Senior Program Director, Crisis Continuum - Central OK Region

This role will be based in central OK covering OKC and Norman.
The Program Director provides leadership and oversight for assigned Crisis (Mobile response/URC) programs, ensuring high-quality mental health and substance use services, model fidelity, regulatory compliance, and achievement of quality and outcome measures. Responsibilities include clinical and operational oversight, appropriate staffing, program implementation and monitoring, quality improvement, data-driven decision-making, workforce development, financial management, risk mitigation, and program growth. The role promotes evidence-based practices, staff development, and clinical protocols while building effective cross-departmental collaboration and community partnerships.

What You'll Do

Lead the Crisis Continuum

• Provide day-to-day leadership and operational oversight for Mobile Crisis Response and Urgent Recovery Center services.
• Ensure crisis services are accessible, responsive, and coordinated across the continuum from initial crisis contact through assessment, stabilization, disposition, referral, and follow-up.
• Maintain a strong focus on providing the right intervention, at the right time, in the right setting, with an emphasis on community-based treatment and the least restrictive level of care when clinically appropriate.
• Ensure crisis services operate in accordance with CCBHC requirements, ODMHSAS expectations, applicable laws and regulations, accreditation standards, contractual requirements, and organizational policies.
• Work across organizational programs to ensure individuals served by the crisis system can transition efficiently to outpatient treatment, substance use treatment, psychiatry, nursing, case management, peer services, and other appropriate supports.

Ensure Rapid, Effective Mobile Crisis Response

• Provide leadership and oversight to ensure mobile crisis teams respond rapidly and effectively to individuals experiencing behavioral health crises in the community.
• Monitor response times, service demand, geographic coverage, staffing capacity, dispositions, repeat crisis utilization, and other key indicators of mobile crisis performance.
• Ensure mobile teams have effective protocols for assessment, crisis intervention, safety planning, stabilization, transportation, escalation, and connection to ongoing services.
• Strengthen coordination among mobile crisis teams, 988, law enforcement, EMS, emergency departments, schools, community partners, and other referral sources.
• Use service data and community demand patterns to adjust staffing, deployment, scheduling, and coverage.

Lead Urgent Recovery Center Operations

• Ensure the URC provides timely access to behavioral health crisis assessment, stabilization, treatment, and connection to ongoing care.
• Maintain effective systems for client intake, triage, assessment, observation, treatment, disposition, and transition to the next appropriate level of care.
• Monitor client flow, wait times, length of stay, capacity, dispositions, readmissions or repeat utilization, and other indicators affecting access and quality.
• Partner closely with psychiatry, nursing, clinical, peer, and operational leadership to maintain a safe and therapeutically effective environment.
• Identify barriers that delay assessment, treatment, discharge, or transfer and implement solutions that improve client flow and access.
• Ensure individuals leaving the URC have an appropriate transition plan and connection to follow-up care and community supports.

Drive Clinical Quality and Crisis Stabilization

• Promote evidence-based and trauma-informed crisis intervention practices throughout the crisis continuum.
• Ensure services emphasize stabilization, recovery, client choice, safety, and the least restrictive intervention appropriate to the individual's clinical needs.
• Provide oversight and guidance to clinical leadership regarding complex cases, escalating risk, safety concerns, and barriers to effective care.
• Ensure appropriate clinical supervision and support are available for employees providing high-acuity crisis services.
• Develop systems that support clinical leaders and frontline staff when managing high-risk or unusually complex crisis events.
• Promote effective coordination among behavioral health clinicians, medical providers, nursing, peer recovery support specialists, case management, and other members of the multidisciplinary team.

Use Data to Manage a High-Performing Crisis System

• Establish and monitor meaningful performance indicators for Mobile Crisis Response and URC operations.
• Use dashboards and performance data to evaluate response time, access, volume, capacity, length of stay, dispositions, client outcomes, productivity, safety events, repeat utilization, and connection to follow-up care.
• Identify trends and operational bottlenecks and implement corrective or improvement strategies when performance expectations are not achieved.
• Lead performance and quality improvement activities, including PDSA and rapid-cycle improvement initiatives.
• Partner with quality and data teams to ensure crisis-service data are accurate, meaningful, timely, and used to improve operations and client outcomes.

Build and Develop a Strong 24/7 Crisis Workforce

• Develop and support clinical and operational leaders responsible for Mobile Crisis Response and URC services.
• Ensure staffing models reflect service demand, client acuity, required disciplines, hours of operation, and regulatory and organizational requirements.
• Anticipate staffing needs using service volume, coverage patterns, vacancies, turnover, overtime, and other workforce indicators.
• Partner with Human Resources and program leadership on recruitment, onboarding, retention, employee relations, performance management, and workforce planning.
• Establish clear expectations and accountability while providing leaders and employees with ongoing coaching, training, and professional development.
• Promote a culture in which employees understand that safety, responsiveness, teamwork, compassion, and excellent client care are shared responsibilities.
• Support employee resilience and sustainable work practices within a high-acuity, 24/7 crisis environment.

Strengthen Safety, Risk Management, and Compliance

• Maintain a strong culture of safety for clients, employees, community partners, and visitors.
• Identify and address clinical, operational, transportation, facility, workforce, and regulatory risks within crisis services.
• Ensure appropriate protocols are maintained for high-risk situations, behavioral emergencies, transportation, community response, workplace violence concerns, and other crisis-related safety issues.
• Review serious incidents, safety events, complaints, and unusual occurrences to identify trends and opportunities for system improvement.
• Partner with organizational leadership, Quality, Compliance, Risk Management, Human Resources, and Legal as appropriate to address significant concerns.
• Ensure crisis programs remain prepared for regulatory, contractual, accreditation, and program audits.

Build an Integrated Community Crisis Response System

• Develop strong working relationships with, law enforcement, EMS, hospitals, emergency departments, first responders, schools, community providers, and other organizations supporting individuals in crisis.
• Identify gaps in the community crisis response system and develop strategies to improve coordination and access.
• Establish clear referral and transition pathways between Mobile Crisis Response, the URC, emergency departments, inpatient care, outpatient treatment, and community-based services.
• Represent the organization and crisis continuum in community planning initiatives, collaborative meetings, and system-of-care partnerships.
• Work collaboratively with community partners to reduce unnecessary emergency department utilization, avoid preventable hospitalization when clinically appropriate, and improve connections to community-based behavioral health treatment.

Manage Operational and Financial Performance

• Develop annual program goals and operational plans for Mobile Crisis Response and URC services.
• Monitor service utilization, staffing, productivity, expenses, contract requirements, and other financial and operational indicators.
• Ensure grant and contract requirements are achieved and available resources are effectively utilized.
• Partner with organizational leadership on budgeting, staffing models, resource allocation, and capital or operational needs.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency without compromising access, client safety, clinical quality, or employee safety.

Advance and Strengthen the Crisis Continuum

• Identify opportunities to expand or improve crisis services based on community need, utilization patterns, outcomes, and gaps in the continuum.
• Evaluate innovative approaches to behavioral health crisis response, stabilization, diversion, follow-up, and community-based care.
• Participate in grants, RFIs, RFPs, and other initiatives that support expansion or enhancement of crisis services.
• Build partnerships that strengthen the community's overall behavioral health crisis response system.
• Champion continuous improvement and ensure the crisis continuum evolves as client needs, best practices, regulatory expectations, and community demands change.

Leadership Expectations

The successful Program Director will be comfortable leading in a complex, high-acuity, 24/7 behavioral health environment where conditions and priorities can change quickly.

This leader must be able to:

• Remain calm and make sound decisions during high-risk or rapidly evolving situations.
• Lead through other clinical and operational leaders rather than becoming the primary problem-solver for every crisis.
• Balance access, safety, clinical quality, employee wellbeing, regulatory compliance, and operational performance.
• Use real-time and trend data to identify problems and make operational decisions.
• Build strong relationships with first responders, hospitals, community providers, and other crisis-system partners.
• Hold leaders and teams accountable while maintaining a supportive and collaborative leadership approach.
• See the crisis continuum as an interconnected system rather than a collection of individual programs.
• Maintain an unwavering focus on ensuring people experiencing behavioral health crises receive timely, compassionate, and effective care.

EDUCATION:

• Master's Degree in social sciences is required

EXPERIENCE:

• Proven leadership experience in a program leadership role within a behavioral health or healthcare organization.
• Minimum five (5) years clinical and supervisory experience in mental health services and three (3) years administrative experience.

CERTIFICATIONS/LICENSES:

• Must be licensed as an LCSW, LPC, LMFT, LADC or other mental health professional
• Must possess a valid Driver License and satisfactory driving record to use agency and/or personal automobile to travel to locations other than primary office.