Senior Behavioral Health Manager - Outpatient Clinical Operations

Full Job Description

Under general direction, the Senior Behavioral Health Manager – Outpatient Clinical Operations provides senior management overseeing major program areas within the department; supervises Behavioral Health Managers within assigned program areas; provides recommendations and support to the Behavioral Health Division Chief in formulating policy; provides critical clinical and administrative decisions; ensure that operations are in alignment with applicable strategic goals and governing regulations.

IDEAL CANDIDATE

The ideal candidate is a visionary behavioral health leader, currently licensed in the State of California (LCSW, LPCC, LMFT, or Psychologist), who thrives at the intersection of clinical excellence and administrative strategy.

They are a seasoned professional with a deep background in behavioral health assessment, treatment, and case management, complemented by a proven track record of effectively supervising multidisciplinary teams.

Beyond clinical oversight, the Senior Behavioral Health Manager – Outpatient Clinical Operations possessed the fiscal acumen to manage budgets and the strategic mindset to drive program development.

A high-level communicator who can translate complex data into actionable goals.

Whether navigating an Electronic Health Record (EHR) system, drafting reports in Microsoft Word, or leading a team through a systemic transformation, they will bring a steady, "active and positive" leadership style to every challenge.

EDUCATIONAL/BILINGUAL INCENTIVE

Incumbents may be eligible for an educational incentive of 2.5%, 3.5%, or 5% based on completion of an Associate's, Bachelor's, or Master's degree that is not required for the classification.

Incumbents may also be eligible for bilingual incentive depending upon operational need and certification skill.

DEPARTMENT/AGENCY: Health Care Agency - Behavioral Health

Senior Behavioral Health Manager is a management classification and is not eligible for overtime compensation. Incumbents in this classification are eligible for benefits at the MB3 level.

The eligible list established from this recruitment may be used to fill current and future Regular (including Temporary and Fixed-term), Intermittent, and Extra Help vacancies.

There is currently one (1) Regular vacancy.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Opening Date: 4/8/2026
Closing Date: 4/22/2026

Requirements

Duties may include but are not limited to the following:

• Plans, organizes, manages, coordinates and/or supervises the activities of subordinate management, administrative, technical or operations staff within a division to meet agency and department goals and objectives.
• Provides analysis, recommendations and critical decision making for the assigned programmatic areas.
• Exercises a high level of decision making in alignment with the goals and objectives of the agency/department.
• Establishes and monitors policies and procedures associated with area of assignment.
• Develops, monitors and reports performance outcomes for assigned division.
• Develops programs for new initiatives.
• Validates maximum revenue enhancement and service delivery.
• Supports strategic transformation of services in accordance with Department Strategic Plan.
• Analyzes, establishes, and implements determinants of care.
• Provides interagency collaboration
• Prepares and/or coordinates required activity/work measurement reports.
• Compiles and analyzes financial statistical information to improve operations and/or change service delivery methods.
• Oversight of programmatic component of contracted services for assigned division.
• Provides assistance handling special client cases and/or extraordinary case requirements.
• Performs other related duties as required.

Qualifications

These are entrance requirements to the exam process and assure neither continuance in the process nor placement on an eligible list.

EDUCATION, TRAINING, and EXPERIENCE:
Extensive and progressively responsible behavioral/mental health experience which has led to the acquisition of the required knowledge and abilities.

The required knowledge and abilities can be obtained by any combination of education, training, and experience equivalent to:

• a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in mental health, public administration, business administration, or related field; AND

• Four (4) years of program experience in mental health or addiction practice.
• Four (4) years of supervisory and management experience in a Mental Health setting.

NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Licensed as a Clinical Social Worker, Clinical Psychologist, Professional Clinical Counselor, or Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of California
• Must possess and maintain a CA State Driver’s license.

DESIRED:

• Experience monitoring and reporting on team performance including electronic health record, client outcome goals, productivity, expenditures, and revenue
• Knowledge of quality improvement processes
• Experience working with seriously mentally ill youth and/or adults with dual diagnosis
• Possession of a valid California driver license
• Bilingual in English and Spanish

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Thorough knowledge of:

• mental health and substance abuse assessment, treatment, and case management practices;
• behavioral health clinical policies and procedures;
• principles and practices of strategic planning;
• management and supervision; budgetary preparation, analysis, monitoring, and administration;
• organizational development and staffing;
• application of office automation to business practices;
• contract negotiation and administration;
• fund development;
• internal and external marketing of services; and
• public relations.

Ability to:

• analyze, develop, implement, and evaluate organizational and service delivery systems;
• plan, organize, and supervise the work of others to reach agency goals;
• maintain collaborative working relationships with staff, community members, and other governmental agencies;
• develop and/or present training programs for staff and others;
• utilize personal computing hardware and software;
• research and prepare a variety of reports and recommendations;
• maintain medical record standards; provide active and positive leadership;
• develop community resources;
• work within budget constraints;
• respond effectively to crises;
• effectively handle persons who are angry, demanding, emotionally upset and/or resistant to treatment;
• evaluate safety and risk factors for staff and clients; and
• communicate effectively in an oral and written manner to a wide variety of audiences.

Additional Information

Your application must be received by County of Ventura Human Resources in Ventura, California, no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 22, 2026.

To apply on-line, please refer to our web site at www.venturacounty.gov/jobs. If you prefer to fill out a paper application form, please call (805) 677-5184 for application materials and submit them to County of Ventura Human Resources – Health Care Agency, 646 County Square Dr., Ventura, CA 93003.

LATERAL TRANSFER OPTION: If presently permanently employed in another "merit" or "civil service" public agency/entity in the same or substantively similar position as is advertised, and if appointed to that position by successful performance in a "merit" or "civil service" style examination, then appointment by "Lateral Transfer" may be possible.

If interested, please click here for additional information.

Note to Applicants

It is essential that you complete all sections of your application and supplemental questionnaire thoroughly and accurately to demonstrate your qualifications.

A resume and/or other related documents may be attached to supplement the information in your application and supplemental questionnaire; however, it/they may not be submitted in lieu of the application.

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE – qualifying: All applicants are required to complete and submit the questionnaire for this examination at the time of filing.

The supplemental questionnaire may be used throughout the examination process to assist in determining each applicant's qualifications and acceptability for the position.

Failure to complete and submit the questionnaire will result in the application being removed from consideration.

APPLICATION EVALUATION – qualifying: All applications will be reviewed to determine whether or not the stated requirements are met. Those individuals meeting the stated requirements will be invited to continue to the next step in the screening and selection process.

TRAINING & EXPERIENCE EVALUATION: A Training and Experience Evaluation (T&E) is a structured evaluation of the job application materials submitted by a candidate, including the written responses to the supplemental questionnaire.

The T&E is NOT a determination of whether the candidate meets the stated requirements; rather, the T&E is one method for determining who are the better qualified among those who have shown that they meet the stated requirements.

In a T&E, applications are either scored or rank ordered according to criteria that most closely meet the business needs of the department.

Candidates are typically scored/ranked in relation to one another; consequently, when the pool of candidates is exceptionally strong, many qualified candidates may receive a score or rank which is moderate or even low resulting in them not being advanced in the process.

NOTE: The selection process may consist of an Oral Exam, which may be preceded by or replaced with the score from a Training and Experience Evaluation (T&E), contingent upon the size and quality of the candidate pool.

In a typical T&E, your training and experience are evaluated in relation to the background, experience and factors identified for successful job performance during a job analysis.

For this reason, it is recommended that your application materials clearly show your relevant background and specialized knowledge, skills, and abilities.

It is also highly recommended that the supplemental questions within the application are completed with care and diligence.

Responses such as "See Resume” or "Refer to Resume" are not acceptable and may disqualify an applicant from further evaluation.

ORAL EXAMINATION – 100%: A job-related Oral Examination may be conducted to evaluate and compare participating candidates' knowledge, skills, and abilities in relation to those factors which job analysis has determined to be essential for successful performance of the job.

Applicants must earn a score of seventy percent (70%) or higher to qualify for placement on the eligible list.

If there are three (3) or fewer qualified applicants, an oral examination will not be conducted.

Instead, a score of seventy percent (70%) will be assigned to each application, and each applicant will be placed on the eligible list.

Applicants successfully completing the examination process may be placed on an eligible list for a period of one (1) year.

BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: A thorough post offer, pre-employment background investigation which may include inquiry into past employment, education, criminal background information, and driving record may be required for this position.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

The County of Ventura is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.

To apply visit: www.venturacounty.gov/jobs or for further information about this recruitment, please contact Rhiannon Flores by telephone at (805) 677-5318 or via e-mail at Rhiannon.Flores@venturacounty.gov.