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 prima