Clinical Director (Behavioral Health / Addiction) Recruiters
Healthcare Headhunters recruits healthcare professionals for employers. No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
This is what we do all day: recruit healthcare professionals.
Hire a licensed clinical director who can review care, guide supervisors, and keep program records ready for scrutiny.
No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You interview a short list.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
Need someone now? Call 305-306-4829.
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What happens next
- We review your role, responsibilities and location.
- Ivan or a senior team member will reach out soon.
- You meet a focused shortlist when qualified candidates fit the agreed search.
- Fees.
- No upfront fee. Pay only if you hire, under the signed agreement.
- Exclusivity.
- Set out in the signed client agreement.
- Confidentiality.
- We agree the brief before outreach. This is not a promise of absolute anonymity.
- No hire.
- No hire means no fee on standard searches.
- Director of Clinical Services
- Clinical Director (Addiction Treatment)
What does an open seat cost you every week?
An open role costs you more than the recruiting fee. Someone covers the work, waits for care, or stops a service. We ask what is falling behind and who is carrying it. Use your own figures to compare the cost of waiting with the cost of hiring.
The seat is costing you every week.
Overtime, diverted patients, a stretched team and a schedule held together by favors.
The posting brought the wrong people.
Applicants arrive, but the person who has done this exact work is employed and not looking.
You are the one chasing.
Screening calls, no-shows and follow-ups land on the desk of someone with a facility to run.
What does this hire really come down to?
Your director may move between case consultation, chart review, staff supervision, incident follow-up, and meetings with owners or program leaders. We help you assess whether the person can make sound clinical leadership decisions while handling the paperwork and people issues that fill a real workday.
This hire is not simply your strongest therapist. The director must set expectations for treatment plans, group content, individual sessions, supervision notes, and clinical handoffs. Ask how they respond when a chart lacks a clear rationale for the current level of care, but the clinician believes the client needs more time in treatment.
The right scope depends on your program. We ask candidates what they reviewed personally, what they delegated to supervisors, and how they addressed repeated gaps without turning every correction into a disciplinary event.
What do we check before you see anyone?
Active license and supervisor status: We screen for an active LCSW, LPC, LMFT, or psychologist license and ask whether the candidate held supervisor status where their prior role required it. You complete board verification and decide whether that license fits your state, service lines, and supervision structure.
- ASAM level knowledge: We ask candidates to compare residential, PHP, and IOP decisions in practical terms. They should explain what changes in assessment, treatment planning, staff oversight, and discharge planning when the level of care changes.
- Modality depth: CBT, DBT, and EMDR may each be part of your model, but a director need not personally deliver every service. We ask which modalities they supervised, how they reviewed fidelity, and how they coached a clinician whose work drifted from the program model.
- Chart and payer review work: We ask for a specific example of reviewing treatment plans, progress notes, and discharge documentation. A useful answer identifies what was missing, who corrected it, and how the director checked that the same issue did not continue.
- Crisis leadership: A director may need to support staff after suicidal ideation, behavioral escalation, or another serious clinical concern. We ask how they reviewed facts, involved the proper internal leaders, documented follow-up, and returned staff to their defined roles.
- Supervision and performance conversations: We ask how often they met with clinicians, what they documented, and how they handled a therapist who missed deadlines or repeated the same clinical error. This shows whether they can give direct feedback and still keep supervision useful.
Where do we find them, and why would they move?
Our source pool includes clinical supervisors and program directors from behavioral health and addiction services. Some are ready for broader authority after years of reviewing staff work. Others want a role with more protected time for supervision and program improvement.
People may also consider a move after a change in ownership, an altered program model, limited advancement, or an administrative load that leaves little room for clinical leadership. We test the reason for a move against your actual role, reporting line, and decision rights.
Which mistakes stall the search?
A common mistake is choosing a respected clinician who has never owned a supervision calendar, chart correction process, or staff performance conversation. Another is treating residential, PHP, and IOP experience as interchangeable when your director must make daily decisions for one defined level of care.
Offering a leadership title without clarifying who can change group schedules, approve clinical policies, address documentation gaps, or manage supervisors.
How would we run the search for this opening?
Tell us who reports to the director, which care levels the role oversees, and which decisions need owner or executive approval. We review license type, supervisor status, work history, ASAM exposure, modality experience, chart review work, and examples of staff coaching.
Define the director's authority
We use those details when discussing scope with candidates.
Screen the working record
You conduct your own credentialing and clinical assessment.
Interview for judgment
Use a hypothetical chart gap, supervision concern, or level-of-care question. Ask what the candidate would review first, whom they would involve, and how they would document the follow-up.
Where this search connects
Behavioral Health Leadership & Licensed Clinicians
SpecialtyBehavioral Health & Addiction Treatment
SettingPE-Backed Healthcare Platforms
SettingBehavioral Health Medical Director
Related roleExecutive Director, Treatment Center
Related roleProgram Director (Residential, PHP, IOP)
Related roleLicensed Clinical Psychologist
Related roleNational median annual wage. SOC 11-9111, Medical and Health Services Managers.
BLS reports Medical and Health Services Managers as one occupation. It does not publish a separate estimate for Clinical Director (Behavioral Health / Addiction), its setting or its engagement terms.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025-05, released 2026-05-15. View source. See the full guide.
Open roles
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How do we assess documentation review skills?
Present a hypothetical treatment plan or progress-note problem and ask what the candidate would flag. Look for an answer that connects the record to the service delivered, the treatment goal, and a clear correction process. Residential, PHP, and IOP work demand different staffing patterns, documentation rhythms, and oversight.
Do we need a director with experience in our exact care level?
Direct experience in your primary level of care usually shortens the learning curve. If a candidate comes from another level, ask for concrete examples of how they adjusted supervision, records review, and treatment planning.
Must the director be trained in CBT, DBT, and EMDR?
Not necessarily: your program model and offered services should guide that decision. We screen for meaningful experience with the modalities you use and distinguish direct practice from supervisory oversight.
What if our preferred candidate receives a counteroffer?
Counteroffers are possible when licensed leaders hold broad responsibility. Before an offer, clarify reporting lines, authority, compensation structure, and the parts of the role that make a change worthwhile.
What are the fee terms for this search?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What should you send us about this role?
Send us the role, where the person will work and what needs to change with this hire. We will ask about the work, not just the title. Share any license or schedule limits that could rule someone out before we begin the search.
If you need a Clinical Director for behavioral health or addiction services, Healthcare Headhunters can begin with the authority, license scope, and daily leadership work you need covered. We arrange locum tenens, travel and contract coverage on request.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What happens next
- We review your role, responsibilities and location.
- Ivan or a senior team member will reach out soon.
- You meet a focused shortlist when qualified candidates fit the agreed search.
- Fees.
- No upfront fee. Pay only if you hire, under the signed agreement.
- Exclusivity.
- Set out in the signed client agreement.
- Confidentiality.
- We agree the brief before outreach. This is not a promise of absolute anonymity.
- No hire.
- No hire means no fee on standard searches.
Which other positions in this family should you consider?
Executive Director, Treatment Center · Program Director (Residential, PHP, IOP)
What do you get at each step of the search?
Our process for every search: calibrate the seat with you, map the market, research the real people, reach out to each one personally, qualify them in live conversation, then hand you a short list with a written brief on each person and support through the offer.
Search Calibration
You get an agreed brief: the work, reporting line, credentials, schedule, and offer you can make.
Market Mapping
You get a search aimed at relevant backgrounds, including people working now who have not applied.
Professional Contact Intelligence
We check appropriate ways to reach the people identified for your search. You do not have to chase them yourself.
Persistent Personalized Outreach
We explain your actual job and follow up with people who may consider a conversation.
Live Candidate Qualification
You see people we have spoken with about the work, interest, and practical fit, not an unread resume pile.
Candidate Intelligence and Process Support
You get a written brief and support through interviews and offer discussions. You make the hiring decision.
How long will it take to see a short list?
That depends on the job, schedule, available people, and what your employer can offer. We discuss those constraints before outreach and update you as candidates respond. We do not promise a fixed shortlist date. We check the job brief before arranging interviews. Tell us which parts of the role you can change.
What are the replacement terms?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement. Ask us to walk through those terms before you sign, so you know how a replacement would work for your opening and who would start it.
What do we not do in a standard permanent search?
We do not bill standard contingency search by the hour or simply repost your job. Temporary coverage is a separate arrangement. Any retainer or different engagement must be agreed, not assumed. Tell us early if you need coverage while the permanent search runs.