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Behavioral Health Specialist #2407-319400-02

Date Opened
Thursday, July 25, 2024 8:00 AM
Close Date
Thursday, August 08, 2024 11:59 PM
Section
Police
Salary
  • $66,786- $75,134
Employment Type
  • Full Time

Introduction

The Behavioral Health Specialist serves as a full-time professional for the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), providing a variety of psychological services. This role involves offering therapy to traumatized or distressed CMPD employees and conducting group counseling sessions to address collective needs. 

The specialist is responsible for training incident debriefing counselors and coordinating critical incident stress debriefings to support officers after traumatic events. Additionally, the position includes teaching courses at the police academy on psychological wellness and coping strategies. The Behavioral Health Specialist also oversees the Therapy Dog Program, which entails daily close interaction with an assigned therapy dog to provide comfort and support to employees. Furthermore, the specialist maintains confidential records of all sessions and interactions, ensuring privacy and adherence to professional standards. This is not a remote position and this position may be required to work outside of traditional business hours. 

Overview

The City of Charlotte is the largest municipality in North Carolina and the 15th largest city in the United States, with a total population of more than 897,000 citizens. A major commerce center, Charlotte hosts several of the nation’s largest banks and technology companies.

Also known as the Queen City, Charlotte is home to the Carolina Panthers, the Charlotte Hornets and the NASCAR Hall of Fame. We work hard to ensure that the community will be a winning city for everyone – a truly remarkable place to live, work, learn and play. Join us in helping to keep our City thriving, ensuring upward mobility and advancement in the workplace.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

Establishes and maintains a wellness program for employees considered high risk for secondary trauma due to the nature of their assignment in the department. 
Provides psychological care and treatment for academy recruits, sworn staff, and civilian employees; provides therapy to traumatized or distressed officers; performs diagnostic assessments and applies appropriate therapeutic techniques and intervention; continuously monitors therapy progress; provides referrals to other health care facilities/professionals, as needed. 
Maintains security and confidentiality of information created or encountered in the performance of assigned duties in strict adherence with all applicable laws and regulations. 
Provides crisis counseling in the field, and the office for individuals experiencing acute episodes; evaluates patients and arranges for voluntary or involuntary admission to facilities for observation and treatment. 
Conducts critical incident group debriefings with all involved personnel (sworn and civilian), as appropriate. 
Organizes, develops, and serves as clinical advisor to, the Department Peer Support Program including participation in the selection and training of new members. 
Provides training and instruction to police employees; develops and presents Police Psychology curriculum providing training related to resilience and positive coping mechanisms. 
Executes special projects for the Chief of Police. 
Conducts research and maintains knowledge on applicable therapy techniques and relevant reference materials related to police psychology. 
Performs other duties of a similar nature and level as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

Principles and practices of clinical and police psychology.
Methods of diagnostic assessment of psychological health needs.
Psychological treatment methods of acute stress disorders, trauma and related illnesses.
Principles and practices of program administration and management.
Best practices, trends and emerging technologies.
Principles and methods of qualitative and quantitative research.
Principles and applications of critical thinking and analysis.
Principles and practices of group facilitation and building consensus.
Applicable federal, state and local laws, codes, regulations (based on assignment).
Customer service principles.
Specialized equipment relevant to area of assignment.
Modern office technology.
High levels of oral and written communication skills including the ability to articulate ideas, concepts, findings, results as well as interpretations and evaluations of data.
Outstanding multi-tasking and problem-solving skills
Ability to deal tactfully, courteously, and effectively with citizens, officers, co-workers, and other personnel from a broad range of governmental and public safety organizations
Demonstrate and maintain good judgment
Ability to respond independently and quickly
Performing clinical psychological assessments;
Providing psychological care and treatment related to traumatic stress and incidents;
Providing appropriate therapeutic techniques and intervention, or making resource referrals as required;
Providing consultation and serving as a department liaison and subject matter expert.
Preparing and delivering training curriculum and related presentations.
Researching industry trends, solutions and best practices.
Reading, analyzing, evaluating, interpreting and summarizing written materials and statistical data.
Exercising political acumen, tact and diplomacy.
Maintaining confidential assessment and treatment files and records.
Interpreting and applying applicable laws, codes, regulations and standards (based on assignment).
Providing customer service.
Utilizing a computer and relevant software applications.
Utilizing communication and interpersonal skills as applied to interaction with coworkers, supervisors, the general public and others to sufficiently exchange or convey information and to receive work direction.

ADA and Other Requirements:
Positions in this class typically require: grasping, talking, hearing, seeing, and repetitive motions.

Physical Requirements:
Essential and marginal functions may require maintaining physical condition necessary for sitting, standing, climbing, or walking for extended periods of time
Light to moderate lifting and carrying; some crouching, stooping, squatting, crawling, reaching, pushing, and pulling when performing tasks
Adequate vision, hearing, and speech required.
Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time.

Working Conditions:
Work is routinely performed in an indoor, office environment. Maybe required to be on call and/or work outside of normal business hours. 

Preferred Qualification

Master’s degree in psychology or related human service field with coursework in behavior analysis and developmental disabilities 
Licensed Professional Counselor
Three (3) years of experience

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree with Two (2) Years of relevant work experience

How To Apply

Apply online.

Federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job.

You are welcome to visit the City of Charlotte Human Resources Department lobby where we have workstations available. Our office is located at 700 East 4th Street, Suite 200, Charlotte, NC 28202. Our hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (EST), excluding official City holidays.

Anyone seeking an accommodation to apply for a job may call (704) 336-2285 for assistance or you may email questions to CityHrJobPostingsNotify@ci.charlotte.nc.us.

In Conclusion

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