Senior Director, Mental Health

What you’ll achieve:

• Develop and own the overarching strategy for Surgo’s mental health work and products, with a focus on youth mental health, foundational data sets, product-first engagements,  and scalable social impact.
• Translate Surgo’s behavioral data assets, products, and AI capabilities into a clear portfolio of mental health offerings for philanthropic, non-profit, and public sector partners.
  
  

• Oversee end-to-end delivery of key initiatives, including the US Youth Mental Health Tracker, a new UK mental health project, and additional programs as the portfolio grows.
• Lead, mentor, and grow a cross-functional team (e.g., behavioral scientists, data scientists, policy experts, program managers) working across mental health projects.
• Ensure projects are designed and executed to generate rigorous, actionable insights and tangible change in policy, funding, and practice.
• Provide strategic guidance on study design, insight generation and translation of data to maximize impact.
  
  

• Identify, shape, and pursue new opportunities with philanthropic, non-profit, and public sector partners aligned with Surgo’s data-focused mission and capabilities.
• Work closely with partners to understand their strategic priorities and pain points, and co-develop work that leverages Surgo’s data and tools to address them.
• Lead the development of concept notes, proposals, and pitch materials that clearly articulate Surgo’s value proposition in mental health.
• Help inform Surgo’s product and data roadmap based on insights from the field and partner feedback.
  
  

• Develop compelling presentations, briefs, and reports that translate complex data and insights into clear, actionable recommendations for diverse audiences.
• Contribute to thought leadership through public speaking, publications, and other external engagements on youth mental health, behavioral drivers, and equity.

About you:

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree (e.g., MPH, MSW, PhD, MD, MPP, MBA with relevant focus) strongly preferred.
• 10–15+ years of experience in mental health, public health, health equity, philanthropy, social impact consulting, or a closely related field.
• Deep familiarity with the mental and behavioral health data landscape in the US.
• Demonstrated ability to identify critical data gaps and design strategies to address them (e.g., new data collection, data linkage, segmentation, novel analytics, or partnerships).
• Proven track record of using data and insights to shape funding decisions, strategy, policy, or program design in mental health or related areas.
• Strong familiarity with the US mental health landscape, including key actors, policies, delivery systems, and inequities; exposure to UK or other international contexts is a plus.
• Excellent client and partner-facing skills, including relationship-building, and negotiation.
• Entrepreneurial mindset, self-motivated, and excited to build something new in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• Experience managing and growing high-performing, interdisciplinary teams.
  
  

Location & Travel

• Location: Washington, DC (in office 2 days/week) 
• Travel: Some domestic and occasional international travel expected (e.g., partner meetings, field visits, conferences)