Rural Health Director

University of Iowa•Iowa City, IA

About The Position

The Rural Health Director leads relationship management, service delivery performance, and program development for the UI Health Care Rural Network. This role is responsible for strengthening partnerships with rural health organizations, ensuring alignment with UI Health Care’s strategic priorities, and driving high-quality service across a complex, matrixed system. The role oversees the evaluation of service delivery models, service agreements, and partnership structures, and identifies opportunities for enhanced collaboration and growth. The position monitors client service requests, ensures service quality standards are consistently met, and leads initiatives that drive operational efficiency and continuous improvement, and works closely with senior leaders and internal divisions to help shape support models that advance rural health initiatives. This role coordinates key communication and governance activities to ensure project scopes, statements of work, and partner requests are aligned with program strategy and organizational goals. The Director will also represent UI Health Care at rural partner sites, providing on-site leadership, relationship support, and program guidance.

Requirements

Master’s degree in health care administration, business administration, finance or accounting or an equivalent combination of education and experience is required.
Five years of experience in health care, business, or operational management, with increasing levels of responsibility.
Demonstrated experience working with and managing relationships with senior level administration or leaders and the ability to influence and motivate organizational constituencies.
Demonstrated ability to successfully collaborate and influence key stakeholders, integrating ideas to achieve outcomes.
Demonstrated ability to effectively anticipate considerations to critically prepare, evaluate, and present programmatic and strategic proposals for streamlined approval at the executive level.
Demonstrated strong ability to translate complex data/information into simple, actionable insights.
Demonstrated ability to manage financial, organizational and staff resources.
Ability to manage projects across a clinical enterprise.
Demonstrated experience in strategy implementation and project management.
Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communications skills.
Proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Project, Teams, and Visio) and computer software applications.
Demonstrated experience working effectively in a welcoming and respectful workplace environment.

Nice To Haves

Experience with management or operations in a small to medium hospital environment
Experience working within complex, multiple client site environments managing customer relations, project deadlines, escalation, resolution, and program delivery.
Proven history of working closely with clients to determine current and future business needs, advocating on behalf of clients in the review of systems and programs.
Strong problem-solving and process improvement skills for managing service delivery, including developing workflows and new business processes.
Experience planning and implementing remote and onsite meetings with clients, vendors, and internal stakeholders.
Experience working in a senior management position with contribution to operational (short-term), tactical (1-2 years), and strategic (3-5 years) planning in support of the overall business or strategic plan.
Knowledge of University and UI Health Care policies, procedures, and regulations.
Experience with grants.

Responsibilities

Actively advocates for rural network clients within UI Health Care.
Build, manage, and maintain strong relationships with rural partners and key internal stakeholders, including the UI Health Care’s CEO Office, Strategy, Legal, Finance, and HCIS teams.
Serve as the primary client relations liaison for business development, service management, and issue resolution.
Review existing systems, service delivery models, and service agreements; assess new client requests and partnership opportunities.
Lead or direct budget development as part of project planning, including creating and presenting project budgets, monitoring performance to budget, and supporting effective implementation in partnership with UI Health Care Finance.
Identify, communicate, and resolve gaps between client expectations and delivered services.
Monitor organizational performance against service level agreements (SLAs), escalating risks, and resolving issues internally and externally.
Conduct ongoing reviews of open service requests, identifying trends, risks, and improvement opportunities.
Ensure adherence to SLAs and support continuous improvement in service quality and responsiveness.
Assist in developing a sustainable, scalable support and service delivery model for rural partners.
Collaborate with internal UI Health Care divisions to define service offerings, program structures, and delivery processes.
Partner closely with HCIS and Epic Community Connect liaisons to support IT-enabled rural health initiatives.
Participate in financial and operational reviews of the UI Health Care Rural Network program.
Participate in defining project scope, timelines, deliverables, and statements of work.
Draft and coordinate SOWs, ensure appropriate approvals, and track authorizations.
Ensure projects and SOWs are entered and maintained accurately to support client communication and invoicing.
Coordinate, review, and prioritize client requests to align project teams with strategic goals.
Oversees the planning, facilitation, and follow-up of quarterly and annual client meetings to review performance, service delivery, strategic priorities, and upcoming initiatives.
Provide regular program updates and business reviews to rural partners and UI Health Care leadership.
Present program status, performance metrics, and strategic recommendations.
Facilitate effective communication throughout the full lifecycle of projects and partnerships.
Travel to rural partner sites as needed to support relationship management, program delivery, and issue resolution.
Frequently engage with partner sites through both in-person and virtual meetings.