Senior Director, Social Work, Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital

Discover Vanderbilt University Medical Center:  Located in Nashville, Tennessee, and operating at a global crossroads of teaching, discovery, and patient care, VUMC is a community of individuals who come to work each day with the simple aim of changing the world. It is a place where your expertise will be valued, your knowledge expanded, and your abilities challenged. Vanderbilt Health is committed to an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and where your uniqueness is sought and celebrated. It is a place where employees know they are part of something that is bigger than themselves, take exceptional pride in their work and never settle for what was good enough yesterday. Vanderbilt’s mission is to advance health and wellness through preeminent programs in patient care, education, and research.

Organization:

VPH Administration

Job Summary:

Vanderbilt Health – Executive Search Team is conducting a national search for a Senior Director, Social Work, Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital.

Accountable to: Vice President, Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital.

The Senior Director of Social Work provides strategic leadership, operational oversight, and clinical direction for all social work services within Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital. This executive leader is responsible for advancing excellence in patient care, care coordination, discharge planning, behavioral health outcomes, regulatory compliance, staff development, and interdisciplinary collaboration. The Senior Director serves as a key member of the hospital leadership team and partners closely with physicians, nursing leadership, case management, quality, and community stakeholders to ensure the delivery of high-quality, evidence-based, patient-centered behavioral health services.

The Senior Director fosters a culture of clinical excellence, innovation, workforce engagement, and continuous improvement while ensuring social work services align with the mission, values, and strategic priorities of Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital (VPH) consists of a number of key areas and services, including the 106-licensed bed inpatient hospital, psychiatric emergency department, neuromodulation services, and select outpatient services. The inpatient hospital includes 6 acute inpatient units treating child, adolescent, general adult, psychotic disorders, mood disorders, addiction, and geriatric psychiatric patients. The psychiatric emergency department is attached to the hospital building and is known as PAS (Psychiatric Assessment Services). Neuromodulation services include ECT (Electroconvulsive Therapy) and TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation). The outpatient services include Partial Hospitalization Programs (PHP) and Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP). VPH also partners closely with other ambulatory outpatient services and across the VUMC system.

VPH achieved Magnet designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center for the fourth time in 2022. VPH is one of only three stand-alone Magnet-designated psychiatric hospitals in the US and the only in the Southeast. VPH is also the only stand-alone psychiatric hospital that has achieved Magnet designation four times.

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Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and execute a comprehensive vision and strategic plan for social work services across Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital.
• Align departmental goals with organizational priorities related to quality, patient experience, employee engagement, financial stewardship, and growth.
• Lead initiatives that improve access to behavioral health services, care transitions, and community partnerships.
• Serve as the social work subject matter expert and advisor to hospital and health system leadership.
• Champion innovation and best practices in psychiatric social work and behavioral health care delivery.

Clinical Operations & Program Management

• Direct social work operations across inpatient psychiatric units, specialty programs, consult services, and other assigned behavioral health settings.
• Ensure consistent implementation of evidence-based social work practice standards and care management processes.
• Oversee psychosocial assessments, crisis intervention services, discharge planning, utilization management support, and community resource coordination.
• Monitor patient throughput and transition-of-care metrics to improve clinical outcomes and operational efficiency.
• Establish performance standards, operational goals, and key performance indicators for the department.

Leadership & Talent Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop managers, supervisors, and social work staff.
• Create a high-performance culture focused on accountability, collaboration, professional growth, and employee engagement.
• Support workforce planning, recruitment, retention, succession planning, and onboarding initiatives.
• Promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging within the social work workforce.
• Ensure ongoing competency assessment and professional development opportunities for social work staff.

Quality, Safety & Regulatory Compliance

• Ensure compliance with The Joint Commission, CMS, Tennessee state regulations, accreditation standards, and professional social work practice requirements.
• Lead quality improvement initiatives focused on patient safety, clinical effectiveness, care coordination, and patient experience.
• Analyze quality and outcome data to identify opportunities for improvement and implement corrective actions.
• Participate in hospital committees addressing quality, ethics, patient safety, behavioral health standards, and compliance.
• Maintain readiness for regulatory surveys and audits.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration

• Partner with Psychiatry, Nursing, Psychology, Case Management, Emergency Services, and other clinical departments to optimize patient care.
• Foster strong interdisciplinary relationships that support team-based care and patient-centered treatment planning.
• Collaborate with community agencies, post-acute providers, governmental organizations, and advocacy groups to strengthen continuity of care.
• Represent social work leadership in executive meetings, strategic planning activities, and organizational initiatives.

Financial & Resource Management

• Develop and manage departmental budgets, staffing plans, and resource allocation strategies.
• Monitor productivity, labor utilization, and operational performance metrics.
• Identify opportunities for cost-effective service delivery while maintaining exceptional patient care.
• Support business planning and growth initiatives for behavioral health services.

Research, Education & Academic Collaboration

• Support Vanderbilt's academic mission through collaboration with schools of social work, residency programs, and trainees.
• Promote participation in research, evidence-based practice initiatives, and clinical innovation.
• Facilitate student placement programs, internships, and professional education activities.
• Encourage scholarly contributions and professional engagement within regional and national organizations.

Qualifications

Required:

• Master's Degree in Social Work (MSW) from an accredited institution.
• Current Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) licensure or eligibility in Tennessee.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive social work leadership experience, including leadership within psychiatric, behavioral health, or hospital settings.
• Demonstrated experience leading large teams and complex clinical operations.
• Strong knowledge of behavioral health regulations, accreditation standards, and healthcare operations.

Preferred

• Doctoral degree or additional advanced healthcare leadership training.
• Experience within an academic medical center or integrated health system.
• Experience leading inpatient psychiatric services and multidisciplinary behavioral health programs.
• Professional certifications related to healthcare leadership, case management, or behavioral health administration.

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Our professional administrative functions include critical supporting roles in information technology and informatics, finance, administration, legal and community affairs, human resources, communications and marketing, development, facilities, and many more.

At our growing health system, we support each other and encourage excellence among all who are part of our workforce. High-achieving employees stay at Vanderbilt Health for professional growth, appreciation of benefits, and a sense of community and purpose.

Core Accountabilities:

* Organizational Impact: Establishes function strategies with direct impact on the function results.* Problem Solving/ Complexity of work: Directs the resolution of numerous strategic issues that affect own function and the broader organization.* Breadth of Knowledge: Applies in-depth business knowledge across multiple areas of the business. * Team Interaction: Leads a function serving the organization at large.

Core Capabilities :

Supporting Colleagues: - Develops Self and Others: Acts upon constructive feedback from all levels of the organization and initiates strategies to develop talent in others. - Builds and Maintains Relationships: Leverages relationships and insight to forecast potential future needs and influence delivery of work to exceed expectations. - Communicates Effectively: Anticipates difference audience concerns, styles and finds mutually beneficial solutions across conflicting and sensitive issues. Delivering Excellent Services : - Serves Others with Compassion: Demonstrates in-depth knowledge of broad-based issues and considers the interests of others to improve satisfaction of services. - Solves Complex Problems: Critically evaluates complex information and identifies trends/risks to make recommendations to improve processes across areas. - Offers Meaningful Advice and Support: Provides ongoing feedback and development discussions to motivate and support team members to maximize performance .Ensuring High Quality : - Performs Excellent Work: Anticipates problems or obstacles which may interfere with quality standards and develops plants to ensure area's quality standards are met. - Ensures Continuous Improvement: Routinely draws upon valuable learning from others, past experiences, and new information to determine key opportunities. - Fulfills Safety and Regulatory Requirements: Develops appropriate corrective actions for unsafe environments in order to ensure operational and safety compliance. Managing Resources Effectively: - Demonstrates Accountability: Identifies potential obstacles to goal achievement and develops solutions to address those obstacles. - Stewards Organizational Resources: Creates the appropriate systems and processes to effectively manage resources. - Makes Data Driven Decisions: Applies in-depth knowledge of data to recommend and implement new approaches to improve decision making capabilities. Fostering Innovation: - Generates New Ideas: Identifies opportunities and leads development of new initiatives that create value across areas. - Applies Technology: Creates the energy and drive for self/others to identify and leverage technology in new, innovative ways to drive greater efficiencies. - Adapts to Change: Anticipates the change process and clearly communicates impact on others/own team(s), assisting them in embracing the change.

Position Qualifications:

Responsibilities:

Certifications:

Work Experience:

Relevant Work Experience

Experience Level:

7 years

Education:

Bachelor's

This role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact within Vanderbilt Health, supported by a comprehensive benefits package which may include health, disability, retirement and/or wellness offerings to enhance your well-being and professional growth.

Vanderbilt Health is committed to fostering an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and is committed to the principles of equal opportunity.  EOE/Vets/Disabled.