About This Role

The Divisional Risk Specialist is responsible for ensuring superior patient safety and experience as measured by incident volumes/rates, management of incident trends, completion of compliant and orderly investigations, and compliance with state and federal laws and regulations and accreditation standards. As such, the Divisional Risk Specialist is responsible for providing expert guidance and advice on all aspects of risk policy development; risk management program implementation; critical incident reporting; incident trends and mitigation plans; achievement of Acadia’s expected practices regarding patient/staff safety and experience; and on-going regulatory readiness strategies in all assigned Acadia facilities. Through routine physical presence, remote data and documentation monitoring, and intentional sharing of deep subject-matter expertise, the Divisional Risk Specialist will ensure a proactive focus on safety and excellence within the assigned facilities. 

Our Mission

At Acadia Healthcare, we exist to Lead Care with Light. Every day, our teams help improve lives, inspire hope, and elevate communities through compassionate behavioral healthcare.

Compensation & Benefits

We value your expertise and dedication—and we invest in your success.

• Competitive Base Salary commensurate with experience
• Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• 401(k) Plan with Company Match
• Paid Time Off (PTO) and recognized holidays
• Company-paid Basic Life and AD&D Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and mental wellness resources
• Opportunities for professional growth and advancement within Acadia’s nationwide network

What you’ll do…

• Monitor daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual incident volumes and trends at the assigned facilities, identifying deviations from expected practice and enterprise targets.  
• Proactively analyze incident trends and assist facilities with developing effective, multidisciplinary plans of action to remediate escalating incident trends and patient/staff safety risks. 
• Support and teach facility leadership – specifically CEOs, COOs, and Risk leadership – to sustainably implement best-practices in risk management as evidenced by measurable incident trend reductions in assigned facilities. 
• Communicate with facility Risk leader to receive notification or information of adverse events, including coaching staff with mitigation efforts and investigation requirements.  
• Ensure proper facility reporting of violations or potential violations to duly authorized enforcement agencies as appropriate and/or required. 
• Evaluate key metrics and assist facility leadership with creating reports related to the Risk Management Program. 
• Analyze risk related data to better understand potential risk and actual risk and anticipate losses. 
• Analyze incident data to track and identify trends to reduce risk exposures, prevent incident re-occurrence/loss, and improve the quality of care. 
• Make recommendations to reduce risk.  
• Review documents provided by facility related to Risk Management, including investigations submitted by a facility to assess risk. Communicates with facility to gather additional documents as needed and ensure implementation of interventions to reduce risk. 
• Collaborate with other departments to promote the principles of enterprise risk management. 
• Innovation – ensure thorough adoption of Acadia’s selected technology platforms to support patient and staff safety and experience. 
• Respond to alleged violations of rules, regulations, policies, & Codes of Conduct by evaluating and recommending investigations as appropriate. Coordinate resolution of ethics reports with appropriate members of the Quality team, Compliance team, Human Resources, and/or General Counsel (Legal team). 
• Develop and evaluate the goals of the Company and prioritize the work in accordance with the strategic objectives of Acadia Healthcare.  
• Maintain regular communication with leadership at assigned facilities regarding clinical, patient safety, patient experience, and risk management issues. 
• Work collaboratively with corporate staff, physicians, Quality, Legal, and other corporate leaders to address performance improvement and safety issues.  

OTHER FUNCTIONS:  

• Performs other duties as assigned. 

STANDARD EXPECTATIONS: 

• Must be able to manage multiple tasks/projects simultaneously within inflexible time frames. 
• Complies with organizational policies, procedures, performance improvement initiatives and maintains organizational and industry policies regarding confidentiality.  
• Communicate clearly and effectively to person(s) receiving services and their family members, guests and other members of the health care team. 
• Develops constructive and cooperative working relationships with others and maintains them over time. 
• Encourages and builds mutual trust, respect and cooperation among team members. 
• Maintains regular and predictable attendance.  

What you'll bring...

Minimum

• Bachelor’s degree in healthcare or related field OR 5 years of Risk leadership at a healthcare facility required.

• A minimum of two years’ experience in psychiatric healthcare operations and/or healthcare risk management. Previous Medicare/Medicaid Operations/healthcare industry experience preferred.  

• Knowledge of relevant Joint Commission, CMS, CARF, DEA, and state/local standards and regulations. 

• Experience in conducting complex, healthcare-focused investigations required. Experience conducting root-cause analyses and Failure Mode and Effects Analyses preferred. 

• Advanced computer skills including Microsoft Office; especially Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. 

• Knowledge of office administration procedures with the ability to operate most standard office equipment. 

• Ability to work professionally with sensitive, proprietary data & information while maintaining confidentiality. 

• Excellent interpersonal skills including the ability to interact effectively and professionally with individuals at all levels; both internal and external. 

• Exercises sound judgment in responding to inquiries; understands when to route inquiries to next level. 

• Self-motivated with strong organizational skills and superior attention to detail. 

• Must be able to manage multiple tasks/projects simultaneously within inflexible time frames. Ability to adapt to frequent priority changes. 

• Capable of working within established policies, procedures and practices prescribed by the organization. 

• English sufficient to provide and receive instructions/directions. 

• Ability to travel up to 50% of the time, including flying and driving rental cars.

  To accommodate travel, must be able to transport own suitcases and computer estimated at 25 pounds.

  
   

LICENSES/DESIGNATIONS/CERTIFICATIONS: 

• CPHRM preferred but not required 

SUPERVISORY REQUIREMENTS:  

​​This position is an Individual Contributor​ 

Why Acadia?

When you join Acadia Healthcare, you become part of a team dedicated to improving lives through compassionate care and ethical leadership. We are committed to helping our employees grow professionally while making a meaningful difference for patients, families, and communities.

At Acadia, we:

• Lead Care with Light by supporting those who care for others.
• Set the standard for care through accountability and excellence.
• Lift and uplift one another through collaboration and respect.
• Innovate quickly to save lives by improving processes and outcomes.
• Succeed as one by working together toward a common purpose.

If you're passionate about investigations, healthcare compliance, and protecting patients while strengthening organizational integrity, we encourage you to apply.

While this job description is intended to be an accurate reflection of the requirements of the job, management reserves the right to add or remove duties from particular jobs when circumstances  
(e.g. emergencies, changes in workload, rush jobs or technological developments) dictate. 

Acadia Healthcare is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable law.

AHCORP

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