Director, IOP & PHP Services

Athena Care; Nashville (TN); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Athena Care in Nashville is seeking a Director of Intensive Outpatient (IOP) and Partial Hospitalization (PHP) programs to own the end-to-end operation, from admissions to clinical quality and growth. You will shape staffing, policy, referrals, and standardized care across clinics while ensuring profitability and compliance.

You'll partner with clinical leadership and Finance to monitor revenue, costs, and margins, recruit and lead a high-performing team, and maintain strong relationships with

Qualifications

• Prior experience managing, maintaining, or building an IOP/PHP program.
• Experience in healthcare operations or program administration.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s in Healthcare Administration or Business preferred.
• Business development or outreach experience preferred.
• Ability to translate strategy into daily execution.
• Strong organizational and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Own the IOP/PHP program end to end across clinics.
• Set admissions guidelines, scheduling, and referrals.
• Scale programming and define standards as we grow.
• Track revenue, cost, and margin; collaborate with Finance.
• Recruit, hire, train, and lead the program team.
• Represent the program with CARF inspections and partners.

Skills

IOP program management

PHP program experience

Healthcare operations

Strategic planning

Stakeholder relations

HIPAA knowledge

CARF standards

Communication skills

EMR proficiency

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Healthcare Administration or Business

Tools

EMR systems

Microsoft Office

Phone systems

Job description

Description

About Athena Care

For over twenty years, we've been guided by a simple idea: exceptional care starts with taking care of the people who provide it. We're a growing, insurance-based practice built to meet our community's mental health needs with real depth - psychological testing, IOP/PHP, Spravato/IM Ketamine, TMS, psychotherapy, group therapy, and general psychiatry, all under one roof.

As we've grown, we've stayed intentional about how we grow. Our goal has never been to feel big, it's to feel like a small group practice on the ground, where clinicians know their patients and patients feel known, while strong business expertise and modern technology work quietly behind the scenes. That balance is what lets our providers focus on what they do best - patient care - and what lets our patients access that care with ease.

Build Something That Changes Lives - And Make It Yours

Our Intensive Outpatient and Partial Hospitalization Programs are often the turning point for patients who need more than weekly therapy but don't need inpatient care. We're looking for a Director who sees this not as a department to manage, but as a program to own; someone who wants their fingerprints on every part of it, from the first phone call a prospective patient makes to the clinical quality that keeps them coming back.

This is a role for a builder. You'll have the autonomy to shape how IOP and PHP programming looks across our clinics, the trust to make real decisions about staffing, scope, and growth, and the support of clinical and finance partners who want you to succeed. If you've ever felt like you had bigger ideas than your last role gave you room for, this is where you bring them.

What You'll Own

The program, end to end. You'll set the operational playbook - policies, admissions guidelines, scheduling, referrals - and make sure it actually gets followed, every day, across every clinic.

The growth story. You're the strategic mind behind where IOP/PHP goes next: which clinics get programming, how it scales, what "standardized and excellent" looks like as we grow.

The business outcomes. This program's performance is your performance. You'll track revenue, cost, and margin against plan, partner with Finance and RCM to work through variances or billing hiccups, and make staffing and scope calls with a clear eye on what drives profitability - not because someone's checking a spreadsheet, but because you genuinely want this program to thrive.

The people. You'll recruit, hire, train, and lead the team that makes this program run and you'll partner closely with clinical leadership to make sure every patient gets excellent care along the way.

The reputation. Whether it's a CARF inspection, a referral partner lunch, or a new patient's first day, you're the person who represents this program with confidence and care, both internally and out in the community.

The admissions journey. From the first inquiry to the first day of treatment, you'll make sure patients feel guided, not lost, and that your team and referral partners always know where things stand.

What Makes You Right For This

• You've managed, built, or expanded an IOP program; PHP experience is a nice-to-have on top of that.
• You've worked in healthcare operations or program administration and know how to turn strategy into daily execution, not just slide decks.
• You understand HIPAA and CARF standards well enough that compliance feels like second nature, not a scramble.
• You build relationships easily with your team, with clinicians, with referral partners, because you genuinely like people and they can tell.
• You're organized, adaptable, and comfortable being the one who makes the decision when a decision needs making.
• A Bachelor's or Master's in Healthcare Administration, Business, or a related field is preferred.

Why This Role, Why Now

This isn't a maintenance job. You're joining at a moment where IOP/PHP is actively growing, which means your ideas about what "good" looks like will shape what this program becomes across our whole network. You'll report directly to our President & Founder; your voice will be heard, and your results will be visible.

If you want a role where ownership isn't just a word in the job description, but genuinely how the job works - we'd love to talk.

Requirements

Education/Experience:

• Prior experience managing, maintaining, or building/expanding an IOP program strongly preferred.
• Experience managing or supporting a PHP program is a plus.
• Prior experience in healthcare operations, program administration, or strategic program development required.
• Prior business outreach or business development experience preferred.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Healthcare Administration, Business, or other related program preferred.

Licenses/Certifications:

• None

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:

• Strong working knowledge of IOP and/or PHP program operations.
• Demonstrated ability to manage, maintain, or build/expand an IOP and/or PHP program.
• Strong operational and strategic planning skills, with the ability to translate strategy into day-to-day execution.
• Ability to cultivate productive and professional relationships with both internal and external providers, and build a professional network to support IOP/PHP admissions.
• Knowledge of HIPAA and other privacy and healthcare-related regulations.
• Knowledge of CARF standards related to IOP/PHP programs.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to accurately and efficiently present information to an audience.
• Proficient in utilizing technology resources such as electronic medical records (EMR), Microsoft Office, and phone systems.
• Highly organized and detail-oriented.
• Collaborative and team-oriented.
• Flexible, adaptable, and able to move between tasks regularly.
• Able to prioritize workload and meet deadlines.

Physical Requirements

This role requires constant sitting, typing, speaking, hearing, and seeing; frequent standing, walking, and pushing/pulling; occasional reaching, lifting, carrying, and emotional/verbal interaction and stress tolerance; and rare bending. Any object lifted, pushed, pulled, or carried should not exceed 20 lbs.