Advanced Practice Lead (PhD), Clinical Practice, MHA

The Opportunity

Reporting to the Director of Mental Health and Addictions (MHA), the Advanced Practice Leader (APL), Clinical Practice is responsible for providing leadership, direction, support and oversight for clinical practice across the MHA program. The APL Clinical Practice will provide oversight and consultation to MHA clinical staff and teams around professional development and training. The APL Clinical Practice works closely with MHA co-leadership (manager, psychiatry and clinical team leaders) to identify the needs and/or gaps in clinical training and consultation/direction around program wide training needs and/or opportunities to enhance services. The APL, Clinical Practice is responsible for creating a structure and standardizing a process for clinician onboarding, orientation and clinical skill development within the MHA program. This position will work closely with other MHA Advanced Practice Leaders, Clinical Team Leaders and Program Educators to meet the professional development goals of clinicians and the program wide priorities identified in the MHA Strategic Plan. These priorities are set to ensure that clients and their families receive optimal professional care.  

The APL, Clinical Practice will provide leadership and direction across the MHA program to ensure the development of skills and competencies of MHA clinicians are realized and that program wide goals and objectives are met. The APL clinical practice is dedicated to advancing evidence-based care and will include training and supervision within a variety of supervision models.  The APL clinical practice role is responsible for knowledge translation and clinical research within the field of training and supervision. He/she/they will have specific skills and training in a range of evidence-based interventions and specifically in the Choice and Partnership Approach (CAPA). The APL will work within a learning health system framework and utilize specific skills within an adult learning model to enhance quality services and optimize high-performance teams. This leadership role is focused on advancing the development of high-quality evidence-based interventions through clinical training and supervision. Responsibilities also include consultation as needed with other organizations across the province to support clinical training for child and adolescent interventions, including but not exclusively, Nova Scotia Health. The APL clinical practice is actively involved in committee work throughout the MHA program and has leadership responsibilities for the clinical training in the program. The APL clinical practice will be a key co-lead in the recruitment and retention strategy work underway and actively engage in competency development and performance development planning for individuals and staff groups as required. The APL will carry a .2 clinical practice role in the MHA program and provide treatment to clients and families as part of the clinical APL role.

Hours of Work

8:30am-4:30pm, Monday-Friday (some flexibility may be required)  

Your Qualifications

• PhD/PsyD in Social Work/Psychology, required.
• Registered, or eligible to be registered / licensed with the Nova Scotia Association of Social Workers or Nova Scotia Board of Examiners in Psychology, required.
• Minimum of five (5) years of formal training and clinical experience in child and adolescent mental health and addictions, required.
• Minimum of two (2) years’ experience providing a range of supervision with a mental health and addictions program including (group-based supervision, live supervision, case consultation, peer-based supervision), required.
• Minimum two (2) years’ experience in healthcare leadership required. 
• Demonstrated knowledge of and experience with the DSM 5 R diagnostic classification system, required.
• Demonstrated competence in application of the Choice and Partnership approach (CAPA), required.
• Demonstrated cultural competence and a strong understanding of how the social determinants of health impact on mental/physical health, required.
• Demonstrated specialized training and experience in the supervision and mentoring of child/adolescent mental health and addictions treatment an asset.
• Experience with developing curriculum, as well as developing, implementing and evaluating adult education programming, an asset
• Fosters a collaborative climate and builds the confidence of team members
• Experience in conducting research and supervising research projects, required.
• Demonstrated organizational, time management and problem-solving skills, required.
• Experience can competency with change initiatives, building commitment to change and leading high-performance Teams required.
• Excellent critical thinking, communication (verbal & written) and interpersonal skills required.
• Demonstrated ability in team building and working from an interprofessional approach, required.
• Competencies in other languages an asset.