The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is seeking a strategic, missiondriven executive to lead the State Operated Specialty Care (SOSC) Division, which oversees Iowa’s five staterun 24/7 facilities serving individuals with the most complex behavioral health, developmental, rehabilitative, and public safety needs. This is a pivotal leadership role responsible for guiding highrisk, highimpact institutional services that are essential to the safety, stability, and wellbeing of communities across the state.
As a senior member of the HHS leadership team and a direct report to the HHS Director, the SOSC Administrator provides guidance and oversight for multiple large-scale treatment, residential, and secure-care operations. The person selected for this role will help drive system improvements, strengthen service delivery, and ensure that each facility meets the highest standards of care, regulatory compliance, and organizational excellence.
About the Role
The SOSC Administrator provides executive leadership for Iowa’s five state-operated 24/7 facilities—Cherokee Mental Health Institute (CMHI), Independence Mental Health Institute (IMHI), Woodward Resource Center (WRC), the State Training School for Boys (STS), and the Civil Commitment Unit for Sexual Offenders (CCUSO). These facilities collectively manage an annual operating budget exceeding 172 million dollars, employ approximately 1,200 full-time equivalent staff, and serve nearly 1,000 Iowans with the most severe and complex needs.
This role demands a leader who can effectively guide multi-site operations, ensure regulatory excellence, champion high-quality care, and cultivate workforce stability across diverse treatment and residential environments. The Administrator must foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and person-centered service delivery.
Key leadership responsibilities include:
• Partnering with the HHS Director, Deputy Director, and Executive Management Team to establish policy priorities, drive system-wide improvements, and set long-term strategic direction for state-operated facilities.
• Providing direct executive oversight, support, and accountability to the five facility superintendents and Office of Facility Support (OFS) leadership.
• Ensuring facility operations uphold evidence-based, trauma-informed, and person-centered care standards tailored to the needs of individuals served.
• Overseeing compliance with all federal and state laws, accreditation standards (including Joint Commission and ICF/ID requirements), licensing requirements, and HHS policies.
• Systematically evaluating facility performance, identifying improvement opportunities, and ensuring consistent implementation of quality and safety practices across all campuses.
• Representing HHS in high-level legislative, interagency, and external forums, including coordination with the Council on Human Services, Governor’s Office, Legislature, Department of Management, and other partners.
• Ensuring strong alignment with HHS goals, priorities, and cross-divisional initiatives to support cohesive system leadership.
Scope of Program Leadership
The Administrator provides strategic oversight and operational direction for a broad and diverse set of institutional and clinical services, including:
• State Mental Health Institutes (Cherokee & Independence):
Short-term, acute psychiatric inpatient care within licensed, Joint-Commission–accredited facilities serving adults and adolescents with severe mental illness.
• Woodward Resource Center:
A certified Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/ID) delivering active treatment, clinical supports, habilitation, and community integration services.
• State Training School for Boys (Eldora):
A highly structured therapeutic environment offering behavioral treatment, education, and rehabilitative programming for youth adjudicated delinquent.
• Civil Commitment Unit for Sexual Offenders (CCUSO):
A secure, long-term inpatient treatment program for individuals civilly committed as sexually violent predators who require intensive, structured services.
• Office of Facility Support (OFS):
Centralized functions supporting policy development, compliance, regulatory readiness, finance, workforce operations, facility management, and performance monitoring across all five facilities.
For additional information about the 5 SOSC facilities,click here.
Key Executive Responsibilities
• Provide consistent leadership, communication, and direction to superintendents and OFS staff across all facilities.
• Lead operational, financial, policy, and regulatory planning to ensure the delivery of safe, effective, and compliant services.
• Oversee budgeting, fiscal management, and resource planning to support the long-term sustainability of facility operations.
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with agency leadership, boards, committees, legislators, oversight partners, and community stakeholders.
• Identify and monitor key performance indicators to strengthen accountability, safety, service quality, and outcomes.
• Guide corrective action plans, quality assurance efforts, and system-wide improvement initiatives.
• Partner with the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) to oversee facility infrastructure, capital planning, and maintenance of buildings, grounds, and equipment.
• Support workforce recruitment, retention, and performance management efforts to maintain a strong and stable workforce across all facilities.
Ideal Candidate
The successful candidate will bring:
• Executivelevel leadership experience within institutional care, behavioral health, human services, corrections, secure care, or large operational systems.
• Expertise managing multisite operations, complex regulatory requirements, and large, diverse workforces.
• A strong understanding of clinical, residential, behavioral health, or secure treatment environments.
• Experience in organizational leadership, operations management, policy development, and budget strategy.
• Exceptional communication and relationshipbuilding skills, including comfort engaging with senior elected leaders, boards, and public stakeholders.
• Demonstrated commitment to personcentered care, evidencebased practice, and continuous improvement.
• Ability to lead through complexity, influence systemwide change, and strengthen safety and service quality.
Why Join Us
This is more than a leadership role, it is a chance to shape systems that protect Iowans, support recovery and rehabilitation, and strengthen the well-being of individuals and communities across the state. If you are a mission-driven executive energized by the challenge of overseeing high-impact statewide operations, we encourage you to apply.
Benefits
The State of Iowa offers a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your health, well-being, and professional growth:
• Health, dental, and vision coverage with lowcost, highvalue plans
• Generous paid time off including vacation, sick leave, and nine paid holidays
• Robust retirement programs including IPERS and the Retirement Investors Club with matching contributions
• Flexible Spending Accounts for medical and dependent care
• Life insurance and longterm disability coverage
• Employee Assistance Program
• Employee discount programs for a variety of goods and services
For additional information on benefitsclick here.
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Background Checks
Final candidates will be required to complete a background check.
The State of Iowa is an EEO/AA Employer
HHS values those with “lived experience” and encourages adults who were fostered as youth, foster parents, and/or parents who were in the DHS system to apply. Minorities, women, persons with disabilities and veterans are encouraged to apply (Hearing and Speech Impaired – Relay Iowa 1-800-735-2942 TDD).
E-Verify and Right to Work
The State of Iowa participates in E-Verify, a federal program that helps employers confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. Within the required timeframe, new hires will be verified through the E-Verify system to ensure authorization to work in the United States. The State of Iowa also complies with the federal Right to Work laws, which protect employees’ rights to work without being required to join a labor organization. For more information, please visitwww.e-verify.gov.
Applicants must meet at least one of the following minimum requirements to qualify for positions in this job classification:
1) Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a bachelor’s degree in public administration, social work, psychology, human services, or business management and experience equal to seven years of full-time management/executive-level work in human services including child welfare, social work or services, healthcare, hospital or health system administration, or business.
2) A total of eleven years of education and/or full-time experience (as described in number one), where one year of full-time experience equals 30 semester hours of education (maximum substitution of four years).
3) A total of eleven years of education and/or full-time experience (as described in number one), where 18 semester hours of accredited college or university graduate-level course work in a management-oriented curriculum (e.g., public or business administration) equal one year of full-time experience (maximum substitution of two years).
4) A total of eleven years of education and/or full-time experience (as described in number one), where 24 semester hours of accredited college or university graduate-level course work in a special program curriculum (e.g., social work or data processing) equal one year of full-time experience (maximum substitution of two years).
5) Current, continuous experience in the state executive branch that includes experience equal to two years of full-time work as a Public Service Executive or comparable management-level position.
6) Current, continuous experience in the state executive branch that includes experience equal to four years of full-time work as a Public Service Manager 2 or comparable management-level position.