Senior Director-Case Management

The University of Kansas Health System•Kansas City, KS

About The Position

The Senior Director of Case Management provides strategic and operational leadership for the Case Management and Continuum of Care services across the organization. This role is responsible for advancing the mission and values of the health system, driving performance planning and improvement, ensuring clinical quality, fiscal responsibility, and service excellence, and fostering patient, customer, and employee satisfaction. The Senior Director leads the development and implementation of long-term strategies that enhance care coordination, resource utilization, and transitions of care, while building organizational capabilities for the future. Must be able to perform the professional, clinical and or technical competencies of the assigned unit or department. These statements are intended to describe the essential functions of the job and are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities. Skills and duties may vary dependent upon your department or unit. Other duties may be assigned as required.

Requirements

Master Degree Nursing OR Masters Social Work OR Bachelor Degree Nursing and Master Degree in another healthcare related field
6 or more years of leadership experience in the healthcare field
5 or more years of case management/care coordination experience
Licensed Registered Nurse (LRN) - Multi-State - State Board of Nursing OR Licensed Masters Social Worker(LMSW) - State Board of Behavioral Sciences in the State of Kansas
Accredited Case Manager (ACM) - American Case Management Association (ACMA) OR Certified Case Manager (CCM) - Commission for Case Manager Certification (CCMC)
Possesses a strong leadership skill and management experience in facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration within a fiscally sound framework.
Ability to conceptualize broad and detailed information, problem solve, and incorporate critical decision making into daily practice.
Is a systems analyst.
Working knowledge of PI principals.

Nice To Haves

Ideal candidate will have a strong background in project implementation, utilization management and case management.

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Program Oversight: Develop, implement, and continuously refine the enterprise-wide case management strategy to support the organization’s mission, academic priorities, and population health goals across the health system.
Provide operational leadership for Case Management, Utilization Management, and Social Work services, ensuring alignment with clinical operations, revenue cycle, and care continuum strategy.
Lead long-range planning for care management programs, incorporating evidence-based models, regulatory updates, and emerging best practices.
Operational Excellence & Performance Management: Oversee daily operations of multidisciplinary case management functions, ensuring efficient throughput, safe transitions of care, and reduced length of stay barriers.
Establish and monitor KPIs (e.g., LOS, readmissions, avoidable days, payer denials, care progression), implementing action plans to achieve health system targets.
Utilize data analytics to guide performance improvement and resource allocation.
Quality, Compliance, & Regulatory Stewardship: Ensure compliance with CMS Conditions of Participation, KDHE, Discharge Planning Standards, and accreditation requirements (e.g., The Joint Commission).
Partner with physician advisors, service line chiefs, and medical staff leadership to ensure physician engagement around documentation, utilization review, discharge planning, and escalation pathways.
Maintain policies and procedures that uphold safety, ethics, and legal/regulatory expectations across the care management continuum.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Foster strong relationships across Nursing, Medicine, Emergency Services, Behavioral Health, and Revenue Cycle to coordinate patient centered care.
Lead interdisciplinary rounds and organizational forums to address care progression, discharge barriers, and high-risk patient populations.
Serve as a key liaison with external partners including community agencies, post-acute providers, health plans, and public health departments.
Workforce Leadership, Development & Culture: Oversee recruitment, onboarding, competency development, and continuing education for case management, social work, and utilization review teams.
Promote a culture of collaboration, professional accountability, psychological safety, and high reliability.
Implement retention strategies, workload optimization, and staff engagement initiatives to support a high-performing workforce.
Financial Stewardship & Resource Optimization: Manage departmental budget, staffing models, productivity standards, and resource allocation.
Drive initiatives to reduce avoidable days, prevent readmissions, and strengthen denial prevention and appeals outcomes.
Partner with Finance and Managed Care teams to enhance value-based care performance and support organizational financial sustainability.
Innovation, Technology & Academic Integration: Lead adoption and optimization of care management technologies, EHR tools, analytics dashboards, and automation workflows.
Collaborate with academic partners to incorporate student placements, research, and evidence-based practice improvements.
Champion innovative care models such as hospital-at-home, community-based case management, and population health interventions.
Crisis & Complex Case Oversight: Provide executive-level guidance for high risk, complex, or escalated cases involving behavioral health, social determinants, guardianship, public health, or bioethics concerns.
Lead case management response efforts during hospital surges, emergencies, or system wide operational crises.