Senior Quality Control Specialist - CARF

Position Specific Information:

• The Senior Quality Control Specialist provides strategic leadership and oversight of quality assurance, compliance, accreditation readiness, and performance improvement activities for Mecklenburg County Community Support Service’s Substance Use Services. This position ensures alignment with CARF standards, North Carolina regulatory requirements, and county priorities. This position provides support not only to the substance use team but to all teams across the Community Support Services (CSS) Department continuum when needed.
• The Sr. Quality Control Specialist leads CARF accreditation readiness, mock surveys, and survey coordination, ensures compliance with NCDHHS rules and applicable regulations, develops and monitors corrective action plans, and maintains policies and procedures.
• The Sr. Quality Control Specialist leads performance improvement initiatives, including leading the Performance Improvement Council, tracking KPIs and outcomes, and conducting audits and program evaluations.
• The Sr. Quality Control Specialist oversees data collection and validation, prepares executive and external reports, ensures reporting compliance with Alliance Health and NCDHHS, and develops dashboards and tracking systems.
• This position manages training requirements and compliance tracking, identifies gaps, and implements training strategies.
• The Sr. Quality Control Specialist serves as the Safety Compliance Officer, performs safety inspections and prepares reports, leads the Safety Committee, and oversees incident investigations and risk mitigation.
• The candidate for this position will need to have above-average knowledge of the Microsoft Office Suite, specifically Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Teams. The candidate will also need to be familiar with report development and data collection, creating reports, displaying outcome data, and be comfortable with sharing information with auditors.

Essential Functions:

• Perform root-cause analyses and assessments at the organizational, team, and individual levels.
• Tests services, analyzes results, and makes recommendations for improvements.
• Ensure services meet specifications and understand and ensure regulatory compliance.
• Develop and implement processes and procedures meant to improve quality throughout an assigned area.
• Perform reviews of finished or in-process procedures, analyze data, and identify trends in defects.
• Investigate quality failures and recommend changes to internal procedures to prevent future quality issues.
• Assess and report on the impact of process changes on quality.
• Develop assessment tools and data collection methods in order to identify service delivery/compliance problems.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Experience: Minimum of four years of quality control experience.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in a related field.
• Combination of relevant education and relevant experience accepted? Yes.

Licenses and Certifications:

• Requires a valid North Carolina or South Carolina Driver’s License.
• May require the ability to obtain and maintain County Driving Privileges.

Preferred Qualifications:

• CARF Accreditation Leadership.

Demonstrated success leading accreditation readiness and survey processes through the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), preferably within a public behavioral health or substance use services system. Advanced knowledge of CARF Behavioral Health standards, including documentation, client rights, medication management, and performance improvement requirements. Experience coordinating multi-site CARF readiness, leading mock surveys, and managing post-survey corrective action plans.

North Carolina System Knowledge:

Strong familiarity with North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) rules, including 10A NCAC 27G (Substance Use and Mental Health Services). Understanding of LME/MCO coordination (e.g., Alliance Health) and state reporting requirements.

Quality Improvement & Performance Management:

Advanced experience applying structured performance improvement models. Proven ability to design, implement, and monitor agency-wide performance improvement plans tied to CARF standards and county priorities. Experience developing dashboards, KPIs, and outcome measures specific to substance use treatment and recovery services. Ability to translate regulatory requirements into operational practices across clinical and administrative teams.

Training & Workforce Development:

Experience managing and tracking agency-wide training requirements, including CARF standards, clinical documentation, client rights, and safety protocols. Ability to develop targeted training plans to address audit findings, compliance gaps, and performance improvement goals.

Advanced ability to collect, validate, analyze, and present data for internal and external reporting. Experience preparing executive-level reports, compliance summaries, and accreditation documentation. Proficiency in data systems, EHRs, and reporting tools (e.g., Excel, EchoVantage).

Safety & Risk Management:

Experience leading agency-wide safety initiatives. Knowledge of incident reporting systems, root cause analysis, and risk mitigation strategies within behavioral health settings. Familiarity with workplace safety standards applicable to county-operated facilities and community-based services.

Bachelor’s degree in a human services-related field, such as substance abuse/addiction, mental health, social work, psychology, counseling, etc.*

Bachelor’s degrees in business administration, healthcare administration, and related healthcare backgrounds may be considered.