David Hardesty Email and Phone Number

The position assists in developing and implementing the strategic business plan and direction for the assigned operations areas of the organization. Supports and implements the vision, policies, and goals established by the CEO and the Board of Directors. Directs, develops, and coordinates the human, physical, and fiscal resources to accomplish the plan in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders. Provides oversight and direction for assigned programs and is accountable for the performance of all assigned programs to include but not limited to achievement of all licensing, contract, quality, human resource, financial, growth and community engagement targets. Position is also responsible for developing and implementing strategies that generate new business opportunities for Eckerd. The position promotes positive relationships across numerous states. Must be able to identify market trends and service gaps in local areas, construct a business plan and successfully negotiate a contract for services.Provides strategic direction to all assigned operations activities in order to meet short and long-term financial and operational goals.Establishes and implements operating policies consistent with the organization’s broad policies and objectives and ensures their execution.Implements safe, innovative programs that meet corporate goals and objectives.In collaboration with Chief of Program Operations and contracting agencies, establish meaningful /achievable performance measures and ensure that performance meets expectations. Ensure that all programs are rated as acceptable or better based on the applicable contract and licensing standards.Defines outcomes and measures of success. Ensures that regular and systematic evaluations are conducted against these measures.Establish, build, and maintain relationships with possible contracting organizations or individuals in the assigned geographic region.

Provide leadership and oversight of six youth development centers consisting of 360 committed youth. Contribute to the department's success by the development and adherence to annual operational budgets in excess of $45 million dollars. Oversight of supervision and development of over 600 employees, which include the development of work schedules, employee conflict resolution and employee retention strategies. Participate in formulating and administering departmental policies, procedures and developing long range strategic goals. Instrumental in the development of the balanced scorecard approach in developing and evaluating key performance indicators as a basis for measuring and tracking facility performance. Review analysis of activities, costs, operations and data to determine department and division progress towards stated goals and objectives. Evaluate program fidelity and direct interventions necessary for facility improvements from both an internal and external perspective. Ensure the quality of life, safety and security measures and standards are achieved and maintained within each facility. Successfully managed and implemented the closure of two youth development centers.

Lead the quality assurance team in developing and implementing quality assurance standards for Court Services, juvenile detention centers and youth development centers. Provide leadership and support to the quality assurance division through the development and implementation of a peer evaluation process for court services, juvenile detention centers and youth development centers. Provide leadership in collaboration with all deputy secretaries in order to build consensus during the development and implementation process for all divisional peer reviews. Developed and implemented the infrastructure necessary to perform annual peer reviews, such as: training manuals, policy tracking templates, currently trained over 200 peer reviewers and provide ongoing leadership and technical assistance. Provided leadership in collaboration with information technology to develop and implement a web-based incident reporting and tracking system, to include training and on-going support.

Provided leadership and oversight for ten residential youth facilities serving an average of 500 youth in three states. Development of three year business plans to guide the region in meeting programmatic and financial goals to include annual updates. Implementation and control of processes and protocols to contain costs, increase youth referrals, improve staff and client safety and reduce staff turnover within the region. Member of organizations Senior Leadership Team providing input and direction with policy development, strategic planning and government/agency relations. Developed and managed regional budgets in excess of $20 million dollars. Successful negotiation of contracts in excess of $16 million dollars annually. Collaboration with state agencies and the NC General Assembly to secure increased funding by over $3 million dollars over a three year period.

Provided leadership and oversight of six operational divisions in nine states consisting of thirty-three residential and non-residential programs serving over 2,100 youth. Developed collaborations with private and public organizations to obtain additional resources for youth served. Contributed to the organization's success by the development and adherence to annual operational budgets in excess of $75 million dollars. Oversight of supervision and development of over 1,100 employees, which included the development of work schedules, employee conflict resolution, employee retention strategies and determination of salary structures. Directed an on-going agency and legislative relations program to ensure positive and cooperative relations between the organization, state legislatures and governmental agencies. Participated in formulating and administering company policies, procedures and developing long range strategic goals. Instrumental in the development of the balanced scorecard approach in developing and evaluating key performance indicators as a basis for measuring and tracking program performance. Reviewed analysis of activities, costs, operations and data to determine department and division progress towards stated goals and objectives. Evaluated programs implementation of, and adherence to the programmatic model and tenets of the organization and directed interventions necessary for program improvements from both an internal and external perspective. Ensured the quality of life, safety and security measures and standards are achieved and maintained within each program. Successfully managed and implemented the start-up and closure of facility operations.

Supervised and managed four 60 bed residential facilities creating effective leadership teams within the individual programs. Increased revenues through diversifying funding sources by over $1.5 million dollars over a four year period. Achieved and exceeded operational and financial outcomes annually. Established the regional strategic direction from which individual facility business plans were developed and implemented. Increased the operational capacity through modifying the program model to meet changing customer needs - i.e. Medicaid, IV-E requirements, etc. Developed collaborations with private and public organizations to obtain additional resources for youth served.

Designed, built and directed a 60 bed residential outdoor therapeutic facility. Directed the programmatic and fiscal components of the program. Facilitated and directed all hiring, training and retention of 42 professional and support staff to provide treatment services to youth and families. Developed and facilitated a local advisory board. Obtained national program accreditation through Council on Accreditation (COA). Ensured compliance with annual licensing review and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) accreditation.