Associate Director, Clinical Performance Management

The University of Iowa; Iowa City (IA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Iowa is seeking an Associate Director, Clinical Performance Management to lead an enterprise portfolio focused on clinical performance. You will translate executive priorities into actionable roadmaps, establish governance, and oversee cross-functional initiatives across academic health care operations.

You will advise senior leaders, design performance measures, and guide a team toward delivering sustained organizational results in a matrixed environment.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in health care administration, business administration, finance or accounting or equivalent.
• Seven years of progressively responsible leadership experience in health care administration, operations, strategy, performance improvement, or related fields.
• Experience advising senior leaders and executives, synthesizing complex information and recommending actions.
• Proven experience supervising, coaching, and developing professional staff.
• Ability to develop and implement performance measures, operational plans, and executive reporting.

Responsibilities

• Lead the enterprise clinical performance portfolio and execute strategic roadmaps.
• Translate priorities into annual operational plans with milestones and accountability.
• Advise senior leaders on priorities, risks, and resource tradeoffs.
• Direct cross-functional initiatives from authorization to implementation and outcomes evaluation.
• Establish governance structures, reporting, and accountability routines for assigned priorities.
• Chair or provide senior leadership for enterprise initiatives and advisory groups.
• Provide strategic leadership for the Clinical Performance team and align work with organizational goals.
• Develop team capabilities in strategic planning, performance improvement, data analysis, and leadership practices.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic planning

Executive communication

Change management

Performance improvement

Data analysis

Project coordination

Education

Master’s degree in health care administration, business administration, finance or accounting

Tools

Epic

Power BI

Tableau

Job description

Associate Director, Clinical Performance Management

Reporting to the Administrative Chief of Staff, the Associate Director, Clinical Performance Management provides leadership for an enterprise portfolio of clinical performance. The role converts executive direction into coordinated work plans, establishes accountability, and ensures that complex initiatives advance across clinical and administrative areas.

The Associate Director serves as an executive advisor and portfolio leader, with responsibility for setting approach, recommending priorities, resolving cross-functional barriers, and escalating decisions. The position leads assigned staff and creates the operating structure, performance measures, and governance discipline required to deliver sustained organizational results.

This role is distinguished by enterprise accountability, supervisory obligations, decision support to senior executives, and responsibility for implementation outcomes. It operates with significant independence and authority in a highly matrixed academic health care environment.

Key Responsibilities:

Own and lead the enterprise clinical performance and strategic execution portfolio assigned by the Administrative Chief of Staff and senior leadership.

Translate executive priorities into annual operational and strategic roadmaps, work plans, accountable owners, milestones, performance measures, and escalation paths.

Advise executive leaders on portfolio priorities, sequencing, resource tradeoffs, organizational risk, and readiness for implementation.

Direct high-visibility, cross-functional initiatives from executive authorization through implementation, stabilization, and outcome evaluation.

Establish and lead governance structures for assigned priorities, including charters, decision rights, executive reporting, issue escalation, and accountability routines.

Chair or provide senior administrative leadership for enterprise initiatives, committees, and executive-sponsored advisory groups within the assigned portfolio.

Provide strategic and operational leadership for the Clinical Performance team, ensuring alignment of team priorities, resources, and work products with organizational goals and executive expectations.

Direct, supervise, mentor, and develop professional staff through coaching, performance management, career development, succession planning, and ongoing feedback.

Establish clear performance expectations and accountability standards for team members, ensuring high-quality, timely, and professional execution of assigned work.

Oversee and approve team work products, analyses, presentations, executive communications, recommendations, and deliverables to ensure accuracy, consistency, and alignment with organizational priorities.

Foster a culture of collaboration, continuous improvement, innovation, accountability, and professional growth.

Assign and prioritize team workloads, monitor capacity, and ensure resources are effectively deployed to meet organizational objectives.

Develop team capabilities in strategic planning, performance improvement, change management, project execution, data analysis, executive communication, and leadership practices.

Serve as the final accountable leader for the performance, outcomes, and deliverables produced by the Clinical Performance team.

Set expectations for executive meetings and governance materials, ensuring decisions, risks, dependencies, and recommended actions are clearly presented.

Develop and maintain an integrated view of enterprise commitments, strategic dependencies, operational capacity, and competing priorities.

Lead complex organizational assessments, benchmarking, business analyses, and performance reviews; convert findings into executive recommendations and action plans.

Partner with clinical, physician, operational, financial, and administrative leaders to resolve barriers and improve quality, safety, access, workforce, financial, and operational outcomes.

Define and monitor key performance indicators and benefit-realization measures for assigned initiatives; intervene when progress or outcomes are at risk.

Determine when initiative work is ready to transition into routine operations and confirm that ownership, resources, controls, and monitoring are in place.

• Represent the Administrative Chief of Staff or assigned executive sponsors on enterprise initiatives and governance forums, as delegated.

Required Qualifications

Master’s degree in health care administration, business administration, finance or accounting or an equivalent combination of education and experience is required.

Seven years of progressively responsible leadership experience in health care administration, operations, strategy, performance improvement, business management, or a related field.

Demonstrated success leading complex, cross-functional initiatives and driving organizational performance through accountability, governance, and effective execution.

Experience advising senior leaders and executives, including synthesizing complex information, evaluating strategic options, and recommending courses of action.

Demonstrated experience supervising, coaching, and developing professional staff and fostering high-performing teams.

Proven ability to develop and implement performance measures, operational plans, executive reporting, and continuous improvement strategies.

Advanced analytical skills with the ability to interpret and translate clinical, operational, financial, workforce, and quality data into actionable recommendations.

Demonstrated ability to manage organizational, financial, and human resources while effectively navigating a complex, matrixed environment.

Excellent written, verbal, facilitation, negotiation, and executive presentation skills.

Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and other business, reporting, and project management tools.

Demonstrated commitment to fostering a welcoming, respectful, and collaborative work environment..

Senior leadership or management experience within an academic health system, academic medical center, or integrated health care organization.

Experience leading clinical performance, quality improvement, operational excellence, enterprise strategy implementation, or organizational transformation initiatives.

Experience interpreting and utilizing clinical quality, patient safety, access, workforce, financial, and operational performance metrics.

Experience with Epic, enterprise reporting tools, and data visualization platforms.

Knowledge of University and UI Health Care policies, governance structures, and regulatory requirements.

Experience working with Graduate Medical Education (GME), clinical departments, grants administration, external benchmarking, accreditation, or recognition programs.

Three (3) to five (5) years of experience managing, coordinating, or leading significant programs, projects, or operational initiatives.

Up to 5 professional references will be requested at a later step in the recruitment process. For questions, contact Sharon Walther at [e-mail] .

This position is not eligible for University sponsorship for employment authorization now or in the future.

Additional Information

• Appointment Type: Professional and Scientific
• Schedule: Full-time
• Work Modality Options: On Campus

Compensation

Contact Information

• Contact Name: Sharon Walther
• Contact Email: sharon-walther@uiowaedu

Equal opportunity employer

The University of Iowa is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment free from discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth and related conditions), disability, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, service in the U.S. military, sexual orientation, or associational preferences.

Persons with disabilities who need assistance or accommodations with the application or interview process may contact University Human Resources/Faculty and Staff Disability Services, [phone] or [e-mail] . For jobs in UI Health care, please contact UI Health care Leave & Disability Administration at 319-356-7543 .

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