Director of Behavioral Health Services

Director of Behavioral Health Services

Job Status: Full-time | Exempt

Location: 1233 Edgewater St., Salem, OR | West Salem Clinic

Reports to: Clinic Director

Lead the Behavioral Health Care our Community is counting on

At Northwest Human Services, you will get to build something lasting. The Director of Behavioral Health Services leadership role is an opportunity to shape the mental health and crisis systems that thousands of people across Marion and Polk counties reach for on their hardest days. You'll lead all three of our behavioral health service areas: outpatient mental health counseling, behavioral health within primary care, and our 24/7/365 crisis and 988 hotline.

Northwest Human Services is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) that's been around for 55 years and we are growing and financially steady even in the face of the current complexity with Medicaid.

What Success Looks Like Here

• You'll integrate care, not silo it. Weave behavioral health into primary care so patients get help earlier, before a hard day becomes a crisis.
• You'll steady the safety net. Provide proactive and decisive leadership so our teams can meet patient needs, no matter how demanding the circumstances.
• You'll turn strategy into care. Use data and sound judgment to improve quality, close gaps, and make services stronger every quarter.
• You’ll lead with kindness and high standards. Coach your team honestly and hold them to the standard that patients deserve.

Who Thrives Here

The leaders who thrive here stay calm when situations become complex. They build trust across disciplines. They make difficult decisions with compassion. They identify and fix root causes, and use data to measure success.

The candidate we are looking for is a licensed behavioral health leader who brings strong clinical judgment, extensive and successful operational experience and discipline, and a people-centered leadership style. A successful candidate will have experience in leading outpatient mental health operations, behavioral health integration in primary care, and complex and crisis program leadership. They will also be skilled in behavioral health compliance, billing, performance improvement, and cross-functional collaboration. This person should be comfortable leading through complexity, supporting multidisciplinary teams, using data to guide decisions, and building operational systems and workflows that improve care quality, staff experience, and community impact.

Why This Role

• You'll lead. As a financially stable FQHC, we equip our directors with resources and strong teams, so your energy goes to improving care, not scrambling to keep things afloat.
• You'll shape an established department. Our behavioral health services are strong and trusted. As their first dedicated director, you'll build on a solid foundation with latitude to decide what comes next.
• We invest and develop our leaders with purpose, through programs like our Leadership Academy, because we want the people who lead here to grow and stay.

What You’ll Lead

The Director of Behavioral Health Services will oversee three key service areas:

     1. Mental Health Counseling Services

• Monitor and review clinical documentation for accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with organizational and legal standards.
• Support clinicians in addressing high-risk cases, including suicide risk assessment and safety planning.
• Review and analyze critical incidents (including suicide attempts and completions), present findings, and lead discussions to drive operational improvements and prevention strategies.

     2. Integrated Behavioral Health within Primary Care

• Partner with clinical leadership and medical providers to integrate behavioral health services into primary care workflows and services.
• Support implementation and sustainability of evidence-based models (e.g., brief interventions, population-based care).
• Provide on-call Primary Care Behavioral Health Consultant coverage for complex cases (approx. 0.1 FTE).
• Assist clinicians with complex patient management, including risk assessment, safety planning, and coordination with internal/external resources.
• Support and reinforce crisis response protocols; ensure staff are trained and prepared for behavioral health emergencies.
  

     3. Crisis Hotline and 988 Services

• The Director will provide senior-level oversight of crisis hotline operations, including continuous 24/7/365 coverage, quality standards, trauma-informed crisis response, accreditation readiness, contractual expectations, and coordination with community and crisis response partners.
  

Key Responsibilities

Strategic and Operational Leadership

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for behavioral health services, ensuring alignment with organizational mission, values, goals, and service standards.
• Use data, KPIs, audits, dashboards, and operational trends to support decision making and continuous improvement.
• Support responsible fiscal stewardship through budget oversight, staffing planning, resource allocation, and productivity management.
• Develop and evaluate departmental goals, workflows, and performance improvement efforts while addressing operational barriers that impact care, staff effectiveness, or service delivery.

People Leadership and Staff Development

• Lead, coach, develop, and support behavioral health leaders, clinicians, and program staff.
• Promote a culture of transparency, psychological safety, accountability, inclusion, ethical conduct, and continuous improvement.
• Respond to employee relations matters in partnership with HR and organizational leadership.
• Support staff engagement, performance feedback, professional development, succession planning, and change management efforts that strengthen team performance and leadership growth.

Clinical Quality, Compliance, and Risk

• Ensure behavioral health services are delivered safely, effectively, and in alignment with clinical standards, organizational policies, and regulatory requirements.
• Support compliance with applicable standards and requirements, including HIPAA, Oregon regulations, HRSA/FQHC expectations, contracts, accreditation standards, payer requirements, and organizational policies.
• Promote trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and equity-centered care across behavioral health programs.
• Partner with Quality, Compliance, Risk, and clinical leadership to address incidents, trends, documentation standards, corrective actions, and improvement opportunities.

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Social Work, Counseling, Psychology, or a closely related field.
• Active, unrestricted Oregon licensure, such as LCSW, LPC, LMFT, or Psychologist.
• Minimum of 5 years of clinical experience in behavioral health, including direct patient care.
• Minimum of 5 years of demonstrated progressive leadership of an outpatient behavioral health program, including responsibility for clinical quality, compliance requirements, billing.
• Experience leading and managing an outpatient mental health program with direct accountability for optimizing client access, clinician productivity, and financial sustainability, and ensuring clinical quality and regulatory compliance.
• Experience supervising licensed clinicians and/or behavioral health consultants.
• Strong knowledge of integrated care models, including Primary Care Behavioral Health and/or Collaborative Care.
• Experience working in a multidisciplinary healthcare environment.
• Minimum of 5 years demonstrated experience of federal and state regulations impacting behavioral health services, including HIPAA, 42 CFR Part 2, Oregon Administrative Rules (or state-level similar laws), and HRSA/FQHC expectations.
• Experience using clinical, operational, quality, and EHR data to support documentation standards, program improvement, and performance outcomes.
• Strong leadership, communication, coaching, conflict resolution, and prioritization skills in a complex healthcare environment.
• Commitment to trauma-informed care, cultural humility, and health equity.
• Valid Oregon Driver’s License and proof of automobile insurance.
• Current BLS/CPR certification

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in an FQHC, community health center, safety-net, or community-based healthcare setting.
• Experience leading integrated behavioral health programs, crisis services, 988/Lifeline operations, or behavioral health crisis response systems.
• Experience with grant-funded programs, contract compliance, regulatory reporting, budget oversight, staffing models, or resource planning.
• Familiarity with Oregon-specific behavioral health initiatives, payer requirements, value-based care models, or alternative payment methodologies.
• Experience with process improvement, staff training, coaching, professional development, public speaking, telehealth, or digital behavioral health tools.
• Bilingual or multilingual skills relevant to the communities served.

Please note: This posting is intended to provide a high-level overview of the role and is not the full, all-inclusive job description.

SUMMARY OF BENEFITS: Our Agency strives to provide a benefits program that is comprehensive and competitive within our industry.

• Healthcare insurance plans: Medical, Dental, Vision
• Group Life: Short-Term & Long-Term Disability 100% paid by employer
• 403(b) retirement plan with 2% of employer contribution and up to 3% employer match
• Flex Spending Account
• PTO - 10 hours a month for FT positions 40 hrs./wk. up to 20 hours monthly as your tenure grows
• 7½ Paid Holidays a year + 2 paid floating holidays for full-time positions
• Continuing Education & Training Benefits
• Employee Healthy Living Program – Gym Membership & Smoking Cessation

Why Join NWHS?

At NWHS, your work matters!  Join a mission-driven organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of underserved and resilient communities. Be part of a compassionate, forward-thinking team that values collaboration, inclusion, and innovation in delivering exceptional services and community support.

Why Salem

If you’re relocating, you'll find Salem is a wonderful place to live. Salem was named one of America's Best Cities (Resonance Consultancy, July 2026) and one of only 11 U.S. cities to rank higher for livability, lovability, and prosperity three years running. It's an affordable, welcoming place to call home, with the coast, the Cascades, and wine country all within easy reach.

TO APPLY:

To join our team please visit our website Employment (northwesthumanservices.org)

For more information, contact the HR/Recruiting Department at: [email protected] | 503.588.5828

All candidates who receive a written offer of employment will be required to undergo a Comprehensive background investigation.

Equal Opportunity Employer | We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

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