Vice President of Operations-Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital

At Northwestern Medicine, every patient interaction makes a difference in cultivating a positive workplace. This patient-first approach is what sets us apart as a leader in the healthcare industry. As an integral part of our team, you'll have the opportunity to join our quest for better healthcare, no matter where you work within the Northwestern Medicine system. At Northwestern Medicine, we pride ourselves on providing competitive benefits: from tuition reimbursement and loan forgiveness to 401(k) matching and lifecycle benefits, we take care of our employees. Ready to join our quest for better?

The Vice President, Operations reflects the mission, vision, and values of Northwestern Medicine, adheres to the organization’s Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with all relevant policies, procedures, guidelines and all other regulatory and accreditation standards.

This executive will provide leadership and direction for the day-to-day functioning of critical operations. He/she will carry out the mission and the vision of NMHC, and the established values of business conduct with respect to employee relations. The Vice President, Operations assumes responsibility for the effective execution, development and evaluation of the services of his/her areas in accordance with the overall strategy of “Patients First.”

The Vice President, Operations will offer direction, supervision and assistance to each of his/her direct reports, as defined by the President, NM Palos. This individual will collaborate with each director to establish annual goals, develop operating, staffing and capital budgets based on the goals, and assess each department’s performance against the goals.

The Vice President, Operations will work closely with key internal contacts, including the President, Senior Vice Presidents, other Vice Presidents, department directors and medical staff to ensure a successful on-going function. The individual will develop and maintain working relationships with representatives of public and private agencies, seeking out and joining business and professional associations as appropriate, to promote communication and information exchange.

The Vice President, Operations will play a lead role in key institutional initiatives as defined by the President, NM Palos.

Responsibilities:

The Vice President, Operations is an officer of the corporation and has the primary authority and responsibility for the development of operations, the development of operations services policies, and the development and evaluation of clinical programs and services and program administration for the corporation, including but not limited to the following:

• Ensures that the corporation meets its long-range strategic plan and annual operating goals, including quality objectives; provides oversight to the annual implementation of the strategic plan to ensure quality priorities are established and accomplished
• Supporting management and staff in identifying and troubleshooting patient care questions, concerns, or issues
• Development of measurable goals and objectives for the department
• Serve as a leader/mentor for all staff, administering timely performance evaluations and fostering a work environment that encourages achievement of professional, technical, and career goals
• Collaboration with medical and other professional staff in routine evaluation to identify improvement opportunities in quality, financial effectiveness, and other key performance criteria
• Helps all employees make the connection between NM values, their daily work and patient and customer satisfaction. Holds staff accountable for modeling service standards and behaviors.
• Supports ongoing learning and skill development for self and staff; provides coaching and mentoring; assigns stretch goals, cross-training and other opportunities for career development.
• Thinks and acts in ways that support NM strategy, vision and plans. Identifies opportunities for new business growth and development, expansion of current services, etc.
• Practices fiscal accountability. Encourages staff and team accountability by involving them in budget     preparation, identifying ideas for increasing efficiency, cost savings, developing and growing the business and existing services.
• Measures and monitors budget and business development plans; provides ongoing updates to staff.
• Achieves or exceeds budget and business growth and profitability targets.
• Involves staff in planning and decision-making as appropriate. Holds staff accountable for follow-through and results.
• Facilitates change readiness and agility among staff and teams.
• As a member of the senior management team, full participation in and awareness of overall hospital issues and priorities
• Assurance of corporate compliance with all applicable laws and regulations
• Performance of other duties as may from time-to-time be assigned by the Senior Vice President/President

Required: 

• Master’s Degree (i.e., M.B.A., M.H.A., M.P.H. or equivalent business degree) preferred.
• Ten years’ management experience preferred.
• The ideal candidate has developed his/her career within a large, complex hospital system environment, ideally with a teaching/academic mission.
• Senior level management experience outside a hospital/health system may also be considered.
• Demonstrated success in building and managing a “leading edge,” state-of-the-art department, utilizing innovative programs to improve customer services, product quality, procurement efficiency and cost reductions.
• Demonstrated success as a “change agent,” possessing the ability to work effectively with all constituents in order to effect change and impact results.

The Vice President, Operations will be expected to make significant progress toward achieving the following objectives (not listed in order of priority):

• Establish credibility and respect with senior management, medical staff, managers and staff throughout NMHC.
• Quickly learn and evaluate current operational and team responsibilities, identifying inefficiencies and key priorities.
• Develop high-impact initiatives to reduce the organization’s supply costs, taking into consideration standardization, utilization and compliance with formularies.
• Serve as a valuable team member and contributor to the senior management team

Northwestern Medicine is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of age, sex, race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation or any other protected status.