Executive Vice President/COO

Arkansas Children's Hospital Northwest•Little Rock, AR

21h

About The Position

The Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (EVP/COO) provides enterprise leadership for Arkansas Children’s clinical and operational functions, including hospital, ambulatory, service line, access, capacity, and systemwide operations. Reporting to the President and Chief Executive Officer, the EVP/COO acts as an operator, transformer, and integrator, aligning leaders and translating strategy into disciplined execution to advance safe, high-quality, accessible, family-centered care. As a member of the executive leadership team and senior advisor to the CEO, the EVP/COO aligns clinical and operational leaders, develops high-performing leadership teams, strengthens organizational capabilities, and fosters collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement. The role serves as a senior liaison with external partners and may represent the CEO internally and externally. It calls for enterprise judgment, Board-facing presence, stakeholder influence, external credibility, philanthropy and advocacy orientation, and statewide mission leadership. Clinical training, prior clinical practice, or active professional licensure is preferred but not required. The EVP/COO sets operational strategy and leads execution across hospitals, ambulatory settings, service lines, access, capacity, patient flow, and systemwide operations. The role establishes effective operating models and performance routines; advances regionalized care and innovative delivery models; stewards budgets and resources; and leads business planning, performance measurement, continuous improvement, workforce planning, talent development, and organizational risk readiness. The position also represents the organization in external forums and relations, contributes to corporate strategy and policy, and leads stakeholder engagement.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a related field and 15 years of relevant experience, including at least 10 years in a leadership role; alternatively, a high school diploma or GED and 19 years of relevant experience, including at least 10 years in a leadership role.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in a related field of study.
Clinical background demonstrated through clinical training, prior clinical practice, or active professional licensure.

Responsibilities

Set and communicate operational strategy for Arkansas Children’s clinical and operational enterprise, aligning leaders, teams, service lines, locations, and external partners with the organization’s mission, values, and long-term goals.
Serve as a senior advisor and representative of the CEO as appropriate, including Board-facing and external leadership responsibilities.
Inspire, develop, and empower a large, diverse workforce and foster trust, collaboration, accountability, and leadership excellence.
Develop operational strategies that anticipate healthcare trends, workforce needs, access and capacity challenges, financial pressures, regulatory expectations, and care delivery opportunities.
Advance regionalization of care through alignment of services, capacity, partnerships, virtual care, ambulatory access, referral management, scheduling, and other delivery models.
Translate strategy into practical priorities, integrated plans, and sustainable results.
Lead operational strategy and outcomes across hospitals, ambulatory settings, service lines, access, capacity, patient flow, and systemwide operations.
Establish operating models, decision rights, and execution routines that strengthen coordination, reduce unnecessary variation, improve the human experience, and support timely enterprise decision-making.
Create and implement an organization-wide business performance metrics strategy covering operational, quality, safety, access, workforce, patient and family experience, growth, regulatory readiness, and financial goals.
Use data and performance routines to identify opportunities, address gaps, improve accountability, strengthen trust and satisfaction, and sustain measurable results.
Lead a continuous improvement strategy, advancing innovation, experimentation, adaptability, risk-aware decision-making, and sustainable transformation.
Partner across clinical, physician, nursing, research, academic, technology, and operational functions to advance evidence-based practices, treatments, digital connectivity, and innovative care models.
Set, approve, and steward budgets for large operational areas, including resource allocation, productivity, margin improvement, capital planning, facility and technology investment, and sustainable performance.
Lead annual and multiyear business plans, defining outcomes, accountabilities, resources, performance indicators, financial and workforce assumptions, workforce strategies, leadership capability needs, emergency preparedness, risk readiness, and execution priorities.
Lead development of an organization-wide strategic workforce plan and identify organizational and leadership capabilities needed for current and future enterprise needs.
Evaluate capabilities and gaps across clinical and operational functions and prioritize development investments aligned with business strategy.
Partner with Human Resources to align workforce strengths and capabilities with enterprise priorities.
Hold senior leaders accountable for team development and employee growth; embed continuous learning, coaching, mentoring, and shared learning into the organization’s culture.
Manage and report business performance, hold direct reports accountable for business plans, and take corrective action as needed while balancing short- and long-term stakeholder value.
Represent the organization in industry, institutional, and professional forums, boards, and committees, and in external relations with partners, the public, and others.
Prepare presentations and materials for professional partnering meetings, seminars, and conferences as needed.
Take responsibility for designing, developing, and delivering the organization’s corporate social responsibility strategy and services, ensuring compliance and accountability.
Participate in local corporate strategy development, applying functional expertise to test viability and contribute ideas.
Develop strategic organizational policies for an extensive area of the business.
Identify and manage stakeholders up to and including the C-suite, assess their needs and concerns, and lead stakeholder engagement plans.