State Director ABA

The State Director is the operational and business leader responsible for all Sunrise ABA performance within their assigned state. This role owns state-level growth, P&L, discipline, operational & scheduling optimization, intake pipelines, staffing stability, and regional performance. The State Director partners closely with Clinical Leadership (BCBA Leads) to ensure Sunrise delivers high-quality, compliant ABA services while scaling efficiently and profitably. This position requires experience in the ABA field. 

This role is geared toward a strategic operator who can drive strong results, create structure, support leaders, and elevate Sunrise’s presence and performance across multiple regions within the state.

Key Responsibilities

• Own overall state-level P&L, margin performance, and billable hour growth.
• Lead and manage ROSS team members and support them in hitting weekly, monthly, and quarterly performance targets.
• Drive operational efficiency: scheduling performance, utilization, staffing ratios, and cost-per-billable-hour.
• Ensure strong communication and execution of Sunrise’s systems, expectations, and processes across all regions.

Growth & Market Expansion

• Oversee all referral growth and outreach efforts within the state.
• Partner/head up the Outreach/Intake teams to increase inquiry conversion rates and maintain strong relationships with referral sources.
• Identify and execute expansion opportunities: new regions, new centers, new partnerships.
• Support payor relationships, state-specific requirements, and contracting needs as the company scales.

Staffing & People Operations

• Drive staffing stability across BTs, BCBAs, and intake/support roles.
• Forecast hiring needs based on caseload demand and growth goals.
• Partner with Talent Acquisition leadership to ensure hiring velocity supports expansion.
• Support Regional Managers in coaching, performance management, and culture execution.

Clinical Partnership

• Work closely with State Clinical Leads/BCBA Leads (clinical leadership does not report to this role clinically).
• Ensure operational support is in place for clinical quality, supervision, and staff development to run smoothly.
• Coordinate staffing, scheduling, caseload balancing, and service delivery to ensure families receive consistent, high-quality care.

Compliance & Quality

• Ensure state compliance with licensing requirements, employee credentialing, audits, and documentation standards.
• Support consistent rollout of Sunrise policies, updates, and quality-improvement initiatives.
• Maintain oversight of service authorization processes, intake timelines, and ongoing operational compliance.

Qualifications:

• Must have 2-5 years experience in ABA operations.  

Leadership Qualifications:

• Communicates clearly, professionally, and effectively with team members, leadership, and external partners.
• Leads with a calm, solutions-oriented approach to people and problems, demonstrating sound judgment and professionalism.
• Serves as a conflict resolver rather than a conflict starter, addressing concerns early and working to de-escalate situations while preserving relationships.
• Thinks critically before acting, considering potential outcomes, risks, and downstream impacts of decisions.
• Model leadership aligned with the company’s core values and culture, setting clear expectations and accountability.
• Takes initiative as a self-starter, identifying problems and developing thoughtful, sustainable solutions while also recognizing when there is a need for collaboration or consultation.
• Performs well under pressure, meeting deadlines while maintaining a steady, positive leadership presence.
• Demonstrates a growth-minded approach to leadership and ongoing development of self and others.

 Role Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience managing departments, programs, or large-scale projects with a strong business and operational mindset.
• Proven experience leading and scaling multi-site or multi-region operations, including oversight of performance, staffing, and operational systems.
• Experience managing, coaching, and supporting teams of 10+ interdepartmental team members, including operations, scheduling, intake, or support functions.
• Strong background in employee-based conflict resolution, performance management, and navigating complex personnel situations professionally and compliantly.
• Experience in marketing, outreach, and/or sales strategy, including referral growth, partnership development, and conversion optimization.
• Proven ability to define KPIs, develop systems to track and monitor performance, and drive teams to meet goals within established timelines.
• Demonstrated strength in data analysis and operational decision-making, using metrics to inform priorities and improve outcomes.
• Experience managing budgets, forecasting, and/or P&L-related performance preferred.
• Familiarity with healthcare, behavioral health, or other regulated environments strongly preferred.
• Ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced, growth-oriented organization while maintaining accountability and operational excellence.
• Must be residing in the state that the role is located and/or able to travel monthly to the location if the state is developmental.