Director of Practice Plan Operations

UBMD Physicians Group•Buffalo, NY

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director of Practice Plan Operations provides strategic operational leadership for the clinical practice operations of UBMD Pediatrics. The position partners with the Executive Vice Chair and senior leadership to translate organizational strategy into operating plans, performance expectations, and sustainable business processes. It oversees and coordinates operations across practice locations, clinical programs, and administrative functions, with an emphasis on standardization, accountability, performance improvement, resource optimization, and organizational growth. Working closely with the Department Chair, Division Chiefs, clinical leadership, practice managers, finance, information technology, and other stakeholders, the Director identifies opportunities to improve patient access, productivity, patient and employee experience, financial performance, and operational effectiveness. The role serves as a central operational resource and advisor to practice leadership. UBMD Pediatrics is one of 18 practice plans within UBMD Physicians’ Group, the largest medical group in Western New York. It provides care to infants, children, adolescents, and adults, with primary care pediatrics and 18 pediatric subspecialties. Its physicians serve as academic teaching faculty at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo and Oishei Children’s Hospital. The position is full-time and primarily onsite, with pre-scheduled hybrid work options noted among the work-life balance offerings.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Healthcare Administration, Public Health, Health Services Administration, or a related field.
Typically 5–10 years of progressive experience in healthcare operations, physician practice management, ambulatory operations, healthcare administration, or a related field.
Demonstrated experience managing or supporting operations in a complex healthcare environment.
Experience leading operational improvement initiatives and managing cross-functional projects.
Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with physicians, clinical leaders, administrative leaders, and senior executives.
Understanding of healthcare practice operations, preferably in a multi-specialty physician practice, ambulatory care, or academic medical environment.
Ability to lead complex healthcare operations and translate strategic priorities into measurable operational results.
Strong business acumen, including understanding the relationships among clinical operations, financial performance, workforce utilization, patient access, productivity, and organizational strategy.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including interpreting operational and financial data and translating findings into actionable recommendations.
Strong project management and organizational skills, including managing multiple priorities and initiatives simultaneously.
Ability to assess workflows, identify operational challenges, and implement sustainable process improvements.
Understanding of patient access, clinical scheduling, staffing, productivity, and ambulatory practice operations.
Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills.
Ability to build relationships and collaborate effectively with physicians, clinical leaders, administrators, managers, staff, and other stakeholders.
Ability to lead change and influence outcomes across functions and organizational levels.
Working knowledge of healthcare regulatory, compliance, quality, and patient safety considerations.
Strong judgment and ability to manage confidential and sensitive information appropriately.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office and/or Google Workspace.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, Public Health, or a related discipline.
Experience with operational and financial analysis, staffing and resource planning, process improvement, and performance measurement.
Experience in pediatric healthcare, ambulatory care, academic medicine, multi-specialty physician practices, or faculty practice management.
Previous management or leadership experience with responsibility for practice operations, teams, programs, or multiple clinical locations.
Experience with electronic health records, data visualization, practice management, and reporting tools.

Responsibilities

Provide strategic and operational oversight of clinical practice operations in support of organizational objectives, financial sustainability, clinical effectiveness, and patient-centered care.
Translate executive and clinical leadership priorities into operational plans, initiatives, performance expectations, and measurable outcomes.
Establish and maintain appropriate operating standards, policies, procedures, and workflows across practice locations and clinical programs.
Identify operational barriers and work with clinical and administrative leaders to develop solutions.
Monitor clinic operations, including patient access, scheduling, patient flow, staffing and space utilization, and other key functions.
Evaluate workflows and recommend changes to improve efficiency, consistency, service delivery, and organizational performance.
Support implementation and operationalization of new clinical programs, services, locations, and practice initiatives.
Advise the Executive Vice Chair and senior leadership on practice performance, business operations, resource requirements, and strategic opportunities.
Develop, monitor, and evaluate key performance indicators; analyze operational, financial, clinical, access, and productivity data to identify trends and intervention opportunities.
Develop and maintain dashboards, management reports, scorecards, and other decision-support tools; establish performance goals and work with leaders to address gaps.
Lead operational improvement initiatives and promote continuous improvement, accountability, collaboration, and operational excellence.
Lead cross-functional initiatives from planning through implementation, monitoring, and evaluation; define scope, timelines, resources, responsibilities, risks, and success measures.
Coordinate project stakeholders, address implementation barriers, report progress and recommend actions to executive leadership, and lead initiatives assigned by the Executive Vice Chair.
Partner with finance and administrative leaders to monitor financial performance, support budgets, forecasts, staffing plans and resource requirements, and recommend corrective actions or efficiency improvements.
Support business cases for clinical services, programs, operational investments, and practice improvements; promote responsible stewardship and financial sustainability.
Serve as a senior operational liaison among physicians, advanced practice providers, clinical leaders, managers, and stakeholders; foster cross-functional collaboration and alignment.
Partner with the Manager of UBMDP Ambulatory Clinical Affairs and other leaders to improve appointment availability, scheduling, referrals, clinic capacity, patient flow, and patient and family experience.
Use access, scheduling, experience, and operational data to identify trends and develop improvement strategies; promote consistent service standards and patient-centered practices.
Partner with managers and practice leaders on staffing models, workflows, workload distribution, and resource needs; provide operational coaching and guidance to managers and staff.
Support organizational change and implementation of new processes, systems, and workflows; identify workforce and organizational risks and develop mitigation strategies with leadership.
Integrate quality, regulatory, compliance, patient safety, and risk considerations into operations; identify and escalate concerns, support corrective actions, and participate in readiness activities for reviews, audits, and accreditation.
Partner with information technology and other stakeholders to optimize electronic health records, practice management, scheduling, reporting, and other operational systems; support technology evaluation, implementation, workflow redesign, adoption, and monitoring.
Prepare executive reports, dashboards, presentations, analyses, and recommendations; translate complex information into actionable guidance and provide timely visibility into performance, risks, and opportunities.
Participate in leadership meetings, management forums, and organizational committees as assigned.