Director of Compliance

Mental Health Cooperative•Nashville, TN

5d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director of Compliance provides strategic leadership, oversight, and administration of Mental Health Cooperative’s Corporate Compliance Program. This executive leadership role ensures enterprise-wide adherence to regulatory, accreditation, contractual, and ethical requirements while fostering integrity, accountability, and continuous improvement. The Director advises executive leadership and the Board of Directors on compliance, risk management, regulatory readiness, investigations, and organizational governance. The Director designs, implements, oversees, and continually improves the Corporate Compliance Program. The role identifies, assesses, and mitigates enterprise compliance and regulatory risks in alignment with federal and state requirements, accreditation standards, payer expectations, and organizational priorities. It oversees compliance operations, regulatory readiness, investigations, auditing and monitoring, policy governance, and compliance education, and collaborates with executive leadership to support risk-informed decisions and operational accountability. The Director is the primary compliance advisor to leadership, compliance committees, and the Board, and oversees relationships involving regulatory agencies, accreditation organizations, licensure requirements, and external audits.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Administration, Compliance, Business Administration, Law, Nursing, Public Health, Behavioral Health, or a related field.
Minimum 8–10 years of progressive experience in healthcare compliance, regulatory affairs, risk management, quality, legal, or healthcare operations.
Minimum 3–5 years of leadership experience managing programs, projects, or teams.
Demonstrated experience leading corporate compliance programs in healthcare environments.
Experience interacting with executive leadership, governing boards, regulatory agencies, and accreditation organizations.
Extensive knowledge of CMS, OIG, HIPAA, state healthcare regulations, fraud, waste and abuse prevention, and accreditation standards.
Expert knowledge of healthcare compliance, regulatory requirements, accreditation standards, and OIG guidance.
Ability to interpret complex regulations and operationalize compliance requirements across the organization.
Strong strategic thinking, risk assessment, and problem-solving skills.
Demonstrated ability to lead compliance programs, investigations, audits, and corrective action initiatives.
Exceptional judgment, integrity, discretion, and professionalism.
Ability to influence and collaborate effectively with executive leadership, managers, and cross-functional teams.
Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills, including board- and executive-level reporting.
Proficiency with compliance management, auditing, reporting, and data analytics tools.
Understanding of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, and the ability to assess associated regulatory, privacy, ethical, cybersecurity, and operational risks.
Commitment to fostering a culture of ethics, compliance, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree.
Certified in Healthcare Compliance (CHC).
Certified Compliance & Ethics Professional (CCEP).
Certified Professional in Health Care Risk Management (CPHRM).
Six Sigma (SS).
Juris Doctor (JD), Master of Health Administration (MHA), Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Public Health (MPH), or related advanced degree.
Experience leading compliance programs in behavioral health organizations.
Experience with enterprise risk management, board governance, and accreditation readiness.
Experience overseeing multi-site healthcare operations.

Responsibilities

Direct and oversee all components of the Corporate Compliance Program and develop and execute a multi-year compliance strategy aligned with organizational goals and risk priorities.
Serve as the organization’s subject matter expert on compliance, regulatory affairs, ethics, and corporate integrity; advise executive leadership and governing bodies on risks, regulatory trends, enforcement activities, and compliance obligations.
Establish compliance objectives, performance metrics, and accountability measures, and lead departmental strategic planning, budgeting, staffing, and resource allocation.
Lead enterprise-wide compliance risk assessments and risk mitigation strategies, and integrate compliance and risk considerations into strategic and operational planning.
Oversee annual compliance work plans, audit plans, monitoring activities, and analysis of organizational risk trends.
Serve as primary compliance liaison to the Compliance Committee, Executive Leadership Team, and Board of Directors; present program effectiveness reports, risk analyses, investigation summaries, and regulatory updates.
Advise governance committees on fiduciary oversight responsibilities related to compliance and ethics, and support enterprise policies, governance structures, and accountability frameworks.
Provide executive oversight of accreditation readiness, licensure compliance, and regulatory surveys; lead responses to regulatory findings, corrective actions, and enforcement actions.
Maintain executive relationships with regulatory agencies, accreditation bodies, payer organizations, and government entities, and direct regulatory change management and implementation plans.
Provide executive oversight of significant compliance investigations, hotline reports, and misconduct allegations; ensure appropriate reporting, escalation, corrective actions, and monitoring.
Collaborate with legal counsel, Human Resources, Risk Management, Internal Audit, and executive leadership on complex investigations; protect against retaliation and promote ethical reporting.
Oversee auditing, monitoring, policy management, compliance education, and reporting functions; establish departmental priorities and allocate resources effectively.
Develop departmental dashboards and executive reporting mechanisms, evaluate compliance controls, and recommend system improvements.
Champion ethical conduct, transparency, accountability, and regulatory excellence; provide executive-level education and promote proactive compliance engagement.
Mentor and develop compliance personnel.
Perform other duties as assigned in support of the Compliance Program and organizational objectives.