Job Description

Posting number: F005CQ

Department: Behavioral Health and Recovery Services

Job classification: Supervising Mental Health Clinician - Exempt

Posting type: Open & Promotional

Categories: Administration, Health Services, Mental Health, Management, Human Services, Community and Social Services

Summary

The Position

San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services (BHRS) is seeking an experienced and compassionate Supervising Mental Health Clinician to lead the Older Adult System of Integrated Services (OASIS) team. This is a unique opportunity to make a meaningful impact in the lives of homebound older adults living with serious mental illness.

As a Supervising Mental Health Clinician, you’ll oversee a dedicated, multidisciplinary team of clinicians, nurses, psychiatrists, peer specialists, interns and vocational rehabilitation trainees who deliver field-based, recovery-oriented care throughout San Mateo County. You’ll provide clinical supervision, guide daily operations, coordinate new referrals, and ensure timely documentation and service delivery.

In this leadership role, you’ll balance program management with direct clinical work, maintaining a small caseload and supporting staff through complex client situations and field-based crises. You’ll also play a vital part in shaping the next generation of providers by orienting resident physicians and mentoring licensed and pre-licensed staff.

Joining OASIS offers the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of medically fragile and homebound older adults living with serious mental illness. In this rewarding and dynamic role, you’ll lead a supportive multidisciplinary team, build lasting relationships with clients, and help reduce social isolation and improve quality of life through recovery-oriented, community-based care. The work involves navigating complex clinical needs and coordinating across multiple providers and systems, offering an opportunity to apply strong clinical leadership and problem-solving skills where they can have a direct impact. You’ll also collaborate with a broad network of behavioral health and community partners while benefiting from ongoing training and professional development.

This position is ideal for a collaborative leader with at least two years of post-licensure experience providing direct mental health services, who thrives in dynamic, community-based environments and is passionate about supporting older adults with behavioral health needs and medical fragility.

The ideal candidate will:

• At least two (2) years of post-licensure clinical experience providing direct mental health services.
• Expertise in clinical work with older adults with serious mental illness, including clients with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.
• Strong clinical skills, including psychosocial assessment, client-centered treatment planning, and clinical case management focused on initiation and engagement with medically fragile, homebound older adults.
• Knowledge of system-of-care principles, evidence-based practices (e.g., Trauma-Focused CBT, Motivational Interviewing, Harm Reduction, DBT, Solution-Focused Treatment), and Medi-Cal/Medicare regulations and managed care requirements.
• Experience supervising and leading multidisciplinary teams (licensed and unlicensed clinicians, psychiatry residents, nurses, peers, vocational trainees) and providing leadership in multicultural, multidisciplinary workforce environments.
• Experience working with diverse cultures, conducting community outreach, and applying trauma-informed and recovery-oriented approaches to treatment.
• Ability to process new and transfer cases, including entry-to-care and no-wrong-door policies.
• Experience collaborating with a wide range of older adult service partners, including residential care providers, healthcare and insurance entities, advocacy programs, social services, and community-based organizations.
• Experience supporting clients who receive services through programs for individuals with developmental disabilities.
• Ability to participate in interdisciplinary meetings and coordinate complex case conferences with medical and behavioral health providers.
• Experience conducting utilization review and contributing to quality improvement activities.
• Ability to use data to analyze service delivery and maintain accurate records for annual reporting.
• Experience planning and implementing clinical projects and coordinating/supervising master's-level trainees.
• Strong decision-making and crisis-management skills, with the ability to respond effectively to field-based crises.
• Skills working with families and caregivers and providing leadership in collaborative relationships with internal teams and external referral sources.
• Ability to perform related duties as assigned.

NOTE: The eligible list generated from this recruitment may be used to fill future extra-help, term, unclassified, and regular classified vacancies.

Examples of duties

The OASIS Supervising Mental Health Clinician is responsible for, but not limited to, the following:

Leadership, Supervision & Program Management

• Serve as Unit Supervisor, planning, assigning, training, and supervising interdisciplinary clinical staff, interns, and trainees.
• Complete annual evaluations and address personnel concerns.
• Plan, implement, and coordinate all unit activities and ensure program procedures comply with federal, state, and local regulations.
• Participate in administrative and leadership meetings to develop program plans and review operations.
• Maintain unit records, collect statistical data, and prepare annual program reports.
• Lead clinical meetings, coordinate complex case conferences, and ensure documentation is accurate and timely.
• Facilitate training programs for staff, resident psychiatrist, interns, and vocational rehabilitation trainees, including collaboration with the Human Services Agency on Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VRS) trainee hiring, training, and supervision.
• Coordinate clinical resident rotations with the attending psychiatrist and residency director and collaborate with the OASIS medical director.

Clinical & Case-Related Duties

• Provide individual therapy; conduct diagnoses; and perform clinical case management when needed.
• Provide crisis services in the field, conduct screenings for new clients and families, and assist with discharge planning and follow-up care.
• Serve as liaison for hospitalized or residential clients and collaborate with conservators when applicable.
• Maintain client documentation consistent with state and division policies.
• Process new and transfer cases, including entry-to-care and no-wrong-door procedures.

Collaboration & Community Partnerships

• Collaborate with Adult Residential Facilities, Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFE), assisted living facilities, and other older adult residential providers.
• Work with Health Plan of San Mateo, Ombudsman, Conservatorship, Rep Payee Services, Adult Day Programs, Institute on Aging, Bridges to Wellness, Upward Health, and other community providers serving older adults.
• Partner with Facilities Utilization Management, Aging and Disability Services, Adult Protective Services, Adult & Senior Programs and other service providers.
• Attend multidisciplinary meetings, including with Ron Robinson Senior Care and other assigned committees or workgroups.
• Collaborate with service providers supporting older adults connected with the Golden Gate Regional Center.

Program Operations

• Monitor and consult with contract providers to ensure compliance and resolve service issues.
• Provide both client-centered and program-centered consultation and community education to external agencies.
• Ensure coverage for Officer of the Day assignments.
• Perform related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Licensure/Certification:

Possession of a current California license in at least one of the following: Registered Nurse, Clinical Psychology, Clinical Social Worker or Marriage and Family Therapy.

Education and Experience:

Any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the required knowledge, skills and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to qualify is a master's degree in a mental health specialty, such as social work, nursing, or clinical counseling and two years of professional post-graduate experience in a mental health setting.

Knowledge of:

• Basic program management techniques and practices.
• Principles and practices of supervision and training.
• Human and health services systems in the county including private agencies and their community resources.
• Current philosophy, principles and practices for services to clients with serious mental illness.
• Legal and policy aspects of community mental health methods.
• Techniques of family, individual and group counseling and diagnosis.
• Individual, group and family psychodynamics.
• Current principles and practices of psychiatric casework.
• Mental health consultation and education.
• Problems, needs, attitudes and behavior patterns of patients/clients.

Skill/Ability to:

• Supervise, train and evaluate inter-disciplinary staff.
• Work collaboratively with other senior professionals in planning and developing programs of a geographic or service unit.
• Prepare and deliver written and oral reports.
• Plan, implement and evaluate all operations of a geographic or service unit.
• Provide treatment to adults and/or children/adolescents with various dysfunctions.
• Establish and maintain objective working relationships with clients/patients, other professionals, and the public.
• Evaluate degree of mental disability or emotional distress of patients/clients.

Supplemental information

Open & Promotional. Anyone may apply. Current County of San Mateo and County of San Mateo Superior Court of California employees with at least six months (1040 hours) of continuous service in a classified regular, probationary, extra-help/limited term positions prior to the final filing date will receive five points added to their final passing score on this examination.

The examination process will consist of an application screening (weight: pass/fail) based on the candidates' application and responses to the supplemental questions. Candidates who pass the application screening will be invited to a panel interview (weight: 100%). Depending on the number of applicants, an application appraisal of education and experience may be used in place of other examinations or further evaluation of work experience may be conducted to group applicants by level of qualification. All applicants who meet the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement through any subsequent phase of the examination. All examinations will be given in the County of San Mateo, California and applicants must participate at their own expense.

IMPORTANT: Applications for this position will only be accepted online. If you are currently on the County's website, you may click the "Apply" button. If you are not on the County's website, please go to https://jobs.smcgov.org/ to apply. Online applications must be received by the Human Resources Department before midnight on the final filing date.

Tentative Recruitment Timeline

Final Filing Date: Friday, September 18, 2026, at 11:59PM PST

Application Screening: Week of September 21, 2026

Panel Interviews: Week of September 28, 2026

About the County

San Mateo County is centrally located between San Francisco, San Jose, and the East Bay. With over 750,000 residents, San Mateo is one of the largest and most diverse counties in California and serves a multitude of culturally, ethnically, and linguistically diverse communities.

The County of San Mateo, as an employer, is committed to advancing equity to ensure that all employees are welcomed in a safe and inclusive environment. We seek to hire, support, and retain employees who reflect our diverse community, and we encourage applicants with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences to apply. Eighty percent of employees surveyed stated that they would recommend the County as a great place to work.

The County of San Mateo is an equal opportunity employer.

We encourage applicants with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences to apply.

HR Analyst: Priscilla Bermudez (090426) (Supervising Mental Health Clinician - Exempt - F005)