Mental Health Director

POSITION SUMMARY The Mental Health Director is a highly skilled, motivated, and committed professional overseeing the independently licensed and credentialed mental health providers at Winding Waters Clinic. The ideal Mental Health Director possesses strong leadership abilities, solid organizational skills, an enthusiasm to collaborate with other department directors, and a passion for high-quality patient-centered primary care in an integrated setting. The Mental Health Director is responsible for representing Winding Waters in a positive, professional, and courteous manner in all interactions with staff, patients, the general public, the community, state, and federal partners. The Mental Health Director must comply with all requirements as outlined by the Federal Government and Winding Waters Clinic's privacy policy. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES ● Clinical Leadership ○ Provide clinical leadership and supervision for all mental health providers, including nurse practitioners, licensed clinical social workers, licensed professional counselors, and mental health learners. ○ Ensure the delivery of high-quality, patient-centered mental health care, including mental health assessments, diagnoses, and treatments, in compliance with, meeting or exceeding all state and federal rules and regulations. ○ Ensure that clinical services are evidence-based and adhere to best practices. Collaborate with the Quality Director in leading clinical quality initiatives and implementing best practices to enhance patient outcomes. ○ Provide leadership and direction for the diverse range of mental health services delivered by the Winding Waters Clinic team members. ● Patient Care ○ Maintain a personal patient panel, dedicating at least 80% of weekly hours to direct patient care. ○ Develop and implement clinical protocols and guidelines to ensure consistent, evidence-based care. ○ Ensure foundational systems, structures, and equipment are in place for the provision of high-quality mental health care. ● Administrative Duties ○ Collaborate on recruitment and oversee the retention and professional development of mental health providers. ○ Collaborate with other department directors to plan and implement change initiatives within and across departments. ○ Participate in budget planning and resource management conversations when requested, focusing on the efficient use of resources and cost-effective patient care. ○ Collaborate with the Health Services Officer and additional Executive Team members in strategic planning and decision-making processes. Updated 7/24/2025 Winding Waters Clinic - Mental Health Director ○ Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations and accreditation standards. ● Quality Improvement ○ Participate in quality improvement initiatives related to mental health care, including data analysis, reporting, and implementation of improvement plans. ○ Monitor and evaluate the clinical performance of mental health providers through regular audits and reviews. ○ Foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement within the mental health team. ● Community Engagement ○ Represent Winding Waters in community and professional meetings, building strong relationships with stakeholders. ○ Establish and maintain collaborative partnerships with community mental health providers. ○ Collaborate with Winding Waters Clinic’s Public Health Department, the local hospital, and other community provider organizations to improve population health, including promoting mental health awareness and education within the community. ● Education and Training ○ Provide and/or arrange for ongoing education and training for mental health providers on clinical best practices and new mental health developments. ○ Provide and/or participate in interdepartmental training across the organization to facilitate the delivery of high-quality care. ○ Mentor and support mental health providers, including prescribers, therapists, counselors, and social workers in their professional growth and development. Promote professional development and continuing educational opportunities for mental health providers. Position Domains A. Staff Training and Oversight 1. Responsible for partnering with the executive team for the recruitment of mental health providers to ensure adequate patient access to services, including coverage of all hours of operation across locations. 2. Responsible for coordinating the onboarding and orientation of new mental health providers. 3. Responsible for ensuring that current and new mental health providers are properly trained in all programs relevant to their job duties, including but not limited to: OCHIN Epic 4. Responsible for coordinating mental health-specific training when needed to enhance the knowledge and skill level of our mental health providers. 5. Responsible for ongoing supervision of mental health providers. 6. Partner with the Mental Health Coordinator to ensure timely scheduling and templating (in Shiftplanning and OCHIN) of mental health providers to ensure appropriate coverage of all clinical locations. Notify the Health Services Officer and Human Resources Officer once the schedule is drafted in Shiftplanning so they can review it in the larger organizational context to ensure access to services Updated 7/24/2025 Winding Waters Clinic - Mental Health Director and alignment across departments. 7. Communicate with the CAT manager in regards to any changes made to the schedule once the schedules have been published. 8. Address mental health provider PTO requests, and arrange for coverage during vacation, illness, or other absences of mental health providers. i. Maintain documentation of absences in personnel files. 9. Prepare Annual Performance Evaluations for mental health providers, review with Human Resources, and lead review with providers. i. Discuss & create performance improvement plans as needed. Address performance and training needs directly with mental health providers. If performance issues are not resolved after directly addressing them, report this to the Health Services Officer for further action. 10. Complete monthly rounding with all mental health providers and document appropriately. Handle any mental health provider-specific concern that comes up, acting as a resource/advocate/bridge from our mental health providers to the executive team. 11. Oversee mental health learners. Complete rotation schedule (in shift planning) for all learners and ensure they receive an updated orientation packet with their schedule before their time at Winding Waters. Complete learner evaluations when required, including mid-rotation and end-of-rotation evaluations. Communicate with programs to ensure strong relationships are maintained, ongoing. 12. Partner with the Chief Operations Officer to handle day-to-day issues that arise that impact the delivery of mental health services B. Additional Duties 1. Assist in creating needed workflows and documents for processes, protocols, and procedures that pertain to mental health providers, in partnership with support staff. i. Engage Mental Health Ops team and/or Quality Team in the design of processes and workflows. 2. Coordinate with the Health Services Officer and Chief Operations Officer to review and participate in research projects about mental health care. 3. Lead monthly department meetings, including Mental Health department meeting, Mental Health case review meeting, and Mental Health Operations meeting. 4. Engage with other department directors and attend Department Directors’ meetings 5. Meet monthly with the Health Services Officer for rounding 6. Attend monthly All Staff meeting and Peer Review meeting i. Complete the mental health tab of peer review monthly for charts that are not otherwise reviewed by a mental health provider. C. Maintain appropriate life support skills through basic life support (BLS) training Qualifications ● Master's or Doctoral degree in Psychiatry, Psychology, or Social Work from an accredited institution. ● Minimum of five years of clinical experience, with prior experience in a leadership role. ● Active and unrestricted license to practice as a mental health professional in the state of Updated 7/24/2025 Winding Waters Clinic - Mental Health Director Oregon. ● Strong leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills. Certification in clinical supervision preferred. ● Experience in an integrated health setting is preferred. ● Experience in a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) or similar setting is preferred. ● Commitment to serving underserved populations and working in a rural healthcare setting. Clinic Culture 1. Know, understand, and practice Winding Waters Clinic's Mission Statement. 2. Know, understand, and practice Oregon’s Patient-Centered Primary Care Home philosophy. 3. Exhibit and foster a team approach and attitude. 4. Promote and participate in the LEAN learning environment. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities A. Solid diagnostic and clinical skills B. Commitment to providing high-quality, patient-centered care C. Demonstrated competence in program administration and quality patient care delivery. D. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with experience managing employees and fostering an organizational culture of excellence. E. Ability to work collaboratively in a multidisciplinary team. F. Knowledge of the organization’s strategic business objectives, policies, and procedures. G. Travel may be required to regional and state meetings as operations dictate. H. Oral skills, including utilization of motivational interviewing, to communicate with patients, families, providers, co-workers, and community partners. I. Writing skills a. To communicate effectively with patients, families, and community partners.. b. To direct, motivate, and clarify departmental priorities. J. Computing skills to use the following programs to complete routine tasks: a. Electronic Health Record systems as needed for patient care, including high proficiency with OCHIN Epic b. Electronic reporting systems, including but not limited to Epic Reporting Workbench, Slicer Dicer, and Signal. c. Microsoft Office, including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint d. Internet fluency to include: i. Ability to utilize the WWMC Start page (intranet) ii. Ability to navigate Google Cloud (e-mail, calendar, documents, sheets, slides) iii. Ability to communicate via interoffice chat (TigerConnect) iv. Ability to use additional internet resources as needed for job duties K. Ability to maintain the confidentiality of patient-related information such as protected health information (PHI), incident reports, research findings, and patient engagement efforts. L. Ability to maintain the confidentiality of business sensitive information such as strategic, operational, financial, marketing, contracting, and grants metrics and plans. Updated 7/24/2025 Winding Waters Clinic - Mental Health Director M. Ability to maintain appropriate life support skills through basic life support (BLS) and/or advanced life support training Work Environment 1. This position operates in a rural/frontier interdisciplinary primary care clinical environment 2. May involve telemedicine or in-person appointments, with the location of service being in the clinic or home/residential environment. 3. May involve exposure to patients who are experiencing mental health crises Physical Characteristics 1. Must possess the strength to work a minimum of 10-hour shifts. 2. Must have mobility to move quickly about the Clinic. 3. Must have the ability to lift 35 pounds. 4. Must tolerate exposure to germs. Application Process Interested candidates should submit a cover letter, resume, and references to Human Resources Officer Jessie Michaelson at jessie.michaelson@windingwaters. org. Equal Opportunity Employer Winding Waters Medical Clinic is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status