At JBS International, our work is driven by a simple but powerful purpose: improving the health, well-being, and quality of life of individuals, families, and communities. Every day, our team partners with federal agencies, states, health systems, and community organizations to solve complex public health and human services challenges and create lasting, measurable impact. With more than 250 professionals nationwide, JBS combines deep subject matter expertise, innovative technology, and a collaborative culture to help clients improve outcomes in behavioral health, public health, child welfare, health care, and social services.

When you join JBS International, you become part of a mission-driven team dedicated to improving health, well-being, and quality of life for individuals and communities nationwide. You'll collaborate with talented professionals, lead meaningful work, and help solve some of the nation’s most complex public health and human services challenges. Backed by the strength and resources of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina and the Celerian Group family of companies, JBS offers the stability of a large organization with the agility, innovation, and collaborative culture of a specialized consulting firm.

Ready to make an impact? Join a team where your expertise matters, your ideas are valued, and your work helps improve lives across the country. If you're looking for a career with purpose, opportunity, and the chance to drive meaningful change, we encourage you to apply today.

POSITION SUMMARY

As Project Director, you will have the opportunity to lead a complex, nationally significant program that supports the collection, analysis, and use of behavioral health data. You will serve as a trusted partner to the client, guide a highly skilled multidisciplinary team, and ensure that the program delivers reliable data, modern technology, responsive technical assistance, and high-quality public-facing resources. The Project Director serves as the primary point of accountability to the client and ensures coordinated performance across behavioral health subject matter expertise, survey operations, state data reporting, statistical analysis, technical assistance, cloud modernization, cybersecurity, public-facing services, and dissemination.

This role establishes the program governance and management infrastructure needed to sustain uninterrupted operations, protect data integrity and confidentiality, meet schedule and budget commitments, and deliver accurate, accessible, timely, and reproducible products. The Project Director leads a multidisciplinary team and works closely with designated project management, technical, statistical, survey, security, implementation, accessibility, communications, and quality leaders.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

• Serve as the primary point of accountability for contract performance, client outcomes, issue resolution, and mission results.

• Build and maintain transparent, responsive working relationships with the client, government partners, states, territories, treatment facilities, subcontractors, and other stakeholders.

• Translate contractual requirements and client priorities into integrated work plans, decision structures, staffing assignments, performance measures, and deliverable schedules.

• Lead executive-level meetings, provide clear status and decision briefings, and ensure timely follow-through on client direction, approvals, risks, and action items.

• Lead interconnected behavioral health data programs spanning national surveys, administrative data collections, analytics, technical assistance, system modernization, and public-facing services.

• Use data to strengthen performance by monitoring results, anticipating risks, resolving challenges, and driving continuous improvement.

• Build stakeholder-centric reporting and dashboards that empowers policymakers to make rapid, confident, evidence-based decisions.

• Guide national data operations encompassing survey administration, outreach, data submission, validation, processing, integration, quality assurance, analysis, and dissemination.

• Advance technology and innovation by overseeing cloud modernization, cybersecurity, privacy, Authority to Operate activities, accessibility, human-centered design, and open-source development.

• Strengthen state and facility capabilities through responsive technical assistance, stakeholder engagement, and targeted strategies to improve data quality, completeness, and timeliness.

• Lead and develop an exceptional team of behavioral health experts, statisticians, researchers, data analysts, technical assistance professionals, technology specialists, and project managers.

• Manage program resources responsibly by overseeing budgets, forecasts, staffing, subcontractors, consultants, and expenditure controls.

• Champion quality and accountability by ensuring all services and deliverables meet contractual, technical, security, accessibility, and documentation standards.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Master's degree in behavioral health, public health, statistics, survey methodology, research, information systems, business administration, public administration, or a related field.

Experience: Minimum of 15 years of progressively responsible experience leading complex federal health, behavioral health, statistical, research, data systems, survey, analytics, or technology programs, including senior responsibility for multi-year project delivery, client relationships, budgets, workforce performance, quality, risk, and subcontractors.

Language: English fluency, oral and written.

Security Clearance: Ability to attain a Public Trust Clearance

Location: This position operates on a hybrid schedule, requiring 2 days per week on site at our headquarters in North Bethesda, MD.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND CAPABILITIES

• Demonstrated experience leading large, multi-component federal programs of comparable complexity, preferably involving national behavioral health or public health data systems.

• Understanding of substance use and mental health treatment service systems and the federal, state, territorial, provider, and facility environments that generate and use behavioral health data.

• Demonstrated ability to manage national survey operations, state administrative data collections, statistical analysis, disclosure protection, reporting, and public dissemination.

• Experience leading transition, continuity of operations, risk management, quality assurance, schedule control, budget management, staffing, and transparent deliverable tracking.

• Working knowledge of federal cloud modernization, ATO processes, privacy and security, Section 508 accessibility, open-source development, reproducible code, and public-domain deliverables.

• Demonstrated success hiring, developing, supervising, and retaining multidisciplinary teams and managing subcontractors and consultants.

• Executive-level written and oral communication skills, sound judgment, attention to detail, and the ability to explain complex data, technical, operational, and program issues to varied audiences.

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to sit for prolonged periods at a desk or computer workstation.

• Regularly uses a computer, keyboard, and mouse.

• Standard or corrected vision to read documents, view computer screens, and perform tasks that require visual accuracy.

• Ability to hear and understand spoken information in person and over the phone.

• Minimal lifting and carrying may be required, typically light office supplies or documents.

• Ability to move within the office environment to access equipment, files, and interact with colleagues.

• Ability to handle occasional stress related to deadlines, workloads, or challenging tasks.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Doctoral degree in a relevant field.

• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.

• Direct experience with behavioral health surveys, data sets and related collections and services, including federal and state systems.

• Experience leading federal cloud migration or modernization in AWS or another HHS-approved cloud environment and coordinating ATO activities.

• Additional credentials relevant to the assignment, such as PgMP, PMI-ACP, Lean Six Sigma, Prosci Change Management, AWS certification, cybersecurity certification, or a comparable credential.

• Fluency in Spanish or another language relevant to stakeholder and participant support.

OTHER DUTIES AS ASSIGNED: This position description should not be construed to imply that these requirements are the exclusive standards of the position, nor will it be the sole basis for any subsequent employee evaluations. Incumbents will follow any other instructions and perform any other related duties as may be required by their supervisor.

This position is subject to availability of funds and to any and all restrictions contained in the contract or contracts that provide funding for this position.

Salary Range: $158,750 - $216,250 annually.

Compensation is determined by years of directly relevant experience, education, certifications, specialized skills, contract labor category requirements, and internal equity considerations. Final salary offers may vary within the posted range.

Benefits:

JBS International provides a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, retirement savings, paid time off, and other employee programs.

APPLICATION INFORMATION:

If you meet the minimum requirements for this position, please click on the "Apply" link posted below and complete the application. Please include cover letter, resume, and at least (3) professional references.

Our company is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Applicants can learn more about the company's status as an equal opportunity employer by viewing the federal "EEO" poster at EEOPost.pdf. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or protected Veteran status.

If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact us by email at jobs@jbsinternational.com and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.