Summary/Objective:
The Associate Director of Quality and Customer Experience provides operational leadership for Behavioral Health quality improvement initiatives and direct oversight of Customer Support and Medical Records. The position partners with Behavioral Health leadership to support outpatient operations and advance quality, compliance, customer experience, and performance improvement across Behavioral Health services.
This position directly supervises Customer Support and Medical Records teams and is responsible for consistent, patient-centered, efficient, and compliant workflows across multiple locations and programs. The Associate Director collaborates with Behavioral Health leadership, Population Health, Electronic Health Record (EHR) teams, Nursing, and clinical and treatment teams to identify operational barriers and strengthen patient access, documentation integrity, regulatory readiness, and continuity of care.
The Associate Director partners with outpatient leadership to coordinate workflow implementation and help resolve operational barriers affecting clinic operations, timely access, patient flow, scheduling, and continuity of care.
The Associate Director develops and monitors measurable goals, key performance indicators, corrective action plans, and quality improvement initiatives. The role uses data, feedback, audits, and operational observations to identify opportunities and monitor progress toward Agency, OMH, OASAS, CCBHC, payer, and other applicable requirements.
Essential Functions (Job Duties):
Team Leadership and Operational Oversight
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Provide direct supervision, coaching, performance management, and operational oversight for Customer Support and Medical Records staff.
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Ensure Customer Support, Medical Records, and related operational workflows are consistently implemented across Behavioral Health programs.
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Partner with leaders to identify staffing, training, communication, and operational support needs for Customer Support and Medical Records teams.
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Support onboarding, training, competency development, and ongoing education for Customer Support and Medical Records staff.
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Establish clear expectations for patient-facing service, documentation practices, scheduling accuracy, record management, and customer experience standards.
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Monitor team performance and operational outcomes, addressing barriers and performance concerns in a timely manner.
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Support development and implementation of standard work, policies, procedures, job aids, and training materials for Customer Support and Medical Records functions.
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Promote collaboration among Customer Support, Medical Records, clinical, and operational teams to improve continuity of care and reduce barriers to service delivery.
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Support operational coverage, workflow coordination, and escalation processes across assigned teams and Behavioral Health programs.
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Serve as an after-hours resource for urgent operational matters or coordinate alternate leadership coverage when unavailable.
Outpatient Operations Support
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Partner with outpatient leadership to support consistent implementation of operational workflows, scheduling practices, patient access standards, and customer experience expectations across outpatient programs.
- Identify and help resolve operational barriers affecting patient flow, timely access, enrollment, scheduling, documentation, and continuity of care.
- Support implementation and monitoring of outpatient operational initiatives, standard work, policies, and improvement plans.
- Use operational data, staff feedback, and workflow observations to identify trends and recommend improvements to outpatient leadership.
- Provide operational support during staffing changes, workflow disruptions, new program implementation, and other identified outpatient needs.
Quality, Compliance, and Performance Improvement
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Lead assigned quality improvement and customer experience initiatives and support Behavioral Health compliance activities.
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Develop measurable success goals, key performance indicators, dashboards, tracking tools, and action plans related to access, patient experience, documentation, enrollment, scheduling, records management, and other organizational priorities.
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Monitor performance data and trends; identify gaps, risks, and opportunities; and partner with leaders to implement and sustain improvement strategies.
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Coordinate the development, implementation, and monitoring of corrective action plans resulting from regulatory reviews, internal audits, patient complaints, incident trends, or identified compliance concerns.
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Support ongoing readiness for Agency, OMH, OASAS, CCBHC, payer, and other applicable regulatory or accreditation requirements in coordination with Quality, Compliance, and program leadership.
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Coordinate quality reviews, audits, workflow observations, and follow-up activities to ensure identified concerns are resolved and improvements are sustained.
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Identify recurring operational or compliance risks and recommend workflow, education, technology, or policy changes to reduce risk.
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Support communication of quality expectations, regulatory updates, performance outcomes, and improvement priorities to staff and leadership.
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Prepare reports, presentations, and other materials related to quality, compliance, customer experience, and operational performance.
Population Health, EHR, and Clinical Collaboration
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Partner closely with Population Health and Electronic Health Record (EHR) teams to identify, prioritize, develop, test, and implement system and workflow improvements that support quality, compliance, patient access, documentation integrity, reporting, and customer experience.
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Collaborate with Nursing, clinical, and treatment teams to identify operational barriers, strengthen care coordination, and support consistent implementation of patient-centered workflows across Behavioral Health programs.
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Represent operational needs in the design and refinement of EHR workflows, forms, reports, dashboards, alerts, and other tools that support Behavioral Health operations, regulatory compliance, and quality improvement.
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Translate operational needs, regulatory expectations, performance data, and frontline feedback into clear requests and measurable outcomes for Population Health and EHR initiatives.
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Coordinate implementation, education, and staff adoption of new EHR workflows, reports, technology tools, and process changes.
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Monitor the impact of EHR and workflow changes, identify unintended barriers, and coordinate follow-up improvements as needed.
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Serve as a liaison among Customer Support, Medical Records, Nursing, clinical and treatment teams, Behavioral Health leadership, Population Health, and EHR to ensure quality initiatives are practical, measurable, and sustainable.
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Support cross-functional initiatives that improve timely access, continuity of care, documentation quality, patient engagement, and regulatory performance.
Customer Experience and Patient Engagement
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Lead initiatives that improve patient access, patient engagement, satisfaction, and overall customer experience across Behavioral Health programs.
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Monitor patient feedback, surveys, complaints, grievances, and other experience measures to identify trends and develop improvement plans.
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Partner with program leadership and frontline teams to address patient experience concerns and strengthen service recovery practices.
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Support implementation and monitoring of patient-facing workflows and operational processes that improve access, communication, care coordination, and the overall patient experience.
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Promote patient-centered practices that support dignity, timely access, clear communication, and continuity of care.
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Coordinate assigned Patient Advisory Committee activities and support the incorporation of patient feedback into quality improvement and operational planning.
Other Responsibilities
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Participate in Behavioral Health leadership meetings, quality committees, audit preparation activities, and assigned workgroups.
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Conduct site visits and operational reviews as needed to assess workflow consistency, identify barriers, and support implementation of improvement initiatives.
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Maintain confidentiality and comply with all Agency policies, HIPAA requirements, and applicable state and federal regulations.
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Provide operational leadership and support for Behavioral Health initiatives and special projects as assigned.
Supervisory Responsibilities:
Directly supervises Customer Support and Medical Records staff and any assigned supervisors or coordinators.
Competencies:
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Operational Leadership
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People Leadership and Staff Development
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Quality and Continuous Improvement
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Data-Informed Decision-Making
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Regulatory and Compliance Acumen
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Cross-Functional Collaboration
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Change Leadership and Implementation
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Customer and Patient-Centered Service
Physical Demands:
Lifting Requirements:
Sedentary
Lift up to 10 lbs. maximum and occasionally lift and/or carry small items (files, manuals, binders)
X
Light
Lift up to 20 lbs. maximum with frequent lift and/or carry objects up to 10 pounds
Medium
Lift up to 50 lbs. maximum with frequent lift and/or carry objects weighing up to 25 lbs.
Heavy
Lift 100 lbs. maximum with frequent lift and/or carry objects up to 50 lbs.
Very Heavy
Lift objects more than 100 lbs. with frequent lift and/or carry objects weighing 50 lbs. or more
Physical Demands:
Task
0 – 1/3
Frequent
Constant
Task
0 – 1/3
Frequent
Constant
Definitions:
0 – 1/3 of the time:
Activity is needed to perform the essential functions of the job 0-1/3 of the time.
Frequent:
Activity is a customary part of the essential functions of the job 1/3 – 2/3 of the time.
Constant:
Activity is continually occurring and required to perform the essential functions of the job 2/3 of the time or more.
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Bachelors Degree Preferred.
- Minimum of three years of progressively responsible experience in community-based behavioral health, customer support, patient access, medical records, quality, compliance, operations, or a related field required.
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Minimum of one year of direct supervisory experience required, including staff oversight, coaching, performance management, and daily workflow coordination.
