Market Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – Adolescent PRTF & Outpatient Services – Virginia

Relocation to Virginia
Relocation Assistance Available
Full-Time Executive Leadership Opportunity

MedQuest Search Solutions, Inc., the nation’s leading behavioral health executive search firm, is conducting a new search for a Chief Executive Officer on behalf of a growing adolescent behavioral health organization with an established Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility in Virginia.

The Market CEO will provide executive leadership for the organization’s existing 100+ bed adolescent PRTF while helping shape and lead the continued development of off-site, behavioral health services throughout the Virginia market. Planned growth may include additional outpatient programs and other complementary levels of care designed to expand access and strengthen the organization’s continuum of services.

This is an outstanding opportunity for an accomplished behavioral health executive who has successfully led a Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility (PRTF) or high-acuity adolescent residential treatment organization and is prepared to combine hands-on facility leadership with market development and service-line expansion.

The selected executive will initially maintain a strong operational focus on the residential facility, including resident safety, treatment quality, regulatory compliance, workforce engagement, financial performance, and organizational culture. As the Virginia platform grows, the CEO will also help evaluate new services, develop outpatient programs, help recruit A-players, establish community partnerships, and create a coordinated continuum of care for children, adolescents, and families.

The organization is seeking a highly visible, hands-on, and resident-centered leader with the operational experience, regulatory knowledge, and executive presence necessary to lead a complex adolescent treatment environment.

Location

The position is located in the greater Richmond, Virginia region, an attractive Mid-Atlantic area offering a strong combination of professional opportunity and quality of life.

The region is known for:

• Historic neighborhoods and cultural attractions
• Excellent restaurants and a growing culinary scene
• Outdoor recreation, parks, rivers, and trails
• Strong public and private school options
• A lower cost of living than many major East Coast metropolitan areas
• Convenient access to Washington, D.C., Virginia Beach, the Blue Ridge Mountains, and other East Coast destinations
• A major international airport and easy access to Interstate 95

Relocation assistance is available for the selected candidate.

Required Experience

Candidates must have:

• Current or prior experience as a Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Executive Director, Administrator, Regional Vice President, Market Chief Executive Officer, Regional Chief Executive Officer, or comparable senior behavioral health executive
• Significant leadership experience within a Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility, adolescent residential treatment center, or high-acuity youth behavioral health program
• Demonstrated success leading facility operations, clinical services, residential programming, nursing, quality, compliance, admissions, human resources, education, and administrative functions
• Experience working with children and adolescents with complex behavioral, emotional, psychiatric, or trauma-related needs
• Strong knowledge of behavioral health regulations, Medicaid requirements, state licensing standards, accreditation requirements, and survey readiness
• Experience improving resident safety, staff engagement, operational performance, and treatment quality
• A bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration, behavioral health, business, social services, psychology, nursing, or a related field
• An advanced degree is preferred.
• Acute psychiatric hospital experience is valuable; however, the strongest candidates will have substantial and successful leadership experience within PRTFs or adolescent residential treatment facilities.

Leadership Profile

This opportunity is best suited for an executive who leads throughout the facility and maintains a strong presence with residents, employees, and leadership teams.

The successful candidate will:

• Maintain a consistent, visible, and approachable presence throughout the facility
• Spend meaningful time on the residential units
• Engage directly with residents, direct-care staff, clinicians, nurses, educators, and department leaders
• Observe programming, behavior-management practices, treatment delivery, and staff-resident interactions firsthand
• Model professionalism, accountability, trauma-informed care, and appropriate resident engagement
• Build credibility and trust with frontline employees
• Establish clear expectations while coaching and developing staff
• Strengthen collaboration among residential, clinical, nursing, education, medical, quality, and administrative departments
• Demonstrate confidence, emotional steadiness, sound judgment, and strong executive presence
• Remain engaged during evenings, weekends, or other nontraditional hours when leadership visibility is needed

This is not an executive position for someone who prefers to lead primarily from an office. The CEO must be comfortable working closely with frontline teams and remaining connected to daily unit operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide overall executive leadership for the facility
• Ensure a safe, structured, therapeutic, and resident-centered treatment environment
• Lead and develop the facility’s executive and departmental leadership teams
• Strengthen direct-care staff engagement, accountability, supervision, training, and retention
• Promote meaningful and appropriate engagement between employees and residents
• Improve communication and collaboration among residential, clinical, nursing, medical, education, quality, admissions, and administrative teams
• Evaluate and strengthen behavior-management practices and the therapeutic milieu
• Ensure residents receive active, structured, and clinically appropriate programming
• Maintain compliance with Virginia licensing requirements, TJC standards, Medicaid regulations, accreditation standards, and organizational policies
• Develop productive relationships with regulators, referral sources, payers, families, community partners, and the state
• Establish and monitor operational, clinical, financial, staffing, and quality-performance goals
• Recruit, retain, coach, and hold accountable effective leaders and frontline employees
• Support census development, appropriate admissions, referral relationships, and long-term organizational growth
• Guide organizational development and continuous improvement while maintaining continuity and quality of care
• Lead the existing adolescent PRTF and future Virginia behavioral health programs
• Execute a market growth strategy
• Support the launch of outpatient, intensive outpatient, and other complementary services
• Build referral relationships across Virginia
• Create consistent operating, quality, and clinical standards across the market
• Maintain direct operational visibility at the flagship residential facility

Ideal Candidate

The strongest candidates will be able to provide specific examples of successfully:

• Leading a PRTF or adolescent residential treatment facility
• Strengthening the culture of a residential behavioral health program
• Improving staff-resident engagement
• Developing a more collaborative, accountable, and resident-centered workforce
• Coaching direct-care employees and supervisors through organizational change
• Improving employee morale, retention, training, and leadership effectiveness
• Improving behavior-management practices
• Strengthening the therapeutic environment
• Reducing restraints, seclusions, elopements, staff injuries, or other significant incidents
• Improving regulatory compliance, licensing readiness, accreditation outcomes, or quality performance
• Strengthening communication among residential, clinical, nursing, and educational departments
• Building trust with residents, families, employees, referral sources, regulators, and community partners
• Improving operational, clinical, financial, or census performance

Qualifications

• Progressive behavioral health executive leadership experience
• Prior CEO, COO, COO in Training, Executive Director, Administrator, Market CEO, Regional CEO, Regional Operations, or comparable executive-level experience required
• Direct PRTF or adolescent residential treatment leadership experience required
• Experience with high-acuity child and adolescent populations required
• Experience with regulatory agencies, licensing reviews, accreditation surveys, and corrective-action processes strongly preferred
• Strong financial, operational, clinical, and organizational leadership skills
• Excellent communication, relationship-building, and change-management abilities
• Ability and willingness to relocate to Virginia and work onsite

Compensation and Benefits

The organization offers a competitive executive compensation package based on experience and qualifications, including:

• A Very Competitive base salary
• Performance-based bonus opportunity up to 30% of the base salary
• Comprehensive health and welfare benefits
• Opportunity for growth in a rapidly growing national behavioral health organization
• Paid time off
• 401K w/ Match
• Relocation assistance in the form of a sign-on bonus

Candidates with direct PRTF, adolescent residential treatment, youth residential behavioral health, or child and adolescent psychiatric leadership experience are encouraged to apply with a current résumé.

For questions or confidential consideration and interview, call (212) 671- 2994 x209 or apply here with your updated resume reflecting your behavioral health executive experience.

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Open to a new opportunity in Mental Health but would like a different part of the country?

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Please call: (212) 671-2994 to speak to an executive recruiter today!

Job Type: Full-time

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Employee discount
• Flexible schedule
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Professional development assistance
• Referral program
• Relocation assistance
• Retirement plan
• Tuition reimbursement
• Vision insurance

Application Question(s):

• Are you open to relocating to Richmond, Virginia if the opportunity is a good fit and if provided with a relocation package?

Experience:

• behavioral health management: 5 years (Preferred)
• adolescent residential treatmentment center : 1 year (Preferred)
• Adolescents: 2 years (Required)
• PRTF: 1 year (Preferred)
• CEO, COO or Executive Director level: 2 years (Required)
• Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility : 2 years (Preferred)

Work Location: On the road