Senior Director, Finance and Clinical Programs - Department of Medicine

University of Washington Medical Center•Seattle, WA

14d•$200,004 - $250,008

About The Position

The Senior Director, Finance and Clinical Programs is a senior member of the Department of Medicine Executive Leadership team and advises the Chair, Vice Chair of Finance and Administration (VCFA), service chiefs, division heads, and division administrators on financial plans and analysis. Reporting to the VCFA, the role carries fiduciary responsibility for the department’s approximately $600 million budget, including budget oversight, long-range financial planning, signature authority, financial reporting, and analysis across federal, state, practice plan, private, University, and foundation funds. The position also oversees the department’s clinical enterprise, including clinical revenue cycle, clinical productivity, faculty compensation, strategic planning, and negotiations with medical centers. The Senior Director oversees the department’s central finance and clinical program teams. Responsibilities span annual and long-term budgeting and planning, monthly financial reporting and analysis, clinical revenue and expenditure management, clinical funding processes, physician productivity and incentive planning, clinical strategy and prioritization, contracting, and faculty compliance. The role partners with department, School of Medicine, UW Medicine, University of Washington Physicians (UWP), and medical center leadership to develop and implement financial and clinical strategies. The position supervises a team of 6 FTEs, plus additional indirect reports, and provides leadership and mentorship to 9 Division Administrators across 11 divisions. It requires managing competing priorities, working effectively under stress, and responding to deadlines and questions outside regular workdays and hours, including weekends. Meetings take place at multiple locations on and off campus and with external stakeholders. The successful candidate is self-motivated and able to work collaboratively and independently, with strong communication skills and awareness of the ethical and political implications of decisions. The Department of Medicine is the largest department in the UW School of Medicine, with more than 3,900 staff, faculty, trainees, and students and an annual budget of approximately $600 million. Its eleven subspecialty divisions operate across multiple Seattle-area sites, including UWMC, Harborview Medical Center, VAPSHCS, PSBC, FHCRC, SCCA, and other locations.

Requirements

Master’s degree in Business Administration, Health Care Administration, Clinical Informatics, or a related field; equivalent education and/or experience may substitute where permitted.
At least 6–8 years of experience in a healthcare environment and demonstrated success managing complex programs, activities, or units.
Strong understanding of revenue-cycle management and prior oversight of clinical finances.
Experience negotiating with hospitals.
Experience in team leadership and physician relations.
Strong oral and written communication, team-building, systems expertise, collaboration, organization assessment, decision-making, interpersonal, and staff-development skills.
High degree of initiative and capability in financial analysis, operational efficiency, cost containment, and strategic planning.
In-depth working knowledge of academic institutions and physicians’ clinical billing and practice management.
Demonstrated dedication to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Ability to manage competing priorities, work under stress, and work flexibly, collaboratively, and independently.
Excellent communication skills and awareness of ethical and political ramifications of decisions.

Nice To Haves

Prior experience negotiating with hospitals.

Responsibilities

Organize and direct the annual Department of Medicine budget process, including budgets for divisions and central units, the UWP budget, commitments, and long-term funding obligations.
Oversee monthly and annual financial reporting and analysis at division, central-unit, and department levels, and assess the reporting process for usefulness to leadership.
Develop strategic financial plans, analyze proposed and existing programs, and align annual budgeting and funding with departmental strategy.
Develop policies and procedures for financial activities and oversee compliance with University policies, federal and state requirements, and sponsor guidelines, including sponsored research programs.
Prepare and present monthly financial reports to department leadership and quarterly reports to the dean’s office; develop monthly financial dashboards and metrics.
Direct financial operations for central administrative units, including resource allocation, forecasting, policy implementation, and monitoring.
Compile, interpret, and communicate financial information to department, UW Medicine, faculty, and other stakeholders.
Oversee clinical finance strategy and operations, including clinical revenue-cycle and faculty-funding processes in collaboration with UWP, medical center leadership, the School of Medicine, and department leaders.
Develop the annual UWP budget and departmental clinical budgets, monitor divisional clinical budgets, and identify opportunities to increase clinical revenue.
Evaluate clinical faculty compensation models and divisional incentive plans; develop recommendations and consult with divisions on implementation.
Participate in clinical funding discussions and system-wide decision-making; represent department leadership on school- and system-wide committees and negotiate clinical funding requests with medical center and School of Medicine leadership.
Oversee clinical productivity standards, cFTE expectations, benchmarks, education, monitoring, and communications tools in collaboration with UWP and departmental teams.
Partner with clinical revenue-cycle and analysis teams to validate and improve billing practices and services to divisions; oversee charge-capture database management and address billing concerns.
Coordinate with UWP and UW Medicine compliance leadership to support faculty compliance and communicate applicable regulatory requirements.
Assess the clinical landscape and develop, prioritize, and coordinate department-wide clinical growth, deployment, and revenue-optimization strategies across sites.
Partner with hospital leadership and administration on mutually beneficial clinical strategies; oversee SBAR preparation, division interactions, and related operational analysis.
Work with divisions on clinical initiatives, staffing strategy, recruitment and retention considerations, and operational work allocation.
Oversee department contracting processes for clinical, research, goods and services, educational, and other agreements, ensuring timely and compliant completion under UW policies.
Oversee the faculty outside work (1460 form) process and ensure timely, compliant resolution of issues.
Supervise the central finance and clinical program teams, provide staff leadership, training, development, and mentorship, and oversee orientation of new Division Administrators and financial staff.
Provide leadership and mentorship to 9 Division Administrators and maintain working relationships with 11 divisions, the dean’s office, medical centers, and UW/UWP offices.
Serve as department liaison with UW central offices, including CRBB, MA&A, GCA, and OSP.
Lead special projects and perform other duties as assigned.