Director of Palliative Behavioral Health Integration
Location: Edison, New Jersey (Hybrid)
Position Overview
We are seeking an experienced
Director of Palliative Behavioral Health Integration to lead the design, implementation, and growth of an integrated behavioral health program serving older adults living with serious illnesses.
This is a leadership opportunity for a clinically strong and operationally driven professional who is passionate about improving behavioral health services within palliative care. The ideal candidate will have experience developing clinical programs, leading interdisciplinary teams, creating operational workflows, and driving quality improvement initiatives in complex healthcare environments.
Schedule
- Full-time
- Hybrid work schedule
Responsibilities
- Design, launch, and oversee an integrated behavioral health program within a palliative care setting.
- Develop clinical and operational workflows supporting behavioral health services across skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), post-acute care, and community settings.
- Establish patient eligibility criteria, referral pathways, screening protocols, triage processes, treatment plans, discharge planning, and escalation procedures.
- Develop evidence-based clinical protocols addressing depression, anxiety, grief, caregiver stress, adjustment to serious illness, behavioral symptoms, and other behavioral health conditions commonly seen in medically complex patients.
- Collaborate closely with physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, social workers, and operational leaders to integrate behavioral health into interdisciplinary care.
- Develop telehealth workflows that support continuity of care following discharge and in community-based settings.
- Recruit, train, supervise, and mentor behavioral health clinicians and support staff.
- Create documentation standards, quality assurance processes, communication protocols, and care coordination workflows.
- Monitor key performance indicators including patient access, referral conversion, clinician productivity, documentation quality, patient satisfaction, and clinical outcomes.
- Partner with clinical leadership, finance, compliance, billing, analytics, and facility partners to ensure operational excellence.
- Maintain a limited clinical caseload while providing guidance on complex or high-acuity patient situations.
- Lead ongoing program development, staff education, quality improvement, and strategic growth initiatives.
Qualifications
- Independent clinical licensure required, with preference for Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) or Licensed Psychologist .
- Significant experience working with older adults, medically complex patients, or individuals living with serious illnesses.
- Leadership experience in program development, clinical operations, behavioral health services, or interdisciplinary team management.
- Demonstrated success developing clinical workflows, protocols, staffing models, and quality improvement initiatives.
- Experience in palliative care, hospice, geriatrics, skilled nursing facilities, post-acute care, behavioral health, or related healthcare settings.
- Strong clinical judgment in behavioral health assessment, crisis intervention, caregiver support, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
- Excellent leadership, communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in palliative care, hospice, psycho-oncology, geriatrics, geropsychology, or serious illness care.
- Experience developing, launching, or expanding integrated behavioral health programs.
- Familiarity with telehealth models supporting medically complex or older adult populations.
- Experience supervising clinicians, developing training programs, and leading multidisciplinary healthcare teams.
- Ability to build scalable, patient-centered programs within a fast-paced and evolving healthcare environment.
Compensation & Benefits
- Competitive compensation package.
- Performance-based bonus opportunities.
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance.
- Generous paid time off.
- 401(k) retirement plan.
- Malpractice coverage.
- Continuing Medical Education (CME) allowance.
- Tuition reimbursement.
- Professional license renewal assistance.
- Disability and life insurance.
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
- Professional development and leadership opportunities.
- Additional voluntary benefits and wellness programs.
To Apply or Learn More
Manish Parahar Recruiter The Provider Finder
