Associate Vice President Health System Quality & Operational Excellence

UT Southwestern Medical Center•Dallas, TX

About The Position

The Assistant Vice President for Quality & Operational Excellence devises, plans, and leads implementation of comprehensive, integrated strategies supporting the Office of the Chief Quality Officer (CQO). Reporting directly to the CQO, the AVP directs and integrates functions essential to the effective execution of the quality enterprise, including evaluating operations, analyzing data for reporting and decision-making, and recommending solutions to achieve performance and strategic objectives. The role coordinates analytics, performance improvement, and project management activities across the health system. The AVP plans, directs, and coordinates Quality & Operational Excellence programs. Responsibilities span analytics and business intelligence; clinical and operational performance improvement; health system project and systems management; financial planning and analysis; and human capital management. The position also helps establish a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, psychological safety, transparency, and interdisciplinary collaboration to support high-quality care. The position is based in an office setting. Salary is commensurate with education, skills, and relevant experience. It is security-sensitive and subject to criminal history record information checks under Texas Education Code 51.215.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in a related field.
At least 10 years of progressively responsible experience building a team and service-oriented environment.
Demonstrated strategic planning and management experience, including collaboration with colleagues, senior leadership, and key stakeholders to use resources effectively and foster continuous improvement and innovation.
Formal training and experience in industrial engineering or performance improvement.
Experience working with relational databases and other tools and solutions supporting formal, data-driven decision-making.
Critical thinking skills.
Systems-oriented approach to problem solving.
Self-starter with innovative problem-solving ability.
Effective communication and interpersonal skills.
Sound process improvement facilitation skills.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in industrial engineering, systems engineering, or a related technical discipline; an advanced degree is preferred.
At least 10 years of experience in an academic medical center setting preferred.
Six Sigma Black Belt or Green Belt certification, with JMP or Minitab experience.
Proficiency with SQL and report development.

Responsibilities

Plan, direct, and coordinate Quality & Operational Excellence activities and programs.
Develop performance metrics, business intelligence tools, scorecards, and dashboards, and translate data into useful information and knowledge.
Guide information discovery and provide recommendations to support decision-making.
Analyze current and emerging quality and operational excellence trends and recommend strategic approaches to improve health system performance.
Survey internal practices and comparative industry benchmarks to analyze relevant trends and indicators.
Guide development of performance measures, target methodologies, and thresholds, and ensure measure results are accurate.
Translate customer business needs into analytics and reporting requirements for dashboards and information tools.
Safeguard the integrity and security of institutional data.
Lead clinical performance improvement, including clinical decision support, data analysis, and facilitation of clinical teams using process improvement methods.
Apply human factors to error-prone processes and conduct clinical flow analysis to improve patient appointment scheduling.
Use Lean and Six Sigma methodologies to analyze processes and eliminate waste and defects in hospital units.
Oversee health system project management efforts and help prioritize and deploy projects advancing quality and operational excellence.
Develop systems to operationalize strategic decisions, including structures, performance standards, reporting, and review processes.
Help identify priorities and needs and determine how to align and invest resources.
Help develop consistent practice standards supporting high-quality care.
Research new technologies and practices and work with subject matter experts to recommend improvements.
Promote continuous improvement and innovation, psychological safety, transparency, and interdisciplinary approaches across the health system.
Assist the CQO with budget planning and development; support program and cost-center financials and review and approve financial transactions where appropriate.
Serve as an HR liaison, work with department supervisors on HR processes, and review and approve PeopleSoft HCM transactions.
Assist the CQO with employee engagement initiatives and action planning to support a healthy work environment and an engaged workforce.
Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

PPO medical plan available on day one at no cost for full-time employee-only coverage.
100% coverage for preventive healthcare with no copay.
Paid Time Off available on day one.
Retirement programs through the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS).
Paid parental leave benefit.
Wellness programs.
Tuition reimbursement.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) qualified employer.
On-site childcare.
Paid holidays.
Merit increases.