Molina Healthcare logo
Molina Healthcare
Long Beach, California

Medical Director, Behavioral Health (Based in AZ)

PsychiatryIncludes callFull-Time

Listed compensation

$186K - $363K

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

Ask the employer about the work setting, weekend coverage, nights and shift pattern and time off.

Posted 4mo ago

Job Description

JOB DESCRIPTION Job SummaryProvides medical oversight and expertise related to behavioral health and chemical dependency services, and assists with implementation of integrated behavioral health care programs within specific markets/regions. Contributes to overarching strategy to provide quality and cost-effective member care.

Essential Job Duties

  • Provides behavioral health oversight and clinical leadership for health plan and/or market specific utilization management and care management behavioral health programs and chemical dependency services - working closely with regional medical directors to standardize behavioral health utilization management policies and procedures to improve quality outcomes and decrease costs.
  • Facilitates behavioral health-related regional medical necessity reviews and cross coverage.
  • Standardizes behavioral health-related utilization management, quality, and financial goals across all lines of businesses.
  • Responds to behavioral health-related requests for proposal (RFP) sections and reviews behavioral health portions of state contracts.
  • Assists behavioral health medical director lead trainers in the development of enterprise-wide education on psychiatric diagnoses and treatment.
  • Provides second level behavioral health clinical reviews, peer reviews and appeals.
  • Supports behavioral health committees for quality compliance.
  • Implements behavioral health specific clinical practice guidelines and medical necessity review criteria.
  • Tracks all clinical programs for behavioral health quality compliance with National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
  • Assists with the recruitment and orientation of new psychiatric medical directors.
  • Ensures all behavioral health programs and policies are in line with industry standards and best practices.
  • Assists with new program implementation and supports for health plan in-source behavioral health services.

Required Qualifications

  • At least 3 of relevant experience, including 2 years of medical practice experience in psychiatry/behavioral health, or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.
  • Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathy (DO). License must be active and unrestricted in state (AZ) of practice.
  • Board Certification in Psychiatry.
  • Working knowledge of applicable national, state, and local laws and regulatory requirements affecting medical and clinical staff.
  • Ability to work cross-collaboratively within a highly matrixed organization.
  • Strong organizational and time-management skills.
  • Ability to multi-task and meet deadlines.
  • Attention to detail.
  • Critical-thinking and active listening skills.
  • Decision-making and problem-solving skills.
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills.
  • Microsoft Office suite/applicable software program(s) proficiency, and ability to learn new programs.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience with utilization/quality program management.
  • Managed care experience.
  • Peer review experience.
  • Certified Professional in Healthcare Management (CPHM), Certified Professional in Health Care Quality (CPHQ), Commission for Case Manager Certification (CCMC), Case Management Society of America (CMSA) or other health care or management certification.

To all current Molina employees: If you are interested in applying for this position, please apply through the Internal Job Board.

Molina Healthcare offers a competitive benefits and compensation package. Molina Healthcare is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) M/F/D/V

Key Responsibilities

Provides medical oversight and clinical leadership for behavioral health and chemical dependency services within specific markets. Focuses on standardizing utilization management policies to improve quality outcomes and decrease costs.

Requirements

Requires an MD or DO with Board Certification in Psychiatry and an active license in Arizona. Candidates need at least 3 years of relevant experience, including 2 years of medical practice in psychiatry.

Qualifications

Education
Doctoral or professional degree (postgraduate degree)
Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

Psychiatric DiagnosisCross-collaborative Work

Psychiatry — Physician Career Context

Of the 50 active Psychiatry listings this role was benchmarked against, 38% are remote, 70% have no call, 76% require no weekends.

The cost-of-living index for California is 110.7 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$275k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $248k in an average-cost state. 63.6% of California clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Psychiatry pay on WeekdayDoc is up 8.3% vs. the prior quarter (through Sep 2026).

Work-Life Balance Analysis

WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates Medical Director, Behavioral Health (Based in AZ) at Molina Healthcare a 6.0 out of 10 for work-life balance — classified as good. This places the position in the Above average in Physician roles — ranked against 21,509 active Physician roles listings on WeekdayDoc.

Top Psychiatrist Jobs

27 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution27 jobs · 16 employers

9
<$350k
3
$350k-400k
3
$400k-450k
8
$450k-500k
4
$500k

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks26 jobs · 16 employers

401k / retirement match
92% this job
Sign-on bonus
62%
CME allowance
50%
Loan repayment
15%
Relocation assistance
8%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Clinical Psychiatrist - Adult

LifeStance Health · Des Moines, Iowa

$320k-$500k
#2

Clinical Psychiatrist - Child/Adolescent

LifeStance Health · Des Moines, Iowa

$320k-$500k
#3

Interventional Psychiatrist

From $500k
#4

Clinical Psychiatrist

$450k-$500k
+ 25 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 6.4this job 6.0
Better work-life than 50% of Psychiatry listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 1,864 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • Includes call

Living in Long Beach

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$961k≈ 5.2× annual pay
Typical market rent
$2,422/mo≈ 16% of gross pay
Residents’ average commute
30 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
113.6
State income tax
Up to 13.3%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Aug 2026), Zillow market rents (Aug 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

BEA 2024 · Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

Ratios use this listing’s gross annual pay. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.

Molina Healthcare logo

About Molina Healthcare

Hospitals and Health Care
Long Beach, California
10,000+ employees

Benefits & Perks

Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
401k
Malpractice Coverage