Director of Physician Compensation

Texas Children's; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 190,000 - 270,000; Full time

Job summary

Texas Children’s Hospital is seeking a Director of Physician Compensation to lead the physician compensation function and advise executive leadership. This role shapes strategies to recruit, engage, and retain physicians while ensuring market competitiveness and financial stewardship.

The position partners with Baylor College of Medicine and physician practice leaders to provide direction across compensation planning, program design, governance, and administration to support growth and success

Responsibilities

• Lead physician compensation programs across Texas Children's, ensuring alignment with priorities, financial objectives, market practices, and regulatory requirements.
• Develop and advance physician compensation philosophies, strategies, policies, governance practices, and operating standards that support growth and competitiveness.
• Serve as SME to physician and executive leadership on compensation strategy, market trends, productivity-based models, incentive structures, and industry practices.
• Establish priorities, performance measures, and service standards to drive excellence across the compensation function.
• Lead design, implementation, administration, and evaluation of physician compensation programs, including base pay, incentives, stipends, call pay, and other arrangements.
• Oversee annual physician compensation reviews, market assessments, productivity analyses, benchmarking, and modeling for competitive practices.
• Evaluate existing models and recommend enhancements supporting recruitment, retention, growth, and evolving care delivery.
• Provide executive-level analysis and recommendations on strategy, program design, financial impact, and workforce considerations.
• Ensure physician compensation programs, policies, processes, and decisions are documented, administered, and communicated.
• Lead governance processes and ensure compliance with federal and state regulatory requirements.
• Provide expertise on FMV, Stark Law, Anti-Kickback Statute, IRS requirements, and other related regulations.
• Partner with Legal, Compliance, Finance, Internal Audit, and external advisors to evaluate arrangements and identify risk.
• Develop and maintain controls for approval, documentation, monitoring, and auditing of compensation arrangements and incentive payments.
• Lead development of analyses and materials for governance committees, executive leadership, and Board review.

Job description

At Texas Children's, our HEART values - Humility, Excellence, Accountability, Respect, and Trust - guide how we lead, collaborate, and serve our patients, families, and one another. We are seeking a strategic and collaborative Director of Physician Compensation to lead our physician compensation function and serve as a trusted advisor to physician and executive leadership.

This leader will shape compensation strategies that strengthen physician recruitment, engagement, and retention while ensuring market competitiveness, financial stewardship, and regulatory compliance. In close partnership with Texas Children's leadership, Baylor College of Medicine, and physician practice leaders, the Director will provide strategic direction and expertise across compensation planning, program design, market analysis, governance, and administration to support the continued growth and success of Texas Children's physician enterprise.

Physician Compensation Strategy & Leadership

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for physician compensation programs across Texas Children's, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities, financial objectives, market practices, and regulatory requirements.
• Develop and advance physician compensation philosophies, strategies, policies, governance practices, and operating standards that support organizational growth and market competitiveness.
• Serve as a subject matter expert and trusted advisor to physician and executive leadership on physician compensation strategy, market trends, productivity-based models, incentive structures, and emerging industry practices.
• Establish priorities, performance measures, and service standards that drive operational excellence, consistency, and continuous improvement across the physician compensation function.

Compensation Program Design & Administration

• Lead the design, implementation, administration, and ongoing evaluation of physician compensation programs, including base compensation, productivity and quality incentives, stipends, call pay, medical directorships, and other physician compensation arrangements.
• Oversee annual physician compensation reviews, market assessments, productivity analyses, benchmarking, and compensation modeling to support competitive and equitable compensation practices.
• Evaluate existing compensation models and recommend enhancements that support physician recruitment, retention, performance, organizational growth, and evolving care delivery models.
• Provide executive-level analysis and recommendations regarding compensation strategy, program design, financial impact, and workforce considerations.
• Ensure physician compensation programs, policies, processes, and decisions are clearly documented, consistently administered, and effectively communicated.

Governance, Compliance & Risk Management

• Lead physician compensation governance processes and ensure compensation arrangements align with organizational policies and applicable federal and state regulatory requirements.
• Provide subject matter expertise related to Fair Market Value (FMV), commercial reasonableness, Stark Law, Anti-Kickback Statute, IRS requirements, and other regulations impacting physician compensation.
• Partner closely with Legal, Compliance, Finance, Internal Audit, and external advisors to evaluate physician compensation arrangements and identify potential areas of risk.
• Develop and maintain effective controls for the approval, documentation, monitoring, and auditing of physician compensation arrangements and incentive payments.
• Lead the development of compensation analyses and materials for physician compensation governance committees, executive leadership, and Board-level review, as appropriate.

Financial Analysis, Benchmarking & Insights

• Leverage market data, productivity metrics, financial analyses, and industry benchmarks to evaluate compensation program effectiveness and inform strategic decision-making.
• Oversee the development of physician compensation dashboards, executive reporting, workforce analyses, and other tools that provide meaningful insights into compensation trends and performance.
• Identify emerging trends, financial risks, market pressures, and opportunities and translate complex data into actionable recommendations for executive and physician leadership.
• Manage relationships with external physician compensation consultants and benchmarking partners, ensuring engagements support organizational priorities and deliver meaningful value.

Strategic Partnership & Consultation

• Serve as a strategic partner to physician executives, physician leaders, practice administrators, operational leadership, and Physician Organization leadership on complex physician compensation matters.
• Advise leaders on compensation strategy and plan design in support of physician recruitment, retention, organizational growth, new programs, and business expansion.
• Build strong partnerships across Clinical Operations, Faculty Affairs, Finance, Legal, Compliance, Payro