Job Description

Director of Mental Health

The Hope Center is a non-profit organization in Lexington, Kentucky dedicated to serving homeless and at-risk individuals. We provide life-sustaining and life-rebuilding services including emergency shelter, food, recovery programs, mental health services, transitional housing, employment counseling, and more. Join our team and be part of a compassionate community making a real difference in the lives of those we serve.

The Director of Mental Health provides strategic, clinical, and operational leadership for the Hope Center's Mental Health Department, including programs such as Supportive Housing for Adaptive Reentry (SHARE), crisis services (including Quick Response Team/QRT), group and individual therapy, psychoeducation (e.g., Living in Balance), and cross-program outreach. This role ensures high-quality, trauma?informed, and evidence?based services; regulatory and payer compliance; data?driven performance improvement; effective staff supervision and development; and strong collaboration with internal programs and external partners (e.g., Department for Community Based Services, Department of Corrections, Drug Court, Mental Health Court). The Director oversees budgets and billing integrity, sets clinical standards and outcomes, and fosters a culture of ethical practice and teamwork in alignment with the Hope Center's mission.

Clinical and Ethical Leadership

Demonstrates advanced knowledge of behavioral health practices, trauma-informed care, and ethical standards. Leads with integrity, ensuring clinical excellence and adherence to legal and professional guidelines across all services.

Strategic Program Management

Effectively designs, implements, and evaluates mental health programs aligned with organizational goals. Uses data to drive decisions, improve outcomes, and ensure compliance with funding and accreditation requirements.

Staff Development and Supervision

Provides supportive, structured supervision and mentorship to clinical staff. Fosters a culture of accountability, growth, and inclusivity through regular feedback, training, and performance evaluation.

Communication and Collaboration

Builds strong relationships across departments and with external partners (e.g., courts, corrections, hospitals). Communicates clearly and compassionately with clients, staff, and stakeholders to promote coordinated care and community engagement.

Crisis Response and Risk Management

Leads crisis intervention efforts with calm, competence, and urgency. Implements risk assessment protocols and ensures timely, effective response to psychiatric emergencies, maintaining safety for clients and staff.
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Clinical Leadership & Program Oversight

Set clinical standards, protocols, and pathways for assessment, treatment planning, risk assessment, crisis intervention, discharge planning, and aftercare across all Mental Health services (including SHARE and psychoeducational offerings), ensuring ?95% of new clients receive biopsychosocial assessments within 7 calendar days of intake and ?95% of treatment plans are completed/updated within 7 days of assessment and every 90 days thereafter. Ensure availability and fidelity of group and individual services (e.g., Living in Balance, other psychoeducational and therapeutic groups), with ?90% of scheduled groups delivered, ?85% average monthly group attendance, and fidelity checks conducted at least quarterly for each curriculum. Oversee risk screening and crisis response, including participation in and leadership of debriefings and QRT operations, ensuring 100% of lethality/self-harm risk assessments are documented for flagged encounters and QRT responses are initiated within 60 minutes for after-hours psychiatric emergencies.

Compliance, Quality, and Documentation

Ensure all operations comply with HIPAA, 42 CFR Part 2 (as applicable), Kentucky licensure rules, payer rules, grant conditions, and Hope Center policies, maintaining ?95% internal chart audit pass rate each quarter and 0 substantiated major compliance violations annually. Oversee timely and accurate documentation in Best Notes and the Hope Center Database, including progress notes, treatment plans, assessments, and billing documentation, ensuring ?98% of clinical notes are finalized within 48 hours and documentation-related denial rates remain ?3% per quarter.

Staff Supervision, Development & Culture

Supervise Mental Health team members (e.g., clinicians, caseworkers, peer support specialists, interns) through weekly or biweekly supervision, case consultation, and performance feedback, providing ?2 hours of clinical supervision per licensed supervisee per month and ensuring 100% of staff receive quarterly performance check-ins and annual reviews on time. Lead recruitment, onboarding, and retention efforts while cultivating a trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and ethically grounded team culture, achieving an annual staff retention rate of ?85% and completing new staff onboarding within 30 days.

Training & Professional Development

Plan and deliver (or arrange) ongoing training in evidence-based practices, documentation standards, ethics, crisis response, and cultural humility, ensuring each clinician receives ?12 training hours per year and ?90% of staff complete required trainings by established deadlines.

Data, Outcomes, and Continuous Improvement

Define, track, and report clinical outcomes and operational metrics; use data to drive quality improvement and program development, producing a monthly KPI dashboard by the 10th business day and launching/evaluating ?2 formal QI initiatives per fiscal year. Monitor access and engagement (wait times, show rates, continuity of care) and implement improvements to increase equity and effectiveness, maintaining a median time from referral to first service of ?10 days, a no-show rate of ?18% with documented outreach, and ensuring ?70% of discharged clients have an aftercare appointment within 7 days.

Billing

Develop and manage the Mental Health billing by overseeing billing integrity and maintaining a clean claim rate of ?95%.

Interdepartmental & Community Collaboration

Coordinate with other Hope Center programs (e.g., Jacobs House, Women's Recovery Program, Men's Recovery Program, Emergency Shelter) to ensure integrated care, safety, and smooth client transitions, scheduling ?90% of internal referrals within 5 business days and holding quarterly cross-program case conferences. Maintain productive relationships with courts, corrections, hospitals, and community partners; represent Hope Center in public forums as needed, attending ?4 community partner meetings/briefings per quarter and achieving partner satisfaction rates of ?85% in annual surveys.

Policy, Procedure & Accreditation Readiness

Author, update, and enforce department policies and procedures; ensure readiness for audits/accreditation, reviewing/updating 100% of policies annually and successfully completing external audits with no critical findings. Master's degree in a behavioral health field (e.g., Social Work, Counseling, Psychology, Marriage & Family Therapy). Current Kentucky licensure in good standing as one of the following: Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) or Clinical Social Worker (CSW) Licensed Psychological Practitioner (LPP) or Licensed Psychological Associate (LPA) Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) or Licensed Professional Counseling Associate (LPCA) (Alternatively) Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT/LMFTA) Minimum 5-7 years of progressively responsible clinical experience, including at least 3 years in supervision/leadership. Experience with crisis response, co?occurring disorders, and community?based services preferred. Current driver's license with acceptable driving record. Clinical supervision credential/board approval (if applicable for supervisees' licensure type).
This is a full?time, exempt position. Standard hours are Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., with flexibility for program needs. The position participates in the Quick Response Team (QRT) on?call rotation and may require occasional evenings/weekends for crises, trainings, or community events.

Pay: $75,000.00 - $80,000.00 per year

Benefits:

401(k) 401(k) matching Dental insurance Flexible spending account Health insurance Life insurance Paid time off Vision insurance
Work Location: In person