Director of Collaborative Care (CoCM)

Essen Health Care is the largest privately held, multispecialty medical group in New York, providing high-quality, compassionate care to some of the state’s most vulnerable and underserved residents.

Founded in 1999, we’ve grown from a single primary care office into a network of 50+ locations offering urgent care, primary care and specialty services, from women’s health to endocrinology and psychiatry. We also provide nursing home support, care management, and in-home care through our Essen House Calls program. Guided by a Population Health model, our team of 500+ providers deliver care in-person, at home, or via telehealth, ensuring patients get the support they need when and where they need it.

We’re looking for talented, motivated individuals to join our growing team. Whether you’re a medical provider, administrator, or operations professional, there’s a career here for you. Join us in making a real difference in the health of our community.

Position Title: Director of Collaborative Care (CoCM)

Position Summary:  The Director of Collaborative Care (CoCM) provides strategic, operational, and clinical leadership for Essen Health Care's integrated behavioral health program embedded within primary care. Reporting to the Chief Administrative Officer, the Director serves as the administrative and clinical bridge between behavioral health and primary care services, ensuring delivery of high-quality, evidence-based, patient-centered care to underserved populations across the Bronx and broader New York City service area.

This leadership role is responsible for building the program from a population health perspective — managing multidisciplinary staff including Behavioral Health Care Managers (BHCMs), Psychiatric Consultants, and Integrated Care Coordinators; ensuring financial sustainability through accurate billing of CoCM codes; driving measurable quality improvements; and partnering closely with primary care leadership to scale the model across Essen's 35+ medical offices.

Core Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and execute the strategic plan for the Collaborative Care program, including service expansion, geographic growth across Essen's network, and integration into existing primary care workflows.
• Partner with executive leadership to set annual goals, build the operating plan, and forecast resource needs aligned with Essen's Population Health model.
• Identify and pursue opportunities for program innovation, value-based care contracts, and grant funding to support sustainability and growth.

Operational Management

• Oversee day-to-day operations of the CoCM program, including EHR utilization, patient registry management, and workflow standardization across sites.
• Ensure caseloads of Behavioral Health Care Managers meet evidence-based standards consistent with a population health approach (typically 60–80 active patients per FTE).
• Establish and maintain policies, procedures, and clinical protocols for systematic case review, warm handoffs, and stepped-care escalation.
• Lead implementation of new sites, technology rollouts, and workflow redesigns in partnership with operations and IT.

Clinical Quality Oversight

• Monitor performance metrics including patient clinical improvement (e.g., 50% reduction in PHQ-9/GAD-7 scores), treat-to-target rates, and time to remission.
• Ensure compliance with evidence-based practices, including weekly Systematic Case Review (SCR) with the Psychiatric Consultant and registry-based proactive outreach.
• Lead continuous quality improvement initiatives and ensure adherence to AIMS Center / University of Washington CoCM fidelity standards.
• Maintain compliance with all regulatory and accreditation requirements (NCQA, DOH, OMH, CMS).

Staff Leadership & Development

• Recruit, train, supervise, and mentor Behavioral Health Care Managers, Psychiatric Consultants, and Integrated Care Coordinators.
• Provide ongoing clinical supervision, performance management, and professional development planning for the integrated care team.
• Foster a collaborative, mission-driven team culture aligned with Essen's commitment to underserved communities.

Financial & Fiscal Management

• Oversee billing and coding processes for CoCM CPT codes (99492, 99493, 99494, G2214) to maximize reimbursement and ensure documentation compliance.
• Analyze payer contracts and reimbursement rates; partner with revenue cycle leadership to optimize CoCM revenue capture across Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial payers.
• Develop and manage the annual program budget, monitor variances, and report financial performance to the Chief Administrative Officer.

Stakeholder Relations

• Partner with Medical Directors, primary care providers, and executive leadership to drive successful adoption and sustainability of the CoCM model.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for external partners including health plans, community-based organizations, and academic affiliates.
• Represent Essen Health Care's CoCM program at industry conferences, payer meetings, and learning collaboratives.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Caseload size and patient throughput per Behavioral Health Care Manager.
• Patient improvement rates measured by validated tools (PHQ-9, GAD-7) — target 50% improvement at 10–14 weeks.
• Percentage of enrolled patients receiving timely psychiatric consultation (target ≥ 90% within program-defined window).
• Billing accuracy, claim denial rates, and CoCM code reimbursement yield.
• Patient enrollment and retention rates within the CoCM program.
• Provider and patient satisfaction scores.

Qualifications

Education

• Master's degree in Social Work (LCSW), Nursing (MSN/PMHNP), Psychology (PhD/PsyD), or related clinical field; OR a licensed physician (MD/DO) with relevant specialty training.
• Active, unrestricted New York State license in good standing required.

Experience

• Minimum 5–7 years of progressive management experience, preferably in integrated behavioral health, primary care, or a population health setting.
• Demonstrated experience launching, scaling, or directing a Collaborative Care or comparable integrated behavioral health program.
• Strong working knowledge of CoCM billing, payer regulations, and value-based care frameworks.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary clinical teams and managing program budgets of meaningful scale.

Skills & Competencies

• Deep expertise in the AIMS Center Collaborative Care Model and measurement-based care.
• Proven leadership and people-management ability with a track record of staff development and retention.
• Strong financial and analytical acumen, including budgeting, KPI dashboards, and ROI analysis.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to influence at the executive, clinical, and frontline levels.
• Proficiency in EHR systems (eClinicalWorks, Epic, or comparable) and patient registry tools.
• Cultural competence and demonstrated commitment to serving underserved, multicultural communities.

Work Environment

This is a full-time, on-site / hybrid leadership role based in the Bronx, NY. Travel to Essen Health Care offices across New York City is required. Some evening or weekend availability may be needed to support program go-lives, audits, or stakeholder meetings.

Essen Health Care is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.