Clinical Director LCSW or LCMHC

Position Summary

Healthstar Community Care is seeking an experienced and compassionate Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) or Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC) to serve as our Clinical Director.

The ideal candidate will have strong clinical leadership experience, direct knowledge of North Carolina’s Community Support Team (CST) service requirements, and experience serving individuals with substance-use disorders and co-occurring mental health conditions.

The Clinical Director will oversee the quality and compliance of the organization’s clinical services, supervise clinical personnel, support Community Navigators and other program staff, and help ensure that services meet applicable Medicaid, managed-care, accreditation, and professional requirements. The Clinical Director may also provide assessments, therapy, crisis intervention, and other clinical services within the scope of their professional license.

Essential Responsibilities

Clinical Leadership and Program Oversight

• Provide clinical leadership and oversight for Healthstar’s behavioral health programs.
• Ensure services are person-centered, recovery-oriented, trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and clinically appropriate.
• Oversee the development, implementation, and evaluation of clinical programs.
• Help develop and maintain clinical policies, procedures, workflows, and documentation standards.
• Participate in leadership meetings and assist with organizational planning and program development.
• Monitor clinical performance, service outcomes, client engagement, and program effectiveness.
• Identify clinical or operational concerns and implement appropriate corrective-action plans.
• Promote collaboration and accountability among clinical and program staff.
• CST Oversight

Provide clinical oversight and consultation for Community Support Team services.

Ensure CST services comply with the current North Carolina service definition, Medicaid requirements, authorization requirements, and accepted clinical standards.

Support CST staff in serving adults with serious mental illness, substance-use concerns, housing instability, functional impairments, and other complex needs.

Participate in CST meetings, case consultations, high-risk case reviews, and utilization reviews.

Provide guidance regarding comprehensive clinical assessments, functional assessments, person-centered plans, crisis plans, transition plans, and discharge planning.

Ensure that CST interventions address the client’s assessed needs, goals, functional challenges, and medical necessity.

• Monitor staff training and credentialing requirements applicable to CST services.
• Support coordination with hospitals, crisis providers, housing programs, psychiatrists, primary-care providers, guardians, managed-care organizations, and community partners.
• Substance-Use and Co-Occurring Disorders

Provide clinical leadership for services involving substance-use disorders and co-occurring mental health conditions.

Support staff in assessing substance-use risks, relapse patterns, triggers, motivation for change, and recovery supports.

Promote appropriate use of motivational interviewing, relapse-prevention strategies, harm-reduction principles, recovery planning, and person-centered interventions.

Assist staff in developing clinically appropriate plans for clients with active substance use, recent relapse, positive drug screens, or a history of treatment disruption.

Coordinate with detoxification programs, residential treatment facilities, outpatient substance-use providers, medication-assisted treatment providers, and other recovery resources.

Ensure substance-use concerns are appropriately documented and incorporated into treatment recommendations, crisis plans, and person-centered plans.

Provide consultation regarding safety concerns, overdose risks, medication interactions, and the need for higher levels of care.

Promote nonjudgmental, recovery-focused, and evidence-informed approaches to substance-use treatment.

Clinical Supervision and Staff Development

Provide clinical supervision, consultation, and support to therapists, CST staff, Qualified Professionals, Community Navigators, interns, and other clinical personnel.

• Supervise associate-licensed clinicians when properly credentialed and authorized to do so.
• Support the recruitment, interviewing, onboarding, training, and evaluation of clinical staff.
• Conduct individual and group supervision based on program needs.
• Provide timely and constructive feedback regarding clinical performance and documentation.
• Identify staff training needs and coordinate continuing education and professional-development opportunities.
• Support staff in managing complex cases while maintaining appropriate professional boundaries.
• Promote adherence to ethical standards, confidentiality requirements, and professional codes of conduct.
• Address clinical performance concerns and assist with performance-improvement plans when necessary.
• Documentation, Compliance, and Quality Improvement

Review clinical records for accuracy, timeliness, medical necessity, quality, and regulatory compliance.

Review assessments, person-centered plans, progress notes, crisis plans, discharge summaries, and other clinical documents.

Ensure documentation clearly connects assessed needs, treatment goals, interventions, client responses, and planned follow-up.

Monitor service-delivery patterns and help prevent unsupported, duplicated, or non-billable services.

Participate in internal audits, payer audits, accreditation surveys, incident reviews, and quality-improvement activities.

Assist with corrective-action plans resulting from documentation reviews, audits, or identified compliance concerns.

• Help ensure compliance with HIPAA, Medicaid, managed-care, accreditation, and organizational requirements.
• Monitor clinical incidents, complaints, grievances, hospitalizations, and other significant events.
• Prepare clinical reports and communicate relevant findings to executive leadership.
• Crisis Response and Risk Management

Provide clinical consultation for urgent and high-risk situations.

Ensure appropriate procedures are followed for suicide-risk assessments, safety planning, substance-related risks, abuse or neglect concerns, and psychiatric emergencies.

Support staff in determining when clients require crisis services, emergency evaluation, hospitalization, detoxification, or a higher level of care.

• Review significant clinical incidents and recommend follow-up actions.
• Promote appropriate communication and coordination during client transitions between levels of care.
• Maintain limited on-call availability for clinical consultation when required.
• Direct Clinical Services

• Complete comprehensive clinical assessments and diagnostic evaluations when needed.
• Provide individual, family, or group therapy within the scope of the clinician’s license and assigned responsibilities.
• Develop treatment recommendations and coordinate referrals to appropriate levels of care.
• Provide crisis intervention, safety planning, and clinical follow-up when necessary.
• Maintain a limited clinical caseload based on organizational needs.
• Ensure all direct services are properly documented and clinically justified.

Minimum Qualifications

• Active, unrestricted North Carolina license as an LCSW or LCMHC.
• Master’s degree in social work, counseling, psychology, or a closely related behavioral health field.
• Previous direct experience working with or providing oversight for a North Carolina Community Support Team.
• Clinical experience serving individuals with substance-use disorders and co-occurring mental health and substance-use conditions.
• Experience serving adults with serious mental illness and complex behavioral health needs.
• Previous clinical supervision, team leadership, program-management, or clinical-administration experience.

Knowledge of North Carolina Medicaid behavioral health services, medical-necessity standards, person-centered planning, and clinical documentation requirements.

Knowledge of crisis intervention, risk assessment, safety planning, relapse prevention, and recovery-oriented care.

• Ability to review clinical documentation and provide clear, constructive, and timely feedback.
• Strong leadership, communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work effectively with people from diverse cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Proficiency with electronic health records and standard workplace technology.
• Valid driver’s license, reliable transportation, and ability to travel within the service area when required.

Ability to successfully complete applicable background checks, exclusion screenings, and credentialing requirements.

Bonus Qualification

Cultural understanding of and experience working with African, Caribbean, immigrant, refugee, and other historically underserved communities.

Flexible work from home options available.