Director of Nursing at Apex Recovery LLC – Columbia, Tennessee

Director of Nursing (DON) – Behavioral Health (Multi-Site)

Location: Apex Recovery (Multi-site)
Reports To: Executive Leadership
Status: Full-Time

Position Summary

The Director of Nursing (DON) – Behavioral Health provides strategic and operational leadership for nursing services across multiple facilities within Apex Recovery. This role is responsible for ensuring the delivery of high-quality, patient-centered care while maintaining compliance with all regulatory, licensing, and accreditation standards.

This position will initially oversee two behavioral health locations, with a third facility scheduled to open in October 2026. The ideal candidate will bring strong leadership, scalability, and operational expertise to support growth, standardization, and clinical excellence across all sites.

The DON will work closely with executive leadership, facility administrators, medical providers, and interdisciplinary teams to improve patient outcomes, strengthen nursing operations, and build a high-performing nursing culture.

Key Responsibility

Clinical Leadership & Quality

• Provide oversight of nursing practice across multiple behavioral health facilities, including inpatient, residential, and/or outpatient settings.
• Ensure delivery of safe, effective, evidence-based care for mental health and substance use disorder populations.
• Establish, monitor, and improve clinical quality indicators, patient outcomes, and nursing performance metrics.
• Standardize nursing protocols, workflows, policies, and procedures across all locations.
• Promote a culture of patient safety, accountability, service excellence, and continuous improvement.
• Support therapeutic, trauma-informed, and patient-centered care practices.

Operations & Multi-Site Oversight

• Provide direct leadership support to two current facilities and lead onboarding/integration of a third site opening in October 2026.
• Mentor and support facility-level nursing leaders, charge nurses, and department managers.
• Conduct routine site visits to ensure consistency in care delivery, policy adherence, and operational excellence.
• Collaborate with operations leadership to optimize staffing models, schedules, productivity, and patient flow.
• Oversee staff scheduling practices to ensure proper coverage, skill mix, and alignment with census and acuity.
• Implement scheduling best practices that balance patient care quality, employee satisfaction, and labor efficiency.
• Lead nursing readiness for new site openings, including staffing plans, orientation, training, and process implementation.

Regulatory & Compliance

• Ensure compliance with all federal, state, and local regulations, as well as accreditation standards (Joint Commission, CARF, etc.).
• Lead survey readiness efforts and participate in audits, inspections, and corrective action planning.
• Oversee incident reporting, risk management, medication safety, and follow-up actions.
• Maintain accurate documentation standards and ensure adherence to clinical policies.

Talent Development & Leadership

• Recruit, develop, and retain high-performing nursing leaders and staff.
• Provide coaching, mentorship, and succession planning for nursing leadership roles.
• Foster a collaborative, accountable, and engaged nursing culture across all locations.
• Support ongoing education, competency validation, training, and professional development initiatives.
• Promote employee engagement and retention strategies across the nursing department.

Financial & Strategic Contribution

• Partner with finance and operations leaders to manage labor budgets and control staffing costs.
• Utilize scheduling, productivity, and workforce data to improve labor optimization and cost management.
• Contribute to strategic planning, growth initiatives, and operational expansion efforts.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency while maintaining high standards of patient care and compliance.

Qualifications

• Education
• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) required
• Master’s degree (MSN, MHA, MBA, or related field) preferred

• Active Registered Nurse (RN) license in good standing
• Multi-state license or ability to obtain preferred

• 7+ years of progressive nursing leadership experience
• Multi-site, regional, or system-level leadership experience strongly preferred
• Behavioral health, psychiatric, detox, or substance use treatment experience required
• Experience supporting facility openings, expansions, or integrations preferred

Key Competencies

• Proven ability to scale nursing operations across multiple locations
• Strong knowledge of staffing models, workforce planning, and scheduling optimization
• Strategic thinker with strong operational execution skills
• Ability to lead through influence across geographically dispersed teams
• Excellent communication, coaching, and relationship-building skills
• Data-driven decision-making and performance management
• High emotional intelligence, adaptability, and resilience
• Strong regulatory knowledge and survey readiness expertise

Why Join Apex RecoveryThis is a high-impact leadership opportunity to shape nursing practice across a growing behavioral health organization. The Director of Nursing will play a critical role in supporting current operations across two facilities while helping launch and stabilize a third site. This leader will directly influence patient outcomes, staff engagement, and the future growth of Apex Recovery.