Chair, Department of Pediatrics, Charlotte

Amspdc; Charlotte (NC); On-site; USD 600,000 - 1,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Wake Forest University School of Medicine, in partnership with Advocate Health, seeks a dynamic Chair for the Department of Pediatrics at the Charlotte campus. The leader will guide a large academic pediatric enterprise across clinical care, education, research, and advocacy, and help shape the Charlotte expansion.

The ideal candidate will hold an MD, MD/PhD, or DO, be board-certified in pediatrics, qualify for North Carolina medical licensure, and demonstrate proven administrative leadership,

Qualifications

• Must hold an MD, MD/PhD, or DO degree and be board-certified by the American Board of Pediatrics.
• Eligible for medical licensure in North Carolina.
• Proven administrative leadership experience in a large, multi‑campus health system.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Department of Pediatrics across clinical care, education, research, and advocacy.
• Recruit, develop, and retain top faculty; build high‑performing teams.
• Oversee strategic planning, research growth, and educational programs; manage resources with financial acumen.

Skills

Administrative leadership

Faculty recruitment

Faculty development

Strategic planning

Financial acumen

Education

MD/PhD or DO or MD

Job description

Chair, Department of Pediatrics, Charlotte

Wake Forest University School of Medicine

Chair, Department of Pediatrics, Charlotte

Wake Forest University School of Medicine

The Opportunity: Wake Forest University School of Medicine (WFUSM) and Advocate Health invite inquiries, nominations, and applications for the Chair of the Department of Pediatrics for the Charlotte campus. The next Chair will lead a large and rapidly evolving academic pediatric department across clinical care, education, research, and advocacy, while helping shape WFUSM’s growing Charlotte academic enterprise and advancing the vision of “One School, One Mission, Growing Community, Global Impact.”

The Department: Anchored by Levine Children’s Hospital, the busiest children’s hospital in the Carolinas and the Department’s primary clinical campus, the Department comprises approximately 250 primary faculty across 21 pediatric divisions and subspecialties. Its regional clinical network includes nine hospitals, a dedicated pediatric specialty center, regional specialty clinics, and an extensive pediatric primary care footprint. In 2025, the Department supported more than 12,000 inpatient discharges, 35,908 emergency department visits, 67,401 specialty visits, and 6,802 births.

The academic mission is expanding alongside the Charlotte campus of WFUSM, which opened in 2025. The Department trains 48 categorical pediatric residents and is building new fellowship programs in Hematology/Oncology and Pediatric Hospital Medicine for 2027 and Neonatology and Nephrology for 2028. Its growing research enterprise includes more than 200 active clinical studies and trials; in 2025, faculty secured 50 research awards totaling more than $3.1 million and produced more than 300 publications and scientific presentations.

The Chair will inherit meaningful scale and infrastructure, with the opportunity to build a more cohesive academic department during a period of significant clinical and educational growth. The leader will set a forward-looking vision, strengthen faculty recruitment and development, expand research and scholarship, advance educational programs, optimize clinical operations and access, and align the Department with Levine Children’s, the Advocate Health Children’s Service Line, and colleagues across WFUSM and the broader enterprise.

The Role: Reporting to L. Ebony Boulware, MD, MPH, Dean of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, and Suzanna Fox, MD, Enterprise Chief Physician Executive of Advocate Health, the Chair will be a visible and collaborative physician executive with responsibility for the Department’s academic mission and clinical innovation. The successful candidate will be an accomplished pediatrician and physician leader with national standing, demonstrated administrative leadership in a complex healthcare environment, and a record of building high-performing teams, recruiting and developing faculty, growing research programs, advancing education, and managing resources with strong financial and business acumen.

Candidates must hold an MD, MD/PhD, DO, or equivalent degree; be currently board-certified by the American Board of Pediatrics; qualify for medical licensure in North Carolina; and possess academic accomplishments commensurate with appointment as Professor or Associate Professor at WFUSM. The ideal leader will bring the strategic capacity to create an aspirational vision while building consensus across a complex, multi‑campus and multi‑state academic health system.

The Wake Forest University School of Medicine seeks to recruit and retain a diverse workforce while promoting an inclusive work environment committed to excellence in the spirit of Pro Humanitate. In adherence with applicable laws and policies, it prohibits the discrimination in its employment practices on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic information, disability and veteran status and encourages qualified candidates across all group demographics to apply. As part of Advocate Health’s Culture Add Mindset, the ideal candidate will bring new, fresh, and different ideas and experiences. With this mindset, the Department of Pediatrics seeks to recruit individuals who see the world differently than current faculty; have different professional backgrounds, expertise or other industry experience; and have the skills to obtain desired results by doing things differently.