Director of Clinical Education

Colorado Dream Foundation•Denver, CO

2d•$85,000 - $100,000

About The Position

The Director of Clinical Education (DCE) is a senior clinical leader within the LiftED Horizons team at Colorado LiftED Foundation (CLF). The DCE holds strategic and operational ownership of CLF’s clinical workforce development — designing and driving the training, supervision, and education infrastructure that enables CLF to deliver accessible, culturally affirming, trauma-responsive, and healing-centered mental health care. This role carries direct supervisory authority over all clinical interns (MSW and counseling) and Associate BHTS Fellows, owning the Pathway to Fellowship and the Fellow-to-staff pipeline that fuels CLF’s long-term clinical workforce. The DCE is a peer partner to the Director of Clinical Services — coordinating on intern and fellow caseloads, service quality, documentation compliance, crisis response, and the clinical policy review cycle that keeps CLF ahead of the curve. The DCE reports directly to the Senior Director of Clinical Programs.

Requirements

Master’s degree in Social Work, Counseling, MFT, or related behavioral health field.
Active Colorado clinical licensure required (LCSW, LPC, LMFT, or equivalent).
Minimum five years in behavioral health including at least two in a supervisory or clinical leadership role within school-based, community mental health, or nonprofit settings.
Exceptional clinical skills with deep knowledge of child, youth, and family development, trauma-responsive care, and evidence-based modalities.
Demonstrated strength developing provisionally licensed clinicians, interns, and early-career behavioral health professionals.
Demonstrated experience designing clinical education programs and internship infrastructure in community-based settings, including budget management and serving as primary institutional liaison for field placement programs.
Valid Colorado driver’s license.
Flexibility to work evenings/weekends as needed.
Ability to pass a comprehensive fingerprint background check.

Nice To Haves

ACS credential preferred - or ability to secure within first 90 days of employment.
Oral and written Spanish fluency.
Established relationships within Colorado’s graduate behavioral health and nonprofit ecosystem.

Responsibilities

Design, lead, and continuously evolve CLF’s clinical education strategy — defining what clinicians, interns, and program staff need to learn, when, and how.
Develop and facilitate internal professional development for clinical staff and the broader program team on trauma-responsive practice, healing-centered engagement, ethics, cultural humility, and clinical skill-building.
Partner with the Director of Clinical Services to co-design and deliver clinical education for the licensed clinician team and the broader organization.
Design, build, and maintain CLF’s structured clinical supervision model — establishing standards, tools, and rhythms that promote fidelity to CLF’s therapeutic approaches across all experience levels.
Lead clinical onboarding for all staff, interns, and fellows.
Own and report on clinical education outcomes — intern-to-Fellow conversion, Fellow-to-staff transitions, supervision quality, training completion, and clinician retention.
Provide clinical and administrative supervision to all MSW and counseling interns and Associate BHTS Fellows — serving as supervisor of record and holding accountability for their clinical development, documentation quality, and professional growth.
Rotate across CLF’s therapy spaces based on intern and fellow placement, providing real-time observation and coaching that brings clinical training directly into the practice setting.
Own the design and execution of CLF’s Pathway to Licensure — defining progression criteria, advancement decisions, and the development infrastructure that moves Associates toward licensure and potential continued CLF employment.
Coordinate with the Director of Clinical Services on intern and fellow caseload assignments, site placements, and documentation compliance.
Serve as clinical and supervisory partner to the Director of Clinical Services and Senior Director in responding to clinical emergencies involving interns or fellows, maintaining clear shared protocols for decision authority and escalation.
Serve as the Director of Clinical Services’ primary implementation partner in CLF’s formal quarterly and annual clinical policy review cycle.
Ensure alignment with ethical standards and licensure requirements across all supervised clinical activity.
Build client and family feedback structures into supervision and training.
Contribute to CLF’s broader quality improvement through supervision findings and clinician development data.
Lead the strategy and growth of CLF’s clinical internship program — program design, university partnership development, intern selection, supervision pathway architecture, and the Pathway to Fellowship.
Serve as CLF’s primary contact for MSW and counseling programs, sustaining the institutional relationships that position CLF as a premier training destination and support a long-term intern-to-Fellow-to-staff pipeline.
Represent CLF at university field placement events, professional associations, training conferences, and behavioral health convenings.
Own and manage the clinical education budget — intern program costs, Fellow compensation structures, university agreements, training materials, and professional development spend.
Serve as a formal collaborator in clinical hiring decisions, contributing expertise on training needs, supervisory fit, and workforce pipeline considerations.