Manager, Health Services

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd•Miami, FL

9d•Onsite

About The Position

The Royal Caribbean Group’s Health Team has an exciting career opportunity for a full time Manager, Health Services reporting to the AVP, Health Services. This position is onsite and based in Miami, Florida. This position is also not eligible for work authorization sponsorship. The Manager, Health Services is a shoreside clinical leader responsible for supporting the safe, high-quality, and ethical delivery of medical care across the fleet. This is an entry-level role designed for a licensed physician transitioning from direct clinical practice into shoreside medical operations. The Manager, Health Services serves as a real-time clinical decision-support resource for shipboard medical teams, provides oversight of clinical quality and case management, participates in the company's 24/7 emergency medical support helpline response function, and travels to vessels to conduct medical training, audits, and other tasks as delegated. Consistent with fleet medical governance, this position provides guidance, advice, and clinical decision-support to shipboard medical teams but does not make direct patient-care or treatment decisions. The final decision on the treatment of any patient, including the need to evacuate a patient, rests with the ship's treating doctor(s). The role combines clinical judgment, operational coordination, and stakeholder collaboration. The successful candidate will grow into progressively greater responsibility for fleet medical governance while receiving structured mentorship from senior medical managers and executive leadership.

Requirements

Medical degree (MD, DO, MBBS, or international equivalent) from an accredited institution.
Current, unrestricted license to practice medicine in at least one recognized jurisdiction.
Completion of postgraduate/residency training; 5 years of post-training independent clinical practice (emergency medicine, internal/family medicine, critical care, general practice, or a related acute-care field).
Sound clinical judgment across a broad range of acute and general presentations.
Strong written and verbal communication in English.
Ability and willingness to participate in a rotating 24/7 on-call schedule, including nights, weekends, and holidays.
Ability and willingness to travel internationally and to spend time onboard vessels at sea.
Valid passport and eligibility to obtain required visas, seafarer documentation, and medical/vaccination clearances.
Clinical decision-making under pressure — calm, structured judgment in time-critical and resource-limited situations.
Communication & collaboration — clear, professional interaction with clinicians, non-clinical operations staff, HR, and external partners.
Integrity & ethics — impartiality, confidentiality, and sound professional judgment, especially in investigations and performance reviews.
Organization & documentation — accurate, timely record-keeping and case tracking.
Adaptability — comfort with shifting priorities, time zones, and an around-the-clock operational environment.
Coaching mindset — constructive, development-oriented feedback to shipboard teams.
On-call responders must be reachable and able to respond within a defined timeframe, with reliable phone and internet connectivity and a suitable environment for confidential clinical discussions.
On-call periods include nights, weekends, and public holidays on a shared, equitable rotation with other medical managers.

Nice To Haves

Board certification/eligibility in emergency medicine, internal medicine, family medicine, or a related specialty.
Experience in maritime, cruise, offshore, expedition, military, aviation, or other remote/austere-medicine settings.
Familiarity with telemedicine and remote clinical decision support.
Knowledge of maritime medical standards and seafarer fitness frameworks (e.g., ILO/IMO MLC, STCW medical fitness, flag-state requirements).
Exposure to clinical governance, quality assurance, audit, or medical administration.
Additional language skills.

Responsibilities

Serve as a shoreside point of contact for assigned vessels on medical operational matters, coordinating between shipboard medical teams and shoreside departments.
Support day-to-day medical operations of the fleet, including resource coordination, medical supply and equipment escalation, staffing coverage issues, and continuity of care across ports.
Track open medical cases and follow-ups to resolution, ensuring appropriate documentation and handover.
Liaise with operational, port agent, security, and guest/crew services teams to resolve medical logistics (e.g., specialist coordination, ambulance staging, port medical facility arrangements, care team handover, crew medical team handover).
Participate in the rotational on-call roster as a first-line clinical responder on the company's 24/7 medical emergency response helpline.
Provide real-time telephonic and telemedicine clinical decision support to shipboard physicians and nurses for medical emergencies, complex cases, and time-critical decisions.
Advise on emergency escalations, including medical diversions, medical evacuations (MEDEVAC), and shoreside referrals, in coordination with operations, security, and third-party evacuation/assistance providers, recognizing that the final evacuation and treatment decision rests with the ship's doctor.
Document all calls, clinical advice given, and decisions accurately and promptly in the designated case-management system.
Escalate to senior leadership per established protocols and when a case exceeds the scope of the on-call role.
Review shoreside requests for surgical or procedural interventions (“surgical packages”) for clinical appropriateness, safety, capability of the provider, and alignment with company clinical protocols.
Review and provide recommendations to approve, defer, or decline requests, ensuring documentation and explanation of the need for the requested procedure.
Assess risk/benefits of procedure recommended.
Request second medical opinions to ensure crew members can make an informed decision on high-risk elective procedures.
For emergency or time sensitive procedures, liaise with crew medical to review supporting documentation without delaying care.
Review medical disembarkation requests for crew members, assessing fitness-to-work / fitness-to-remain-onboard, clinical justification, and destination-of-care considerations.
Ensure disembarkation decisions comply with company policy, flag-state and maritime medical standards (e.g., seafarer fitness frameworks), and applicable regulations.
Maintain accurate records supporting each disembarkation decision.
Conduct structured clinical case reviews and quality assurance of care delivered by shipboard physicians, as per Key Performance Indicators (and, where relevant, nurses/paramedics).
Identify clinical practice trends, learning opportunities, and deviations from protocol; provide constructive feedback and coaching.
Contribute to competency assessment, credentialing support, onboarding review, and continuing professional development recommendations for shipboard clinicians.
Escalate significant clinical concerns to senior medical leadership and support any resulting performance-improvement processes.
Participate in and, over time, help lead investigations into medical-ethics, professional-conduct, and clinical-complaint matters involving medical staff, in close partnership with Human Resources.
Gather and review clinical records and relevant evidence objectively, apply medical-ethics principles and company standards, and contribute factual clinical findings.
Maintain strict confidentiality, impartiality, and appropriate documentation throughout investigations.
Support the development of remediation, corrective action, or process-improvement recommendations for clinical staff performance.
Participate in peer review committee to assess clinical practice and performance of clinicians.
Travel to vessels to conduct scheduled and ad hoc medical audits covering clinical practice, documentation, medical facility readiness, equipment and pharmacy stock, controlled-substance handling, infection prevention and control, and regulatory compliance, as per Key Performance Indicators.
Assess shipboard medical operations against company protocols and applicable maritime/health regulations, and produce clear written audit reports with findings and corrective-action recommendations.
Build effective working relationships with shipboard medical teams and command; provide on-site coaching and support during visits.
Follow up on corrective actions to closure.
Provide medical consultation and guidance, together with the shoreside Public Health team, to shipboard medical teams on onboard crew infectious-disease cases and outbreaks (e.g., chickenpox, measles, tuberculosis).
Support and facilitate shipboard infectious-disease vaccination programs, including influenza and SARS-CoV-2, as needed.
Support outbreak preparedness and response in coordination with shoreside Public Health, including deployment to ships during illness outbreaks where required.
Review pre-employment / re-employment physicals of new and returning crew, as needed.
Support crew wellness programs.
Support the Crew Medical and Risk Management teams to ensure effective review and management of medical cases.
Support liaison with health authorities and engagement with other government officials, as needed, to support the company's operations (with senior medical leadership retaining primary responsibility for these relationships).
Travel with public health authorities for ship inspections, as needed.
Assist with the recruitment of shipboard doctors and nurses.
Assess the capabilities of, and help establish relationships with, medical facilities in relevant ports.
Contribute to the development and revision of clinical protocols, policies, and guidelines.
Support outbreak / public-health response, incident reviews, and continuous-improvement initiatives.
Participate in projects, meetings, and other duties as assigned by medical leadership commensurate with the role.