Practice Operations Manager in Poughkeepsie, New York at Family Services Inc.

Title: Practice Operations Manager

Salary: $70,000 - $78,000 annually

Status: Full-Time, Exempt, 40 hours per week

Supervisor: Vice President of Operations

Location: Ulster & Dutchess Behavioral Health Centers

Function:
The Practice Operations Manager is responsible for designing, standardizing, and strengthening how outpatient clinic operations function across sites. This role serves as the operational control point for practice management and the primary partner to the Vice President of Operations in shaping a more consistent, reliable, and effective clinic operating model.

This role directly oversees front office practice management operations through the Sr. Office Manager and leads the development of standardized workflows, training systems, and performance expectations across sites. In parallel, the role partners with clinical leadership to design and improve end-to-end clinic workflows that support access, engagement, throughput, and completion of care.

This position does not oversee clinical care delivery but is accountable for the operational conditions that enable clinical teams to function effectively, efficiently, and at top of license.

The Practice Operations Manager is expected to bring a clear, evolving vision for a high-functioning, team-based practice management model grounded in healthcare and medical practice principles. This includes defining what effective, reliable clinic operations should look like and working across front office staff and clinical leadership to implement that vision in a practical, sustainable way.

• Lead and develop the Sr. Office Manager, establishing clear expectations for performance, accountability, and leadership across Office Managers and Office Specialists.
• Ensure consistent supervision, communication, and performance management across sites.
• Ensure operational expectations are consistently upheld across sites through structured performance management and follow-through.

Front Office Practice Management Systems and Execution

• Design and maintain standardized front office and practice management workflows and standard operating procedures, including scheduling, intake logistics, confirmations, copay collection, demographic and insurance documentation, telehealth coordination, and client communication.
• Establish and maintain training systems, onboarding approaches, and competency expectations that enable consistent execution across clinics.
• Work closely with the Sr. Office Manager and Office Managers to ensure workflows are operationalized, reinforced, and continuously improved in day-to-day practice.
• Partner with General Operations Facilities and Security staff to support safe, functional, and well-maintained clinic environments, including coordination around site readiness, environmental standards, and site-specific security procedures and relationships.

Standardization and Local Adaptation

• Ensure the Sr. Office Manager establishes a clear vision for cross-site consistency in practice management operations, defining appropriate local adaptation, and developing, implementing, and maintaining operational standards across clinics.
• Provide direction, coaching, and oversight to ensure that standards are actively managed, continuously refined, and consistently executed through Office Managers and staff.

Clinic Workflow Design and Operational Improvement

• In alignment with the Vice President of Operations, define and advance a cohesive practice management model for clinic operations and lead the design and re-design of workflows — beginning with front office processes and extending to end-to-end client flow (referral into care through completion of an episode of treatment). Partner closely with Clinical Directors, Clinical Supervisors, and the Vice President of Behavioral Health to assess and design clinical operational systems.
• Work closely with the Health Informatics/EHR team to ensure workflows are supported by system configuration, reporting, and day-to-day usability.
• Drive operational improvement efforts that reduce friction, improve coordination, and strengthen alignment between clinical, operational, and financial performance.

Access, Flow, Throughput, and Engagement Reliability

• Strengthen the operational systems that support timely client access, follow-up scheduling, early engagement, visit continuity, and completion of care.
• Identify and address breakdowns in client flow — particularly in early engagement, follow-up coordination, and handoffs between front office and clinical staff — to improve throughput and reduce avoidable drop-off.

Revenue Cycle and Compliance Readiness Support

• Ensure practice management workflows reliably support billing readiness, documentation handoffs, copay collection, demographic accuracy, and compliance with OMH, Medicaid, HIPAA, and internal standards.
• Partner with Finance, Compliance, and Billing teams to reduce revenue leakage and strengthen alignment between services delivered and services captured.

Operational Visibility and Escalation

• Create visibility into clinic operations through direct observation and use of data. Identify recurring patterns, operational constraints, and system-level issues, and escalate where leadership intervention is required.
• Ensure that operational issues are addressed at the appropriate level and do not persist as recurring workarounds.

Operational Leadership and Continuous Improvement Culture

• Use a practical, relational, and change-oriented approach to challenge leaders constructively, push for prioritization and follow-through, and support a culture in which operational improvement is part of how clinics function day to day.
• Ask strong questions, surface unclear assumptions, and help connect operational improvement efforts to measurable differences in access, engagement, and care delivery.

Other duties as assigned

Skills and Abilities:

• Systems thinking and operational design
• Process improvement (LEAN, Six Sigma, or equivalent experience preferred)
• Ability to translate strategy into executable workflows
• Strong judgment in balancing standardization with local needs
• Clear, direct communication and expectation-setting
• Comfort working across clinical and administrative boundaries
• Ability to build structure without adding unnecessary complexity
• Strong team leadership, including delegation, prioritization, and development of high-performing teams

• Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree in health administration, business, public administration, social work administration, or related field preferred
• 5–8+ years of experience in healthcare operations, practice management, or multi-site service delivery
• Experience in behavioral health, outpatient services, or NYS OMH-regulated environments strongly preferred
• Demonstrated experience designing and improving workflows and operational systems
• Familiarity with EHR systems and healthcare data/reporting environments
• Experience supervising managers and leading cross-site or cross-functional teams

• Ability to frequently and efficiently travel to Agency locations across Dutchess and Ulster Counties
• Must have established cell phone, willing to use for work (will be reimbursed), with effective coverage for the Hudson Valley area.

Benefits:

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• 403(b) retirement plan with employer match up to 5%.
• Generous paid vacation, holiday, sick and personal time package (2 weeks’ vacation in first year, 13 paid holidays per year, 12 sick days per year and 4 personal days per year).
• Access to Family Services’ Compassionate Leave Program where employees can donate/receive unused time off.
• Group term life and long-term disability insurance.
• Supplemental life insurance & accidental death and dismemberment coverage (AD&D),
• Supplemental insurance through Aflac.
• Employee assistance program (EAP).
• Pet insurance.

Our Mission:

Family Services brings people together to find the support they need, improving their lives and communities, and building a stronger safer Hudson Valley.

Our Values:

Compassion – Extending empathy and understanding to others.

Integrity – Being honest and dependable.

Hope – Believing in the strength of the human spirit and heart, to emerge and thrive when faced with a challenge.

Diversity – Promoting a vision of community comprised of wide-ranging assets.

Respect – Treating all individuals with dignity and without judgement.

Community – Recognizing and reinforcing the importance of our world as being comprised of people of differing strengths and perspectives.

Justice – Promoting social and economic equity and fairness.

Quality – Aspiring for excellence in every aspect of our work.

#INDBH

Family Services, Inc. complies with federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact hr@familyservicesny.org.

Family Services is an equal opportunity employer. We follow federal, state, and local laws prohibiting discrimination in hiring and employment.

Must be authorized to work in the United States without work sponsorship.