Therapy Clinical Education & Excellence Manager

Ascend Healthcare is committed to providing fully integrated, quality psychiatric and behavioral health services in a compassionate, convenient, and affordable manner.  We work with external partners to provide services to patients across the country through integrated psychiatric medication management, substance use disorder treatment, counseling services, peer support and care coordination for seamless patient care. We believe in a “no wrong door” treatment model which finds ways to say “yes” to any patient referral rather than a multitude of exclusionary criteria found elsewhere. This approach reflects our values of improved patient and clinician experience, better outcomes, and lower costs.

The Ascend Story 

Founded to transform mental health care access, Ascend Healthcare delivers integrated psychiatric and behavioral health solutions with a commitment to equity, compassion, and operational excellence. We partner directly with health centers to build fully integrated, sustainable behavioral health programs—bringing deep clinical expertise, operational support, and long-term stability. 

Our work environment fosters: 

• Collaboration and teamwork 
• Patient-First Mindset 
• Work-from-home opportunities 
• Career Growth and Professional Development Training 

Why Ascend? 

You’ll be joining a team delivering innovative, compassionate care to communities that need it most. At Ascend, your work drives real impact—and your career grows alongside it. We believe in a “no wrong door” treatment model that finds ways to say “yes” to any patient referral rather than a multitude of exclusionary criteria found elsewhere. 

Position Overview 

The Therapy Clinical Education & Excellence Manager leads service-line education, onboarding, clinician support, quality, competency, and program expansion across assigned programs. This role supports the Director of Clinical Education and Excellence by strengthening clinician performance and system quality of care through education, standards implementation, clinical review, coaching, and adoption support. The Manager uses objective and subjective trend data to identify gaps, prioritize interventions, guide service-line expansion, and summarize risks, outcomes, and recommendations for Director review.  

The position is structured as 50% clinical and 50% administrative time. 

Key Areas of Ownership 

Clinical Education, Onboarding & Clinician Support 

• Lead service-line onboarding, clinical education, probationary support, and professional development. 
• Develop education, tools, templates, and resources aligned with standards, workflows, and quality priorities. 
• Identify education and support needs using feedback, support requests, case review findings, and performance trends. 

Clinical Quality, Competency & Performance Support 

• Support development and implementation of standards of care, clinical practice guidelines, workflows, documentation expectations, and patient-safety standards. 
• Coordinate peer review, chart review, case review, and competency validation with operational and clinical partners. 
• Assess competence and support corrective education, coaching, or performance improvement when standards are not met. 

Clinical Initiatives & Program Expansion 

• Lead service-line initiatives, pilots, practice improvements, and program expansion efforts. 
• Translate clinical, workflow, policy, documentation, and quality changes into education and adoption support. 
• Partner with Clinical Operations, Clinical Education and Excellence Department (CEED), and service-line leaders to support communication and sustainable execution. 

Data-Informed Continuous Improvement 

• Monitor objective and subjective trends across onboarding, reviews, competency, documentation, operational performance, feedback, and patient-care data. 
• Use trend data to identify gaps, prioritize interventions, and support service-line expansion. 
• Summarize trends, risks, outcomes, and recommended next steps for Director review. 

Team Leadership 

• Provide clinical leadership, coaching, and direction to assigned direct reports. 
• Set priorities and accountability for assigned education, quality, clinician-development, and implementation work. 

Qualifications 

• Clinician must maintain an active, unrestricted independent license (LCSW, LMFT, LPCC) both the state of primary residence and the state(s) in which the clinician provides direct patient care. (Active AZ, OR or CA License highly preferred). 
• Clinician must be willing to obtain additional state licensure as requested by Ascend Healthcare. 
• Demonstrated experience in clinical education, onboarding, real-time clinician support, clinician development, quality review, peer review, competency validation, case review, performance improvement support, or clinical leadership. 
• Experience working in behavioral health, outpatient psychiatry, therapy, integrated care, or Community Health Center/FQHC environments preferred. 
• Strong understanding of documentation standards, clinical quality expectations, regulatory requirements, and evidence-based practice within the assigned service line. 
• Strong collaboration, coaching, organization, communication, and problem-solving skills. 
• Comfort using electronic medical records, clinical data, Microsoft Office tools, and virtual communication platforms. 

Physical Requirements: This is a fully remote position but may require in-person attendance as company needs arise. Please be aware the below physical requirements should be considered prior to applying to the position: 

• Prolonged Sitting: Ability to sit for extended periods during working hours. 
• Manual Dexterity: Good hand-eye coordination and manual dexterity for using a computer keyboard, mouse, and other office equipment. 
• Visual Requirements: Adequate vision for reading computer screens and documents. 
• Communication: Clear verbal and written communication skills for virtual meetings and correspondence. 
• Hearing: Sufficient hearing ability for participating in phone calls or virtual meetings. 
• Work Environment: Access to a quiet, dedicated workspace free from distractions with reliable internet connectivity.  

Perks 

• Competitive Salary 
• Medical, Dental, Vision, Life and LTD benefits 
• PTO + Company Holidays 
• Yearly CEU Stipend 
• Collaborative Environment 
• Remote-first setting 
• Clinician Founded and Operated 
• Incentive Bonus Program (Optional pending position) 

Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm (PST/MST).

Compensation: 

• $96,000-$103,000 with AZ residence
• $111,000-$120,000 with CA residence

Additional stipend available for Spanish-Speaking provider. 

Benefits: 

• 401(k) 
• 401(k) matching 
• Dental Insurance 
• Health insurance 
• Life insurance 
• Paid time off 
• Professional development assistance 
• Vision insurance 

Ascend Healthcare is an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances.

Ascend Healthcare participates in conducting comprehensive background checks and drug screenings for all potential employees as a contingency to gaining employment status.