Executive Director at Ascension in Morgantown, WV

Executive Director

Location: Morgantown, West Virginia

Executive Director

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE PROVIDED

Camp Baer – Wise Path Recovery Centers
Morgantown, West Virginia
Full-Time | On-Site | Exempt

JOIN A MISSION THAT CHANGES LIVES!

Wise Path Recovery Centers is preparing to open Camp Baer, a new substance use disorder treatment program in the Morgantown area this winter.

Despite its name, Camp Baer is not a traditional camp. It is a premier residential substance use disorder treatment center located in a chalet-style lodge nestled within the wooded mountains of West Virginia. The facility provides high-end, evidence-based care and attracts patients from across the country seeking treatment in a private, restorative setting.

Camp Baer is being designed to create a treatment experience that feels intentionally different from a traditional facility. The program will provide individuals with the opportunity to step away from the pressures of everyday life, focus fully on their recovery, and build a strong foundation for lasting change.

We are seeking an exceptional Executive Director to lead Camp Baer from pre-opening through launch and long-term operational excellence.

This is not a maintenance role. This is a build role.

The Executive Director will have the opportunity to shape the culture, build the leadership team, establish operational standards, develop community relationships, and set the tone for the client and team member experience from day one.

If you are a mission-driven healthcare leader who combines compassion with strong operational discipline and wants the opportunity to build something meaningful from the ground up, this may be the role for you.

About Us

At Wise Path Recovery Centers, we are committed to providing integrated behavioral health and addiction treatment through evidence-based, high-quality clinical care for individuals, families, and communities impacted by substance use and mental health disorders.

Wise Path Recovery Centers is operated by Ascension Recovery Services (ARS), a national behavioral healthcare organization specializing in the development and management of substance use disorder treatment programs.

Our work is grounded in the belief that recovery is deeply personal and that exceptional treatment requires both clinical excellence and genuine human connection.

Our culture is built around:

• Kindness
• Teamwork
• Empathy
• Integrity
• Excellence
• Mission-driven care

Camp Baer will bring these values to life in an environment intentionally designed to promote healing, connection, accountability, and lasting recovery.

Why You Should Join Us

Opening a new treatment program is a rare opportunity to influence nearly every part of the organization from the beginning.

As Executive Director of Camp Baer a Wise Path Recovery Center, you will have the opportunity to:

• Build and develop the founding leadership team
• Shape the culture and expectations of a brand-new program
• Establish operational systems and standards before opening
• Create an exceptional client and family experience
• Work closely with experienced behavioral healthcare leaders across Wise Path Recovery Centers and Ascension Recovery Service.
  
• You will have significant local leadership responsibility while also receiving support from centralized ARS teams including Human Resources, Compliance, Finance, Revenue Cycle, IT, Marketing, Admissions, and other shared services.
  

What You’ll Do

As the Executive Director, you will serve as the senior operational and administrative leader of Camp Baer and will be accountable for the overall performance, culture, quality, safety, and growth of the program.

Operational Leadership & Launch Execution

• Lead all aspects of pre-opening operational readiness, including staffing, onboarding, training, scheduling, workflows, and policy implementation
• Build the leadership structure and operational cadence necessary to successfully launch and scale the program
• Establish clear performance expectations, accountability systems, and key operational metrics
• Develop efficient processes supporting admissions, clinical services, medical services, recovery support, hospitality, documentation, and facility operations
• Ensure strong communication and coordination across all departments
• Identify operational barriers early and drive timely, practical solutions
• Partner closely with Wise Path and ARS leadership throughout the opening process

Client Experience

• Help create an environment that is calm, restorative, welcoming, structured, and highly professional
• Ensure the physical environment and daily operations support the therapeutic mission of Camp Baer
• Promote a client experience grounded in dignity, compassion, personal responsibility, and recovery
• Create strong alignment between clinical care, recovery programming, hospitality, and day-to-day operations
• Maintain appropriate professional and therapeutic boundaries while creating a highly supportive treatment environment
• Regularly assess the client and family experience and identify opportunities for improvement

Regulatory, Compliance & Accreditation Oversight

• Ensure compliance with applicable West Virginia behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment requirements
• Lead facility readiness for applicable regulatory and accreditation surveys
• Ensure policies, procedures, documentation standards, and operational expectations are consistently implemented
• Support compliance with HIPAA, 42 CFR Part 2, client rights, confidentiality requirements, and other applicable federal and state requirements
• Partner with Compliance and clinical leadership on performance improvement, incident review, quality assurance, and corrective action
• Maintain a strong culture of safety, integrity, accountability, and regulatory compliance

Clinical & Program Oversight

Partner with the Clinical Director, Medical Director, nursing leadership, and other clinical leaders to:

• Support high-quality, evidence-based, recovery-oriented treatment
• Ensure appropriate treatment planning and interdisciplinary communication
• Maintain strong clinical documentation standards
• Monitor client engagement, outcomes, length of stay, and discharge planning
• Support appropriate level-of-care and utilization review processes
• Ensure coordination between clinical, medical, nursing, case management, and recovery support teams
• Maintain clear accountability for client safety and quality of care

Financial Performance & Census Growth

• Manage facility financial performance and budget in collaboration with ARS Finance
• Monitor key operational and financial performance indicators including:
  • Census and occupancy
  • Admissions and discharges
  • Staffing ratios
  • Labor utilization
  • Overtime
  • Length of stay
  • Payer mix
  • Revenue performance
  • Facility expenses
• Align staffing levels with census and operational needs
• Maintain disciplined expense management without compromising quality or safety
• Collaborate with Business Development and Admissions to support sustainable referral and census growth
• Understand local market dynamics and help position Camp Baer as a trusted treatment resource in the region

People Leadership & Culture

• Recruit, develop, and retain a strong interdisciplinary team
• Build a culture rooted in kindness, teamwork, empathy, integrity, excellence, accountability, and mission
• Establish clear expectations for leaders and team members
• Coach and develop department leaders to strengthen their leadership and operational capabilities
• Lead structured supervision, performance management, and employee accountability processes
• Address performance, conduct, and culture concerns promptly and consistently
• Promote trauma-informed and recovery-oriented leadership practices
• Model professionalism, emotional intelligence, humility, sound judgment, and accountability

Community & Market Presence

• Serve as a visible representative of Camp Baer and Wise Path Recovery Centers throughout Morgantown and the surrounding region
• Develop strong relationships with hospitals, healthcare providers, behavioral health organizations, recovery communities, employers, and referral partners
• Build trust with community stakeholders and referral sources
• Collaborate with Business Development to support responsible market growth
• Help establish Camp Baer as a respected resource within West Virginia's behavioral health continuum

Who You Are

You are a builder.

You are energized by the opportunity to take a vision, develop the people and infrastructure around it, and turn it into a high-performing program.

You understand that exceptional behavioral healthcare requires both heart and discipline.

You can create a warm, mission-driven culture while maintaining high expectations around safety, staffing, clinical quality, documentation, compliance, financial performance, and accountability.

You are comfortable moving between strategy and execution. One moment you may be reviewing financial performance or developing a community partnership strategy, and the next you may be walking the facility, coaching a leader, reviewing staffing, or solving an immediate operational challenge.

Most importantly, you understand that the culture established during the first several months of a new program can shape that organization for years.

Requirements

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Administration, Behavioral Health, Business Administration, Human Services, or a related field
• Minimum of 5 years of progressive leadership experience within behavioral health, substance use disorder treatment, healthcare, residential treatment, or a related setting
• Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary teams
• Strong operational management experience
• Strong financial and business acumen
• Experience working within regulatory and compliance-driven healthcare environments
• Demonstrated ability to build accountable, high-performing teams
• Strong communication, decision-making, organizational, and problem-solving skills
• Ability to successfully lead within a startup, new-facility, high-growth, or turnaround environment

Strongly Preferred

• Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration, Behavioral Health, Business Administration, or a related field
• Previous Executive Director, Administrator, COO, Program Director, or comparable facility leadership experience
• Substance use disorder treatment experience
• Residential treatment experience
• Experience opening or launching a new behavioral health or healthcare facility
• Joint Commission accreditation or survey preparation experience
• Familiarity with ASAM-aligned substance use disorder treatment
• Experience managing census growth, staffing models, and facility-level financial performance
• Experience working within a multi-site healthcare organization

Key Leadership Competencies

Successful candidates will demonstrate:

• Operational Discipline & Execution
• Financial Acumen
• Regulatory & Compliance Expertise
• High Emotional Intelligence
• Talent Development
• Culture Building
• Strategic Thinking
• Tactical Follow-Through
• Strong Judgment
• Accountability
• Collaborative Leadership
• Mission Alignment
• Client-Centered Decision Making

Work Conditions & Physical Requirements

• Full-time, on-site leadership position based in the Morgantown, West Virginia area
• Frequent movement throughout the facility and grounds
• Must be highly visible and engaged within facility operations, particularly during pre-opening and early operations
• Availability outside traditional business hours may occasionally be required based on facility needs
• Must be available to assist with urgent staffing, operational, clinical, safety, or facility matters when necessary
• Periodic travel may be required for organizational meetings, training, or collaboration with other Wise Path and ARS locations
• Must be able to perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation

Compensation

Compensation is competitive and commensurate with experience, education, leadership background, and qualifications.

This position is eligible for performance-based incentive compensation.

Benefits

Eligible team members may receive:

• Medical Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• 401(k)
• Paid Time Off
• Paid Holidays
• Company-Paid Basic Life Insurance
• Company-Paid Short-Term Disability
• Employee Assistance Program
• Professional Development Support
• Performance-Based Incentive Opportunity

Equal Employment Opportunity

Wise Path Recovery Centers provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

We provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities and for sincerely held religious beliefs in accordance with applicable law. Applicants or employees requiring an accommodation should contact Human Resources.