Director of Behavioral Health

• Description
• Director of Behavioral Health
• Imperial Beach Community Clinic (IBCC)

Position Summary

IBCC is a Federally Qualified Health Center serving South San Diego County's border communities. The Director of Behavioral Health leads the clinical, operational, and financial performance of the department across our integrated primary care model.

This is a build-and-fix role: the department is currently our lowest performer on encounters, and the Director is expected to raise productivity to target, close documentation and billing gaps, and stand-up durable systems so the gains hold.

The Director carries a limited direct clinical caseload while spending the majority of their time leading the team, supervising clinical quality, and integrating behavioral health with medical, dental, and care coordination. Success in the first year looks like a department that meets its encounter targets, documents completely and on time in eClinicalWorks, bills cleanly against Medi-Cal and payer requirements, and functions as an integrated part of the care team rather than a silo.

Key Responsibilities

Clinical Operations & Productivity

• Own the department's encounter and productivity performance and bring it to target in coordination with the CMO and Operations.

• Manage schedules, panel sizes, no-show mitigation, and access so that provider capacity is fully used.

• Apply IBCC's productivity standards consistently, in accordance with the applicable collective bargaining agreement, and address underperformance through coaching, corrective action, and, where needed, formal performance management.

• Design and run warm-handoff and integrated behavioral health workflows so that behavioral health is embedded in primary care visits, not referred out.

Documentation, Compliance & Billing

• Ensure clinical documentation is complete, timely, and billable, meeting Medi-Cal, managed care, and grant/contract standards.

• Close billing gaps between services delivered and services captured; partner with the billing team and CFO to ensure encounters convert to revenue.

• Maintain compliance with HRSA Section 330 requirements, state licensing (DHCS/county behavioral health), and payer rules relevant to behavioral health services.

• Support CalAIM/Enhanced Care Management and related programs where behavioral health touches eligibility, documentation, and reporting.

Team Leadership & Clinical Supervision

• Recruit, retain, onboard, and develop a multidisciplinary behavioral health team.

• Provide or arrange clinical supervision, including supervision toward licensure for associate-level clinicians (ASW/AMFT).

• Set clinical standards, run case consultation, and monitor quality of care, risk, and safety.

• Lead in a unionized environment in good faith and in accordance with the CBA and IBCC policy.

Program Development & Integration

• Partner with the CMO, Operations, and care coordination to integrate behavioral health across sites and service lines.

• Develop and steward behavioral health programs and their funding, including county behavioral health contracts and grant-funded services, and meet associated reporting requirements.

• Represent behavioral health in organizational quality improvement, UDS reporting inputs, and strategic planning.

Financial Stewardship

• Manage the department to budget and to the PPS reimbursement realities of an FQHC.

• Track the metrics that matter—encounters, productivity, documentation timeliness, and revenue capture—and report on them to leadership on a regular cadence.

Working Conditions

On-site position at IBCC facilities in the South Bay/border region. Some evening hours may be required to meet patient access needs. Combination of clinical, supervisory, and administrative work.

Requirements

Required Qualifications

• Active, unrestricted California license as an LCSW, LMFT, or licensed clinical psychologist.

• Minimum 3–5 years of behavioral health clinical experience, with at least 2 years in a supervisory or leadership role.

• Working knowledge of FQHC or community health center operations, including Medi-Cal managed care and behavioral health billing/documentation requirements.

• Demonstrated ability to improve team productivity and documentation compliance.

• Proficiency with an EHR; eClinicalWorks experience strongly preferred.

• Bilingual English/Spanish strongly preferred given the population served.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with integrated behavioral health in a primary care setting.

• Familiarity with CalAIM/ECM, SAMHSA or county behavioral health contracts, and grant reporting.

• Experience managing in a unionized workforce.

• Master's degree in social work, counseling, psychology, or a related clinical field (doctoral degree acceptable for licensed psychologists).