Associate Director, Central Specialty Operations

ChenMed•Miami Gardens, FL

4d•$118,062 - $168,658•Onsite

About The Position

The Associate Director, Central Specialty Operations owns the operations of ChenMed’s centrally and virtually delivered specialty services, including clinical appropriateness reviews, physician-to-physician curbside consultations, telehealth programs, and clinical pathways. Reporting to the VP, Specialty Strategy & Operations, this role builds and runs the operating model for these services and partners with physicians and clinical leaders to help patients receive appropriate specialty care within a Medicare Advantage capitated model. The position brings systems thinking and AI-native workflow design to technology adoption and innovation. It begins as a hands-on leadership role and is expected to grow in team and scope as central services mature. The role manages end-to-end operations for specialty review and consultation programs, designs and scales telehealth projects, turns clinical pathways into practical workflows, and establishes performance metrics and reporting. It works across clinical, operational, network, and analytics teams to improve cost, quality, speed, and experience, and builds and develops the team as service volume and scope grow.

Requirements

At least eight years of work experience in healthcare operations, including at least three years leading people or programs, in areas such as care management, utilization or referral management, clinical operations, or virtual care.
BA/BS degree in healthcare administration, nursing, public health, business, or a similar discipline; additional experience above the minimum may be considered in lieu of the required education on a year-for-year basis.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, a systems-thinking mindset, and ability to map workflows and identify root causes.
Working knowledge of value-based care and Medicare Advantage capitated models.
Ability to build credibility and collaborate as a peer with physicians, clinical leaders, and senior executives.
Strong attention to detail and focus on accuracy and quality.
Existing knowledge of AI and a strong desire to continue learning and self-teaching.
Familiarity with referral management, utilization or care management, and clinical operations environments.
Comfort working with data, dashboards, and performance metrics; proficiency in Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and other systems required for the position.
Ability to lead through ambiguity, build new programs, and move quickly in a fast-paced, growth-oriented environment.
Ability and willingness to travel locally, regionally, and/or nationally up to 10% of the time; flexibility to work evenings, weekends, and/or holidays as needed.
Spoken and written fluency in English.
Ability to use and exercise independent judgment.

Nice To Haves

Clinical background (e.g., RN, NP, PA, PharmD) or equivalent clinical background.
Master’s degree.
Experience with value-based care or Medicare Advantage.
Experience launching new programs or services, including in a startup or high-growth healthcare company.

Responsibilities

Own end-to-end operations of the central clinical appropriateness review process, including intake, reviewer capacity and scheduling, turnaround times, and decision documentation.
Partner with specialist reviewers and PCPs to establish and calibrate review criteria and share feedback collaboratively.
Monitor review quality, consistency, outcomes, and labor cost, and direct review effort where it adds the most value.
Operate curbside consultation programs, setting specialist participation expectations, response-time standards, and escalation paths.
Track curbside consultation utilization, responsiveness, and downstream care avoided or redirected.
Design, pilot, and scale telehealth projects that extend specialist access to patients and care teams; define pilot scope, workflows, and success measures, evaluate results, recommend whether and how to scale, and lead rollout.
Operationalize clinical pathways with medical leadership and specialists by translating clinical guidance into workflows, tools, and training; track adoption and impact and drive improvement.
Build new and transform existing workflows using AI.
Define the operating model, key metrics, and reporting for central specialty services.
Work with the performance and analytics team to build dashboards and use them in regular operating reviews.
Diagnose root causes, prioritize improvements, and drive results across cost, quality, speed, and experience.
Partner with National Specialty Operations, Network, medical leadership, and Performance & Automation so central services reinforce field operations.
Engage physicians and clinical leaders as a peer to align on protocols, resolve friction, and drive adoption.
Build and develop the team over time, initially as a hands-on leader and adding leaders and specialists as volume and scope grow.
Perform other duties as assigned or modified at the manager’s discretion.