Mental Health Clinical Director

Milestone Treatment Center; Virginia Beach (VA); On-site; USD 85,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Benefits package

Job summary

Milestone Treatment Center is seeking an experienced SUD Clinical Director to provide clinical leadership for our behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment services in Virginia. This full-time, on-site role leads a multidisciplinary team, shapes clinical programming, and ensures compassionate, evidence-based care while aligning with Virginia regulations and payer requirements.

Salary is $85,000–$100,000 annually with full benefits and opportunities for professional growth within a

Qualifications

• Active LCSW or LPC licensure.
• Experience leading clinical teams in behavioral health.
• Experience with mental health and/or substance use disorder treatment.
• Strong knowledge of clinical documentation and patient confidentiality.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of clinical programs, policies, and procedures.
• Oversee daily clinical operations and ensure high-quality behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment.
• Mentor multidisciplinary clinical team and provide supervision per Virginia requirements.
• Partner with leadership on recruiting, credentialing, onboarding, training, and staff development.
• Promote accountability, collaboration, and clinical excellence within the team.
• Ensure evidence-based, trauma-informed, and recovery-oriented practices are utilized.
• Oversee utilization review and medical necessity determinations.

Skills

Clinical leadership

Team management

Communication skills

Interpersonal skills

Collaboration

Job description

Salary: $85,000–$100,000 annually
Schedule: Full-Time
Work Location: On-site
Required Licensure: Virginia LCSW or LPC

Lead Clinical Care. Develop Great Teams. Make an Impact.

Milestone Treatment Center is seeking an experienced SUD Clinical Director to provide clinical leadership for our behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment services in Virginia.

This is a key leadership position for a clinician who wants to do more than manage a department. The Clinical Director will have the opportunity to shape clinical programming, develop and support a multidisciplinary team, strengthen quality of care, and help ensure that every patient receives compassionate, evidence-based treatment.

You will work closely with executive leadership while leading the clinicians responsible for delivering care every day. We are looking for someone who combines strong clinical judgment, effective leadership, and a solid understanding of Virginia behavioral health regulations with a genuine commitment to patients and the professionals who serve them.

What You'll Lead

• Lead the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of clinical programs, policies, and procedures.
• Oversee daily clinical operations and ensure consistent delivery of high-quality behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a multidisciplinary clinical team, including therapists, counselors, licensed professionals, and licensed-eligible clinicians.
• Provide or ensure appropriate clinical supervision in accordance with Virginia scope-of-practice and supervision requirements.
• Partner with leadership on recruiting, credentialing, onboarding, training, performance management, and professional development of clinical staff.
• Promote a culture of accountability, collaboration, compassion, and clinical excellence.
• Ensure evidence-based, trauma-informed, and recovery-oriented practices are incorporated throughout treatment programming.
• Oversee utilization review, medical necessity determinations, continued-stay reviews, and payer requirements.
• Maintain high standards for clinical documentation, treatment planning, and timely completion of patient records.
• Lead quality assurance and performance improvement initiatives, including audits, incident reviews, corrective action plans, and ongoing process improvement.
• Serve as a clinical liaison among executive leadership, staff, patients, families, payers, and regulatory agencies.

Clinical & Regulatory Leadership

The Clinical Director will play an important role in maintaining Milestone's commitment to safe, ethical, and compliant patient care.

This includes ensuring clinical services meet applicable requirements established by:

• Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS)
• The Joint Commission
• Virginia professional licensing and scope-of-practice requirements
• HIPAA
• 42 CFR Part 2
• Applicable federal and state patient-rights and confidentiality requirements

You will help ensure our clinical team understands these expectations and has the leadership, training, and systems necessary to meet them consistently.

What We're Looking For

• Active LCSW or LPC licensure
• Demonstrated experience leading or managing clinical teams in a behavioral health environment
• Experience with mental health and/or substance use disorder treatment
• Strong understanding of clinical documentation, treatment planning, patient confidentiality, and professional standards
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to lead effectively in a fast-paced treatment environment and manage competing priorities
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with clinicians, leadership, patients, families, and external partners

Highly Valued

• Experience working within Virginia's behavioral health system
• Knowledge of Virginia DBHDS regulations and licensing requirements
• Experience with The Joint Commission accreditation standards
• Leadership experience within addiction treatment, residential treatment, PHP, IOP, or other behavioral health settings
• Experience with utilization review, medical necessity, payer authorization, or continued-stay processes
• Experience supervising licensed and licensed-eligible clinicians
• Experience with quality assurance, compliance, audits, or performance improvement initiatives

Why Milestone?

Clinical leadership has a direct impact on both the people receiving treatment and the professionals providing it.

At Milestone, the Mental Health Clinical Director will have the opportunity to build strong clinical teams, influence how care is delivered, improve programming, and help create an environment where both patients and clinicians can succeed.

We are looking for a leader who understands that excellent clinical care requires more than policies and documentation. It requires engaged leadership, accountability, compassion, collaboration, and a commitment to continually getting better.

If you are an experienced behavioral health leader ready to take ownership of a clinical program and help shape its continued growth, we'd like to hear from you.

Compensation & Benefits

Salary: $85,000–$100,000 per year

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Paid time off

Work Location: On-site

Milestone Treatment Center is an equal opportunity employer.