Types of Executive Managers

• Behavioral health executives may oversee different operational or clinical functions, depending on the discipline of study. Financial executives, for instance, are in charge of the health care organization's financial analysis, financial reconciliations, the processing and payment of claims, accounting, maintaining checks and balances, budgeting and monitoring cost reimbursement activity. Operational executives, on the other hand, develop growth strategies, build partnerships and strategic alliances, manage health care data and develop contracts. Clinical executives may be in charge of overseeing the clinical operations, such as the quality of patient care, utilization data and risk management data.
  
  

Education Prerequisites

• Behavioral health executives work at the top of a health care organization, so there are certain educational requirements that must be met to be considered for the position. When it comes to educational backgrounds, post-graduate degrees are mandatory for executive positions. Master's or doctorates degrees in business-related areas, such as business administration or organizational leadership, are preferred. However, clinical degrees may be acceptable when paired with a significant amount of business management experience. Any job-related certifications add value to an applicant's resume.
  
  

Management Experience

• According to the March 2007 issue of "Public Management Review," applicants for behavioral health executive jobs should have many years of management experience in the behavioral health sector. Applicants should be familiar with public and privatized behavioral health systems, regulations, licensing requirements, program development, project management and funding allocations. Applicants should be able to demonstrate areas of expertise and accomplishments in the behavioral health industry. Strong knowledge of insurance systems and practices is especially emphasized.
  
  

Duties

• A behavioral health executive is the administrative body of an organization. As such, executives are charged with developing short and long term strategic goals for the company, developing and implementing annual work plans that get approved by the organization's board or medical commission, creating policies and procedures and determining the strategic direction for the organization. According to the May 2009 Alaskan Health Care Commission, an executive position requires maintaining a working knowledge of significant developments in health care, as well as sustaining continuous efforts of system improvements.
  
  

Compensation

• As a behavioral health executive manager, compensation may depend on experience. However, according to the May 2008 update by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual mean wage of a top position in the health care field ranges between $77,000 to $94,000.