Director, Performance Excellence

The CORE Institute | HOPCo; Phoenix (AZ); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

The CORE Institute | HOPCo seeks a Director of Performance Excellence to lead analytics, KPI governance, and process-improvement initiatives across the Arizona Market. You will partner with market and facility leaders to deliver value-added assessments and action plans that drive efficiency and clinical effectiveness.

You will build predictive models, chair KPI governance, and guide the PMO, aligning projects with strategic goals while ensuring data integrity and executive-level reporting.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required in Business, Healthcare Administration, Engineering, or related analytical field.
• Master's degree preferred.
• 7+ years of professional experience, including 4–6 years in performance improvement, analytics, or operational excellence roles, preferably in healthcare.
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (or equivalent) and/or PMP certification strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Own and govern analytics and dashboard strategy, with standard KPI definitions and reporting cadence.
• Chair KPI governance for metric definitions, ownership, and reporting integrity; monitor throughput and variance.
• Build predictive operational models (capacity, demand, staffing) for forward-looking decisions.
• Lead PMO—intake, prioritization, resourcing, and delivery tracking with leadership partners.
• Present performance results, roadmaps, and PMO status to executive committees.
• Collaborate with Surgical Services to optimize OR throughput and scheduling; support perioperative optimization.

Skills

Data visualization

Analytical skills

Facilitation

Executive communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Healthcare Administration, Engineering, or related analytical field

Master's degree

Job description

The Director of Performance Excellence leads the Arizona Market’s analytics, KPI governance, and process improvement projects by performing operational assessments and analyses, researching and identifying best practices, facilitating groups and teams, managing projects, presenting results and recommendations, and developing measurement tools, to improve AZ Market and HOPCo operating processes toward greater efficiency and effectiveness. This includes dashboard standards, the enterprise Project Management Office (PMO), and Lean/process-improvement initiatives, with a current focus on clinics, ASCs, and hospital patient work flow & surgical services optimization and proactive operational modeling.

This individual will work directly with market, facility, and physician representatives to collaborate and deliver timely and value added assessments, action plans, and results that improve clinical operations from end to end and inclusive of OR operations. This position is critical in achieving targeted objectives in all areas but especially OR departments through process, cost and productivity improvements. This position serves as resource/member of Arizona Market Senior Leadership team.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Analytics & KPI Governance

• Own the market's analytics and dashboard strategy, defining standard KPI definitions, data sources, and reporting cadence, and equipping market leadership with decision-making tools.
• Chair KPI governance to ensure consistent metric definitions, ownership, and executive-level reporting integrity, including ongoing monitoring of throughput metrics and variance analysis.
• Build proactive and predictive operational models (capacity, demand, staffing) to support forward-looking decision-making.
• Lead the Project Management Office (PMO): intake, prioritization, resourcing, and delivery tracking for strategic initiatives, including development and maintenance of project work plans in partnership with local department leadership.
• Present performance results, improvement roadmaps, and PMO portfolio status to executive leadership and governance committees.

Process Improvement Methodology

• Deploy Lean, Six Sigma, and structured problem-solving methods to drive measurable operational and financial improvement, including facilitation of rapid-improvement events (kaizen) and structured A3/DMAIC problem-solving with cross-functional teams.
• Design and recommend processes, systems, procedures, and operational changes to increase efficiency and effectiveness, and assist in developing realistic action plans for implementation.
• Serve as a facilitator, technical advisor, and analyst to the Arizona Market Senior Leadership Team on process improvement tools, analytical techniques, and statistical applications.

Surgical Services & Perioperative Performance

• Partner with Surgical Services leadership to optimize block utilization, OR throughput, turnover time, and case scheduling efficiency, and maintain OR dashboard data.
• Assist facility leaders in implementing best practices within Perioperative departments, including appropriate administration and management, skill mix, scheduling, agency nurse usage, and on-call staffing for Perioperative nursing units.
• Assist in establishing operational work measurements and staffing standards for Surgical Services.
• Analyze Surgical Services performance end to end — clinical, financial, and operational — to identify cost-savings and improvement opportunities, and quantify the financial impact of recommended changes.
• Support clinic management, contact center optimization, and other improvement efforts adjacent to Surgical Services operations.

EDUCATION

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Healthcare Administration, Engineering, or related analytical field required.
• Master's degree preferred.

EXPERIENCE

• 7+ years of professional experience, including 4–6 years in performance improvement, analytics, or operational excellence roles, preferably in a healthcare setting.
• Demonstrated experience building KPI/dashboard governance and leading enterprise PMO functions.
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (or equivalent) and/or PMP certification strongly preferred.

KNOWLEDGE

• Knowledge of Lean/Six Sigma methodologies and project management best practices.
• Knowledge of healthcare operational and financial KPIs, including surgical services metrics.

SKILLS

• Strong data visualization and analytical skills (e.g., dashboarding, statistical analysis).
• Strong facilitation and executive communication skills.

ABILITIES

• Ability to translate complex data into actionable insights for non-technical audiences.
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams through structured change initiatives.

ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING CONDITIONS

• Primarily office-based with periodic travel to clinical and surgical sites for process observation.

PHYSICAL/MENTAL DEMANDS

• Ability to sit for extended periods while performing data analysis.
• Ability to concentrate deeply and manage multiple concurrent projects under deadline pressure.

ORGANIZATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• HOPCo Mission, Vision and Values must be acknowledged and adhered to
• Completes HOPCo onboarding and annual compliance training as assigned.

This description is intended to provide only basic guidelines for meeting job requirements. Responsibilities, knowledge, skills, abilities and working conditions may change as needs evolve.

Equal Opportunity Employer
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