DHLN - Ambulatory Operations Director

Duke Careers; Mooresville (NC); On-site; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital seeks an Ambulatory Operations Director to lead executive-level operations for its ambulatory clinics in Mooresville, NC. The role oversees clinical quality, patient experience, financial stewardship, access, and workforce planning across multiple sites.

The successful candidate will drive performance improvement, collaborate with physician and APP leadership, and ensure regulatory readiness while aligning with the DUHS mission and priorities.

Qualifications

• Proven track record leading complex, multi-site healthcare operations.
• Strong knowledge of ambulatory care management and regulatory readiness.
• Experience with strategic planning, access management, and workforce planning.

Responsibilities

• Provide operational leadership for assigned ambulatory clinics and ensure alignment with system goals.
• Drive service strategy, growth, access expansion, and care model redesign.
• Oversee recruitment, development, and performance management for clinic leadership.
• Manage budgets, staffing, and resource allocation across sites.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory and safety requirements across services.
• Lead performance improvement and change management initiatives to boost quality and efficiency.

Skills

Multi-site leadership

Ambulatory care management

Change management

Financial stewardship

Education

Bachelor's in healthcare administration

Master's degree preferred

Job description

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At Duke Health, we're driven by a commitment to compassionate care that changes the lives of patients, their loved ones, and the greater community. No matter where your talents lie, join us and discover how we can advance health together.

Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital

Pursue your passion for caring with Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital in Mooresville, North Carolina. The smallest of the four Duke Health hospitals at 123-beds, it offers a comprehensive range of medical services, including 24-hour emergency care, cardiology, orthopedics, women's services, and surgical specialties.

Duke Health Lake Norman seeks to hire an Ambulatory Operations Director who will embrace our mission ofAdvancing Health Together!

General Description of the Job Class

The Ambulatory Operations Director (AOD) of Duke Health Lake Norman specialty clinics provides executive-level operational leadership for assigned ambulatory clinics within designated services, encompassing multiple sites, clinical specialties, and high-volume patient care environments. The role drives performance across clinical quality, patient experience, financial stewardship, access, workforce planning, and operational efficiency. The AOD ensures alignment with DUHS goals, leads large‑scale change and performance improvement initiatives, and partners with physician and advanced practice provider leadership, Practice Administrators, Nurse Managers, and Clinic Managers to support safe, efficient, patient‑centered care and regulatory compliance.

Duties and Responsibilities of this Level

• Provide overall strategic and operational leadership for assigned ambulatory clinics within the assigned services, ensuring alignment with the DUHS mission, values, goals, and operating priorities.
• Inform and execute service strategic plans, including growth initiatives, access expansion, clinical care model redesign, workforce planning, and service optimization.
• Oversee recruitment, onboarding, development, performance management, and succession planning for multi-tier clinic leadership, including Practice Administrators, Nurse Managers - Ambulatory, and Clinic Managers.
• Manage service operational and capital budgets, including annual planning, budget requests and narratives, variance review, labor and supply stewardship, equipment planning, revenue and expense accountability, and resource allocation.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory, accreditation, safety, infection prevention, emergency preparedness, and risk‑management requirements across assigned services.
• Lead large-scale performance improvement and change‑management initiatives to enhance patient access, clinical quality, patient experience, operational efficiency, workflow optimization, and staff engagement.
• Analyze operational, access, workforce, patient experience, and financial data to identify trends, forecast needs, develop countermeasures, and inform decisions at the service and system levels.
• Serve as the primary operational liaison to physician and APP leadership and cross‑functional partners, fostering strong dyad and triad partnerships to advance patient care delivery.
• Represent assigned services in system‑level committees, councils, and strategic planning forums; advocate for operational needs related to space, facilities, equipment, staffing, and other resources.
• Oversee implementation and standardization of best practices, workflows, policies, access strategies, and operating standards across assigned clinics.

Required Qualifications at this Level

Bachelor's degree in healthcare administration, nursing, business, or a related field required. Master's degree in healthcare administration, nursing, business, or a related field preferred.

Bachelor's degree in healthcare administration, nursing, business, or related field required. Master's degree in healthcare administration, nursing, business, or related field preferred.

Experience

Minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience in ambulatory or hospital operations, with at least three years in a leadership role managing multiple clinics or departmental locations. Experience in ambulatory or outpatient clinic operations preferred.

Degrees, Licensure, and/or Certification

N/A

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Proven track record leading complex, multi‑site healthcare operations.
• Deep knowledge of ambulatory care management, financial stewardship, strategic planning, access management, workforce planning, patient experience, regulatory readiness, and change management.
• Strong leadership presence with the ability to engage multidisciplinary teams and physician and APP partners.
• Expertise in performance improvement methodologies, data analysis, communication, facilitation, consensus‑building, and negotiation.
• Demonstrated ability to lead through a matrixed dyad or triad structure and build accountability across operational, nursing, and clinical leadership.
• Ability to manage competing priorities in a dynamic environment.

Duke is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions), sexual orientation or military status.

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

Essential Physical Job Functions

Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essential job functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.

Nearest Major Market: Durham
Nearest Secondary Market: Raleigh

Read more about Duke’s commitment to affirmative action and nondiscrimination at hr.duke.edu/eeo.