Program Director

Taft Brown Associates; California (MO); On-site; USD 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Taft Brown Associates partners with a growing behavioral health organization in Orange County, California to recruit a Program Director for a hospital-based Behavioral Health IOP. You will lead development, clinical oversight, and day-to-day operations, building a multidisciplinary team and ensuring regulatory compliance.

The ideal candidate is a clinician with strong leadership and program-growth experience, capable of guiding clinical services and coordinating with hospital leadership to

Qualifications

• Minimum of three years of behavioral health experience in IOP/PHP hospital-based outpatient or similar setting.
• Experience leading and coordinating multidisciplinary behavioral health teams.
• Knowledge of behavioral health assessment, treatment planning, clinical documentation, discharge planning.
• Demonstrated ability to work with physicians, hospital leadership, and community providers.
• Strong leadership, communication, organizational, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills.
• Current California clinical licensure required (LCSW/LMFT/LPCC/RN).

Responsibilities

• Lead the development, implementation, and ongoing operation of the hospital-based Behavioral Health IOP.
• Establish clinical workflows, policies, procedures, programming, and operating processes that support high-quality patient care.
• Recruit, develop, supervise, and support a high-performing interdisciplinary behavioral health team.
• Work collaboratively with hospital administration, psychiatrists, physicians, nursing, case management, and other hospital departments.
• Establish program goals and monitor census, productivity, clinical quality, patient outcomes, referral conversion, and overall program performance.
• Oversee patient assessments, diagnoses, tailored treatment planning, treatment delivery, and discharge planning.
• Ensure treatment plans include individualized, behavioral, and measurable goals.
• Collaborate with psychiatrists and treatment team to ensure quality and continuity of care.
• Maintain communication with referring physicians, therapists, and providers regarding patient treatment and transitions of care.
• Provide and/or oversee individual, family, group, educational, and other therapeutic services as appropriate.
• Ensure discharge planning begins early and facilitates transition to the next level of care.
• Respond timely to patient, family, physician, and referral-source needs.
• Ensure clinical documentation complies with policies and regulatory requirements.
• Oversee insurance verification and authorization processes, continued-stay reviews, utilization management, and payer requirements.
• Support audits and maintain program readiness.
• Ensure staff maintains competencies and credentials.
• Monitor performance and implement improvement initiatives.

Skills

Leadership

Team Building

Clinical Oversight

Regulatory Compliance

Program Development

Communication

Problem-Solving

Project Management

Education

Master's degree in social work, psychology, counseling, nursing

California clinical licensure (LCSW/LMFT/LPCC/RN)

Job description

Taft Brown Associates has partnered with a growing behavioral health organization in search for a Program Director.

POSITION SUMMARY

As the Program Director you will be responsible for the development, implementation, clinical oversight, day-to-day operations, and growth of a hospital-based Behavioral Health Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) in Orange County, California.

This is a unique opportunity for an experienced behavioral health professional to help build and lead a new program from the ground up. As the Program Director you will have significant responsibility for developing the clinical program, building and leading the treatment team, establishing effective operating processes, and ensuring regulatory and clinical compliance.

The ideal candidate is both a clinician and a builder - someone who can effectively build and lead a multidisciplinary treatment team.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead the development, implementation, and ongoing operation of the hospital-based Behavioral Health IOP.
• Establish clinical workflows, policies, procedures, programming, and operating processes that support high-quality patient care.
• Recruit, develop, supervise, and support a high-performing interdisciplinary behavioral health team.
• Work collaboratively with hospital administration, psychiatrists, physicians, nursing, case management, and other hospital departments.
• Establish program goals and monitor census, productivity, clinical quality, patient outcomes, referral conversion, and overall program performance.

Clinical Services & Patient Care

• Oversee patient assessments, diagnoses, individualized treatment planning, treatment delivery, and discharge planning.
• Ensure treatment plans include individualized, behavioral, and measurable goals appropriate to each patient's clinical needs.
• Collaborate with psychiatrists and other members of the treatment team to ensure quality and continuity of care.
• Maintain effective communication with referring physicians, therapists, and other healthcare providers regarding patient treatment and transitions of care.
• Provide and/or oversee individual, family, group, educational, and other therapeutic services as appropriate.
• Ensure discharge planning begins early in the treatment process and facilitates successful transition to the appropriate next level of care.
• Respond appropriately and timely to patient, family, physician, and referral-source needs.

Quality, Regulatory & Payer Compliance

• Ensure clinical documentation complies with policies and applicable state, federal, payer, and regulatory requirements.
• Oversee insurance verification and authorization processes, continued-stay reviews, utilization management, and related payer requirements.
• Support regulatory, hospital, and payer audits and maintain ongoing program readiness.
• Ensure staff maintain required competencies, credentials, training, and other applicable requirements.
• Monitor clinical and operational performance and implement corrective or performance-improvement initiatives when appropriate.

Community Outreach & Program Growth

An important component of this position is establishing the program as a visible and trusted behavioral health resource throughout Orange County.

• Create an exceptional referral experience by making access to services easy, responsive, and timely.
• Work with referral partners to improve continuity of care and transitions between levels of treatment.
• Represent the program at hospital, professional, and community events.
• Identify unmet behavioral health needs and potential opportunities for program development and expansion.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum of three (3) years of behavioral health experience, preferably in an IOP, PHP, hospital-based outpatient, inpatient psychiatric, or comparable behavioral health setting.
• Experience leading, supervising, or coordinating behavioral health programs and multidisciplinary clinical teams.
• Knowledge of behavioral health assessment, treatment planning, clinical documentation, utilization review, and discharge planning.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with physicians, clinical professionals, hospital leadership, and community providers.
• Strong leadership, communication, organizational, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to take ownership of program development, performance, and growth.
• Current California clinical licensure required, such as LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, RN, or another applicable behavioral health clinical credential.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Master's degree in social work, psychology, counseling, nursing, or a related behavioral health discipline.
• Previous leadership experience within an IOP, PHP, hospital-based behavioral health program, or psychiatric setting.
• Experience with Medicare behavioral health services and associated clinical, documentation, utilization-management, and payer requirements.
• Experience developing physician, provider, and community referral relationships.
• Existing knowledge of or professional relationships within the Orange County healthcare and behavioral health community.

CORE COMPETENCIES

• Clinical Leadership
• Program Development
• Team Building & Staff Development
• Patient-Centered Care
• Community & Referral Relationship Development
• Communication & Collaboration
• Initiative & Accountability
• Regulatory & Clinical Compliance
• Operational Performance
• Problem Solving
• Flexibility & Adaptability
• Entrepreneurial Mindset

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

POSITION EXPECTATIONS

The Program Director will serve as the local leader and face of the program in Orange County and will be expected to balance clinical leadership with operational responsibility and community engagement.

Success in this position requires someone who is comfortable taking ownership of a developing program rather than simply maintaining an established operation. The Program Director will have the opportunity to shape the clinical program, build the team, and directly influence the program's growth and success.

The Program Director will be supported by an experienced behavioral health management team and hospital partner.

Annual salary range: $90,000 - $110,000, depending on experience and qualifications, plus benefits.