Chief Operating Officer

Confidential; Williamsport (Lycoming County); On-site; USD 210,000 - 270,000; Full time

Job summary

Confidential, a growing behavioral health organization, seeks a Chief Operating Officer to lead operations across community, school-based, outpatient, and intensive services for children and families.

Reporting to the CEO, the COO will drive operational performance, regulatory compliance, workforce development, and strategic growth while traveling between program sites, schools, and community locations.

Qualifications

• 7+ years progressive behavioral health leadership experience.
• 3+ years in a senior leadership or executive role.
• Experience leading multi-site or multi-program behavioral health operations.
• Strong knowledge of children's behavioral health services and related care models.
• Proven ability to drive census growth, staffing, and financial accountability.
• Experience with Medicaid-funded programs and payer relations.
• Regulatory compliance, quality improvement, and risk management expertise.
• Collaborative leadership style across multiple levels of the organization.

Responsibilities

• Provide executive leadership for multiple behavioral health service lines serving children, adolescents, and families.
• Develop and execute operational strategies that drive growth, quality, financial performance, and service excellence.
• Lead program expansion, referral development, census growth, and community partnerships.
• Oversee budgeting, forecasting, productivity, staffing models, revenue cycle performance, and financial sustainability.
• Ensure compliance with behavioral health regulations, accreditation standards, Medicaid requirements, and payer expectations.
• Build, mentor, and develop high-performing leaders across clinical, operational, and administrative domains.
• Partner with executive leadership to identify opportunities and improve operational effectiveness.
• Foster relationships with schools, managed care organizations, county agencies, and referral sources.

Skills

Behavioral health leadership

Multi-site operations

Regulatory compliance

Medicaid program experience

Census growth management

Education

Master's degree

Doctoral/MBA/MHA preferred

Active clinical licensure preferred

BCBA credential a plus

Job description

This executive leadership role supports multiple behavioral health programs and locations throughout Central Pennsylvania. Regular travel between program sites, schools, community locations, and leadership meetings is required.

A growing, mission-driven behavioral health organization is conducting a confidential search for a Chief Operating Officer (COO) to provide executive leadership across a diverse portfolio of community-based, school-based, outpatient, and intensive behavioral health programs serving children, adolescents, and families.

Reporting directly to the CEO, the COO will be responsible for operational performance, financial stewardship, clinical quality, workforce development, regulatory compliance, strategic growth, and organizational leadership across multiple service lines. The successful candidate will bring a strong combination of behavioral health expertise, business acumen, and executive leadership experience within complex multi-program environments.

Position Overview

The COO will oversee a diverse portfolio of community-based, outpatient, and school-based behavioral health programs. This leader will be responsible for translating organizational strategy into measurable results while ensuring high-quality service delivery, regulatory compliance, workforce development, and sustainable growth.

Key Responsibilities

Key Areas of Responsibility

• Provide executive leadership for multiple behavioral health service lines serving children, adolescents, and families.
• Develop and execute operational strategies that drive growth, quality outcomes, financial performance, and service excellence.
• Lead program expansion, referral development, census growth, and community partnerships.
• Oversee budgeting, forecasting, productivity, staffing models, revenue cycle performance, and financial sustainability.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable behavioral health regulations, accreditation standards, Medicaid requirements, and payer expectations.
• Build, mentor, and develop high-performing clinical, operational, and administrative leaders.
• Partner with executive leadership to identify strategic opportunities, improve operational effectiveness, and support long-term organizational growth.
• Foster strong relationships with schools, managed care organizations, county agencies, community stakeholders, and referral sources.

The Ideal Candidate

The successful candidate will possess:

• Minimum of 7 years of progressive behavioral health leadership experience.
• Minimum of 3 years in a senior leadership or executive leadership role.
• Experience leading multi-site or multi-program behavioral health operations.
• Strong understanding of children's behavioral health services, community-based services, school-based programming, outpatient services, or related behavioral health care models.
• Demonstrated success managing census growth, staffing, operational performance, quality outcomes, and financial accountability.
• Experience with Medicaid-funded behavioral health programs, managed care organizations, authorization processes, and payer relations.
• Expertise in regulatory compliance, quality improvement, accreditation readiness, and risk management.
• A collaborative, visible leadership style with the ability to influence and engage teams across multiple levels of the organization

Education & Credentials

• Master's degree required in Social Work, Counseling, Psychology, Healthcare Administration, Public Health, Education, or a related field.
• Doctoral degree, MBA, or MHA preferred.
• Active clinical licensure (LCSW, LPC, LMFT, Psychologist, or equivalent) strongly preferred.
• Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) credential or familiarity with applied behavior analysis principles is a plus given the IBHS service model.

Why Consider This Opportunity?

This is a rare opportunity to join an executive leadership team with the ability to directly influence organizational strategy, operational performance, service expansion, and clinical outcomes for children and families. The COO will play a pivotal role in shaping the next phase of growth while ensuring exceptional quality, compliance, and service delivery across a growing behavioral health organization.Executive leadership role reporting directly to the CEO.

Equal Opportunity Employer

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and the communities we serve.