The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) serves as the principal executive leader of Counseling & Recovery Services of Oklahoma (CRS) and is accountable to the Board of Directors for the overall strategic direction, organizational performance, financial sustainability, and community impact of the organization.
The CEO provides visionary, strategic, and transformational leadership, ensuring that all organizational activities are aligned with the mission, values, and long-term objectives established by the Board.
The CEO leads the organization in navigating a complex and evolving behavioral health environment, ensuring that CRS remains financially viable, operationally effective, technologically advanced, and highly responsive to the needs of the community.
This role requires a highly strategic, externally engaged, and operationally disciplined leader capable of guiding CRS through a complex and evolving landscape while maintaining strong financial health, advancing its mission, and delivering measurable community impact.
Duties and Responsibilities
Enterprise Leadership & Organizational Accountability
- Provide enterprise leadership ensuring alignment of all organizational functions with Board-approved strategy and priorities.
- Establish clear organizational goals, performance expectations, and accountability structures.
- Ensure integration across clinical, operational, financial, and administrative functions.
- Maintain appropriate delegation of authority while retaining accountability for outcomes.
- Ensure the organization operates in a manner consistent with its mission, values, and service philosophy.
Strategic Leadership & Organizational Transformation
- Lead the development, implementation, and ongoing evaluation of the agency’s strategic plan.
- Drive organizational transformation initiatives to improve effectiveness, scalability, and sustainability.
- Establish and monitor enterprise-wide KPIs and performance dashboards to measure success and inform decision-making.
- Ensure alignment of operational plans with long-term strategic priorities.
- Evaluate and respond to emerging trends in behavioral health, nonprofit sustainability, reimbursement models, and public policy.
- Promote a culture of innovation, continuous improvement, and systems thinking.
- Lead succession planning and leadership pipeline development to ensure organizational continuity.
Financial Leadership & Long-Term Sustainability
- Partner with the Chief Financial Officer to develop annual operating budgets, multi-year financial forecasts, and long-term financial sustainability strategies.
- Lead scenario planning to prepare for financial, regulatory, or market changes.
- Oversee capital allocation and investment strategies to maximize organizational impact.
- Monitor financial performance and key financial indicators, ensuring timely reporting to the Board.
- Ensure appropriate internal controls, audits, and financial governance practices are in place.
- Establish and oversee enterprise risk management frameworks across financial and operational areas.
- Ensure compliance with all financial regulations, contracts, grants, and funding requirements.
Resource Development, Fundraising & External Engagement
- Develop and lead a comprehensive fundraising and revenue diversification strategy.
- Cultivate and maintain relationships with major donors, foundations and philanthropic organizations, corporate partners, and government and funding entities.
- Provide leadership for capital campaigns and major gift initiatives.
- Oversee development of grant strategy and execution.
- Expand organizational visibility, reputation, and brand within the community and industry.
- Serve as the organization’s primary spokesperson and ambassador.
- Build and maintain relationships with policymakers and community leaders.
- Advocate for policies and initiatives that support behavioral health access and outcomes.
- Serve as steward of the organization’s reputation, ensuring public trust, transparency, and accountability to stakeholders and communities served.
Technology, Data & Innovation Leadership
- Establish and oversee a comprehensive technology strategy aligned with organizational goals.
- Lead digital transformation initiatives to modernize systems and processes.
- Ensure strong cybersecurity, IT risk management, and data governance frameworks.
- Oversee optimization and utilization of electronic health records (EHR) and related systems.
- Promote use of data analytics, dashboards, and business intelligence tools to drive decision-making.
- Evaluate and appropriately leverage emerging technologies.
- Ensure robust business continuity and disaster recovery planning.
Executive Leadership, Talent & Organizational Culture
- Recruit, develop, and lead a high-performing Executive Leadership Team.
- Establish and oversee leadership development and succession planning programs.
- Ensure implementation of workforce planning strategies aligned with organizational needs.
- Develop and lead initiatives to strengthen employee engagement, recruitment, retention, and organizational effectiveness.
- Oversee compensation philosophy and alignment with market and performance.
- Serve as steward of the organization’s culture, ensuring alignment with values and mission.
- Promote and embed a trauma-informed, recovery-oriented model of care, including the Sanctuary Model.
- Foster an environment of accountability, inclusion, collaboration, and continuous learning.
Program Oversight & Operational Excellence
- Provide executive oversight of all programs and services.
- Ensure programs align with strategic priorities and deliver measurable outcomes.
- Monitor program performance through established KPIs and dashboards.
- Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, accreditation standards, and contractual obligations.
- Ensure measurable standards for clinical quality, client outcomes, access to care, and service excellence are maintained.
- Promote innovation and best practices in service delivery.
- Ensure safety and well-being of clients, staff, and facilities.
- Lead organizational response to significant clinical, reputational, financial, or public health crises.
Board Relations & Governance
- Partner with the Board to define and advance organizational strategy and priorities.
- Provide timely, accurate, and data-driven reports on organizational performance.
- Support the Board in fulfilling its governance responsibilities.
- Facilitate effective communication between the Board and leadership team.
- Clarify and maintain appropriate governance versus management roles and boundaries.
- Participate in Board and committee meetings and provide strategic recommendations.
Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities
- Financial management and sustainability planning.
- Fundraising, donor relations, capital campaigns, and revenue development.
- Strategic planning and execution.
- Organizational growth and transformation.
- Board of governance and stakeholder engagement.
- Technology leadership and operational systems oversight.
- Ability to communicate effectively in written and verbal formats.
- Ability to process complex information and make strategic decisions.
- Capacity to represent the organization in high-level external settings.
- Ability to travel as needed and engage across multiple locations.
Competency
- Strategic thinking and long-term vision.
- Change leadership and transformation capability.
- Executive presence and credibility.
- Relationship building and stakeholder engagement.
- Financial acumen and business judgment.
- Systems thinking and organizational awareness.
- Crisis leadership and decision-making under pressure.
- Exceptional verbal and written communication skills.
- Negotiation and influence.
- Political and community acumen.
- Data-driven decision making.
Experience and Education
- Advanced degrees are strongly preferred.
- Minimum of 10 years of progressive executive leadership experience, including responsibility for organizational strategy, budgeting, personnel leadership, and external stakeholders.
- Demonstrated success leading complex organizations exceeding $20 million and multi-site operations preferred.
- Experience in behavioral health or healthcare environments is strongly preferred.
Environmental and Physical Impacts
This position may require the ability to:
- Communicate effectively in written and verbal formats.
- Process complex information and make strategic decisions.
- Represent the organization in high-level external settings.
- Travel as needed and engage across multiple locations.
