Executive Director

The Emily Program•Saint Paul, MN

4h•Onsite

About The Position

Our vision is a world of peaceful relationships with food, weight, and body image, where everyone with an eating disorder can experience recovery. We believe that exceptional, individualized care leads to lasting recovery from eating disorders. That’s why our teams are comprised of compassionate, dedicated professionals from a variety of backgrounds who collaborate to provide the very best evidence-based care for our clients at all levels of care. The Executive Director is responsible for the overall leadership, strategic direction, and operational performance of their facility. This role serves as the senior on-site leader, driving clinical excellence, operational efficiency, financial performance, and employee engagement. The Executive Director fosters a collaborative, client-centered environment while ensuring regulatory compliance, high quality care, and sustainable growth. The Executive Director reports directly to a Vice President of Operations and serves as the primary site-level integrator of enterprise strategy. This role is accountable for executing organizational priorities at the facility level while elevating site insights, risks, and operational needs to enterprise leadership in a timely and disciplined manner. The Executive Director partners closely with clinical, operational, growth, and corporate teams to achieve census targets, optimize performance, and deliver exceptional outcomes for clients and families.

Requirements

Master’s degree in behavioral health (MSW, Counseling, MFT, or related field), required.
5+ years of senior leadership experience in healthcare, required.
Experience in individual and family psychotherapy, required.

Nice To Haves

Active clinical licensure (LCSW, LMFT, LPC, or equivalent), preferred.
Alternative qualifications (e.g., MSN, PMHNP, or bachelor’s degree with significant healthcare leadership experience) may be considered based on scope and facility needs.
Experience across multiple levels of care (IP/Res, PHP, IOP, OP), preferred.
Eating disorder treatment experience, highly preferred.
Clinical supervision experience, preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead day-to-day operations across all programs and levels of care, ensuring alignment with organizational goals, clinical philosophy, and operating standards.
Execute enterprise strategies and operational priorities at the site level with consistency and accountability.
Develop and implement site-level plans to achieve operational, clinical, and financial targets.
Monitor and analyze Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to drive continuous improvement and operational excellence.
Identify opportunities for program growth, expansion, or optimization in partnership with enterprise leaders.
Build strong partnerships with internal stakeholders, community referral sources, and external partners.
Represent the organization within the local community to support access, reputation, and growth.
Demonstrate strong operational judgment by resolving site-level challenges independently whenever appropriate and escalating issues based on defined risk, regulatory, financial, or enterprise impact.
Lead teams through organizational change with clarity, transparency, and emotional steadiness, maintaining staff alignment and operational continuity during periods of growth, restructuring, or enterprise transformation.
Ensure delivery of high-quality, client-centered care across all service lines, as appropriate to the facility.
Maintain strong oversight of clinical operations, including: Documentation quality, Billed hour and productivity targets, Client outcomes and satisfaction.
Support the consistent implementation of evidence-based and innovative treatment approaches, including co-occurring programming.
Provide clinical supervision and/or limited clinical coverage only as required by licensure, staffing needs, or regulatory expectations, ensuring these responsibilities do not detract from core executive leadership accountabilities.
Meet or exceed census, utilization, and productivity targets across all programs.
Manage waitlists, referrals, and admissions flow to maximize access and efficient use of capacity.
Partner with finance and operations to align staffing models with demand, budget, and census realities.
Ensure financial sustainability while maintaining quality care and regulatory compliance.
Own site-level growth performance in partnership with Growth, Admissions, and Marketing, including accountability for referral relationships, community presence, and responsiveness to local market dynamics.
Lead, coach, and develop a high performing, engaged leadership team.
Partner with Human Resources on hiring and onboarding, performance management, employee relations, and succession planning.
Foster a positive, inclusive, and culturally responsive workplace environment.
Drive employee engagement, retention, leadership development, and accountability at all levels of the site.
Model and enforce professional, respectful, and emotionally regulated leadership behaviors promote psychological safety, trust, and clarity of expectations across the organization.
Ensure full compliance with regulatory agencies, accrediting bodies (e.g., CARF, TJC), and third-party payer requirements.
Maintain adherence to organizational policies, procedures, clinical standards, and enterprise risk management expectations.
Serve as the primary site leader for risk identification and mitigation, escalating issues appropriately and proactively.
Participate in on-call leadership rotation as required for the facility.

Benefits

HSA and PPO insurance with HSA or FSA options (Blue Cross Blue Shield)
Dental insurance (Delta Dental)
Vision insurance (EyeMed)
Short-term and long-term disability insurance
Company-paid life insurance
401(k) plan available two months after start date
Company 401(k) matching for up to 50% of your contribution, up to 6% of your compensation
Paid time off
Seven paid holidays
One floating holiday