Director - Operations & Project Management Office

Stanford Medicine Children's Health•Palo Alto, CA

21h•$90 - $117•Onsite

About The Position

The Director reports to the SVP of Operations and serves as the primary executive partner to operational and clinical leadership on operational initiatives. The role translates business strategies into operational plans, prioritizes strategic plans and capital projects, and develops implementation plans, forecasting models, budgets, resource allocations, and project plans. It provides leadership and direction for the Project Management Office (PMO) supporting hospital operations transformation across the Pediatric Healthcare Enterprise, with a portfolio focused on clinical workforce and staffing model redesign, care pathway standardization, and patient capacity and throughput improvement. The Director leads PMO governance, portfolio prioritization and oversight, team development, and stakeholder relationships with the SVP of Operations, CNO, CMO, department leaders, and frontline clinical staff. The role establishes enterprise governance standards, project intake processes, methodologies, and reporting frameworks, and coordinates with peer PMOs in Information Systems and Facilities on shared dependencies. The Director also supports ongoing oversight and governance of labor costs and strategy, manages PMO team members, and resolves complex organizational problems affecting clinical operations.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Health Administration, Business, or a related field.
Eight or more years of progressively responsible, directly related project and program management experience.
At least four years of experience in a hospital or health system setting.
Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing with frontline clinical staff through C-suite executives.
Ability to manage complex programs and portfolios involving people, costs, scope, and timelines across multiple concurrent initiatives.
Ability to mediate and resolve complex organizational problems and competing priorities with diplomacy and influence.
Demonstrated experience building or significantly maturing a project management or operational function.
Proven track record leading complex, multi-stakeholder operational transformation programs in a clinical environment, such as workforce redesign, care model change, or throughput improvement.
Ability to plan and implement change in a clinical environment where the PMO does not directly own the resources executing the work.
Ability to build a project management function from inception, including governance frameworks, methodology, templates, and tooling.
Knowledge of clinical operations, nursing workforce dynamics, and care delivery models in an acute care hospital setting.
Knowledge of organization, administration, fiscal management, and personnel management principles and practices.
Knowledge of project and portfolio management methodologies, including PMI/PMBOK and Agile or hybrid approaches.
Knowledge of healthcare operational improvement methodologies such as Lean and Six Sigma, or equivalent process improvement frameworks.
Knowledge of applicable local, state, and federal regulatory requirements related to clinical operations, as needed to coordinate with clinical managers and compliance teams.
Skill in executive-level presentation and reporting, including preparation of portfolio dashboards and performance summaries.
Skill in building and sustaining trusted relationships with clinical leaders, medical staff, and operational executives in a complex healthcare environment.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree (MHA, MBA, MSN, or equivalent).
Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
Program Management Professional (PgMP) certification.
Lean or Six Sigma certification.

Responsibilities

Design, establish, and manage the PMO governance framework, project intake and prioritization process, methodology, templates, and tooling for enterprise operations.
Own the operations project portfolio, including intake, prioritization, active monitoring, portfolio-level risk management, and resource allocation across the PMO team.
Facilitate the monthly Transformation Steering Committee, prepare materials, drive the agenda, document decisions, and ensure follow-through.
Present portfolio performance updates to the SVP of Operations, CNO, and CMO, and deliver monthly executive portfolio dashboards and reports.
Serve as the primary relationship owner for operational and clinical executives, department leaders, and frontline nursing and clinical staff.
Lead workforce and staffing transformation programs in partnership with HR and Nursing leadership, including nursing model redesign, staffing structure optimization, and clinical role and team design; oversee implementation and sustainability.
Lead care pathway standardization programs with physician and nursing leaders, including development, piloting, and scaling evidence-based clinical protocols and care models.
Oversee patient capacity and throughput improvement programs involving inpatient flow, emergency department and access optimization, operating room and procedural capacity, discharge planning, and bed management.
Work with Patient Access, Quality, and Process Improvement leadership to align scope and avoid duplication.
Manage, recruit, onboard, develop, and evaluate PMO team members while assuring quality services and positive employee relations.
Establish and enforce clinical enterprise project governance standards, including charter approval, stakeholder engagement, stage gates, escalation thresholds, and lessons learned.
Coordinate across the IS PMO and Facilities PMO, maintain clear scope boundaries, and establish a monthly alignment cadence for shared project dependencies.
Identify early-win programs with high visibility and achievable timelines to build PMO credibility and support the broader transformation agenda.
Collaborate with dyad partners to align clinical operational strategic initiatives and create program plans supporting the hospital's mission and vision across service lines.
Resolve highly complex or unusual organizational problems using advanced analytical thought and judgment.
Develop and maintain effective systems of information, records, and reports.
Recommend and participate in evaluating consulting, interim project management, or change management support, and identify or develop internal resources where appropriate.