[Hiring] VP, Psychiatric Excellence & Emerging Therapeutics @LifeStance Health

Role Description

This role is responsible for co-developing enterprise psychiatric strategy with the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) to define, advance, and operationalize psychiatric excellence, specialty service lines, and emerging therapeutics. The role translates clinical evidence, outcomes research, and best practices into scalable, standardized psychiatric care models and innovation frameworks that drive quality, safety, and measurable outcomes across the organization.

Success in this role is demonstrated through the establishment of enterprise clinical standards, improved patient outcomes, and the responsible scaling of specialty and emerging therapeutic programs (e.g., interventional psychiatry, TMS, ketamine, other neuromodulation techniques, and digital therapeutics). The role serves psychiatrists, clinical operations teams, patients, and executive leadership by ensuring consistent, high-quality psychiatric care and advancing the organization’s clinical differentiation and long-term strategy.

Responsibilities

• Strategy & Clinical Innovation
  • Lead the development and execution of enterprise psychiatric excellence and emerging therapeutics strategy in partnership with the CMO, aligning with organizational goals and clinical priorities.
  • Establish and govern enterprise psychiatric standards, clinical protocols, and care models to ensure quality, safety, consistency, and scalability across general and specialty settings.
  • Develop and scale Psychiatric Centers of Excellence to drive clinical differentiation, improved outcomes, and readiness for value-based care models.
  • Translate clinical research, outcomes data, and emerging evidence into actionable strategies, care pathways, and innovation initiatives that enhance patient outcomes and operational effectiveness.
• Operational Leadership & Implementation
  • Oversee specialty and interventional psychiatric programs (e.g., psychopharmacology, TMS, ketamine, neuromodulation), ensuring evidence-based design, clinical integrity, and scalable implementation.
  • Drive cross-functional implementation and governance by partnering with Clinical Operations, Operations, Learning & Development, Legal, Compliance, and Research to embed standards and therapies into workflows.
• People & Leadership
  • Lead and develop high-performing psychiatric leadership teams, fostering accountability, collaboration, and alignment with enterprise clinical strategy.
  • Influence a broad network of clinical and operational leaders to align on strategy, standards, and execution.
• Compliance & Governance
  • Ensure regulatory compliance and clinical governance by overseeing adherence to legal, accreditation, and safety requirements, and approving risk mitigation plans for psychiatric programs.
  • Partner with CMO to oversee Clinical Governance committees.
• Scope/Decision-Making/Impact
  • Scope & Scale: Enterprise-wide impact across psychiatric services, including general psychiatry, specialty service lines, interventional therapies, and emerging treatment modalities. Influences clinical practice for psychiatrists and care teams across the organization.
  • Decision-Making:
    • Operates with a high degree of autonomy in clinical strategy execution, program design, and standard setting.
    • Makes independent decisions on clinical models, innovation initiatives, and program implementation within established governance.
    • Collaborates with and escalates to the CMO, Legal, Compliance, and executive leadership on high-risk decisions (e.g., new therapies, regulatory exposure, patient safety risks, material enterprise impact).
  • Impact:
    • Directly influences clinical quality, patient outcomes, and consistency of psychiatric care.
    • Impacts revenue growth through development of specialty programs and emerging therapeutic offerings.
    • Reduces regulatory and patient safety risk through strong governance and standardized practices.
    • Enables enterprise scalability and differentiation in psychiatric services.
• Supervisory Duties
  • Directly manages 3 Senior Director-level roles.
  • Leads broader cross-functional teams and external vendors (typically 1–3 at a time) in support of enterprise initiatives.

Qualifications

• MD or DO (required)
• Board Certification in Psychiatry (required upon hire)
• 12+ years of functional psychiatric experience
• 10+ years of supervisory experience
• 8+ years of leadership experience
• Deep clinical expertise in psychiatric practice, including psychopharmacology, specialty and interventional psychiatry (e.g., TMS, ketamine, neuromodulation), and emerging therapeutic modalities
• Strong experience translating clinical evidence and outcomes data into scalable care models, standards, and protocols
• Demonstrated ability to operate within complex healthcare environments, including governance, regulatory, and compliance frameworks
• Proven ability to lead enterprise-level clinical initiatives, drive standardization, and improve quality and outcomes

Preferred Qualifications

• 15+ years of functional and/or industry experience
• 15+ years of supervisory experience
• Advanced experience leading large-scale clinical transformation initiatives, including Centers of Excellence or specialty program development
• Experience partnering with research teams to incorporate outcomes data and clinical evidence into strategy and innovation
• Demonstrated success influencing executive leadership and driving cross-functional alignment in a matrixed healthcare organization
• Experience in scaling emerging therapeutic programs within a clinically governed, regulated environment

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• AD&D, short and long-term disability, and life insurance
• 401k retirement savings with employer match
• Paid parental leave
• Paid time off
• Holiday pay
• Employee Assistance Program