Chief Operations Officer

Aldersgate Headquarters•Little Rock, AR

About The Position

The Chief Operations Officer (COO) will provide executive and operational leadership, partnering with the President/CEO and executive leadership team to develop and execute strategic and operational priorities. This role is responsible for leading inpatient, residential, outpatient, community-based, and support service operations across the continuum of care. The COO will focus on improving access, patient flow, clinical efficiency, operational effectiveness, and coordination across service lines, while standardizing best practices and fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, compassion, and continuous improvement. Additionally, the COO will lead organizational growth initiatives, including new programs, partnerships, acquisitions, and facility expansions. In terms of financial and performance management, the COO will drive operational efficiency while maintaining exceptional quality of care, develop and manage operating budgets, resource utilization, productivity, and cost management, and identify opportunities for revenue growth, payer performance improvement, and financial sustainability. The COO will also monitor performance metrics and implement corrective actions as needed. Clinical collaboration is key, involving the development of strong relationships with physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, advanced practice providers, therapists, and clinical leaders, supporting physician recruitment, retention, engagement, and alignment, and fostering interdisciplinary teamwork across all service lines. The COO will also be responsible for developing and monitoring key organizational metrics related to quality, access, safety, employee engagement, financial performance, compliance, and operational efficiency.

Requirements

Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, Public Health, or a related field.
Minimum of 10 years of progressive executive leadership experience in behavioral healthcare operations.
Significant leadership experience overseeing both inpatient and outpatient behavioral health services.
Strong financial management and operational improvement experience.
Proven ability to lead organizational change and growth.
Excellent communication, leadership, and relationship-building skills.
Must be physically able to lift 20 pounds and hold for one minute.
Must be physically capable to receive verbal and written directions.
Must be physically capable of sitting and standing for several hours at a time.
Must have good auditory, visual and olfactory ability.
Ability to use hands and fingers to handle or feel objects, tools or controls.
Must be able to maintain effective audio, visual discrimination and perception needed for making observations, communicating with others, reading and writing, and operating office equipment and other treatment equipment.
Must be able to use a telephone to communicate verbally and a computer to communicate through written means, to review information and enter/retrieve data, to see and read characters on a computer screen, chart or other treatment items.
Must be willing and able to work with all patients of Methodist Family Health.
Flu vaccination is mandatory and required for all positions (subject only to qualified exemptions).

Nice To Haves

Executive leadership experience in both for-profit and nonprofit healthcare organizations.
Experience leading psychiatric hospitals, residential treatment programs, outpatient behavioral health services, and community-based programs.
Experience with hospital licensing, accreditation, and regulatory compliance.
Knowledge of Teaching Family evidence-based model of care and operational excellence training.

Responsibilities

Executive and Operational Leadership: Partner with the President/CEO and executive leadership team to develop and execute strategic and operational priorities.
Lead inpatient, residential, outpatient, community-based, and support service operations across the continuum of care.
Improve access, patient flow, clinical efficiency, operational effectiveness, and coordination across service lines.
Standardize best practices and foster accountability, collaboration, innovation, compassion, and continuous improvement.
Lead organizational growth initiatives, including new programs, partnerships, acquisitions, and facility expansions.
Financial and Performance Management: Drive operational efficiency while maintaining exceptional quality of care.
Develop and manage operating budgets, resource utilization, productivity, and cost management.
Identify opportunities for revenue growth, payer performance improvement, and financial sustainability.
Monitor performance metrics and implement corrective action as needed.
Clinical Collaboration: Develop collaborative relationships with physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, advanced practice providers, therapists, and clinical leaders.
Support physician recruitment, retention, engagement, and alignment.
Foster interdisciplinary teamwork across all service lines.
Metrics and Accountability: Develop and monitor key organizational metrics related to quality, access, safety, employee engagement, financial performance, compliance, and operational efficiency.