Clinical Director Outpatient
About The Position
Clinical Director – Outpatient Facility: Thrive Now Recovery Centers Location: Des Moines, Iowa Employment Type: Full-Time | Leadership Anticipated Opening: Late 2026 Join Thrive Now Thrive Now Recovery Centers is growing, and we are preparing to open a new outpatient behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment program in Des Moines in late 2026. We are seeking an experienced, mission-driven Clinical Director to help build and lead the clinical program from the ground up. This is an exciting opportunity for a strong clinical leader who wants more than maintaining an existing program. You will have the opportunity to help shape the clinical culture, develop a high-performing team, establish strong programming and workflows, and create an outpatient program focused on quality, accountability, accessibility, and long-term recovery. About Thrive Now Thrive Now Recovery Centers, in partnership with Ascension Recovery Services, provides compassionate, evidence-based treatment to individuals experiencing substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health needs. We believe recovery looks different for everyone. Our approach is person-centered, outcomes-focused, and built around collaboration between clinical, medical, peer recovery, case management, and community partners.
Requirements
- Master's degree in Social Work, Counseling, Marriage and Family Therapy, Psychology, or another related behavioral health field required.
- Current Iowa behavioral health license or ability to obtain Iowa licensure prior to employment.
- Experience providing behavioral health and/or substance use disorder treatment required.
- Strong knowledge of clinical documentation, treatment planning, utilization management, medical necessity, and discharge planning.
- Knowledge of HIPAA and 42 CFR Part 2 confidentiality requirements.
- Strong leadership, communication, organization, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to thrive in a growing organization and help build programs, systems, and teams.
Nice To Haves
- Independent clinical licensure strongly preferred, such as LISW, LMHC, LMFT, or another Iowa-recognized independent behavioral health credential.
- Previous clinical leadership, supervision, or program-management experience strongly preferred.
- Experience in outpatient, IOP, PHP, SUD, co-occurring disorder, or behavioral health programming preferred.
- Experience supervising and developing clinicians strongly preferred.
- Understanding of ASAM criteria and level-of-care decision making preferred.
- Experience with accreditation, regulatory compliance, quality improvement, or Joint Commission standards preferred.
Responsibilities
- Provide leadership and oversight of clinical services for the Des Moines outpatient program and play a key role in preparing the program for opening and continued growth.
- Lead the development, implementation, and ongoing oversight of outpatient clinical programming.
- Help build the clinical program prior to opening, including workflows, schedules, programming structure, documentation expectations, and clinical processes.
- Recruit, onboard, develop, and retain a strong team of therapists, counselors, case managers, peer recovery professionals, and other clinical team members.
- Provide clinical leadership, supervision, coaching, and professional development to clinical staff.
- Establish a culture of clinical excellence, accountability, teamwork, and compassionate patient care.
- Ensure treatment services are individualized, evidence-based, trauma-informed, and aligned with each patient's clinical needs and appropriate level of care.
- Oversee individual, group, and family clinical programming, including outpatient and intensive outpatient services as applicable.
- Ensure timely completion and quality of assessments, treatment plans, progress notes, discharge planning, and other clinical documentation.
- Monitor clinical documentation for quality, medical necessity, consistency, and regulatory compliance.
- Partner with medical providers, nursing, admissions, case management, peer recovery, operations, and utilization review to ensure coordinated patient care.
- Participate in multidisciplinary treatment team meetings and promote strong communication across disciplines.
- Support appropriate patient placement, continued-stay decisions, transitions between levels of care, and discharge planning.
- Monitor clinical outcomes, patient engagement, program completion, attendance, and other key performance indicators.
- Identify clinical trends and use data to improve programming, outcomes, and patient experience.
- Lead clinical quality improvement initiatives and participate in QAPI activities.
- Ensure compliance with organizational policies, Iowa requirements, payer expectations, accreditation standards, HIPAA, and 42 CFR Part 2.
- Maintain readiness for regulatory, licensing, payer, and accreditation reviews.
- Address clinical concerns, patient grievances, safety concerns, and higher-risk clinical situations in partnership with appropriate leadership.
- Help establish referral relationships and collaborate with community providers, hospitals, courts, recovery organizations, and other community partners.
- Support census growth by helping create a clinically strong program that referral partners and patients trust.
- Serve as a clinical resource and leader for the broader Thrive Now team.
- Maintain appropriate professional boundaries and model ethical clinical practice.
- Perform other leadership responsibilities as needed to support the successful opening and operation of the program.
Benefits
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Paid time off
- Paid holidays
- Company-paid and supplemental life insurance options
- Professional development opportunities
- Leadership growth opportunities within a rapidly expanding behavioral health organization
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Manager
