Director of Collaborative Care (CoCM)

Essen Medical Associates•New York, NY

1d•$100,000 - $120,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Essen Health Care is seeking a Director of Collaborative Care (CoCM) to provide strategic, operational, and clinical leadership for its integrated behavioral health program within primary care. This role serves as a crucial link between behavioral health and primary care, ensuring high-quality, evidence-based, patient-centered care for underserved populations in the Bronx and New York City. The Director will be responsible for building the program from a population health perspective, managing multidisciplinary staff, ensuring financial sustainability through accurate billing, driving quality improvements, and scaling the model across Essen's locations.

Requirements

Master's degree in Social Work (LCSW), Nursing (MSN/PMHNP), Psychology (PhD/PsyD), or related clinical field; OR a licensed physician (MD/DO) with relevant specialty training.
Active, unrestricted New York State license in good standing required.
Minimum 5–7 years of progressive management experience, preferably in integrated behavioral health, primary care, or a population health setting.
Demonstrated experience launching, scaling, or directing a Collaborative Care or comparable integrated behavioral health program.
Strong working knowledge of CoCM billing, payer regulations, and value-based care frameworks.
Experience leading multidisciplinary clinical teams and managing program budgets of meaningful scale.
Deep expertise in the AIMS Center Collaborative Care Model and measurement-based care.
Proven leadership and people-management ability with a track record of staff development and retention.
Strong financial and analytical acumen, including budgeting, KPI dashboards, and ROI analysis.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to influence at the executive, clinical, and frontline levels.
Proficiency in EHR systems (eClinicalWorks, Epic, or comparable) and patient registry tools.
Cultural competence and demonstrated commitment to serving underserved, multicultural communities.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute the strategic plan for the Collaborative Care program, including service expansion, geographic growth, and integration into primary care workflows.
Partner with executive leadership to set annual goals, build the operating plan, and forecast resource needs.
Identify and pursue opportunities for program innovation, value-based care contracts, and grant funding.
Oversee day-to-day operations of the CoCM program, including EHR utilization, patient registry management, and workflow standardization.
Ensure caseloads of Behavioral Health Care Managers meet evidence-based standards (typically 60–80 active patients per FTE).
Establish and maintain policies, procedures, and clinical protocols for systematic case review, warm handoffs, and stepped-care escalation.
Lead implementation of new sites, technology rollouts, and workflow redesigns.
Monitor performance metrics including patient clinical improvement (e.g., 50% reduction in PHQ-9/GAD-7 scores), treat-to-target rates, and time to remission.
Ensure compliance with evidence-based practices, including weekly Systematic Case Review (SCR) and registry-based proactive outreach.
Lead continuous quality improvement initiatives and ensure adherence to AIMS Center / University of Washington CoCM fidelity standards.
Maintain compliance with all regulatory and accreditation requirements (NCQA, DOH, OMH, CMS).
Recruit, train, supervise, and mentor Behavioral Health Care Managers, Psychiatric Consultants, and Integrated Care Coordinators.
Provide ongoing clinical supervision, performance management, and professional development planning for the integrated care team.
Foster a collaborative, mission-driven team culture.
Oversee billing and coding processes for CoCM CPT codes to maximize reimbursement and ensure documentation compliance.
Analyze payer contracts and reimbursement rates; partner with revenue cycle leadership to optimize CoCM revenue capture.
Develop and manage the annual program budget, monitor variances, and report financial performance.
Partner with Medical Directors, primary care providers, and executive leadership to drive successful adoption and sustainability of the CoCM model.
Serve as the primary point of contact for external partners including health plans, community-based organizations, and academic affiliates.
Represent Essen Health Care's CoCM program at industry conferences, payer meetings, and learning collaboratives.