Associate Director of Surgical Services

Tucson Medical Center; Tucson (AZ); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

TMC HealthCare in Tucson, AZ seeks a strategic leader to oversee perioperative and surgical services, guiding managers to deliver safe, efficient patient care, strong workforce performance, and regulatory compliance.

You will supervise CSPD and Surgical Support Services across multiple operating suites, partner with surgeons, anesthesia, nursing, and facilities to improve throughput, capacity, and patient experience.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in nursing, healthcare administration, business administration, or a related field; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
• Progressively responsible healthcare leadership experience, including experience leading or supporting managers and multidisciplinary teams.
• Not specified; requires HR and clinical leadership confirmation.
• Demonstrated knowledge of hospital operations, workforce management, quality improvement, and regulatory requirements.
• Ability to analyze operational data and translate findings into measurable improvement.
• Skill in strategic and systems thinking, change management, and continuous improvement.
• Skill in manager coaching, leadership development, accountability, cross-functional collaboration, and conflict resolution.
• Skill in financial and resource stewardship and data-driven decision making.

Responsibilities

• Provides leadership, coaching, direction, and performance accountability to assigned managers and departmental leaders.
• Establishes operational goals, performance measures, communication expectations, and consistent leadership practices across assigned services.
• Conducts leadership rounding and regular manager reviews of staffing, safety, quality, employee relations, patient flow, and operational priorities.
• Resolves or escalates complex operational, physician, interdisciplinary, workforce, and resource issues beyond the manager level.
• Partners with Human Resources on manager development, succession planning, recruitment, retention, employee relations, and performance concerns.
• Evaluates staffing, FTE requirements, productivity, acuity, volume, and workload to support effective workforce and contingency planning.
• Oversees departmental budgets, labor utilization, premium labor, supplies, equipment needs, and resource allocation.
• Contributes to business cases, capital planning, strategic projects, and resource recommendations consistent with organizational priorities.
• Analyzes operational, financial, workforce, quality, safety, patient-experience, and throughput measures to identify and implement improvements.
• Leads multidisciplinary initiatives to improve access, capacity utilization, patient flow, efficiency, quality, and service delivery.
• Promotes compliance with applicable accreditation, regulatory, infection prevention, patient safety, and organizational standards.
• Represents assigned services on committees and organizational initiatives, and assumes delegated responsibilities in the Director’s absence.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Strategic thinking

Change management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in nursing, healthcare administration, business administration, or related field

Master’s degree preferred

Job description

TMC HealthCare

TMC HealthCare
TMC HealthCare is Southern Arizona's regional nonprofit hospital system with Tucson Medical Center at its core. Each day staff comes to work to use their skills and expertise to improve the health of the entire community, from birth to the end of life.

Provides leadership and operational oversight for assigned perioperative services, with a specialty focus in Surgical Services. Supports department managers in achieving safe, efficient patient care, effective patient flow, workforce performance, regulatory readiness, and fiscal stewardship. Coordinates multidisciplinary initiatives to improve access, capacity, quality, and patient experience. Serves as an escalation and leadership resource to assigned managers and clinical partners.

SURGICAL SERVICES:

• Provides strategic and operational oversight for 2nd Floor Operating Rooms, 3rd Floor Operating Rooms/Surgical Tower, Women’s Surgery, Central Sterile Processing Department (CSPD), and Surgical Support Services.
• Partners with surgeons, anesthesia, nursing, sterile processing, infection prevention, facilities, clinical engineering, supply chain, and other leaders to coordinate surgical operations.
• Improves room readiness, first-case performance, turnover efficiency, surgical throughput, utilization, and preventable delays or cancellations.
• Evaluates surgical capacity, staffing, workflow, equipment, instrument availability, and support resources; recommends and coordinates corrective actions.
• Provides leadership oversight through assigned managers for CSPD and Surgical Support Services, including sterile processing readiness, environmental readiness, staff safety, and consistent support workflows.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Provides leadership, coaching, direction, and performance accountability to assigned managers and departmental leaders.
• Establishes operational goals, performance measures, communication expectations, and consistent leadership practices across assigned services.
• Conducts leadership rounding and regular manager reviews of staffing, safety, quality, employee relations, patient flow, and operational priorities.
• Resolves or escalates complex operational, physician, interdisciplinary, workforce, and resource issues beyond the manager level.
• Partners with Human Resources on manager development, succession planning, recruitment, retention, employee relations, and performance concerns.
• Evaluates staffing, FTE requirements, productivity, acuity, volume, and workload to support effective workforce and contingency planning.
• Oversees departmental budgets, labor utilization, premium labor, supplies, equipment needs, and resource allocation.
• Contributes to business cases, capital planning, strategic projects, and resource recommendations consistent with organizational priorities.
• Analyzes operational, financial, workforce, quality, safety, patient-experience, and throughput measures to identify and implement improvements.
• Leads multidisciplinary initiatives to improve access, capacity utilization, patient flow, efficiency, quality, and service delivery.
• Promotes compliance with applicable accreditation, regulatory, infection prevention, patient safety, and organizational standards.
• Represents assigned services on committees and organizational initiatives, and assumes delegated responsibilities in the Director’s absence.
• Adheres to TMCH organizational and department-specific safety, confidentiality, values, policies and standards.
• Performs related duties as assigned.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION:

• Bachelor’s degree in nursing, healthcare administration, business administration, or a related field; equivalent relevant experience may be considered in accordance with organizational policy.

EXPERIENCE:

• Progressively responsible healthcare leadership experience, including experience leading or supporting managers and multidisciplinary teams.

LICENSURE OR CERTIFICATION:

• Not specified; requires HR and clinical leadership confirmation.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Demonstrated knowledge of hospital operations, workforce management, quality improvement, and regulatory requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze operational data and translate findings into measurable improvement.
• Skill in strategic and systems thinking, change management, and continuous improvement.
• Skill in manager coaching, leadership development, accountability, cross-functional collaboration, and conflict resolution.
• Skill in financial and resource stewardship and data-driven decision making.
• Ability to support patient, staff, and operational safety.
• Ability to communicate professionally and effectively with staff, leaders, physicians, and executives.
• Ability to escape appropriately while maintaining ownership at the appropriate leadership level.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master’s degree in nursing, healthcare administration, business administration, or a related field.
• Progressive leadership experience within perioperative, procedural, surgical, or ambulatory services.
• Experience with capital planning, budget management, productivity management, and organizational change.
• Experience with accreditation and regulatory readiness and multidisciplinary performance improvement.