Position Summary:
The Clinical Director provides strategic and operational leadership for all clinical services within the organization. This position is responsible for ensuring the delivery of safe, high-quality, evidence-based behavioral healthcare while maintaining compliance with accreditation standards, state licensing regulations, payer requirements, and organizational policies.
The Clinical Director oversees clinical operations, supervises licensed clinical staff, promotes continuous quality improvement, ensures documentation integrity, supports staff development, and fosters a culture of trauma-informed, person-centered care.
The Clinical Director partners with executive leadership to improve clinical outcomes, maintain accreditation readiness, and support organizational growth.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities:
Clinical Leadership & Program Oversight
- Provide strategic leadership and operational oversight for all clinical programming, ensuring services are delivered in accordance with the organization's mission, evidence-based practices, ethical standards, and applicable federal, state, and accreditation requirements.
- Direct the daily operations of the clinical department while fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, professionalism, and patient-centered care.
- Ensure all clinical services are delivered in a trauma-informed, recovery-oriented, and culturally competent manner that promotes positive patient outcomes and supports individualized treatment.
- Collaborate with executive leadership to establish departmental goals, implement strategic initiatives, and continuously evaluate program effectiveness through measurable performance indicators.
- Evaluate clinical service delivery to ensure treatment remains clinically appropriate, medically necessary, and responsive to the evolving needs of the patient population.
- Identify opportunities for program enhancement, service expansion, and operational improvements that strengthen clinical quality and organizational performance.
Clinical Supervision & Staff Development
- Provide ongoing individual and group clinical supervision to licensed and unlicensed clinical staff in accordance with state licensing regulations, professional ethical standards, and organizational expectations.
- Guide clinicians in the application of evidence-based treatment modalities, clinical decision-making, crisis intervention techniques, documentation standards, and patient engagement strategies.
- Conduct regular case consultations to ensure treatment planning remains individualized, clinically appropriate, and aligned with best practices.
- Recruit, interview, onboard, mentor, and retain highly qualified clinical professionals committed to delivering exceptional behavioral healthcare services.
- Develop individualized professional development plans that encourage continuing education, licensure advancement, leadership development, and clinical excellence.
- Conduct competency assessments during orientation and annually thereafter to verify staff possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to safely perform their assigned responsibilities.
- Complete timely performance evaluations, coaching sessions, and corrective action processes while promoting continuous professional growth and accountability.
Clinical Documentation & Documentation Integrity
- Ensure all clinical documentation accurately reflects the services provided, demonstrates medical necessity, and complies with accreditation standards, payer requirements, state regulations, HIPAA, and organizational policies.
- Oversee documentation timeliness, completeness, accuracy, and clinical quality across all levels of care.
- Conduct routine and targeted documentation audits to evaluate compliance with assessments, treatment plans, progress notes, discharge planning, and other required clinical documentation.
- Analyze audit findings to identify trends, provide individualized feedback, develop corrective action plans, and improve overall documentation quality.
- Collaborate with Utilization Review, Admissions, and Medical Providers to ensure documentation supports reimbursement, continuity of care, and positive clinical outcomes.
- Maintain documentation standards that support successful payer reviews, accreditation surveys, and regulatory inspections.
Client Safety & Risk Management
- Promote a culture of client safety by ensuring clinical practices prioritize client rights, ethical care, confidentiality, and risk reduction.
- Review client incidents, grievances, complaints, sentinel events, and adverse occurrences to identify trends and develop corrective interventions.
- Collaborate with leadership to investigate incidents, perform Root Cause Analyses, and implement corrective action plans that reduce future risk.
- Monitor compliance with client identification, informed consent, suicide risk assessment, violence risk assessment, and other patient safety initiatives.
- Ensure clinical staff understand mandatory reporting obligations and organizational procedures for reporting abuse, neglect, exploitation, and critical incidents.
- Participate in emergency preparedness planning, infection prevention initiatives, workplace violence prevention efforts, and organizational safety committees.
Multidisciplinary Team Leadership
- Lead multidisciplinary treatment team meetings that promote coordinated, client-centered care throughout the continuum of treatment.
- Collaborate with Admissions, Case Management, Utilization Review, Medical Providers, and Executive Leadership to ensure effective communication and integrated treatment planning.
- Facilitate timely case reviews to address barriers to treatment, coordinate discharge planning, and improve continuity of care.
- Serve as a clinical consultant to leadership regarding complex client care issues, ethical dilemmas, staffing concerns, and program development initiatives.
- Encourage collaboration among departments to improve operational efficiency, patient satisfaction, and overall clinical outcomes.
Administrative Leadership
- Assist in developing departmental budgets, staffing plans, productivity expectations, and operational goals that support efficient and effective clinical services.
- Monitor staffing patterns, caseload distribution, and productivity to ensure appropriate patient coverage while maintaining high standards of care.
- Collaborate with Human Resources regarding recruitment, employee relations, disciplinary actions, succession planning, and workforce development.
- Prepare reports, dashboards, and clinical summaries for executive leadership using quality metrics, operational data, and patient outcome information.
- Perform additional duties and special projects as assigned to support organizational objectives and ensure the successful operation of clinical services.
Supervisory Responsibilities:
Directly supervises clinical staff including therapists, counselors, interns, and clinical support personnel.
Qualifications:
Education
· Master's Degree in Social Work, Counseling, Psychology, Marriage & Family Therapy, or related behavioral health discipline.
Licensure
· Current unrestricted New Jersey clinical license required (LCSW, LPC, LMFT, LCADC (when appropriate))
Experience
- Minimum five (5) years of progressively responsible behavioral health experience.
- Minimum two (2) years in clinical leadership or supervisory role preferred.
- Experience in Intensive Outpatient (IOP), Partial Care, PC, or outpatient behavioral health preferred.
- Experience preparing for accreditation or state licensing surveys preferred.
Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:
· State licensing regulations
· Medical necessity criteria
· Clinical documentation standards
· Crisis intervention
· Trauma-informed care
· Motivational Interviewing
· Evidence-based behavioral health treatment
· Clinical supervision
· Performance Improvement methodologies
· Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems
Physical Requirements:
This position requires the ability to sit, stand, walk, bend, reach, and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Employees may be required to respond quickly in emergency situations and, if trained and required by the role, may participate in physical interventions or crisis response procedures. The position also requires the ability to operate standard office equipment, including computers, telephones, and other electronic devices, as well as the ability to communicate effectively in both verbal and written formats.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $115,000.00 - $125,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Application Question(s):
- Do you have Mental Health experience?
- Do you have a clinical license?
- Do you have clinical supervision ability?
Work Location: In person
