Chief Operating Officer

IWS Family Health•Chicago, IL

3d•Onsite

About The Position

IWS is seeking an experienced and mission-driven Chief Operating Officer to join our senior leadership team. Reporting to and partnering closely with the Chief Executive Officer, the COO will lead day-to-day operations across clinical, administrative, and support functions. This leader will help IWS move successfully through a significant period of growth, including the continued development of our multi-site operating model and the planned opening of two additional facilities by April 2027. This is an opportunity for a skilled healthcare operator who can bring structure to complexity, strengthen cross-functional coordination and accountability, and build scalable systems without losing sight of IWS’s mission, values, and commitment to compassionate, whole-person care.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration, public health, business administration, nursing, nonprofit administration, or a related field.
Significant progressive leadership experience in healthcare operations at the director level or above.
Demonstrated experience leading complex operations across multiple functions, sites, service lines, or locations.
Substantial knowledge of patient access, workflow improvement, staffing models, technology-enabled operations, performance improvement, and revenue cycle-related processes.
Experience opening, scaling, or standardizing healthcare sites, services, or programs.
A record of using data to improve operational performance and achieve measurable results.
The ability to build trust, clarify accountability, navigate change, and lead effectively across professional and departmental boundaries.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in a relevant field.
Leadership experience in a Federally Qualified Health Center, community health center, safety-net provider, nonprofit healthcare organization, or other mission-driven healthcare environment.
Working knowledge of the HRSA Health Center Program Compliance Manual, site visit expectations, approved scope-of-project requirements, and the operational controls used to demonstrate compliance.

Responsibilities

Build a consistent multi-site operating model. Standardize essential workflows, staffing approaches, communication practices, and performance expectations while responding appropriately to the needs of individual sites and communities.
Improve patient access and service delivery. Strengthen scheduling, intake, referrals, follow-up, appointment management, call center, and front-desk operations to reduce barriers to care and create a more consistent patient experience.
Lead operational readiness for growth. Guide the operational planning required to open and scale new sites and services, including workflows, staffing, facilities, technology, vendor relationships, compliance, and patient access.
Strengthen execution and accountability. Establish clear ownership, decision-making practices, and performance expectations across clinical, administrative, and support functions so that priorities move from planning to implementation.
Translate regulatory requirements into daily practice. Partner with compliance, clinical, and administrative leaders to ensure that HRSA Health Center Program, HIPAA, PCMH, payer, and other requirements are reflected in effective policies, procedures, training, internal controls, monitoring, and corrective action.
Use data to drive improvement. Establish and monitor meaningful operational indicators related to access, productivity, patient experience, quality, staffing efficiency, revenue cycle performance, and service delivery. Use those results to identify problems, guide corrective action, and communicate performance to teams, senior leadership, and the Board.
Support financial sustainability. Improve operational workflows that affect productivity, staffing efficiency, cost management, reimbursement, and the revenue cycle while protecting quality and access.
Develop leaders and strengthen organizational culture. Build trusting relationships, coach and hold leaders accountable, and cultivate a culture rooted in kindness, excellence, teamwork, balance, empathy, and continuous improvement.