Director- Patient & Family Experience Full Time Days

East Tennessee Children's Hospital•Koppel, PA

10d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director of Patient & Family Experience serves as a champion for children and families, ensuring every interaction across the healthcare journey is compassionate, respectful, and centered on the unique needs of pediatric patients and their caregivers. This leader is responsible for shaping and sustaining a culture where the voices of children and families are heard, valued, and embedded in care delivery. This role provides strategic and operational leadership for Patient Experience, Child Life Services, Family Advisory Councils, and Expressive Therapies. Through a combination of data-driven insights, proactive coaching, and meaningful family engagement, the Director drives measurable improvements in experience outcomes while supporting the emotional, developmental, and psychosocial well-being of patients and families. The Director partners closely with clinical and operational leaders to influence behaviors, develop targeted strategies, and ensure that family-centered care is not only a philosophy—but a lived experience in every setting.

Requirements

Master’s Degree
Certified Patient Experience Professional (CPXP) required within one year of hire
Minimum of 5–7 years of progressive leadership experience in healthcare, patient experience, customer experience, service excellence, consumer experience, or a related field influencing patient and/or customer experience outcomes
Strong preference for experience leading patient experience strategy, culture transformation, service excellence, and performance improvement initiatives within a healthcare environment
Demonstrated success leading culture transformation, accountability, and change management initiatives that improve patient and family experience outcomes across multidisciplinary teams
Experience translating patient and customer feedback and experience data into operational and cultural improvements
Proven experience in data mining, interpretation, benchmarking, and trending of patient and/or customer experience metrics
Deep understanding of patient, family, and consumer experience best practices, including family-centered care principles and child development across the continuum of care
Strong leadership and executive presence with the ability to inspire, mentor, influence, and develop high-performing, compassionate teams while driving organizational culture and behavior change
Advanced ability to analyze and interpret complex patient and/or customer experience data, identify trends, benchmark performance, and translate insights into meaningful, measurable improvements
Expertise in performance improvement methodologies (e.g., Lean, Six Sigma, PDSA cycles), service recovery, conflict resolution, and escalation management
Demonstrated ability to foster a culture of accountability, responsiveness, empathy, and continuous experience improvement across multidisciplinary teams
Excellent communication and storytelling skills, with the ability to elevate the patient and family voice through data, feedback, and lived experiences
High emotional intelligence and the ability to balance operational priorities with empathy, relationship-building, and professionalism in sensitive, high-impact situations
Knowledge of patient/customer feedback platforms, experience measurement tools, benchmarking methodologies, and regulatory requirements related to patient rights, grievances, and experience

Nice To Haves

Healthcare Administration, Nursing, Social Work, Public Health, Business Administration, or related field preferred.
Clinical licensure (e.g., RN, LCSW, CCLS, or related) preferred
Experience overseeing or partnering with Child Life, family-centered care programs, expressive therapies, or related patient support services strongly preferred
Pediatric healthcare experience or experience working with children and families strongly preferred

Responsibilities

Define and lead a comprehensive patient and family experience vision and strategy that reflects the organization’s commitment to children and families
Ensure that the voice of the child and family is embedded in organizational priorities, decision-making, and care delivery models
Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to drive sustained improvement in patient experience outcomes
Partner with executive leadership to integrate patient and family experience into the organization’s strategic and cultural priorities
Promote a consumer-focused approach that enhances trust, loyalty, and engagement across the care continuum
Serve as a strategic advisor to executive leadership on patient, family, and consumer experience priorities and trends
Provide leadership and direction for Patient Experience, Child Life Services, Family Advisory Councils, and Expressive Therapies
Ensure programs support the emotional, developmental, and psychosocial needs of pediatric patients and their families
Promote innovative, child-friendly, and family-centered approaches to care delivery across all settings
Lead data mining, aggregation, and analysis of patient experience data, including surveys, complaints, and qualitative feedback
Identify trends and root causes, translating insights into targeted, actionable strategies and interventions
Develop dashboards and reporting mechanisms that clearly communicate performance and opportunities to leaders and teams
Drive continuous improvement efforts that result in measurable, sustainable enhancements in patient and family experience
Monitor industry trends, benchmarks, and best practices in patient and customer experience to inform strategic priorities
Develop and sustain a culture of service excellence that prioritizes compassionate, personalized, and family-centered interactions
Lead a team responsible for proactive, real-time coaching to improve communication, empathy, and patient-centered behaviors
Partner with operational and clinical leaders to hardwire experience behaviors and accountability into daily operations
Partner with leaders at all levels to build ownership and accountability for patient experience outcomes
Influence and guide leaders to model behaviors that reflect compassion, respect, and family-centered care
Develop and implement training programs that elevate the skills and confidence of staff in engaging children and families
Oversee and strengthen Family Advisory Councils, ensuring authentic partnership and meaningful integration of diverse family perspectives
Create opportunities for patients and families to co-design care processes, programs, and environments
Advocate for the needs of diverse patient populations, ensuring equitable and inclusive care experiences
Ensure patient, family, and consumer feedback mechanisms are accessible, responsive, and integrated into improvement efforts
Ensure compliance with regulatory standards related to patient rights, grievances, and experience
Partner with Quality, Safety, and Risk teams to align patient experience with clinical outcomes and safety initiatives
Ensure timely, compassionate, and effective resolution of patient and family concerns