Engagement Lead, DSPO Connect Program

Organization: SafeSide Prevention
Reports to: President, SafeSide Prevention
Works closely with: Program Manager
Status: Full-time for the three-year period of performance, contingent on option exercise
Location: Remote within the United States, with travel two to three times per month

About SafeSide Prevention

SafeSide Prevention is a "for purpose" company: the values of a nonprofit with a sustainable business model. Our vision is every person respected, connected, and giving to others. We provide leadership consultation, workforce education, and programs to prevent suicide, working with government, military, health, and education organizations in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

About the Initiative

SafeSide Prevention holds a contract with the Defense Suicide Prevention Office (DSPO) to tailor, validate, and expand the Connect Program for the Department of War and all Military Services. The Connect Program, previously known as the Wingman Guardian Connect Program, pairs group interactive training with follow-up text messages and base-wide activities built on four cores: Kinship, Purpose, Guidance, and Balance. A randomized controlled trial with 1,500 Air Force personnel found reductions in suicide risk, depressive symptoms, and occupational problems. Under this contract, SafeSide will validate the program with 400 to 600 personnel in three settings run concurrently: the Regular Army, the Reserve Component and National Guard, and units with acute need or recovering from a suicide cluster. SafeSide Prevention is the prime contractor. The University of Rochester, where the program was developed, is the scientific partner.

The Role

The Engagement Lead manages SafeSide's working relationships with DSPO, the Military Services, and the commands where the program will be validated, working alongside the Program Manager, who serves as the contract point of contact.

The Engagement Lead runs the established weekly touchpoint with DSPO and the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR). Installation access and personnel time are the primary determinant of the schedule and its greatest risk. The Engagement Lead secures that access: building relationships with an operational point of contact in each setting, coordinating Service co-facilitators, routing the approved brief and letters of support to Service leaders, and supporting DSPO in obtaining the approvals needed to collect evaluation data. Success requires judgment about channels: knowing when a matter belongs in formal Government correspondence and when a phone call moves it faster, and keeping the two consistent.

Responsibilities

Government engagement

• Run the established weekly touchpoint with DSPO and the COR, with email and brief calls in between
• Serve as the day-to-day interface with the COR for access, scheduling, and relationships; attend monthly COR meetings with the Program Manager
• Build and maintain relationships with an operational point of contact in each setting: the Regular Army, the National Guard, and acute-need and postvention sites
• Secure command and installation approvals and access in all three settings, and sustain that access through delivery
• Coordinate identification of DoW and Military Service co-facilitators, and route the Government-approved PowerPoint brief and letters of support to Service leaders
• Build relationships with senior champions, doctrine subject matter experts, and Service suicide prevention program leads

Team coordination and execution

• Meet daily with SafeSide Prevention and University of Rochester team members to surface obstacles and keep work moving
• Manage communication and working relationships between SafeSide Prevention and the University of Rochester, at both the organization and staff level
• Coordinate across all program teams
• Ensure meetings happen: schedule them, attend them, and organize notes so decisions, commitments, and follow-ups are traceable
• Manage the overall project plan. Know when every deliverable is due, monitor each supporting team's progress against those dates, and ensure every team delivers on time, acting early when a deadline is at risk
• Track deliverable due dates with the Program Manager; follow up with owners until work is complete and deliverables arrive on time
• Track Common Access Card sponsorship and installation access for facilitators, fidelity observers, and other staff who need them
• Submit travel requests to the COR for advance approval, supported by the training office. The training office's training manager enters the travel details and arranges the travel; this role initiates and tracks requests, not logistics

Qualifications

Required

• At least 10 years of management, leadership, or supervisory experience
• Demonstrated ability to form working relationships quickly and maintain them by phone, email, and in person
• Comfort moving between formal, protocol-driven Government communication and informal working channels
• Willingness to travel on short notice when the work calls for an in-person meeting
• Must be a U.S. citizen
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Tier 3 background investigation and a Common Access Card

Strongly Preferred

• Military experience, especially in the Army or National Guard
• Experience with installation commands or Service suicide prevention, resilience, or primary prevention programs
• Knowledge of the Connect Program (Wingman Connect)
• Ability to co-facilitate Connect Program training

Compensation

Salary commensurate with experience.

SafeSide Prevention is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

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