Director of Collaborative Care (CoCM)

Essen Medical Associates • Bronx, NY

3d • Onsite

About The Position

Essen Health Care is seeking a Director of Collaborative Care (CoCM) to provide strategic, operational, and program leadership for their integrated behavioral health program embedded within primary care. This role is crucial for bridging behavioral health, primary care, and external stakeholders, focusing on program management and stakeholder leadership rather than clinical practice. The Director will be responsible for building and scaling the CoCM program from a population health and care management perspective, ensuring financial sustainability, driving quality improvements, and leading engagement with various state agencies and managed care organizations. The program aims to expand across Essen's network of medical offices, home-based services, and long-term care facilities.

Requirements

• Master's degree required in Human Services, Social Work, Public Health, Behavioral Health, Health Care Administration, or Business Administration (MBA) with a concentration in health care or a related field.
• No clinical licensure required.
• Minimum 5–7 years of progressive program management experience, with demonstrated leadership in care management, behavioral health integration, or population health settings.
• Proven track record directing or scaling complex health programs, ideally in a Medicaid-heavy or safety-net environment.
• Experience managing multidisciplinary teams and cross-functional stakeholders in a large, matrixed health care organization.
• Familiarity with CoCM billing, payer regulations, and value-based care frameworks strongly preferred.
• Experience managing or influencing program budgets and reporting financial performance to executive leadership.
• Demonstrated ability to engage and manage relationships with NYS regulatory and oversight bodies including DOH, OMH, and SDOH-related agencies.
• Working knowledge of NYS Medicaid managed care landscape, Care Management Agency structure, and integrated care frameworks.
• Experience navigating managed care plan relationships and participating in payer-level discussions.
• Strong internal stakeholder management skills.
• Strong program management discipline: ability to build workplans, manage milestones, and drive accountability across teams.
• Financial and analytical acumen, including budgeting, KPI dashboards, and ROI analysis.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to influence at the executive, operational, 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 in the Bronx and broader New York City area.

Nice To Haves

• Additional certifications in care management, population health, or value-based care are a plus.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the strategic plan for the CoCM 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 aligned with Essen's Population Health model.
• Identify and pursue opportunities for program innovation, value-based care contracts, SDOH partnerships, and grant funding.
• Represent Essen's CoCM program at state agency meetings (DOH, OMH), managed care plan forums, and health plan contract discussions.
• Serve as the primary liaison to external partners including NYS DOH, OMH, SDOH-aligned community-based organizations, health plans, and academic affiliates.
• Navigate state regulatory environments and funding streams relevant to behavioral health integration.
• Manage relationships with managed care organizations (MCOs).
• Lead payer and CBO engagement to align CoCM program goals with community health needs and contractual obligations.
• Build and maintain internal stakeholder relationships across Essen divisions.
• 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.
• Establish and maintain policies, procedures, and care management protocols.
• Lead implementation of new sites, technology rollouts, and workflow redesigns.
• Ensure program operations are compliant with NCQA, DOH, OMH, and CMS requirements.
• Directly supervise staff carrying active caseloads across CoCM and other care management programs.
• Recruit, train, supervise, and mentor Behavioral Health Care Managers, Psychiatric Consultants, and Integrated Care Coordinators.
• Monitor caseload distribution, productivity, and documentation compliance.
• Provide ongoing 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 in partnership with Revenue Cycle.
• Analyze payer contracts and reimbursement rates to optimize CoCM revenue capture.
• Develop and manage the annual program budget, monitor variances, and report financial performance.

Benefits

• Essen Health Care is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director