Senior Director, Admissions

Job Type: Hybrid

Salary Range: $125,000 - $145,000 

POSITION SUMMARY

The Senior Director of Admissions leads the strategic and operational oversight of the admissions department. This role ensures timely, accurate, and client-centered access to care while maintaining regulatory compliance, optimizing throughput, and enhancing consumer satisfaction. The Senior Director collaborates across clinical, financial, and administrative departments to ensure seamless transitions from referral to admission and alignment with the CCI’s capacity, mission, and payer requirements.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Leadership:

Design and implement admissions strategies aligned with organizational goals, population needs, and payer mix.

Identify and respond to trends in referral patterns, acuity levels, payer requirements, and systemic bottlenecks.

Develop and maintain KPIs to track efficiency, access, and service quality (For example,  time from referral to admission).

Support CCI’s growth by building scalable admissions processes, particularly for expansion into new service lines, payers, or geographic areas.

Operational Management:

Oversee day-to-day admissions workflows including pre-screening, insurance verification, eligibility checks, triage, and scheduling.

Optimize use of technology (EHR and call center systems) to streamline operations and ensure data integrity.

Ensure timely and complete documentation of referral sources, admission decisions, insurance status, and clinical criteria.

 Monitor capacity across programs and ensure appropriate match between consumer needs and service levels.

Team Leadership & Clinical and Business Development:

Lead, train, and mentor a high-performing admissions team; foster a culture of accountability, evidenced based practices, and empathy.

Provide clear roles, protocols, and expectations to staff; conduct ongoing quality audits.

Coordinate with SVP to ensure clinical training across all services and professional development align with clinical service standards.

Develop strong partnerships with referral sources to ensure maximizing ongoing referrals. Serve as CCI’s liaison to troubleshoot any bottlenecks to the referral/admissions process. 

Compliance and Quality Assurance:

Ensure department practices comply with local, state, and federal regulations (For example, HIPAA, Medicaid/Medicare, managed care policies).

Implement quality improvement initiatives to enhance consumer experience and reduce referral or admission delays.

Manage internal and external audits related to admissions, eligibility, and utilization documentation.

Stakeholder Engagement:

Serve as the liaison between external referral sources (hospitals, MCOs, community providers, shelters, cross agency partners) and internal leadership.

Collaborate with billing, utilization review, and clinical teams to ensure financially viable and clinically appropriate admissions.

Represent the organization in regional networks and coalitions focused on access to care, referral coordination, and crisis stabilization.

In addition to role responsibilities, each staff member of Community Connections has the following responsibilities as a part of their employment:

• Models and reinforces Community Connections mission to provide behavioral health, residential services, and primary health care coordination for marginalized and disenfranchised women, men, youth, and children living in the District of Columbia, many of whom are coping with challenges including mental illness, addiction, and the aftermath of trauma and abuse.
• Models and reinforces Community Connections values of quality, innovation, respect, equity, and integrity daily.
• Reinforces Community Connection’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Protects the privacy of our consumer’s protected health information by maintaining compliance with HIPAA and other relevant CC related IT security regulations.
• Completes and stays current on role specific and organizational wide training.
• Performs other duties as assigned on an as-needed basis.

DESIRED KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES:

Education & Credentials:

Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration, Social Work, Nursing, or related field strongly preferred.

 Licensure (LICSW, RN, LPC, LMFT, or equivalent) preferred.

 Minimum 3–5 years in a senior management role overseeing admissions, intake, or patient access.

Experience in behavioral health, substance use, healthcare, or managed care settings preferred.

Demonstrated experience managing high-volume admissions teams and multi-payer environments (Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial).

Skills & Competencies:

Expertise in EHR, case management, and CRM systems.

Strong understanding of medical necessity criteria, prior authorization processes, and managed care requirements.

Exceptional leadership, communication, and conflict-resolution skills.

Data-driven decision-making with the ability to translate metrics into actionable strategies.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

Average time from referral to admission

Percentage of completed pre-authorizations

Denial and appeal resolution rates

Referral-to-admission conversion rate

Staff productivity and satisfaction scores

Compliance audit scores

Clinical excellence and consumer satisfaction

Salary : $125,000 - $145,000