Associate, Business Operations

Protocol; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 38,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Protocol Behavioral Health is a fast-growing, mission-driven startup seeking an Associate, Business Operations to support a virtual behavioral health clinic. You’ll manage patient referrals, scheduling changes, billing workflows, and act as the frontline for our internal helpdesk.

The role calls for organizing, proactive mindset, and comfort in a fast-moving, early-stage healthcare environment. Remote-friendly with Eastern Time availability and opportunities to grow within Operations.

Qualifications

• 0–2 years of experience in operations, administrative support, customer service, or healthcare-related roles.
• Located in Eastern Time Zone.
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and comfort juggling multiple tasks.
• A problem-solving orientation: think through issues and make good judgment calls.
• Comfort with ambiguity, change, and the scrappy nature of an early-stage company.
• Genuine interest in working in behavioral health and supporting patient care.
• Spanish-language proficiency is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Manage the administrative workflow of new patient referrals and support scheduling reminders.
• Field incoming patient calls, route requests to providers, coordinate scheduling changes for a smooth virtual front-desk.
• Serve as the first line of support for the internal clinic helpdesk and triage issues.
• Support daily virtual clinic operations by maintaining accurate schedules and updating systems.
• Assist with billing administration tasks and routing issues to the billing team.
• Maintain data accuracy across EMRs, trackers, and internal tools and identify process gaps.

Skills

Organizational skills

Attention to detail

Multi-tasking

Problem solving

Tools

EMRs

Trackers

Billing systems

Internal tools

Job description

About Protocol Behavioral Health

Our mission is to make cancer care better for patients, providers, and payers — improving outcomes through specialized behavioral health and supportive care, embedded within oncology care teams.

A cancer diagnosis changes everything, not just a patient's physical health, and we exist to make sure their emotional needs are met alongside their treatment, not as an afterthought. We do this by partnering directly with oncology clinics and cancer centers and using the collaborative care model to bring mental health support into the room where cancer care already happens. That means patients get support earlier and more consistently and providers get a partner equipped to handle the mental health care their patients need.

Our team is built by experienced healthcare operators and executives who have built and scaled partnerships across behavioral health, oncology, and value-based care. We're a fast-growing, early-stage company, and every new partnership moves us closer to making specialized behavioral health a standard part of cancer care.

About the role

Reporting to the Senior Director of Operations, the Associate, Business Operations will support the day-to-day operations of our virtual behavioral health clinic. They will take on core operational responsibilities that keep our clinic running smoothly: managing patient referrals to handling scheduling changes, supporting billing workflows, and serving as the frontline for our internal helpdesk, among other key functions.

This role is meant for someone who is driven and inspired by the mission and motivated by a highly ambitious team. This is a role ideal for someone who is organized, proactive, and excited to grow in a fast-moving, early-stage healthcare environment.

In this role you will:

• Manage the administrative workflow of new patient referrals, build out accurate patient records, and support outbound appointment reminders.
• Field incoming patient phone calls, route requests to providers, coordinate scheduling changes, and ensure a smooth virtual front-desk experience.
• Serve as the first line of support for the internal clinic helpdesk, triage issues, and elevate items to the Operations team as needed.
• Support daily virtual clinic operations by maintaining accurate schedules, updating systems, and keeping providers informed of changes.
• Assist with billing administration tasks, including gathering information, updating records, and routing issues to the billing team.
• Maintain data accuracy across EMRs, trackers, and internal tools while identifying process gaps and operational issues to elevate or improve.

Who are we looking for?

• 0–2 years of experience in operations, administrative support, customer service, or healthcare-related roles.
• Located in (or willing to work) Eastern Time Zone.
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and comfort juggling multiple tasks.
• A problem-solving orientation: you can think through issues and make good judgment calls.
• Comfort with ambiguity, change, and the scrappy nature of an early-stage company.
• Genuine interest in working in behavioral health and supporting patient care.
• Spanish-language proficiency is a plus!

Why work at protocol?

Working at Protocol Behavioral Health means joining a purpose-driven team at the forefront of transforming cancer care through compassionate, integrated mental health support. Every team member plays a vital role in addressing one of the most overlooked challenges in oncology: ensuring patients have timely access to high-quality behavioral health care. With a leadership team composed of seasoned experts from top healthcare and behavioral health organizations, Protocol offers a rare opportunity to learn from the best while helping build something truly meaningful from the ground up.

We foster a collaborative, mission-first culture where innovation, empathy, and excellence are not just encouraged, they're expected. Employees benefit from flexible remote work, competitive healthcare coverage, generous paid time off, and the fulfillment of knowing their work directly improves lives. If you're looking to grow professionally while making a tangible difference in healthcare, Protocol could be a great fit for you.