Behavioral Health COO: Scale Ops & Quality Care

Taft Brown Associates; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 180,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

Taft Brown Associates is partnering with a growing multi-state behavioral healthcare organization to recruit an experienced Chief Operating Officer. The role focuses on shaping growth, optimizing day-to-day operations, and delivering high-quality, patient-centered care across programs.

The COO will collaborate with the CEO and executive team to translate strategy into operational plans, build leadership capacity, manage budgets, and ensure compliance with federal, state, and accreditation

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration, business, or related field; Master’s preferred.
• Significant progressive leadership experience in behavioral health, substance abuse, or related healthcare operations.
• Experience overseeing multi-site or complex healthcare operations.
• Proven success leading senior leaders and building high-performing teams.
• Experience with regulatory compliance, licensing, accreditation, quality, and risk management.
• Demonstrated ability to manage budgets, financial performance, and operational metrics.
• Experience leading organizational growth, operational improvement, or change initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Provide executive leadership and operational oversight across the organization’s programs and facilities.
• Partner with CEO to develop and execute strategic initiatives supporting organizational growth.
• Establish operational goals, performance expectations, and accountability.
• Lead and develop operational leaders to build a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Evaluate and improve processes, systems, and workflows for efficiency.
• Partner with clinical leadership to ensure patient-centered, evidence-based care.
• Monitor operational and financial metrics to drive performance.
• Work with finance to develop budgets and control costs without compromising quality.
• Ensure regulatory compliance and accreditation standards are met.
• Identify opportunities for growth and expansion of services.
• Ensure staffing models support clinical and operational needs.
• Foster cross-functional communication across clinical, operations, HR, finance, admissions, and business development.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic Planning

Regulatory Compliance

Budget Management

Healthcare Operations

Data-Driven Decision Making

Team Development

Education

Master’s degree

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

Taft Brown Associates is partnering with a growing multi-state behavioral healthcare organization to recruit an experienced Chief Operating Officer. The role focuses on shaping growth, optimizing day-to-day operations, and delivering high-quality, patient-centered care across programs.

The COO will collaborate with the CEO and executive team to translate strategy into operational plans, build leadership capacity, manage budgets, and ensure compliance with federal, state, and accreditation