Director of Compliance

Big Smiles; Phoenix (AZ); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 195,000; Full time

Job summary

Smile America Partners seeks a Director of Compliance to lead the organization’s Compliance Program from the Phoenix, AZ office in a hybrid work model. The role translates the CCO’s strategy into day-to-day operations, including risk assessment, monitoring, investigations, corrective action, and policy administration.

This position partners with Clinical, Finance, HR, Legal, IT, and Operations to ensure risk-driven, well-documented activities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration, business, legal studies, compliance, clinical discipline or related field; advanced degree preferred.
• Progressive experience in healthcare compliance, regulatory compliance, auditing, investigations, revenue cycle compliance, enterprise risk, corporate regulatory administration, or related field.
• Demonstrated knowledge of healthcare compliance program principles and applicable federal and state healthcare regulatory requirements.
• Experience managing compliance projects, investigations, audits, corrective actions, regulatory requirements, and cross-functional initiatives.
• Prior supervisory or leadership experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Oversee day-to-day operation and administration of the organization’s Compliance Program.
• Coordinate implementation of the annual compliance work plan and track deliverables and corrective actions.
• Promote communication among Compliance, Clinical, Operations, Revenue Cycle, HR, Legal, Finance and IT.
• Maintain documentation showing compliance activities and effectiveness.
• Identify emerging compliance risks through regulatory developments, audits, investigations, and trends.
• Oversee compliance monitoring and auditing activities including clinical, coding, billing, documentation and operational reviews.
• Manage investigations involving suspected violations and coordinate corrective actions with stakeholders.
• Coordinate development, review and maintenance of compliance policies and training.

Skills

Healthcare compliance

Regulatory compliance

Auditing

Investigations

Policy development

Leadership

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in healthcare administration or related

Advanced degree preferred

Job description

Position Summary

The Director of Compliance serves as the operational leader of the organization’s Compliance Program under the direction of the Chief Compliance Officer (CCO). The Director is responsible for translating the CCO’s compliance strategy and priorities into effective day-to-day program operations, including risk assessment, monitoring and auditing, investigations, corrective action, policy administration, education, regulatory readiness, clinical compliance oversight, and assigned enterprise risk and corporate regulatory administration. The Director functions as a key advisor and operational partner to the CCO and helps ensure that compliance and risk activities are coordinated, documented, risk-based, and effective. The Director position will be based in the Phoenix, AZ office and be a hybrid remote/office based position.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• Compliance Program Operations
• Manage the day-to-day operation and administration of the organization’s Compliance Program in alignment with the direction and priorities established by the CCO.
• Coordinate implementation of the annual compliance work plan and track completion of compliance initiatives, deliverables, and corrective actions.
• Promote effective communication and coordination among Compliance, Clinical, Operations, Revenue Cycle, Human Resources, Legal, and other business functions.
• Promote effective communication and coordination among Compliance, Clinical, Operations, Revenue Cycle, Human Resources, Legal, Finance, Information Technology, and other business functions.
• Maintain appropriate documentation demonstrating the organization’s compliance program activities and effectiveness.
• Risk Assessment and Annual Work Plan
• Support and coordinate the organization’s periodic compliance risk assessment process.
• Identify emerging compliance risks through regulatory developments, audit findings, hotline activity, investigations, operational trends, and other relevant sources.
• Assist the CCO in developing, implementing, and monitoring the annual compliance work plan.
• Recommend risk-based monitoring, auditing, education, and corrective action activities.
• Monitoring and Auditing
• Oversee routine compliance monitoring and auditing activities, including clinical, coding, billing, documentation, and operational compliance reviews.
• Coordinate audit methodology, sampling, documentation, findings, management responses, and follow-up.
• Identify patterns, trends, and potential systemic concerns and promptly elevate significant findings to the CCO.
• Track corrective action plans and validate completion and effectiveness when appropriate.
• Investigations and Corrective Actions
• Manage or support compliance investigations involving suspected violations of law, regulation, policy, billing requirements, or the organization’s standards of conduct.
• Ensure investigations are appropriately documented, objective, timely, and escalated based on risk and significance.
• Partner with the CCO, Outside Legal Counsel, Professional Employment Organization, Human Resources, Operational Leadership, Clinical Leadership, and other stakeholders as appropriate.
• Coordinate corrective and preventive actions arising from investigations, audits, disclosures, complaints, or regulatory findings.
• Immediately elevate significant legal, regulatory, patient safety, financial, retaliation, or False Claims Act concerns to the CCO.
• Policies, Training and Regulatory Management
• Coordinate development, review, implementation, and maintenance of compliance policies and procedures.
• Oversee or support compliance education and training, including general compliance education and targeted training addressing identified risks.
• Monitor relevant federal and state regulatory developments and assist operational leaders in evaluating implementation requirements.
• Support preparation for payer, governmental, accreditation, or other external compliance reviews.
• Clinical Compliance Oversight
• Provide leadership and oversight to the Clinical Compliance Manager and clinical compliance activities.
• Coordinate monitoring of documentation, coding, billing, medical necessity, clinical protocols, and other identified clinical compliance risks.
• Partner with clinical leadership to develop practical, compliant guidance and education for providers and clinical teams.
• Ensure clinical compliance findings and trends are appropriately communicated, remediated, and escalated.
• Enterprise Risk and Corporate Regulatory Administration
• Coordinate corporate regulatory administration activities, including annual legal entity filings and reports, business licenses, permits, mobile permits, and other state or local registration requirements, in coordination with Legal, Finance, Operations, and other responsible departments.
• Coordinate compliance and regulatory activities associated with entry into new states and markets, including identification and tracking of required licenses, permits, registrations, and related compliance requirements.
• Coordinate the organization’s corporate insurance and risk-management administration, including certificates of insurance for provider recruiting, MOUs, and other business needs; annual insurance renewals; and communication with brokers, carriers, Legal, Clinical, IT, Operations, and other stakeholders.
• Maintain or coordinate the dentist master roster and other compliance-related organizational or provider records needed to support insurance, licensing, credentialing, and regulatory requirements.
• Coordinate enterprise risk-control activities, including periodic risk-control reviews, IT risk-control meetings, identified control changes, and related policy updates.
• Coordinate fleet and risk compliance activities, including claims administration and follow-up with appropriate internal and external parties.
• Coordinate with departments across the organization regarding identified risks, controls, operational changes, and policies, and elevate material enterprise risks to the CCO.
• Coordinate with outside counsel regarding routine intellectual property administration and maintenance, as assigned by the CCO.
• Coordinate maintenance of required in-state corporate addresses and related renewals or administrative requirements, while routine mail-forwarding or clerical functions may be performed by designated administrative staff.
• Reporting and Department Leadership
• Prepare compliance reports, dashboards, metrics, trend analyses, and other materials for review by the CCO.
• Support CCO reporting to executive leadership, the Compliance Committee, and the Board or appropriate Board committee.
• Supervise, coach, and develop assigned Compliance staff and establish clear performance expectations.
• Serve as the CCO’s operational delegate for routine compliance and assigned enterprise risk matters while recognizing that significant compliance decisions, enterprise risk determinations, and Board-level matters remain under the authority of the CCO.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration, business, legal studies, compliance, clinical discipline, or a related field; advanced degree preferred.
• Progressive experience in healthcare compliance, regulatory compliance, auditing, investigations, revenue cycle compliance, enterprise risk, corporate regulatory administration, or a related field.
• Demonstrated knowledge of healthcare compliance program principles and applicable federal and state healthcare regulatory requirements.
• Experience managing compliance projects, investigations, audits, corrective actions, regulatory requirements, and cross-functional initiatives.
• Prior supervisory or leadership experience preferred.

Preferred Credentials

• Certified in Healthcare Compliance (CHC) strongly preferred.
• Additional relevant credentials such as CHPC, CHRC, CPC, CCS, CPA, CIA, or similar certification are beneficial depending on experience and responsibilities.

Knowledge, Skills And Abilities

• Strong knowledge of effective healthcare compliance program practices and risk-based compliance oversight.
• Ability to independently analyze complex regulatory, operational, clinical, and billing issues and clearly communicate findings.
• Strong investigation, auditing, documentation, project management, and problem-solving skills.
• Sound judgment and the ability to recognize matters requiring prompt escalation to the CCO or Legal Counsel.
• Ability to build effective working relationships while maintaining the independence and objectivity required of the Compliance function.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with executives, clinicians, operational leaders, and staff.
• High degree of integrity, discretion, professionalism, and commitment to confidentiality and non-retaliation principles.

Smile America Partners is the nation’s leading in-school dental program founded almost two decades ago by two moms, who happen to also be dentists. The founders saw a tremendous need among underserved school aged children who did not have easy access to dental care and who often suffered from poor oral hygiene, tooth decay, pain and associated medical problems. Knowing that many parents could not take their children to the dentist due to issues including time off from work and transportation challenges, they sought to bring the care to the need. Today, through its dental partners, Smile America Partners provides preventive and restorative care to approximately 500,000 children per year.

Tooth decay is the most common, and preventable disease among children, more common than asthma. In fact, each year, over 51 million school hours are lost due to oral health related issues.

Smile America Partners affiliates with state licensed dentists, hygienists and assistants who use state-of-the-art portable equipment to provide all services onsite, directly in the school or in a self-contained mobile dental facility on site at the school. If portable equipment is used, classrooms, auditoriums or other school venues are literally transformed into fully functional dental offices for the day. Our expertise, obtained through years of experience bringing mobile dental care to schools, as well as through our highly qualified staff, enables us to bring exceptional care with minimal disruption to the normal school routine.

Smile America Partners is currently active in 20 states and has ongoing strategic partnerships with over 8,000 school districts, including 21 of the 25 largest school districts in the country.

Given the ongoing lack of access for many underserved children across the country, our services are in great demand and we are always looking for caring, compassionate professionals to join our team and play their part in making a difference in the lives of today’s underserved children.

Rewarding Work. Competitive Compensation. Smile America Partners.

Smile America Partners is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation or protected veteran status.