ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR SAMH - 60007876

Requisition No: 856049 

Agency: Children and Families

Working Title: ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR SAMH - 60007876

 Pay Plan: SMS

Position Number: 60007876 

Salary:  $135,000 - $150,000 

Posting Closing Date: 07/16/2025 

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Assistant Secretary

Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health

Department of Children and Families

Tallahassee, Florida

Open Competitive

Current employees will be compensated in accordance with the DCF salary policy.

This is not a telework position.

Candidate will be required to work in the DCF Headquarters Tallahassee Office.

What you will do:

The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) is the state of Florida’s social services agency.

The agency oversees services for child safety, fostering, adoption, domestic violence, adult protective services, refugees, homelessness, mental health, substance abuse, childcare providers, human trafficking and public assistance. The agency’s mission is to work in partnership with local communities to protect the vulnerable, promote strong and economically self-sufficient families, and advance personal and family recovery and resiliency. To learn more about DCF, please visit https://www.myflfamilies.com/.

The Assistant Secretary for Substance Abuse & Mental Health (SAMH) serves as a key member of the executive leadership team within the Department of Children and Families. This position provides strategic direction, operational oversight, and policy leadership for the development, implementation, and evaluation of comprehensive behavioral health systems and services statewide. The Assistant Secretary collaborates closely with internal program offices, community stakeholders, state and federal agencies, and legislative partners to ensure high-quality, integrated care across the continuum of substance abuse and mental health services. This is a senior level position responsible for communicating, motivating, training and evaluating employees against established standards. This includes taking appropriate actions when necessary, such as rewarding and correcting direct reports.

How you will make an impact:

• Serve as the primary executive leader overseeing all SAMH operations, including Community Behavioral Health services, 6 State Mental Health Treatment facilities, and the Sexually Violent Predator Program.
• Lead strategic planning and performance management for statewide behavioral health initiatives, ensuring alignment with departmental priorities, federal requirements, and best practices.
• Oversee development and execution of policy, budget, and legislative proposals related to behavioral health, including crisis services, suicide prevention, substance abuse prevention, and care coordination.
• Supervise statewide operations and ensure effective integration of prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery support services.
• Direct high-level stakeholder engagement, including with advocacy groups, managed care organizations, hospital systems, county agencies, and legislators.
• Provide executive oversight of compliance, monitoring, and quality assurance across SAMH-funded programs and contracts, including among the Managing Entities.
• Champion innovation, and person-centered approaches in the design and delivery of services.
• Lead and collaborate with other program offices to promptly and accurately respond to inquiries from members of the media, the Florida Legislature, and other key stakeholders.
• Represent the Secretary and the Department in legislative committee meetings on key policy areas, including substance abuse, mental health, opioid recovery programs, state mental health treatment facilities, and the Sexually Violent Predator Program.
• Oversee the development of statewide legislative budget requests and other budget issues for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Program.
• Represent the Department on task forces, advisory councils, commissions and work groups as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Ten (10) or more years of progressively responsible experience in behavioral health, with at least five (5) years in senior leadership or executive management.
• Proven track record in overseeing large-scale systems of care, including budget and personnel management, strategic planning, and cross-sector collaboration.
• In-depth knowledge of state and federal behavioral health laws, funding mechanisms, and policy trends.
• Strong leadership, communication, and decision-making skills, with the ability to influence and drive system-wide improvements.
• Master’s degree or above in public administration, Social Work, Public Health, Psychology, or a related field (preferred).

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Critical Thinking: Using logic and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches. Management of Personnel Resources: Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job. Speaking: Talking to others to effectively convey information. Writing: Communicating effectively with others in writing as indicated by the needs of the audience. Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions. Active Listening: Listening to what other people are saying and asking questions as appropriate. Information Gathering: Knowing how to find information and identifying essential information. Problem Identification: Identifying the nature of problems. Systems Evaluation: Looking at many indicators of system performance, taking into account their accuracy. Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. Idea Evaluation: Evaluating the likely success of an idea in relation to the demands of the situation. Administration and Management: Knowledge of principles and processes involved in business and organizational planning, coordination, and execution. This may include strategic planning, resource allocation, manpower modeling, leadership techniques, and production methods. Law, Government and Jurisprudence: Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process. Personnel and Human Resources: Knowledge of policies and practices involved in personnel/human resource functions. Communications and Media: Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods including alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media. Economics and Accounting: Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices and the analysis and reporting of financial data. Psychology: Knowledge of human behavior and performance, mental processes, psychological research methods, and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

Candidate Profile (application) must be completed in its entirety.

• Include supervisor names and phone numbers for all periods of employment.
• Account for and explain any gaps in employment so that the hiring process is not delayed.
• Experience, education, training, knowledge, skills and/or abilities as well as responses to pre-qualifying questions must be verifiable to meet the minimum qualifications. 
• It is unacceptable to use the statement “See Resume” in place of entering work history.
• If you experience problems applying online, please call the People First Service Center at (877) 562-7287.   

Benefits of Working for the State of Florida:

Working for the State of Florida is more than a paycheck. The State’s total compensation package for employees features a highly competitive set of employee benefits.

For a more complete list of benefits, visit www.mybenefits.myflorida.com.

Growth Opportunities:

With 12,000 employees across the state DCF promotes opportunities and training for all.  Our jobs are among the most challenging, complex, and difficult in State government. They are also among the most rewarding. All employees are encouraged to take advantage of available Department opportunities for advancement and professional development.

Where you will work:

Florida is the only state that borders both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.  In other words, no matter where you land in Florida, you’re never more than 60 miles from a body of saltwater.  And if the beach isn’t your scene, there are 175 state parks to explore!  Meanwhile, Floridians hail from a wide range of backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, and walks of life, making it an incredibly diverse melting pot that many residents and visitors to Florida love.  The Sunshine State is a great place to live and work – Come join our team!

About Department of Children and Families:

Mission:  The mission of the Department of Children and Families is to work in partnership with local communities to protect the vulnerable, promote strong and economically self-sufficient families, and advance personal and family recovery and resiliency.

Vision:  We are a highly skilled workforce committed to empowering people with complex and varied needs to achieve the best outcomes for themselves and their families. In collaboration with community stakeholders, we will deliver world class and continuously improving service focused on providing the people we serve with the level and quality that we would demand and expect for our own families.

Values:  A workforce that operates with integrity maintains loyalty to a code of ethics that requires the courage to take responsibility for providing the highest quality of service to the vulnerable. We are a solutions-focused learning organization built on a foundation of transparency in action and accountability of results. Both within the organization and among our stakeholders, we thrive in a culture of respect for diversity of opinion that is nurtured through open communication. High performing and committed, we are unified in our goal of excellence in achieving quality outcomes for those we serve. 

To learn more please visit https://www.myflfamilies.com/.

• If you are a retiree of the Florida Retirement System (FRS), please check with the FRS on how your current benefits will be affected if you are re-employed with the State of Florida.  Your current retirement benefits may be suspended or voided, and you will be required to repay all benefits received depending upon the date of your retirement.
• The position will perform all job tasks in accordance with laws, rules, regulations, policies, and requirements applicable to state and federal laws or procedures.

We hire only U.S. citizens and lawfully authorized alien workers.

Participation in the State of Florida Direct Deposit Program is required as a condition of employment per F.S. 110.113, and enrollment must be completed within the first 30 calendar days of your appointment.

SELECTIVE SERVICE:  Male candidates born on or after October 1, 1962, will not be eligible for hire or promotion into an authorized position unless they are registered with the Selective Service System (SSS) before their 26th birthday or have a Letter of Registration Exemption from the SSS.  Verification of Selective Service registration will be conducted prior to hire.  For more information, please visit the SSS website: http://www.sss.gov.

BACKGROUND SCREENING REQUIREMENT: It is the policy of the Florida Department of Children and Families that any applicant being considered for employment must successfully complete a State and National criminal history check as a condition of employment before beginning employment, and also be screened in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 435, F.S., and, if applicable, Chapter 408, F.S.  No applicant may begin employment until the background screening results are received, reviewed for any disqualifying offenses, and approved by the Agency.  Background screening shall include, but not be limited to, fingerprinting for State and Federal criminal records checks through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and may include local criminal history checks through local law enforcement agencies.

The State of Florida is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer, and does not tolerate discrimination or violence in the workplace.

Candidates requiring a reasonable accommodation, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, must notify the agency hiring authority and/or People First Service Center (1-866-663-4735). Notification to the hiring authority must be made in advance to allow sufficient time to provide the accommodation.

The State of Florida supports a Drug-Free workplace. All employees are subject to reasonable suspicion drug testing in accordance with Section 112.0455, F.S., Drug-Free Workplace Act.