Community Development Manager

Be the backbone of hope and healing.
At Rockbridge Treatment and Lakeside Academy, every role matters in helping people overcome addiction and find a new path forward. Whether you’re working directly with clients or supporting behind the scenes, your contributions make recovery possible. In return, we offer a values-driven workplace, supportive managers, and opportunities to grow. That commitment has earned us recognition from Newsweek as a Best Addiction Treatment Center and seven straight Star Tribune Top Workplace awards.

The Community Development Manager serves as a strategic ambassador for Rock Bridge Treatment & Recovery, Lakeside Academy, and Minnesota Adult & Teen Challenge. This role builds executive-level relationships across healthcare, government, corrections, business, philanthropy, faith, education, and community sectors to increase referrals, census, strategic partnerships, donor support, and community visibility. The Manager develops referral demand and partnerships for Rock Bridge’s adult behavioral health and substance use disorder services while expanding awareness and referral networks for Lakeside Academy’s adolescent treatment and recovery services.

Success requires strong business and financial acumen, executive presence, and the ability to convert relationships into measurable revenue growth and sustainable mission impact.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential job duty satisfactorily. The essential functions include the following:

• Develop and execute annual referrals, census, partnership, and community development plans tailored to each program’s population, services, and market opportunities.
• Build and maintain high-value referral relationships with hospitals, behavioral health providers, counties, schools, child protection agencies, juvenile justice and correctional systems, social service organizations, payers, and community partners.
• Identify underdeveloped markets, service gaps, and new referral pathways that expand access and support sustainable census growth.
• Lead partner meetings, presentations, and program tours that clearly communicate services, outcomes, admission criteria, clinical capabilities, and client experience.
• Maintain disciplined follow-up that moves prospective partners from initial engagement to active referrals.

• Cultivate executive-level relationships with healthcare, government, corrections, business, civic, faith, education, and philanthropic leaders.
• Identify and advance strategic partnerships, donations, sponsor ships, major gifts, and community investment opportunities.
• Represent the programs at chamber events, conferences, coalitions, professional forums, and community events.
• Develop collaborative opportunities such as educational programs, referral protocols, community initiatives, and corporate or foundation partnerships.

• Partner with Marketing to develop audience-specific messaging, presentations, outreach materials, and campaigns.
• Clearly communicate each program’s distinct value to referral partners, families, donors, and community stakeholders.
• Gather market intelligence on referral needs, placement barriers, competitor activity, emerging service gaps, and changes in the behavioral health environment.
• Ensure effective preparation, lead capture, and follow-up for conferences, meetings, and community events.

• Maintain an active CRM pipeline of referral partners, donors, sponsors, and strategic
• Track and report referrals, admissions, census, conversion rates, donations, revenue impact, outreach activity, account growth, and…