Executive Director, Imaging Services

Emory University•Atlanta, GA

1h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Executive Director, Imaging Services is a physician executive responsible for the strategic vision, clinical leadership, and operational oversight of imaging services across inpatient, emergency, procedural, and ambulatory settings. The role operates in a dyad leadership model with the senior administrative leader for imaging and shares accountability for clinical, operational, financial, and quality performance. The leadership team works with medical, administrative, and technical teams across clinical sites and departments to achieve operational excellence and advance Emory Healthcare’s strategic goals. The Executive Director leads clinical operations across imaging modalities and sites, standardizes care and workflows, and improves access, turnaround times, throughput, capacity, and imaging’s contribution to length of stay and emergency department disposition. The role develops and implements an enterprise imaging strategy, integrates diagnostic and interventional radiology and subspecialties, pursues growth, and supports the academic mission in partnership with the Department Chair. The position owns imaging quality and safety programs, supports regulatory and accreditation readiness, and monitors outcomes, safety events, and patient experience. It builds physician leadership and shared governance, supports recruitment and retention, promotes sustainable workloads, and partners with nursing and technologist leaders. The Executive Director also works with administrative, finance, revenue cycle, informatics, and IT partners on budgets, capital planning, technology, documentation, and operational performance. The role represents imaging in organizational governance and strategic planning and may require travel across enterprise imaging sites 10%–25% of the time. The position is hybrid, primarily office-based, with regular on-site presence required across imaging locations and some remote work included.

Requirements

Medical degree (M.D. or D.O.) from an accredited school of medicine.
At least 10 years of progressive leadership experience in a complex healthcare environment, including management of a clinical service line or regional operations and experience in performance improvement and administrative roles.
Current and active MD or DO licensure in the State of Georgia.
Board certification in Diagnostic Radiology or an applicable radiology subspecialty.
Demonstrated success in clinical operations leadership, program development, and service line integration in a complex health system.
Strong working knowledge of imaging operations across modalities, including workflow, protocol standardization, turnaround drivers, scheduling, and coverage models.
Deep understanding of imaging quality and safety, including peer review, appropriate-use criteria, dose management, contrast and MRI safety, and accreditation standards.
Operational and financial acumen, including budget management, capital planning, productivity, and utilization analysis; ability to use data to set benchmarks and drive measurable improvement across sites.
Proven effectiveness leading through influence in a matrixed or dyad structure and accountability for outcomes delivered by clinicians who do not directly report to the role.
Exceptional communication, collaboration, and change-management skills; ability to coach and hold physician leaders accountable and exercise sound judgment when quality, physician sustainability, access, and cost compete.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, Medical Management, or Public Health.
Experience in a multi-hospital system or academic medical center.
Prior accountability for enterprise or multi-site imaging operations.
Experience in a formal dyad leadership model.
Certified Physician Executive (CPE) or equivalent physician leadership credential.

Responsibilities

Provide physician leadership for daily clinical operations across imaging modalities and sites of service, ensuring consistent, safe, and efficient care.
Establish and enforce standardized protocols, appropriateness criteria, reporting templates, and clinical pathways across sites.
Improve report turnaround time, access, scheduling capacity, throughput, on-time starts, STAT and add-on management, and imaging’s effect on length of stay and emergency department disposition.
Partner with operations leaders on capacity planning, scheduling, staffing, modality utilization, and optimization of radiologist coverage models.
Resolve operational barriers involving transport, prior authorization, contrast and sedation workflows, inpatient and emergency department prioritization, and procedural scheduling.
Monitor performance dashboards, identify variation across sites, and lead sustained improvement initiatives.
Develop and execute a long-term imaging clinical and operational strategy aligned with organizational priorities, with defined owners, timelines, and measurable outcomes.
Integrate diagnostic radiology, interventional radiology, and imaging subspecialties into a unified enterprise program.
Identify growth opportunities, including new programs, modality expansion, partnerships, and geographic access; strengthen referral networks and regional presence.
Develop radiologist workforce strategies, including alternative employment models and external partnerships, to meet access and growth needs.
Improve patient and referring-provider access, scheduling ease, appointment availability, and site-of-care optimization.
Partner with the Department Chair to support trainee education, faculty development, protected academic time, and imaging research.
Guide evidence-based clinical standards, protocols, and pathways, including appropriate-use criteria.
Own the imaging quality program, including peer review, learning, discrepancy review, and closed-loop communication of critical results.
Own radiation dose optimization, contrast, MRI and sedation safety, and infection prevention across imaging sites.
Ensure readiness for regulatory, accreditation, and survey requirements, including Joint Commission, CMS, ACR, and state requirements.
Monitor and report clinical outcomes, quality measures, safety events, and patient experience, partnering with quality, risk, and compliance leaders to mitigate risk.
Serve as a strategic partner to radiologists and physician leadership, align clinical and operational goals, and act as a liaison between administration and clinical staff.
Develop clinical operations physician leadership structures, shared governance, and modality or site leads with clear accountability; coach and support these leaders’ development, feedback, and succession planning.
Partner with the Department Chair and People Team on recruitment, onboarding, and retention of radiologists and clinical operations physician leaders.
Promote physician workload sustainability and burnout mitigation, addressing volume expectations, interruptions, coverage, and workflows that protect diagnostic focus.
Partner with nursing and technologist leadership on shared workflows, training, and staffing.
Build relationships with referring physicians and service lines and respond to feedback on access, turnaround, and report quality.
Partner with the dyad administrative leader and finance on the imaging operating budget and cost-per-exam performance.
Champion investment in imaging technology, equipment, and staffing models; lead clinical prioritization for capital planning, equipment replacement, modality mix, and expansion.
Partner with revenue cycle, HIM, and compliance on documentation quality, charge capture, prior authorization, and denial prevention.
Evaluate and implement emerging technologies and digital health solutions, including artificial intelligence, advanced visualization, and teleradiology, using clear criteria for clinical value and adoption.
Partner with informatics and IT on the EHR, RIS, PACS, voice recognition, and image exchange; govern monitoring, validation, and equitable application of artificial intelligence in imaging.
Serve as the primary physician liaison between hospital and ambulatory leadership, radiologists, and external partners for imaging initiatives.
Represent the imaging service line in organizational committees, governance bodies, and strategic planning forums, and report performance, risks, and progress to senior leadership on a defined cadence.
Perform additional duties as assigned.
Travel across enterprise imaging sites as required, potentially 10%–25% of the time.