Director, Behavioral Health

Aligns departmental standards for conducting assessments and implementing best practices for providing diagnoses. Fosters a culture of empathetic communication when sharing results, providing resources, and answering questions, and leads the development and implementation of standards for assessing clinical situations. Contributes to the development of best practices for member/patient advocacy and implements guidelines for incorporating feedback and/or investigating complaints to maximize satisfaction, refines care experience standards, establishes guidelines to determine the appropriate services for referrals, and maintains relationships with providers. Oversees program development and implementation to ensure quality of services, implementing adjustments to maximize impact, and oversees the progress of new systems and improvements to programs and makes strategic decisions regarding program optimization. Champions a culture of compliance with guidelines as well as regulatory policies, standards, and procedures, ensuring up-to-date compliance across the department, communicating with Compliance, and implements processes for documentation, records, and reports according to regulations.

• Prepares individuals for growth opportunities and advancement; builds internal collaborative networks for self and others. Solicits and acts on performance feedback; drives collaboration to set goals and provide open feedback and coaching to foster performance improvement. Demonstrates continuous learning; oversees the recruitment, selection, and development of talent; ensures performance management guidelines and expectations to achieve business needs. Stays up to date with organizational best practices, processes, benchmarks, and industry trends; shares best practices within and across teams. Motivates and empowers teams; maintains a highly skilled and engaged workforce by aligning resource plans with business objectives. Provides guidance when difficult decisions need to be made; creates opportunities for expanded scope of decision making and impact.


• Oversees the operation of multiple units within a department by identifying member and operational needs; ensures the management of work assignment completion; translates business strategy into actionable business requirements; ensures products and/or services meet member requirements and expectations while aligning with organizational strategies. Gains cross-functional support for business plans and priorities; assumes responsibility for decision making; sets standards, measures progress, and fosters resolution of escalated issues. Communicates goals and objectives; analyzes resources, costs, and forecasts and incorporates them into business plans; prioritizes and distributes resources. Removes obstacles that impact performance; guides performance and develops contingency plans accordingly; ensures teams accomplish business objectives.


• Manages client care by: contributing to the development of best practices for member/patient advocacy and developing and implementing guidelines for incorporating customer feedback and/or investigating member/patient complaints in alignment with KP standards for client care to maximize satisfaction; refining high-quality member/patient care experience and service standards to keep them up to date and effective across the department; and establishing guidelines to determine the appropriate services for member/patient referrals and maintaining relationships with providers.


• Oversees compliant services by: championing a culture of compliance with organizational, state, and federal guidelines as well as regulatory policies, standards, and procedures, ensuring up-to-date compliance across the department, communicating with Compliance; and implementing department-wide processes for written and electronic documentation, records, and reports according to department, federal, and state regulations.


• Directs high quality counseling services by: developing standards and protocols for industry leading psychological/behavioral interventions that are safe, highly effective, and align with regional behavioral health initiatives; fostering a culture of empathetic and supportive communication with patients, members, or families when sharing results, discussing treatment plans, providing resources, and answering questions; and leading the development and implementation of standards for assessing and treating urgent, high-risk clinical situations (e.g., crisis, suicidal) and providing prompt resolutions.


• Directs evaluations and diagnoses by: aligning departmental standards for conducting member/patient assessments and mental health evaluations, implementing best practices for providing diagnoses, evidence-based treatment plans, and approaches for identified diagnoses (e.g., individual and group therapy).


• Drives program development and management by: overseeing therapy program development and implementation (e.g., in-/out-patient psychotherapy, chemical dependency) to ensure quality and effectiveness of services, implementing adjustments to maximize impact; overseeing the progress of new systems and processes for outcome management as well as supporting improvements of treatment programs, designs, or protocols; and making strategic decisions regarding therapy program continuation and optimization, ensuring optimal use of member/patient care time.