Psychiatry Department Team Lead

Backpack Healthcare•Lebanon, NH

20h•Remote

About The Position

Backpack Healthcare is seeking a licensed Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) to provide clinical leadership, team management, and operational oversight for its remote psychiatry department. The role combines approximately 50% direct patient care with 50% clinical leadership and administrative responsibilities. The Team Lead oversees psychiatric clinicians while maintaining a direct caseload, supporting safe and evidence-based care, and ensuring compliance with clinical standards, regulatory requirements, documentation expectations, and organizational performance goals. Reporting to the VP of Clinical Operations, the Team Lead is the primary clinical and operational leader for Backpack Healthcare's remote psychiatry program. The position supports a fully remote team and involves clinical mentorship, performance management, patient and caregiver escalation support, quality and risk oversight, and management of departmental workflows and initiatives. The role is fully remote, generally aligned with standard business hours, with flexibility to respond to urgent clinical escalations and departmental needs. No regular travel is required, though occasional virtual participation in organizational meetings, trainings, or conferences may be expected.

Requirements

Master's or doctoral degree in Nursing (MSN/DNP) with a psychiatric/mental health specialization.
Active, unrestricted Nurse Practitioner license with psychiatric/mental health specialization (PMHNP or equivalent).
Multi-state licensure, or the ability and willingness to obtain additional state licenses as organizational needs require.
Minimum of 4–5 years of post-graduate clinical experience in outpatient psychiatric care.
Previous experience leading or managing a clinical team, including administrative and performance management responsibilities.
Strong working knowledge of DEA requirements, controlled-substance prescribing, PDMP monitoring, and e-prescribing practices.
Familiarity with state-specific scope-of-practice requirements and telehealth prescribing regulations.
Experience with EHR systems, telehealth platforms, and clinical reporting tools.
Strong organizational, documentation, communication, leadership, and time-management skills.
Ability to independently manage competing priorities and clinical responsibilities in a fully remote environment.
Demonstrated ability to provide clinical mentorship, manage escalations, and support clinician performance.

Nice To Haves

Previous experience leading psychiatry teams within a telehealth or virtual behavioral health organization.
Experience with reporting and analytics platforms such as Tableau.
Familiarity with Collaborative Practice Agreement (CPA) structures.
Experience supporting multi-state psychiatric operations.
Familiarity with accreditation, regulatory readiness, and quality improvement initiatives.
Clinical experience serving both pediatric and adult populations.

Responsibilities

Conduct comprehensive psychiatric evaluations, diagnostic assessments, and risk assessments for new and existing patients.
Develop and manage individualized treatment plans for pediatric and adult patients, and provide ongoing medication management for routine and complex psychiatric needs.
Maintain a direct patient care caseload of up to 20 hours per week and ensure timely, accurate clinical documentation in the EHR.
Assess whether telehealth services are appropriate and coordinate transitions to higher levels of care when clinically indicated.
Provide safe, evidence-based psychiatric care within applicable clinical standards and scope of practice.
Participate in interdisciplinary collaboration and care coordination.
Provide day-to-day clinical leadership, mentorship, and support to psychiatric clinicians.
Hold regular individual meetings for case consultation, clinical decision-making, medication management, workflow, and professional development.
Facilitate team meetings, case consultations, and clinical discussions to promote consistency and collaboration.
Serve as the primary clinical escalation resource for complex cases, patient safety concerns, urgent situations, and medication-related questions.
Guide clinicians on psychiatric assessments, treatment planning, prescribing practices, risk management, and levels of care.
Conduct routine chart audits and clinical practice reviews, and provide coaching, feedback, and education to address clinical or documentation concerns.
Support clinician onboarding, orientation, competency development, and continuing clinical education.
Set performance expectations and monitor clinical, operational, productivity, documentation, and scheduling standards for the remote team.
Conduct quarterly performance reviews and support individual goal-setting and professional development.
Address performance concerns through coaching, corrective action, performance improvement plans, or additional training as appropriate.
Participate in interviewing and hiring decisions and partner with Human Resources and Clinical Leadership on staffing, employee concerns, turnover, and coverage.
Support clinician retention, professional development, and internal advancement; review and approve timesheets by established payroll deadlines.
Handle patient and caregiver concerns, complaints, and service-related escalations, including communicating with patients and caregivers as needed.
Collaborate with internal departments to investigate and resolve concerns while maintaining clinical boundaries and confidentiality.
Ensure complaints and escalations are documented, communicated, and addressed, and support continuity of care when concerns involve clinical needs, medication, safety, or access.
Monitor compliance with state-specific mental health regulations, prescribing requirements, scope-of-practice standards, and organizational policies.
Ensure clinicians follow identity and location verification, emergency procedures, safety protocols, and telehealth risk management practices.
Oversee adherence to DEA requirements, PDMP monitoring, e-prescribing standards, controlled-substance management, and medication safety practices.
Monitor clinical quality indicators, documentation, risk management practices, and patient outcomes; conduct and support audits and identify trends and improvement opportunities.
Participate in clinical incident reviews and risk management initiatives, and ensure compliance with admission, discharge, scheduling, and continuity-of-care standards.
Escalate significant clinical, regulatory, compliance, and operational concerns to appropriate leadership.
Oversee daily clinical workflows and operational needs within the Psychiatry Department.
Monitor clinician caseloads, productivity, capacity, staffing, and coverage across operating states.
Use reporting and performance data to guide coaching, staffing decisions, and departmental improvements.
Support implementation of clinical workflows, systems, tools, and departmental initiatives.
Maintain and improve departmental resources, clinical guidance, knowledge bases, and standard operating procedures.
Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency, patient access, and clinician experience.
Contribute to department-level quality improvement initiatives and strategic clinical projects.