Director of Operations-Patient Support Services

Northwestern Memorial Healthcare•Wheaton, IL

About The Position

At Northwestern Medicine, every patient interaction makes a difference in cultivating a positive workplace. This patient-first approach is what sets us apart as a leader in the healthcare industry. As an integral part of our team, you'll have the opportunity to join our quest for better health care, no matter where you work within the Northwestern Medicine system. We pride ourselves on providing competitive benefits: from tuition reimbursement and loan forgiveness to 401(k) matching and lifecycle benefits, our goal is to take care of our employees. Ready to join our quest for better? The Director of Operations reflects the mission, vision, and values of NM, adheres to the organization’s Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with all relevant policies, procedures, guidelines and all other regulatory and accreditation standards. As part of the senior leadership team, this position supports the Chief Nursing Executive (CNE) in financial, operational, process redesign, resource allocation and productivity enhancement endeavors. The Director of Operations is responsible for forecasting, planning, managing resource requirements and collaborates with leadership so that resources are allocated and used in a manner that optimizes the hospital's performance according to the fiscal year priorities and the strategic plan. The Director of Operations will have responsibility for specific short-term or long-term projects. The position will contribute to positive outcomes by combining problem solving proficiency and strong interpersonal skills with in-depth knowledge of business and financial issues. The Director of Operations is responsible for the development of the work force within areas of accountability to meet the organizations' goals and the cultural expectations established by Northwestern Medicine. Note that specific job duties may vary by campus location.

Requirements

Minimum eight years hospital experience with focus on inpatient and/or outpatient operations.
Master’s in business (MBA), healthcare administration (MHA) or other related field.

Nice To Haves

Experience in clinical operations/leadership.
BSN.

Responsibilities

Leads both capital and operational budget preparation for all units/departments that roll up to the CNE.
Assures that assigned cost center budget monitoring processes are in place and action plans implemented to address variances outside of the established budget including but not limited to staffing, productivity, supply expense, etc.
Assesses charge capture opportunities to maximize revenue and identifies opportunity for cost savings.
Serves as the liaison to IT for all projects impacting clinical operations (i.e. nurse call system, Kronos/Optilink, Vocera).
Serves as the contract manager for services impacting patient care services (i.e. music therapy, agency staffing, dialysis, etc.)
Supports the process for defining, forecasting, developing and allocating the resources required by nursing including but not limited to partnership with the sponsors of the Nursing Care Committee.
Mentors others to continuously increase the finance and business operations competence of the PCS leadership team and staff.
Serves as the Liaison to Supply Chain for new product evaluations and roll out
Acquires and analyzes data to develop changes in processes/practices and/or resource deployment in order to optimize value (cost and quality) of services provided.
Provides direct supervision, support, guidance for assigned areas of responsibility.
Oversees capture and dissemination of data analytics to support clinical operations (NDNQI, IDPH comp data, Alaris performance, etc.).
Evaluates overall operational performance in partnership with clinical leaders and CNE and makes recommendations for change.
Works with CNE, Clinical Directors and Managers in ongoing analysis and evaluation of patient care delivery to provide high quality patient care in a cost-effective manner.
Participates in strategic planning for the hospital and Patient Care Services.
Develops, designs, gains approvals for and implements new programs that meet identified patient needs, and generate additional revenue for the organization.
Serves as liaison to Corporate Health for activities related to employee health and workplace violence prevention
Serves as the liaison to Construction team and recommends space and resource allocation needs for new and refurbishment projects
Serves as senior leader with the ability to cover hospital operations in the absence of the CNE or VP of Operations.