Administrative Executive Director

The University of Oklahoma•Oklahoma City, OK

About The Position

The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine (COM) serves as a senior advisor and dyadic partner to the Executive Dean. The CAO is a critical partner to the clinical, research, and educational leadership in the COM, and provides operational, strategic, and financial leadership to support COM’s vision, mission, and priorities. This role oversees key administrative functions and operations across clinical, research, and educational domains, guides complex initiatives, strengthens departmental alignment, and ensures effective stewardship of resources across the COM.

Requirements

Master's Degree in Healthcare, Accounting, Business, or Finance, AND:
10 years of related professional experience in a university, healthcare organization, or large complex public company.
Demonstrated administrative leadership and expertise to effectively partner with physicians, promoting a team approach to strategic planning and the development of a full continuum specialty program.
Highly developed expertise in quantitative analysis to support definition and advancement for department's goals and objectives.
Demonstrated success in building and maintaining positive, effective and productive relationships with administrative and clinical leadership.
Ability to act as liaison, between the administrative and medical staffs, boards and external stakeholders.
Ability to provide leadership to establish priorities and to develop and implement solutions.
Ability to understand employee's viewpoints and needs and work strategically in the best interest of patients and the clinics.
A strong reputation for sustained, inclusive, trust-based physician relations.
A high orientation to detail with proven analytical and financial skills.

Nice To Haves

Current Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license (strongly preferred).
Strong leadership acumen, including substantial experience in the operational, financial, and strategic domains of a department or College of Medicine
Strong financial acumen, including budgeting, forecasting, and resource optimization
Experience in organizational change management
Demonstrated team-oriented approach and collaborative leadership style
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
Familiarity with intramural and extramural research programs and academic medical center operations
Familiarity with GME and UME, including policies, procedures, and accreditation processes

Responsibilities

Administrative Oversight: Provide oversight and coordination of day-to-day administrative operations within the Dean’s Office.
Co-lead recruitment activities, including Chair searches and key leadership positions in the Office of the Dean and COM.
Lead and support space planning and space allocation processes for COM.
Partner with financial leaders to ensure administrative decisions align with COM vision and mission, budgetary parameters and long-range strategic planning.
Facilitate community affiliation agreements in our educational teams.
Serve as a key point of contact with the Provost’s Office.
Ensure continuity with the OU School of Community Medicine (SCM).
Monitors and maintains compliance for pre- and post-award grants, contracts, and outgoing subcontracts.
Provides resources and assistance to the basic and clinical research units to ensure the overall research strategy is successful.
Responsible for all human resources activity to include recruiting, hiring, termination, classification process, training, salary administration.
Support Functions: Develop and prepare presentations for COM committees, campus leadership, and external stakeholders.
Support the planning and execution of external departmental reviews.
Work closely with the OU marketing and communications on time-sensitive issues, strategic messaging, and internal and external communications.
Maintain and refine the COM organizational structure and related documentation.
Help develop and implement a platform for tracking COM strategic progress and performance.
Support the development and maintenance of a COM enterprise dashboard, including key financial, operational, and academic metrics.
Coordinate and support onboarding and development of departmental business administrators.
Serve on various COM and OUHC committees, as assigned, to represent the interests, strategies, and goals of the COM.
Financial Stewardship and Budgeting: Provide guidance on budgeting processes and ensure alignment between financial planning and strategic priorities.
Collaborate with the CFO and Administration & Finance Office, VP for Clinical Faculty and Financial Services, and departmental administrators to support efficient, transparent, and responsible fiscal management.
Monitor financial performance trends and provide strategic recommendations to the Executive Dean.
Assist in resource allocation processes across departments, in UME, GME, and PA programs at OKC and SCM, and for strategic initiatives.
Oversees all financial resources of the department’s research division.
Supervises the research financial team which prepares budgets, tracks and reports revenue and expenses, research, development and service center/core facility endeavors.
Identifies budget variances and initiates corrective actions, coordinates, manages, and approves procurement.
Strategy: Partner with the Executive Dean on short- and long-term strategic planning for the COM specifically as the strategies relate to education and research.
Coordinate cross-functional strategic initiatives and special projects.
Support alignment of COM priorities with OU’s Lead On, University strategic plan.
Foster collaborations with OUHC and University senior leadership to ensure accountability and progress toward institutional goals.
Oversees department’s community outreach and engagement activities to include but not limited to working with community partners to address problems in the catchment area, increase awareness of disease prevention and screening, develop and implement health policy that enhances awareness and outcomes, and extend the reach and impact of department research and clinical activities.
Advisory Support: Serve as a trusted advisor to the Executive Dean on operational, financial, and strategic matters.
Provide high-level counsel and analysis to support decision-making and institutional effectiveness.
Performs other duties as assigned to fulfill the functions of the position.