Director, Operations - Specialty Care

Central Health; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Central Health in Austin, TX seeks a Director of Operations - Specialty Care to lead cross-functional programs across Central Health, CommUnityCare, and partner sites. You will translate clinical priorities into scalable operational plans, dashboards, and performance measures to improve access and equity.

The role requires advanced leadership in specialty care operations, program governance, and collaboration with medical leadership and external partners to drive quality and patient-centered

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree preferred.
• 5+ years in healthcare operations leadership with a Bachelor's.
• 3+ years leadership experience with a Master's degree.
• PMI/PMP or PgMP preferred.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate development, implementation, stabilization, and performance monitoring of assigned specialty care service lines.
• Provide programmatic leadership across Central Health-operated, CommUnityCare-operated, partner-operated, and contracted services.
• Guide cross-functional workstreams to improve access, quality, and operational performance.
• Collaborate with internal departments and external partners to define roles and support aligned care workstreams.
• Develop operating models, governance routines, and workflows for consistent execution.
• Coordinate readiness, documentation, workflows, reporting, and stakeholder alignment for new or expanded programs.

Skills

Leadership

Operations knowledge

Stakeholder management

Strategic planning

Performance reporting

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Job description

Overview

Under general direction of the Senior Director, Operations- Clinical Ops and Service Development, the Director ofOperations - Specialty Care provides programmatic leadership, cross-functional coordination, and operationalsupport for assigned specialty care services across Central Health, CommUnityCare, partner-operated, andcontracted delivery settings. This role combines operational responsibilities with strategic direction to support highquality,equitable specialty care for uninsured and underinsured residents of Travis County.The Director is responsible for developing, implementing, optimizing, and stabilizing assigned specialty service lineswithin Central Health’s integrated delivery model to support efficient, patient-centered care. The role translatesspecialty care priorities into operational plans, standardized workflows, performance measures, and coordinatedimplementation across applicable delivery settings.This position works closely with CommUnityCare and other delivery partners to support coordinated planning,communication, reporting, issue escalation, and shared performance expectations while operating withinestablished partnership, operational, and governance structures.The Director collaborates with internal leaders, external partners, and community stakeholders to advance specialtycare goals, support system integration efforts, improve access, strengthen quality, promote health equity, andimprove patient outcomes.

Responsibilities

Essential Functions:

Support and coordinate the development, implementation, stabilization, and performance monitoring of assignedspecialty care service lines within established operational and governance structures.Provide programmatic leadership across assigned Central Health-operated, CommUnityCare-operated, partneroperated,and contracted specialty care services by aligning service expectations, priorities, escalation pathways,reporting structures, and performance measures.Guide complex specialty care programs, service-line initiatives, and cross-functional workstreams to improveaccess, quality, operational performance, and alignment with organizational strategic objectives.Collaborate with internal departments, CommUnityCare, medical leadership, external partner organizations, andother delivery partners to identify interdependencies, clarify roles, and support coordinated specialty careworkstreams.Develop and evaluate specialty program operating models, governance routines, communication pathways, andworkflows that support consistent execution across applicable delivery settings.Coordinate communication of specialty program priorities, implementation decisions, role expectations, and changeimpacts with assigned leaders and stakeholders across Central Health, CommUnityCare, and partner deliverysettings.Support readiness for new, expanded, or transitioned specialty care programs, services, payor arrangements, anddelivery models by coordinating operational planning, implementation requirements, documentation, workflows,reporting needs, and stakeholder alignment in accordance with applicable regulatory, contractual, accreditation,and organizational standards.Identify program opportunities, risks, dependencies, and barriers; coordinate solutions, elevate decisions as appropriate, and support timely movement of specialty program work across departments, teams, and partnerorganizations.Coordinate with Network Service Operations, Legal, Finance, and other responsible departments to support reviewof contracted specialty service performance, service levels, costs, operational issues, and escalation needs.Coordinate with site, clinical, operational, access, and analytics leaders to identify, prioritize, and support specialtyprogram improvements related to access, capacity, referral throughput, utilization, staffing assumptions, servicereadiness, and performance measures across Central Health, CommUnityCare, partner-operated, and contracteddelivery settings.Maintain collaborative working relationships with leaders across Central Health, CommUnityCare, contractedproviders, and other delivery partners to support effective communication, shared accountability, and timelyresolution of operational barriers.Establish and maintain standardized specialty program reporting, dashboards, and review processes tocommunicate performance, outcomes, risks, and progress toward department and organizational objectives.Support resource planning, budget monitoring, and financial performance review for assigned specialty programs,including coordination with responsible operational, finance, and functional leaders to align staffing assumptions,program needs, and available resources.Support continuous improvement of assigned specialty programs by identifying opportunities to strengthenconsistency, coordination, quality, and performance across specialty services.Provide leadership and supervision to assigned operational and programmatic staff within Central Health’s specialtycare operations structure, which may include Associate Directors, Program Managers, and other team members;guide priorities, remove barriers, elevate risks and decisions as appropriate, and support timely progress oncross-functional work.Perform other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Excellent leadership and management skills, with demonstrated ability to lead complex operationalinitiatives from implementation through stabilization and continuous improvement.Advanced knowledge of specialty care operations across Central Health-operated, CommUnityCareoperated,partner-operated, and contracted service delivery models.Demonstrated ability to make operational decisions with minimal supervision, escalating issues andrisks as needed to ensure programs remain aligned to strategic objectives.Excellent ability to identify operational risks, interdependencies, and barriers; develop practicalsolutions; and elevate issues appropriately.Ability to build credibility, establish rapport, and maintain effective working relationships withinternal and external stakeholders at multiple levels.Demonstrated ability to develop executive-level reports, dashboards, and concise presentations thatcommunicate performance, risks, decisions, and recommended actions.Advanced knowledge of healthcare operations, service planning, administration, internal and externalcommunications, and services for underserved populations.High level of problem-solving skills, with the ability to assess complex operational issues, determineroot causes, and move work toward resolution.

Qualifications

QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

Bachelor's degree -Required

Master's degree -Preferred

Work Experience:

5 years of related healthcare operations, clinical services operations, specialty service line, program operations, or healthcare administrative leadership experience with a Bachelor’s degree -Required OR

3 years of related healthcare operations, clinical services operations, specialty service line, program operations, or healthcare administrative leadership experience with a Master’s degree -Required

5 years managing clinical services initiatives, specialty care operations, service line implementation, or ongoing healthcare operations in an administrative or operational leadership capacity -Preferred

5 years managing direct reports and working on multidisciplinary teams -Preferred

Licenses and Certifications:

Project Management Professional (PMP) -PreferredProgram Management Professional (PgMP) -Preferred