Chief Operating Officer | Massachusetts & Illinois

Atlantic Health Strategies; Hoffman Estates (IL); On-site; USD 135,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

60% employer health insurance

Incentive opportunity

Influence on strategic growth

Direct partnership with ownership

Job summary

Forrest Behavioral Health seeks a hands-on Chief Operating Officer to drive operational performance and growth across Massachusetts and Illinois, with possible involvement in Rhode Island.

The role emphasizes understanding an existing operating model, strengthening execution, and scaling a proven system while partnering with ownership and facility directors. Travel about one week per month is expected.

Qualifications

• Direct experience in behavioral health/substance use disorder operations
• Ability to identify operational problems and drive practical solutions
• Willingness to travel about one week per month and maintain a base in MA or IL
• Experience leading multi-site operations and ensuring regulatory compliance

Responsibilities

• Oversee operations across multiple behavioral health treatment locations
• Partner with facility Directors to identify and fix inefficiencies
• Hold leadership accountable to standards, deliverables and deadlines
• Support licensing, accreditation and regulatory readiness initiatives
• Help implement new programs, systems and processes
• Assist recruiting for leadership and frontline roles
• Monitor performance and strengthen facility-level execution
• Collaborate with ownership while driving initiatives to completion
• Work with admissions, clinical ops, staffing, utilization, census and retention

Skills

Leadership experience

Travel willingness

Communication

Problem solving

Organizational skills

Job description

Hoffman Estates, United States | Posted on 10/15/2026

• Salary Up to $150,000 annually, commensurate with directly relevant experience
• Country United States

Job Description

About the Organization

ForrestBehavioral Health is a growing behavioral health treatment organization servingindividuals with substance use disorders, mental health conditions, andco-occurring diagnoses. The organization operates with a strong focus ondelivering high-quality treatment while building environments where bothpatients and employees feel supported.

Asthe organization continues to grow across multiple states and locations,leadership is focused on strengthening an operating model that is alreadyworking well, identifying opportunities for improvement, and ensuringconsistent execution across facilities.

The Opportunity

Weare seeking a hands-on Chief Operating Officer to help lead the operationalperformance and continued growth of Forrest Behavioral Health acrossMassachusetts and Illinois, with potential involvement in Rhode Island.

Thisis not a role focused on rebuilding an underperforming organization. Thefacilities are established and generally operate near target capacity. Theopportunity is to understand an existing operating model, identify weaknessesand inefficiencies, strengthen execution, and help leadership scale that modelsuccessfully as the organization grows.

TheCOO will partner closely with ownership and facility Directors whilemaintaining the independence and accountability necessary to move initiativesforward. Approximately one week of travel per month is expected, depending onoperational needs.

Who Thrives Here

Thestrongest fit is a behavioral health operator who is ambitious, adaptable,accountable, and comfortable getting directly involved when necessary.

Youmay currently be a COO, VP of Operations, Regional Director, ExecutiveDirector, or similar leader who has spent several meaningful years withinsubstance use disorder or mental health treatment and is ready to take onbroader responsibility.

Thisrole does not require decades of executive experience. It does require someonewho understands how behavioral health facilities actually operate and can movecomfortably between strategic leadership and practical problem-solving.

Youshould be able to walk into a facility, recognize where something is notworking, collaborate with the appropriate leaders to develop a solution, andstay involved long enough to ensure that solution is executed.

What You'll Do

• Overseeoperations and performance across multiple behavioral health treatmentlocations
  
• Partner withfacility Directors to identify operational shortcomings, inefficiencies,and opportunities for improvement
  
• Hold facilityleadership accountable to organizational expectations, deliverables,performance standards, and deadlines
  
• Support statelicensing, accreditation, regulatory compliance, and facility readinessinitiatives
  
• Help implementnew programs, operational systems, processes, and locations
  
• Supportrecruiting and hiring for key leadership positions and frontline roleswhen necessary
  
• Monitoroperational performance and help leadership strengthen facility-levelexecution
  
• Serve as anoperational resource to ownership while independently carrying initiativesthrough completion
  
• Work acrossadmissions, clinical operations, staffing, utilization review, census,retention, and other functions that influence facility performance
  
• Travel betweenMassachusetts and Illinois facilities as operational needs require, withpotential involvement in Rhode Island
  
• Help establishmeasurable performance goals and a bonus structure tied to facility andorganizational success
  

Requirements

Required:

• Directprofessional experience within substance use disorder and/or mental healthtreatment operations
  
• Leadershipexperience within behavioral healthcare, such as COO, VP of Operations,Regional Director, Executive Director, Director of Operations, or acomparable multi-site or senior operational role
  
• Workingknowledge of behavioral health treatment operations and levels of caresuch as PHP, IOP, OP, residential, detox, or similar programs
  
• Experiencesupporting or overseeing operational areas such as staffing, admissions,utilization review, insurance authorization, census management, patientretention, clinical operations, licensing, accreditation, or regulatorycompliance
  
• Demonstratedability to identify operational problems, develop practical solutions, anddrive those solutions through implementation
  
• Experienceholding facility or department leaders accountable for expectations,deliverables, and deadlines
  
• Ability andwillingness to travel approximately one week per month, with flexibilityto travel more or less depending on operational needs
  
• Ability tomaintain a home base in Massachusetts or Illinois
  
• Strongcommunication, leadership, problem-solving, and organizational skills
  

Preferred:

• Multi-sitebehavioral health leadership experience
  
• Experiencesupporting facility launches, expansion initiatives, new programs, orlicensing and accreditation processes
  
• Experiencerecruiting and developing behavioral health leadership teams
  
• Familiaritywith both substance use disorder and mental health treatment operations
  
• Experienceoperating across multiple states or regulatory environments
  

Compensation and Schedule

• Salary: Up to$150,000 annually, commensurate with directly relevant experience
  
• Performance-basedbonus structure
  
• Home Base:Ideally Massachusetts or Illinois
  
• Hybrid/work-from-homeflexibility when appropriate
  
• Travel:Approximately one week per month, based on operational needs
  

Additional Benefits

• Employercontribution of 60% toward health insurance
  
• Performance-basedincentive opportunity
  
• Significantopportunity to influence operational strategy and organizational growth
  
• Directpartnership with ownership and facility leadership
  
• Opportunity tohelp strengthen and scale an established behavioral health operating model
  

Thisopportunity is posted by Atlantic Health Strategies on behalf of ForrestBehavioral Health.