Behavioral Health Lead

Clinical Care Management, Behavioral Health Team Lead

The Clinical Care Management, Behavioral Health team lead is a licensed mental health clinician responsible for supporting process and team development, this includes direct member support and identifying and implementing improvements. This role ensures and facilitates access to behavioral health services by supporting the team and associated processes. The team lead will have thorough understanding of team processes and is a clinical lead and knowledge resource for other team members. They will also build relationships across internal teams and develop initiatives that improve continuity between teams.

Qualifications

The following represents the typical way to achieve the necessary skills, knowledge, and ability to qualify for this position:

Education and Experience

• Behavioral licensure (LCSW, LMFT, BCBA, Psychology Ph.D) and three (3) years of clinical experience in Behavioral Health service provision or Managed care coordination required.
• Certification as Certified Case Manager (CCM), preferred.

Skills

• Advanced clinical care management and coordination skills, along with the interpersonal strength needed to build effective relationships across teams, systems, and stakeholder groups.
• Advanced skills in driving process improvements and maintenance to guarantee high-quality, compliant service across the team.
• Advanced communication skills, with the ability to influence, build consensus, and support effective decision-making.
• Intermediate skills in developing and presenting training materials.
• Intermediate proficiency in Microsoft Office (e.g., Outlook, Word, Excel, and Teams).

Knowledge

• Expert knowledge of mental health and substance use treatments, programs and services.
• Extensive knowledge of case management principles and practices, including how to effectively leverage community resources to support member care.
• Extensive knowledge of cultural competency best practices for engaging and serving members who hold diverse identities, including members with disabilities.
• Extensive knowledge of HIPAA and applicable federal and state confidentiality regulations, along with comprehensive understanding of Medicare and Medi-Cal program requirements/benefits.
• Working knowledge of social determinants of health.
• Working knowledge of Managed Care processes, including use of Milliman Care guidelines and American Society of Addiction Medicine criteria.

Abilities

• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively towards solutions with multiple stakeholders (staff, providers, members and community partners).
• Demonstrated ability to solve problems in an effective and timely manner.
• Demonstrated ability to collect and incorporate feedback from stakeholder, into decision making.
• Demonstrated ability to apply clinical knowledge to navigate complex psychosocial challenges for member and providers.

Licensure/Certifications

• Valid California license as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC), or Licensed Psychologist (LP) required.

Driving

• N/A

Duties & Responsibilities

Essential Functions

Lead Team Workflow/Output

• Coordinate and guide the team's daily work activities by modeling accountability, promoting clarity, and fostering a supportive and psychologically safe environment.
• Ensure team members stay aligned with established performance expectations by providing clear process guidance and constructive feedback on work outputs.
• Hold regular check-ins focused on workflow support, task clarification, and skill development.
• Support adherence to organizational policies and procedures by reinforcing process requirements and promoting an inclusive, respectful team culture.
• Serve as the subject matter expert and assist with orientation, mentoring, and training for staff.

Care Management/Coordination

• Provide care coordination for individual members and lead the team with best practices for care management and coordination, facilitating access to services.
• Lead and/or participate in internal and external clinical huddles and interdisciplinary meetings to determine need for internal or external referrals when appropriate.
• Build and maintain effective working relationships across HPSM to understand current practices, member needs, and support coordinated care for members with complex behavioral needs.
• Coordinate with internal teams and Behavioral Health and Recovery Services to support collaborative care and effective transitions between behavioral health and medical services.

Training and Development

• Develop and maintain procedure documents that align with policy and regulations to support effective and efficient operations.
• Ensure the team has the tools and skills to identify and support members' psychosocial, physical, and social determinants of health needs, linking them to resources.
• Monitor data, process trends, and feedback from members and teams to identify opportunities for innovation and process improvement.
• Partner with team and leaders to develop and implement training on behavioral health symptoms, treatments, and resources to improve staff competency with complex members.

Secondary Functions

• Maintain a valid California license as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC), or Licensed Psychologist (LP) license/certification.
• Adhere to work performance norms and attendance expectations.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

The Health Plan of San Mateo (HPSM) is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, creed, political affiliation, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, marital status, registered domestic partner status, sexual orientation, age, ancestry, national origin, citizenship status, veteran or military status, disability, medical condition, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

This policy applies to all aspects of employment, including recruitment, hiring, selection, placement, promotion, transfer, demotion, compensation, benefits, training, discipline, and termination.

HPSM is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities and to applicants and employees with sincerely held religious beliefs or practices, in accordance with applicable law. If you require an accommodation during the application or interview process, or in order to perform the essential functions of a position, please contact the HPSM recruiter to request assistance.