Executive Director, Behavioral Health Launch Leader

Atlantic Health Strategies™; Dubuque (IA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Bridgewater Recovery in Dubuque, Iowa seeks an experienced Executive Director to lead the new facility and its IOP, PHP, detox, and residential programs. You will drive pre-opening planning, regulatory readiness, financial performance, and high-quality client care, building a strong leadership team and ensuring scalable operations.

The role requires a master’s in a relevant field and 5+ years of progressive behavioral health leadership, with 3+ years in an executive capacity and start-up

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, Public Health, Behavioral Health Administration, Social Work, Counseling, Psychology, or a related field.
• 5+ years of progressive behavioral health leadership experience.
• 3+ years of executive leadership experience.
• Experience launching a new treatment facility or leading a start-up healthcare operation preferred.
• Experience with ASAM levels of care (3.5 residential and 3.7 detox) preferred.
• Experience with state licensure, accreditation readiness (Joint Commission, CARF, or similar) preferred.
• Experience working with Medicaid MCOs, commercial payers, utilization review, and reimbursement-driven operations preferred.
• Prior leadership experience in a high-growth or multi-site behavioral health organization preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead pre-opening planning and execution, including hiring, onboarding, policy implementation, licensure readiness, and go-live preparation.
• Help stand up programming across IOP, PHP, detox, and residential treatment.
• Develop operating systems, reporting structures, workflows, and accountability processes across departments.
• Oversee facility-level financial performance, budgeting, labor management, census growth, and operational efficiency.
• Monitor key performance indicators and support payer strategy, reimbursement awareness, referral growth, and census development.
• Recruit, build, and lead a high-performing leadership team across clinical, medical, nursing, admissions, operations, compliance, and administrative functions.
• Provide direct supervision, coaching, and support to department leaders.
• Work closely with the Medical Director, Clinical Director, nursing leadership, and treatment team to support high-quality, evidence-based care.
• Ensure compliance with applicable state, federal, payer, and accreditation requirements, maintaining survey and licensing readiness.
• Represent Bridgewater Recovery in the community, referral network, payer environment, and broader behavioral health market.

Skills

Executive leadership

Healthcare administration

Strategic planning

Regulatory compliance

Education

Master's degree in Healthcare Administration or related field

Job description

Bridgewater Recovery in Dubuque, Iowa seeks an experienced Executive Director to lead the new facility and its IOP, PHP, detox, and residential programs. You will drive pre-opening planning, regulatory readiness, financial performance, and high-quality client care, building a strong leadership team and ensuring scalable operations.

The role requires a master’s in a relevant field and 5+ years of progressive behavioral health leadership, with 3+ years in an executive capacity and start-up