Director, Residential Experience (IDD) in Waukegan, Illinois at Aspire Chicago

Lead with Purpose. Create Belonging. Transform Lives.

At Aspire, we believe every person deserves the opportunity to live a meaningful life filled with dignity, choice, connection, and community. We are seeking a dynamic and compassionate Director, Residential Experience to provide strategic and operational leadership for our residential services across multiple community homes.

This critical leadership role is responsible for ensuring exceptional residential experiences for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), while fostering high-performing teams, maintaining regulatory excellence, and advancing innovative, person-centered supports. If you are an experienced leader who thrives on building strong teams, driving quality outcomes, and creating environments where people flourish, we invite you to join us.

Position Summary

The Director, Residential Experience directs the daily operations and strategic advancement of Aspire's residential community homes throughout the organization. This leader orchestrates teams to collaboratively respond to and support the unique goals, preferences, and needs of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families, and other stakeholders.

The Director ensures safe, welcoming, and enriching home environments where people can thrive, build meaningful relationships, and experience true community belonging. This role is instrumental in strengthening service excellence through effective leadership, talent development, quality assurance, compliance oversight, and strategic planning.

What You'll Do

Lead and Inspire High-Performing Teams

• Build, develop, and retain exceptional residential leadership and direct support teams.
• Provide coaching, mentorship, performance management, and professional development for Team Leaders, Life Consultants, Nurse Trainers, and other residential professionals.
• Maintain a visible presence in community homes, modeling best practices and providing real-time support and guidance.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and service excellence.
• Partner with program leaders across the organization to achieve shared outcomes and elevate the overall service experience.

Champion Person-Centered Supports

• Ensure every individual receives high-quality, person-centered services that promote independence, dignity, choice, and community engagement.
• Build strong partnerships with families, guardians, healthcare professionals, community providers, and regulatory agencies.
• Facilitate effective communication and collaboration among all stakeholders.
• Support individualized planning processes and ensure plans are implemented consistently and effectively.
• Advocate relentlessly for the rights, preferences, and well-being of the people we serve.

Drive Quality, Compliance, and Operational Excellence

• Oversee compliance with DHS regulations, HCBS requirements, CQL accreditation standards, and Aspire policies and procedures.
• Monitor residential operations, documentation, health and safety practices, incident management, and home maintenance activities.
• Lead regulatory reviews, surveys, accreditation activities, and continuous quality improvement initiatives.
• Ensure financial stewardship and responsible program management.
• Maintain readiness for audits and inspections while promoting a culture of quality and accountability.

Shape the Future of Residential Services

• Support the strategic advancement of Aspire's residential programs.
• Stay informed of emerging trends, best practices, and innovations within the IDD field.
• Contribute to organizational planning and execution of strategic initiatives.
• Identify opportunities to enhance service delivery, team effectiveness, and quality of life outcomes.

Reporting Relationships

This position provides leadership and oversight to:

• Lead Team Leader
• Team Leaders
• Lead Life Consultant
• Life Consultants

Leadership Competencies

Successful candidates will demonstrate the ability to:

• Achieve Results by consistently delivering outcomes, even in complex environments.
• Build Effective Teams that leverage diverse strengths to achieve common goals.
• Cultivate Innovation through creative problem-solving and continuous improvement.
• Make Quality Decisions that move the organization forward with confidence and integrity.
• Tackle Tough Issues by addressing challenges directly and constructively.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Human Services, Social Work, Psychology, Special Education, Healthcare Administration, or a related field. Master’s preferred.
• QIDP Certification.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• Minimum of 3 years of progressive leadership and supervisory experience.
• Valid driver's license with an acceptable driving record.
• Strong knowledge of DHS regulations, CQL accreditation standards, HCBS requirements, and person-centered practices.
• Excellent communication, coaching, organizational, and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to respond to urgent situations and participate in an on-call leadership rotation.
• Experience leading multi-site residential programs.
• Demonstrated success driving quality improvement, workforce engagement, and operational excellence.

Why Aspire?

At Aspire, our work goes beyond providing services—we create opportunities for people to live lives of purpose, connection, and belonging. As a member of our leadership team, you'll have the opportunity to shape the future of residential services, develop exceptional teams, and make a lasting impact on the lives of the people we support every day.

If you are a visionary leader who believes in the power of person-centered supports and is committed to excellence, we encourage you to apply.

Join Aspire. Lead with purpose. Create belonging. Change lives.