• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Salary Range: $100,000 - $125,000

Position Summary

Under the leadership of the Associate Vice President, Medical Services and in consultation with the Medical Services senior leadership team, the Associate Director will ensure operational excellence by providing strategic operational support across Medical Services and will have operational involvement in the administration of clinical services to maintain consistency in processes and delivery of services.

The incumbent will assist the Associate Vice President, Director of Clinical Services and Training, and Director of Nursing in developing, maintaining, and reviewing operational protocols that promote and ensure appropriate standards of care and compliance with Columbia Health and University policies. The Associate Director will review and assess operational issues with the AVP, ensure business continuity and adherence to procedures, and proactively identify opportunities to streamline and maximize service levels.

The Associate Director will supervise practice support staff to deliver excellent, culturally relevant, student-focused support, assist staff with operational issues, and collaborate with the AVP and the senior management team to provide guidance and day-to-day operational leadership related to Medical Services processes. This role will partner with senior leadership to create policies and procedures to address identified operational concerns and ensure written policies and procedures reflect current practice.

This role requires outstanding leadership capabilities, including prioritizing, fostering collaboration among colleagues and stakeholders, promoting individual and collective accountability, and adapting to changing priorities. The Associate Director will be part of the Columbia Health Operations Team and collaborate with university partners and other stakeholders to support Medical Services' overarching operational objectives.

This is an essential onsite role.

Responsibilities

Administration (50%)

• In consultation with the AVP, provide strategic operational support and manage time-sensitive and high-priority and operational initiatives across Medical Services.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for Medical Services Operational inquiries and work collaboratively across Medical Services to troubleshoot and resolve operational challenges.
• Leverage best practices and cultivate strategic connections in Medical Services to ensure collaboration and alignment of clinical and support functions to enhance operational effectiveness.
• In collaboration with the AVP, develop and support a culture of continuous quality management, shared efficiencies, and professionalism; work with senior leadership and other disciplines to coordinate and integrate change management efforts to support Medical Services operational strategic initiatives. Perform continuous analyses and strategic consultation to identify areas for improvement.
• Evaluate, update, and revise operational policies and procedures. Make policy recommendations to senior leadership to address changing circumstances and emerging needs.
• Manage efforts to deliver high-level logistical and operational leadership, including facilitating patient care coordination between Medical Services and other departments, facilitating arrangements for patient hospitalization, and mobilizing and allocating resources to support Medical Services priorities.
• Collaborate with the Director of Clinical Services and Training and the Director of Nursing to design overall clinical service schedules that meet anticipated patient needs; create and implement processes for developing and reviewing individual provider schedules for academic terms, recess periods, and after-hours.
• Work closely with the senior leadership team to develop and communicate changes related to adjustments in workflow and schedule that reflect current operational needs and services. Manage schedule revisions necessitated by unanticipated absences and events. Manage the process of receiving and processing time off requests.
• Serve as primary liaison with Columbia Health vendors and campus partners to facilitate services and resolve operational issues, including, but not limited to, custodial, computer systems, telephone systems, and mail delivery. Effectively communicate with staff and facilitate resolution for affected systems and services.
• Manage service-related complaints, comments, and concerns from patients; provide appropriate follow-up and problem resolution with patients and other relevant parties; escalate issues to senior leadership as warranted; document disposition of complaints and comments and prepare periodic reports.
• In partnership with the Columbia Health communication team, update Medical Services web publications.
• Direct and oversee patient services support functions, including reception, patient registration, appointment-making, and daily electronic health records (EHR) functions, including chart retrieval and appropriately responding to authorized requests for copies of patients' medical records.
• Develop standards and practices for support functions. Develop processes and procedures to assure service excellence related to support services; monitor telephone operations and activity in the reception/waiting area and guide staff in providing excellent, culturally competent customer service.
• Serve on and attend various committees within Medical Services and across Columbia Health to facilitate interdepartmental activities addressing issues with a broad scope of concerns and impact for Medical Services.
• Ensure Medical Services Quality Management (QM) policies, processes, and projects reflect and meet Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) standards. Coordinate operational aspects of QM projects. Promote ongoing efforts to maintain accreditation and ensure compliance with AAAHC standards.
• Partner with the Director of Clinical Services and Training, Director of Nursing, and other Medical Services staff to ensure operational integration of workflows and functions.
• Work closely with the Manager of Purchasing to ensure procurement of equipment and supplies for Medical Services.

Personnel Management (35%)

• Direct and supervise responsibilities of support staff; guide staff in providing excellent, culturally competent, courteous, appropriately responsive, high-quality support services; direct staff in responding appropriately to emergencies or extraordinary support service challenges.
• Guide staff in maintaining efficient and responsive operations; promote patient satisfaction; protect patient confidentiality and adhere to HIPAA/FERPA regulations.
• Lead and facilitate all aspects of support staff orientation and onboarding process; provide ongoing training to promote the highest standards for customer service, professionalism, patient relations, and overall operational efficiency.
• Provide initial training and document probationary staff performance; manage union support staff disciplinary issues in consultation with Columbia Health Human Resources; initiate appropriate accountability and disciplinary action and follow the case through to any subsequent steps in the disciplinary process.
• Develop union support staff work schedule, review and approve timesheets for direct reports, and manage and approve time off requests for direct reports.
• Train and orient all new Medical Services staff on administrative departmental policies and procedures; collaborate with the Medical Services senior management team and Columbia Health Human Resources to ensure thorough orientation and onboarding of all newly hired Medical Services staff.
• Monitor and ensure staff participation in mandatory, continued education and other required training.
• Manage recruitment and selection of direct reports.

Project Management (10%)

• Serve in a leadership capacity to manage critical, time-sensitive short-term and long-term special projects; collaborate as required with team members and other stakeholders.
• Assumes responsibility for keeping broad initiatives on track. Monitors and assesses progress towards goals/priorities and takes appropriate action to influence outcomes.
• Conduct in-depth research and provide senior leadership with findings and recommendations.

Performs other duties as assigned (5%)

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Healthcare Administration, business, or a related field is required.
• Minimum 5 years of progressively responsible experience in healthcare administration or closely related roles in higher education, academic medicine, or comparable environment required.
• Excellence in business process management and improvement experience.
• Demonstrated ability to manage, motivate, influence, and promote accountability with staff at all levels in a highly complex environment.
• Demonstrated experience as an innovative thinker and problem solver.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills with the ability to create clear, concise, professional reports and correspondence.
• Ability to negotiate and resolve conflicts, establish credibility, and work collaboratively with cross-functional teams of various levels of leadership and clinical disciplines.
• Ability to assess and resolve complex operational issues.
• Detail-oriented with the ability to exercise astute judgment and make sound decisions when consulting with senior-level administrators, faculty, patients, and other key stakeholders.
• Organizational and critical thinking skills with the ability to work in a fast-paced environment where urgent situations often arise.
• Ability to adhere to and hold others accountable to HIPAA, FERPA, and other relevant regulations.
• Demonstrated sensitivity to and understanding of working with individuals of diverse backgrounds.
• The position requires outstanding computer skills, including demonstrated experience with electronic health records.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in healthcare administration, business, or a closely related field.
• Experience in healthcare administration, business operations, or systems/process management.
• Experience in a higher education setting.
• Experience managing union employees.