, ethical, regulatory, and organizational standards. Partner with program leaders to evaluate service models, community needs, program capacity, and opportunities for innovation. Champion a workplace culture that reflects HSB's mission and values and encourages innovation, inclusion, learning, and employee engagement.

Community Engagement & Access Build and strengthen relationships with healthcare organizations, schools, nonprofit agencies, community coalitions, and other partners. Advance community education and engagement related to grief, bereavement, caregiving, serious illness, and HSB services. Provide leadership and consultation in response to community critical incidents involving grief and loss. Advance strategies to ensure HSB's programs are responsive and accessible to culturally diverse and historically underserved communities.

Program Operations & Impact Strengthen systems supporting client access, intake, referral, service delivery, documentation, and program coordination. Monitor program capacity, utilization, service demand, and outcomes to support effective planning and resource allocation. Use data and community needs to evaluate effectiveness, identify trends, and guide continuous improvement. Develop annual program priorities and oversee program budgets, financial planning, and resource allocation. Collaborate closely with Finance, Operations, Development, and executive leadership to advance organizational priorities. Partner with the fundraising team to communicate program needs, impact, and opportunities to funders and community stakeholders. Represent program priorities and initiatives with staff, the Board of Directors, funders, and community partners.

As the ideal candidate, you are a thoughtful, collaborative leader who combines strategic perspective with a strong understanding of clinical and community-based services. You are skilled at leading and developing people, strengthening programs, building community relationships, and translating ideas into effective action. You bring cultural humility and a demonstrated ability to build trust and develop responsive services with culturally diverse and historically underserved communities. You also bring sound judgment, curiosity, emotional intelligence, and a commitment to both innovation and organizational culture.

Advanced degree in social work, counseling, psychology, marriage and family therapy, or a related behavioral health field. Significant leadership experience in behavioral health, human services, healthcare, nonprofit programming, or related field. Experience developing, evaluating, and improving programs and using data to inform planning and decision-making. Strong organizational and financial acumen, including program planning, budgeting, and resource allocation. Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.

Experience in grief and bereavement, serious illness, caregiving, hospice/palliative care, or related services. Familiarity with Santa Barbara County and its healthcare, behavioral health, education, and nonprofit communities. Bilingual English/Spanish skills.

This is a full-time, salaried position based in Santa Barbara, California. While some work may be performed remotely, this is pre-dominantly an in-person position. Please submit a resume and cover letter to describing your interest in this career opportunity and the experience, skills, and leadership qualities that have prepared you for this impactful role.

Hospice of Santa Barbara is committed to fostering an inclusive workplace and encourages qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds and experiences to apply.