Senior Director, PACE

Sutter Health•Sacramento, CA

About The Position

The Senior Director, PACE provides strategic, operational, and administrative leadership for a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) center and associated services. The role is accountable for center performance, including participant experience, quality of care, regulatory compliance, financial performance, workforce engagement and leadership development, enrollment and growth, execution of organizational strategy, and operational excellence. The Senior Director serves as the senior administrative leader for the PACE center and partners with the Medical Director, clinical and operational leaders, the interdisciplinary team, enterprise leadership, and other service line executives to deliver high-quality, financially sustainable, coordinated, participant-centered care that supports older adults in remaining safely in their communities. The role oversees service line operations and works with leaders to establish goals, strategic plans, budgets, operating standards, governance, and performance measures. The Senior Director is accountable for compliance with federal PACE regulations, the PACE program agreement with CMS and the State Administering Agency, and applicable state licensing requirements. This includes ensuring comprehensive services, effective interdisciplinary team operations, compliant enrollment practices, participant protections, quality and risk management, qualified staff and contractors, audit readiness, and governance reporting. The Senior Director leads the center's senior management team, establishes accountability, monitors performance across quality, participant experience, workforce, growth, finance, and operations, and implements corrective actions and continuous improvement. The role develops community and referral partnerships to support enrollment and access, maintains external relationships, and identifies program and revenue growth opportunities. The position manages operating, staffing, and capital budgets; monitors revenue and expenses; and balances financial stewardship with quality, access, workforce, and participant experience. It also manages assigned staff, supports engagement and development, makes employment and performance decisions, and promotes an inclusive, collaborative, accountable work environment. This is a regular, exempt, full-time position scheduled for 40 hours per week, Monday through Friday, on the day shift. Weekend work is required as needed. The posted annual pay range is $165,339.20 to $264,555.20, with the actual starting salary dependent on factors including work location, experience, education, skills, licensure, certifications, training, departmental equity, and organizational needs. Eligible positions include a comprehensive benefits package.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Health Care Administration, Public Health, Business Administration, or a related field, or equivalent experience in lieu of the degree.
7–15 years of recent relevant experience.
3–5 years of PACE leadership experience.
Knowledge and interpersonal skills to tactfully direct diverse health professionals in meeting patient and physician needs.
Considerable knowledge of federal and state licensing and regulatory standards, accreditation standards, and clinical practice standards.
Ability to make difficult decisions and drive desired change while building a shared sense of purpose.
Credible leadership presence and ability to respond to questions with logic, clarity, calmness, and authority, and to engage others.
Ability to make fiscally sound decisions consistent with corporate and service line philosophy.
Verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to convey concepts and issues clearly to management and employees.
Effectiveness in achieving goals through individuals and resources not under direct control.
Knowledge of emerging trends and regulatory changes and their operational impact.

Responsibilities

Provide overall strategic, operational, and administrative leadership for the PACE program and center.
Ensure operations comply with federal PACE regulations, the CMS and State Administering Agency program agreement, state licensing requirements, organizational policies, and applicable accreditation or certification requirements.
Ensure participants receive required Medicare- and Medicaid-covered services and other services determined necessary by the interdisciplinary team across center, home, and community settings.
Partner with the Medical Director to ensure the interdisciplinary team is staffed and completes timely participant assessments, care plans, reassessments, and documentation.
Support compliant enrollment of eligible participants and maintain compliant enrollment, disenrollment, and census practices.
Manage financial performance under Medicare and Medicaid capitation, including medical expense, utilization, third-party contracts, and solvency requirements.
Protect participant rights and ensure grievances, appeals, incidents, and service-determination timelines are handled according to PACE regulations.
Maintain a data-driven quality assessment and performance improvement program covering participant safety, infection control, and emergency preparedness.
Ensure staff and contracted providers maintain required licenses, credentials, training, and competencies.
Maintain continuous readiness for CMS, state, and accreditation audits and surveys; coordinate responses to findings and ensure corrective action plans are completed on time.
Report to and partner with the governing body and senior leadership on program performance, risks, and strategic direction.
Monitor service line quality, service, financial, and growth performance, and work with directors and administrators to meet goals.
Establish a common service line governance structure while accounting for the needs of individual entities.
Monitor business processes and outcomes, recommend corrective actions, and work with service line leaders to support effective operations and quality care.
Identify and develop new programs and revenue sources.
Maintain productive relationships with service line leaders, physician partners, affiliate management, and other stakeholders; help resolve issues and concerns.
Review complaints and incidents and ensure improvement plans are developed and implemented when needed.
Lead achievement of participant enrollment and census objectives; monitor enrollment pipeline, disenrollment, census, market trends, referrals, and growth barriers.
Partner with outreach, marketing, enrollment, and community engagement teams to expand access to PACE services.
Build and maintain relationships with community organizations, health systems, physicians, senior-service organizations, government agencies, and referral partners; represent the PACE program externally.
Translate organizational strategy into measurable center-level goals, priorities, and operating plans, and communicate strategic plans to leaders and staff.
Establish and monitor key performance indicators across quality, participant experience, workforce, growth, financial performance, and operations.
Lead goal setting, provide a roadmap for achieving goals, monitor progress, and develop action plans to address challenges.
Participate in enterprise strategic planning, system-sponsored initiatives, and operational improvement efforts.
Identify operational risks, opportunities, and process improvements, and implement timely corrective actions.
Develop plans to address current and future resource needs and promote innovation and continuous improvement in care delivery.
Develop and manage annual operating, staffing, and capital budgets in partnership with Finance; approve budgets and capital requests.
Monitor revenue, labor, medical and operating expenses, productivity, and other financial indicators; address unfavorable variances through corrective plans.
Ensure appropriate staffing and resource allocation in line with participant needs, census, budget, and regulatory requirements.
Approve employee expense reimbursements and vendor billing statements according to established protocol.
Manage assigned staff, make hiring and termination decisions, review and approve timekeeping records, and establish expectations and accountability.
Evaluate staff performance, provide feedback and coaching, approve merit increases, and implement disciplinary actions or performance improvement plans.
Promote an inclusive, collaborative work environment and provide opportunities for career development, role expansion, and cross-training.
Conduct staff meetings and ensure staff maintain current and appropriate professional credentials.
Respond to alleged violations of policies, procedures, regulations, and standards of conduct, consulting Human Resources or Compliance as appropriate.