Director of Compliance

Ranked one of Tennessee’s top places to work, MHC is a rare and special place where outstanding company culture is intentional. Where clients and associates are treated the same, as equals.
Mental Health Cooperative, Inc. (MHC) was formed in 1993 to serve individuals with severe and persistent mental illness. Since then, we have expanded our services to children and adolescents with severe emotional disorders across Middle and East Tennessee.
Our sole purpose is to support and treat those challenged with serious mental illness and poverty. Although based out of Nashville, we serve several communities across middle and East Tennessee with satellite offices in Antioch, Gallatin, Dickson, Columbia, Cleveland, Murfreesboro, Clarksville, Cookeville, Chattanooga, and Memphis.
If you are interested in joining a team that is caring, collaborative, innovative and energizing this might be a great place for you!
Job Title: Director of Compliance
Department: Quality and Compliance
Reports To: Vice President of Compliance
Location: On-site FLSA
Status: Exempt
Purpose: The Director of Compliance provides strategic leadership, oversight, and administration of the organization's Corporate Compliance Program. This executive leadership role is responsible for ensuring enterprise-wide adherence to regulatory, accreditation, contractual, and ethical requirements while fostering a culture of integrity, accountability, and continuous improvement. The Director serves as a trusted advisor to executive leadership and the Board of Directors and provides strategic guidance regarding compliance, risk management, regulatory readiness, investigations, and organizational governance.
Position Summary: The Director of Compliance is responsible for the strategic design, implementation, oversight, and continuous improvement of the organization's Corporate Compliance Program. This position provides leadership in identifying, assessing, and mitigating enterprise compliance and regulatory risks while ensuring alignment with federal and state requirements, accreditation standards, payer expectations, and organizational priorities.
The Director oversees compliance operations, regulatory readiness, investigations, auditing and monitoring activities, policy governance, and compliance education. The position collaborates closely with executive leadership to support organizational decision-making, drive risk-informed strategies, and strengthen operational accountability. The Director serves as the primary compliance advisor to leadership, compliance committees, and the Board of Directors while maintaining oversight of regulatory agencies, accreditation organizations, licensure requirements, and external audits.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership & Program Oversight
• Direct and oversee all components of the Corporate Compliance Program.
• Develop and execute a multi-year compliance strategy aligned with organizational goals and risk priorities.
• Serve as the organization's subject matter expert on compliance, regulatory affairs, ethics, and corporate integrity.
• Advise executive leadership and governing bodies regarding emerging risks, regulatory trends, enforcement activities, and compliance obligations.
• Establish compliance objectives, performance metrics, and accountability measures across the organization.
• Lead departmental strategic planning, budgeting, staffing, and resource allocation.
Enterprise Risk Management
• Lead enterprise-wide compliance risk assessments and regulatory risk mitigation strategies.
• Partner with executive leadership to integrate compliance and risk considerations into strategic and operational planning.
• Oversee development and implementation of annual compliance work plans, audit plans, and monitoring activities.
• Evaluate organizational risk trends through analysis of audit findings, investigations, incidents, complaints, litigation, and regulatory activity.
Governance & Board Relations
• Serve as primary compliance liaison to the Compliance Committee, Executive Leadership Team, and Board of Directors.
• Present compliance program effectiveness reports, risk analyses, investigation summaries, and regulatory updates to governing bodies.
• Advise governance committees regarding fiduciary oversight responsibilities associated with compliance and ethics.
• Support development of enterprise policies, governance structures, and accountability frameworks.
Regulatory & Accreditation Leadership
• Provide executive oversight of accreditation readiness, licensure compliance, and regulatory survey activities.
• Lead organizational response to regulatory findings, corrective actions, and enforcement actions.
• Maintain executive relationships with regulatory agencies, accreditation bodies, payer organizations, and government entities.
• Direct regulatory change management efforts and organizational implementation plans.
Investigations & Corrective Action Oversight
• Provide executive oversight of significant compliance investigations, hotline reports, and allegations of misconduct.
• Ensure appropriate reporting, escalation, corrective action implementation, and monitoring of high-risk compliance concerns.
• Collaborate with legal counsel, Human Resources, Risk Management, Internal Audit, and executive leadership regarding complex investigations.
• Ensure protections against retaliation and promote ethical reporting practices.
Compliance Operations Leadership
• Oversee auditing, monitoring, policy management, compliance education, and reporting functions.
• Establish departmental priorities and ensure effective allocation of compliance resources.
• Develop departmental dashboards and executive reporting mechanisms.
• Evaluate effectiveness of compliance controls and recommend system improvements.
Culture, Education & Organizational Influence
• Champion a culture of ethical conduct, transparency, accountability, and regulatory excellence.
• Provide executive-level education to leaders, providers, managers, and Board members.
• Promote proactive compliance engagement throughout organizational operations.
• Mentor and develop compliance personnel to strengthen organizational compliance capabilities.
Other Responsibilities
• Perform other duties as assigned in support of the Compliance Program and organizational objectives.
Additional Director-Level Competencies
• Executive presence and influence
• Strategic planning and organizational leadership
• Board and committee governance expertise
• Enterprise risk management
• Regulatory advocacy and liaison management
• Leadership development and team management
• Organizational change management
Required Qualifications
• Bachelor's degree in Healthcare Administration, Compliance, Business Administration, Law, Nursing, Public Health, Behavioral Health, or related field.
• Master's degree strongly preferred.
• Minimum 8-10 years of progressive healthcare compliance, regulatory, risk management, quality, legal, or healthcare operations experience.
• Minimum 3-5 years of leadership experience managing programs, projects, or teams.
• Demonstrated experience leading corporate compliance programs within healthcare environments.
• Experience interacting with executive leadership, governing boards, regulatory agencies, and accreditation organizations.
• Extensive knowledge of CMS, OIG, HIPAA, state healthcare regulations, fraud waste and abuse prevention, and accreditation standards.
Preferred Qualifications
• Certified in Healthcare Compliance (CHC)
• Certified Compliance & Ethics Professional (CCEP)
• Certified Professional in Health Care Risk Management (CPHRM)
• Six Sigma (SS)
• Juris Doctor (JD), Master of Health Administration (MHA), Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Public Health (MPH), or related advanced degree
• Experience leading compliance programs in behavioral health organizations
• Experience with enterprise risk management, board governance, and accreditation readiness
• Experience overseeing multi-site healthcare operations
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
• Expert knowledge of healthcare compliance, regulatory requirements, accreditation standards, and OIG guidance.
• Ability to interpret complex regulations and operationalize compliance requirements across the organization.
• Strong strategic thinking, risk assessment, and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead compliance programs, investigations, audits, and corrective action initiatives.
• Exceptional judgment, integrity, discretion, and professionalism.
• Ability to influence and collaborate effectively with executive leadership, managers, and cross-functional teams.
• Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills, including board and executive-level reporting.
• Proficiency with compliance management, auditing, reporting, and data analytics tools.
• Understanding of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), and the ability to assess associated regulatory, privacy, ethical, cybersecurity, and operational risks.
• Commitment to fostering a culture of ethics, compliance, accountability, and continuous improvement.