Chief Administrative Officer (CAO)

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Chief Administrative Officer provides executive oversight of day‑to‑day hospital operations, with primary responsibility for People Services, Quality, Facilities, Pharmacy, and other functional areas as assigned by the Chief Executive Officer. As a key member of the executive leadership team, the Chief Administrative Officer collaborates closely with hospital and regional leaders to ensure safe operations, regulatory compliance, workforce stability, sound financial stewardship, and continuous performance improvement. This role oversees staffing, patient access and throughput, environment of care, and essential support services for individuals with acute psychiatric needs, including complex civil commitment populations, while partnering with clinical leadership to support the delivery of high‑quality, trauma‑informed, recovery‑oriented care.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: To perform this job, an individual must perform each essential function satisfactorily with or without reasonable accommodation.  

-    Provide executive oversight of daily non‑clinical hospital operations, with primary responsibility for Civil Commitment Services and other assigned departments, ensuring alignment with clinical priorities.
-    Coordinate patient flow end‑to‑end-census management, admissions, transfers, discharges, and length‑of‑stay optimization-removing barriers to timely access and throughput.
-    Lead daily operational oversight to identify barriers, mitigate risk, and ensure continuity of care in collaboration with clinical and ancillary teams.
-    Serve as the primary operational liaison for Civil Commitment Services with courts, correctional facilities, state agencies, and external partners; oversee court‑ordered admissions and placement.
-    Monitor Civil Commitment system performance and implement targeted improvement strategies to address system barriers.
-    Ensure Civil Commitment‑specific compliance with regulatory, documentation, and reporting requirements, maintaining continuous survey readiness.
-    Engage ancillary and support services to deliver safe, efficient, patient‑centered care and sustain reliable unit operations 24/7.
-    Ensure safe, acuity‑based staffing models and contingency plans, partnering with People Services on staffing, scheduling, and workforce planning.
-    Maintain full regulatory compliance and continuous readiness with state licensure, CMS Conditions of Participation, Joint Commission standards, and uphold HIPAA, EMTALA, OSHA, and environment‑of‑care requirements.
-    Oversee Civil Commitment safety programs, including ligature risk mitigation, elopement prevention, contraband control, patient rights, and seclusion/restraint oversight, documentation, and reduction initiatives.
-    Develop and manage operating and capital budgets, monitoring productivity, overtime, contract labor, and operational expenses.
-    Use data, dashboards, and performance metrics to drive capacity management, quality outcomes, regulatory performance, and continuous improvement.
-    Advance strategy and experience initiatives-support hospital and system growth, service‑line development, regional collaboration, referral partnerships, and population‑specific programming. 
-    Always exhibit the company's core values of champion patient care, do the right thing, embrace individuality, act with kindness, and making a difference together. 
-    Other duties as assigned.

Additional Information:
Access to and/or works with sensitive and/or confidential information.

Exhibit a comprehensive understanding of healthcare regulatory and compliance (e.g., HIPAA).  Skilled in the application of policies and procedures. 
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS: The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills and/or abilities required.
-    Expertise in behavioral health.
-    Strong leadership and organizational skills.
-    Strong understanding of hospital business operations as it relates to budget, FTE oversight and management
-    Ability to work collaboratively with a diverse team of healthcare professionals.
-    Commitment to improving patient outcomes and addressing disparities.
-    Proficiency in using technology, including Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
-    Excellent listening skills and sound clinical reasoning.

QUALIFICATIONS:

-    Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Healthcare Administration, Clinical Field, or related field from an accredited school required. Master's degree from an accredited school preferred.  
-    Four years of experience in a psychiatric or mental health setting required. 
-    Seven years of experience in supervising and leading teams required. 
-    De-escalation certification is required within 30 days of employment and prior to any patient contact.

Skills and Abilities:

Mathematical Skills
Business Mathematical Skills -- Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rates, ratios, and percentages and to draw and interpret graphs.

Computer Skills
Advanced Computer Skills -- Routine use of electronic mail and computer systems. Ability to incorporate complex and complicated functions into documents, spreadsheets, databases, and presentations to support business objectives.

Communication 
Organizational Communication-Handles broad-based complex information with company-wide impacts and interacts with leadership. Can present, resolve, and address delicate situations. Ability to motivate and persuade others.

Decision Making
Organizational Impact-Decisions have significant, broad implications for the management and operations of the behavioral health division.

Nature of Problems
Varied Business Problems --Problems are varied and complex, requiring analysis or interpretation of the situation. Problems are solved using knowledge and skills, general precedent, and practices. 
Independent Judgement

Functional Independent Judgement--Provides and sets goals and priorities for functional areas. May make recommendations for department policies, practices, and programs. Makes decisions for and/or resolves problems for others.

Planning/Organization
Moderate-Handle multiple tasks simultaneously with moderate complexity.

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL DEMANDS:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job responsibilities.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit for extended periods of time; use hands to finger, handle, feel objects, tools or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop, kneel, bend, crouch or crawl; talk or hear; taste or smell.  The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds.  Repetitive motion of upper body is required for extended use of computers. Required specific vision abilities include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT AND TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS:

Work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that an employee may encounter while performing the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job responsibilities.

Works in well-lit, ventilated and climate controlled office environment with routine office equipment; some equipment has moving mechanical parts. Noise level in the work environment is typical for an office and/or hospital environment.

In hospital/behavioral health environment, may be exposed to hazards and unusual elements, which may include but are not limited to bloodborne pathogens and / or contagious illnesses, toxic chemicals, and biohazardous materials which may require extensive safety precautions and the use of protective equipment.

Minimum overnight travel (up to 10%) by land and/or air.