Manager of Operations (Chicago, IL / Hybrid)

FreedomCare•Chicago, IL

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

FreedomCare is a healthcare company dedicated to revolutionizing the home care industry since 2016, supporting patients across the U.S. by enabling them to choose a caregiver for in-home care. The company values service, ownership, integrity, and a positive attitude. This hybrid role is for a Manager of Operations in Illinois, based in the Chicago area, requiring 3 days a week in the office. The Manager of Operations will oversee Illinois operations for the Home Services Program (HSP), ensuring accuracy and consistency in referrals, eligibility, authorizations, caregiver onboarding and training, service delivery, documentation, billing readiness, quality assurance, and compliance. This position is responsible for daily operations in the Illinois HSP market, ensuring services are delivered according to approved plans, Illinois HSP requirements, and company policy. The role involves close collaboration with clinical leadership, compliance, intake, IDHS/DRS stakeholders, payroll, billing, HR, training, and technology teams to maintain operational performance and regulatory readiness. Key accountabilities include converting referrals to compliant service records, timely implementation of service plans, proper caregiver onboarding and training, accurate service documentation, and effective resolution of customer/caregiver issues through operational workflows. The Manager will drive operations towards growth, service quality, positive customer and caregiver experiences, compliance, audit readiness, timely issue resolution, and profitability. This involves monitoring operational data, identifying risks, and implementing process improvements for safe, compliant, and scalable service delivery.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in healthcare administration, business, operations, public health, social services, or related field preferred; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
5+ years of operations leadership experience, preferably in Medicaid, home and community-based services, personal assistance/home services, disability services, or healthcare operations.
Experience managing multi-function teams in a regulated healthcare environment, including performance management, workflow design, training, quality monitoring, and compliance accountability.
Working knowledge of the Illinois Home Services Program, service plans/authorizations, caregiver onboarding and training, service documentation, and audit readiness preferred.
Experience with Illinois DHS/Division of Rehabilitation Services, HSP, or comparable HCBS programs strongly preferred.
Experience partnering with state program staff, referral partners, compliance teams, billing/payroll teams, and operational leadership preferred.
Experience using healthcare operations systems, CRM/referral systems, timekeeping/EVV systems, payroll/billing workflows, and reporting dashboards preferred.
Must possess strong operational leadership experience with the ability to support compliant growth, referral conversion, stakeholder relationships, and scalable service delivery.
Demonstrated ability to think outside the box, developing strategy and turning it into tangible results
Experience in a leadership role; able to effectively manage and motivate a team of 20+ employees
Passion for improving home care and for leveraging technology to improve lives
Ability to utilize technology to advance company initiatives
Energized by ambitious goals and working in a fast-paced environment
Must be comfortable rolling up their sleeves, being hands-on, and doing whatever is necessary to support the team while building and growing it
Great interpersonal skills: you’re able to bring people along, inspire them, ask tough questions, and hold people accountable
An operational mastermind: you have a natural ability to identify processes that work, metrics that tell the story, and operations that scale without sacrificing quality
A humble leader: you understand that to lead is to set an example, to listen to others, and to always keep learning

Nice To Haves

Master's Degree in healthcare administration or business administration
5 + years of experience in the IL Home Services Program (HSP)

Responsibilities

Serve as the operational leader for Illinois Home Services Program operations, ensuring efficient, compliant, customer-centered service delivery aligned with HSP requirements and company standards.
Lead implementation and optimization of Illinois operational infrastructure, workflows, staffing models, technology use, SOPs, desk guides, training materials, and performance controls to support compliant growth and service delivery.
Manage day-to-day HSP operations from referral intake through service authorization, caregiver onboarding, start of care, ongoing service delivery, monitoring, documentation, issue resolution, and audit readiness.
Support compliant market growth by building strong operational relationships with IDHS/DRS program stakeholders, referral sources, community organizations, customers, caregivers, and internal growth teams.
Hire, train, manage, and develop Illinois operations staff, while coordinating cross-functionally with compliance, clinical, technology, product, payroll, billing, HR, training, and internal support teams.
Monitor quality, compliance, and operational metrics, including referral conversion, service start timeliness, authorization alignment, caregiver onboarding and training completion, documentation completion, service gaps, incidents, complaints, caregiver retention, customer satisfaction, and audit readiness.
Oversee Illinois HSP operational compliance, including caregiver qualification files, required orientation and training records, service authorizations, service-plan alignment, required customer and caregiver documentation, incident and complaint workflows, documentation quality, and corrective actions.
Ensure services are delivered according to the customer's authorized HSP service plan, including approved services, hours, schedule, documentation requirements, and escalation of discrepancies or changes affecting service delivery.
Monitor service delivery against authorization and billing requirements, including timekeeping/EVV where applicable, timesheet accuracy, missed or late services, service gaps, and prevention of over- or under-utilization.
Lead root-cause analysis and corrective action planning for operational deficiencies, including documentation gaps, late service starts, caregiver noncompliance, service-plan mismatches, complaints, incidents, and audit findings.
Partner with technology and product teams to improve referral management, authorization tracking, onboarding, documentation review, timekeeping, compliance reporting, and operational dashboards.
Create and enforce processes and policies that simplify work, incorporate feedback, improve quality of service, and support a positive culture aligned with FreedomCare core values.
Maintain working knowledge of applicable Illinois HSP requirements, including 89 Ill. Admin. Code Part 686, IDHS/DRS program guidance, and internal compliance policies affecting Illinois operations.