Chief Operating Officer | Massachusetts & Illinois

Chief Operating Officer | Massachusetts & Illinois

About the Organization

Forrest
Behavioral Health is a growing behavioral health treatment organization serving
individuals with substance use disorders, mental health conditions, and
co-occurring diagnoses. The organization operates with a strong focus on
delivering high-quality treatment while building environments where both
patients and employees feel supported.

As
the organization continues to grow across multiple states and locations,
leadership is focused on strengthening an operating model that is already
working well, identifying opportunities for improvement, and ensuring
consistent execution across facilities.

The Opportunity

We
are seeking a hands-on Chief Operating Officer to help lead the operational
performance and continued growth of Forrest Behavioral Health across
Massachusetts and Illinois, with potential involvement in Rhode Island.

This
is not a role focused on rebuilding an underperforming organization. The
facilities are established and generally operate near target capacity. The
opportunity is to understand an existing operating model, identify weaknesses
and inefficiencies, strengthen execution, and help leadership scale that model
successfully as the organization grows.

The
COO will partner closely with ownership and facility Directors while
maintaining the independence and accountability necessary to move initiatives
forward. Approximately one week of travel per month is expected, depending on
operational needs.

Who Thrives Here

The
strongest fit is a behavioral health operator who is ambitious, adaptable,
accountable, and comfortable getting directly involved when necessary.

You
may currently be a COO, VP of Operations, Regional Director, Executive
Director, or similar leader who has spent several meaningful years within
substance use disorder or mental health treatment and is ready to take on
broader responsibility.

This
role does not require decades of executive experience. It does require someone
who understands how behavioral health facilities actually operate and can move
comfortably between strategic leadership and practical problem-solving.

You
should be able to walk into a facility, recognize where something is not
working, collaborate with the appropriate leaders to develop a solution, and
stay involved long enough to ensure that solution is executed.

What You'll Do

• Oversee
  operations and performance across multiple behavioral health treatment
  locations
  
• Partner with
  facility Directors to identify operational shortcomings, inefficiencies,
  and opportunities for improvement
  
• Hold facility
  leadership accountable to organizational expectations, deliverables,
  performance standards, and deadlines
  
• Support state
  licensing, accreditation, regulatory compliance, and facility readiness
  initiatives
  
• Help implement
  new programs, operational systems, processes, and locations
  
• Support
  recruiting and hiring for key leadership positions and frontline roles
  when necessary
  
• Monitor
  operational performance and help leadership strengthen facility-level
  execution
  
• Serve as an
  operational resource to ownership while independently carrying initiatives
  through completion
  
• Work across
  admissions, clinical operations, staffing, utilization review, census,
  retention, and other functions that influence facility performance
  
• Travel between
  Massachusetts and Illinois facilities as operational needs require, with
  potential involvement in Rhode Island
  
• Help establish
  measurable performance goals and a bonus structure tied to facility and
  organizational success
  

Requirements

Required:

• Direct
  professional experience within substance use disorder and/or mental health
  treatment operations
  
• Leadership
  experience within behavioral healthcare, such as COO, VP of Operations,
  Regional Director, Executive Director, Director of Operations, or a
  comparable multi-site or senior operational role
  
• Working
  knowledge of behavioral health treatment operations and levels of care
  such as PHP, IOP, OP, residential, detox, or similar programs
  
• Experience
  supporting or overseeing operational areas such as staffing, admissions,
  utilization review, insurance authorization, census management, patient
  retention, clinical operations, licensing, accreditation, or regulatory
  compliance
  
• Demonstrated
  ability to identify operational problems, develop practical solutions, and
  drive those solutions through implementation
  
• Experience
  holding facility or department leaders accountable for expectations,
  deliverables, and deadlines
  
• Ability and
  willingness to travel approximately one week per month, with flexibility
  to travel more or less depending on operational needs
  
• Ability to
  maintain a home base in Massachusetts or Illinois
  
• Strong
  communication, leadership, problem-solving, and organizational skills
  

Preferred:

• Multi-site
  behavioral health leadership experience
  
• Experience
  supporting facility launches, expansion initiatives, new programs, or
  licensing and accreditation processes
  
• Experience
  recruiting and developing behavioral health leadership teams
  
• Familiarity
  with both substance use disorder and mental health treatment operations
  
• Experience
  operating across multiple states or regulatory environments
  

Benefits

Compensation and Schedule

• Salary: Up to
  $150,000 annually, commensurate with directly relevant experience
  
• Performance-based
  bonus structure
  
• Home Base:
  Ideally Massachusetts or Illinois
  
• Hybrid/work-from-home
  flexibility when appropriate
  
• Travel:
  Approximately one week per month, based on operational needs
  

Additional Benefits

• Employer
  contribution of 60% toward health insurance
  
• Performance-based
  incentive opportunity
  
• Significant
  opportunity to influence operational strategy and organizational growth
  
• Direct
  partnership with ownership and facility leadership
  
• Opportunity to
  help strengthen and scale an established behavioral health operating model
  

This
opportunity is posted by Atlantic Health Strategies on behalf of Forrest
Behavioral Health.