IT Director, Clinical Systems

sentara; Virginia Beach (VA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Sentara Health in Virginia Beach, VA is seeking an IT Director, Clinical Systems to provide strategic, operational, and people leadership for technology solutions supporting hospital-based clinical operations.

The role oversees the clinical systems portfolio across Pharmacy, Laboratory Services, Inpatient care, Emergency Department, Research, Infection Prevention, Capacity Management, Throughput, and related services, ensuring reliability, modernization, and alignment with patient outcomes and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree preferred or 8+ years of relevant management experience in lieu of degree.
• At least 5 years of relevant experience in IT leadership or healthcare IT.
• Experience leading hospital clinical systems is highly valued.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the technology strategy and roadmap for hospital-based clinical systems.
• Lead governance, prioritization, and demand management for the clinical portfolio.
• Oversee major clinical system initiatives, upgrades, integrations, and optimization.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams with clinicians, operations, and IT to ensure reliable, secure systems.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Executive communication

Vendor management

Security collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree

8+ years management experience

Job description

City/State

Virginia Beach, VA

Work Shift

First (Days)

Overview:

Overview

Sentara Health is now hiring an IT Director, Clinical Systems in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The IT Director, Clinical Systems provides strategic, operational, and people leadership for the technology solutions supporting hospital-based clinical operations.

This role is accountable for the performance, optimization, governance, and future direction of the clinical systems portfolio supporting Pharmacy, Laboratory Services, Inpatient Physicians, Inpatient Nursing, Emergency Department, Research, Infection Prevention, Capacity Management, Throughput, and other hospital-based clinical service lines.

The Director serves as the primary IT executive partner for operational and clinical leaders, ensuring technology investments align with organizational priorities, improve patient outcomes, enhance caregiver experience, and support operational excellence.

Education

Bachelor's degree (Preferred)

or

At least 8 years of relevant management experience in lieu of bachelor's degree

Experience

At least 5 years of relevant experience (Required)

Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Business Partnership

• Develop and execute the technology strategy and roadmap for hospital-based clinical systems.
• Serve as the primary IT partner for executive, physician, nursing, pharmacy, laboratory, research, and operational leaders.
• Align technology investments and priorities with organizational strategic goals, regulatory requirements, and clinical initiatives.
• Drive adoption of innovative technologies, automation, analytics, and workflow improvements that improve patient care and operational performance.

Clinical Portfolio Oversight

• Provide executive oversight for the clinical systems portfolio supporting: Pharmacy
• Laboratory Services
• Inpatient Physicians
• Inpatient Nursing
• Emergency Department
• Research
• Infection Prevention
• Capacity Management and Throughput
• Clinical Logistics
• Additional hospital-based clinical departments and services
• Ensure systems are reliable, optimized, integrated, and aligned with business and clinical objectives.
• Establish portfolio roadmaps, modernization plans, and lifecycle management strategies.

Operations, Optimization & Service Delivery

• Lead ongoing optimization of clinical workflows and supporting technologies.
• Ensure effective support, maintenance, monitoring, and performance management of clinical applications.
• Drive improvements in operational metrics such as patient throughput, clinician efficiency, patient safety, quality outcomes, and user satisfaction.
• Oversee production support, issue resolution, and major incident management activities.

Governance, Prioritization & Change Management

• Lead governance processes for intake, prioritization, demand management, and resource allocation.
• Establish and maintain change control processes that balance operational stability with business agility.
• Facilitate cross-functional decision-making regarding competing priorities and resource constraints.
• Serve as the escalation point for highly complex clinical, operational, and technology issues.

Program & Project Execution

• Oversee major clinical systems initiatives, implementations, upgrades, integrations, and optimization efforts.
• Ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget, and achieve intended business outcomes.
• Coordinate activities across business, clinical, operational, and technical teams.
• Manage risks, dependencies, and stakeholder expectations across the portfolio.

Financial & Vendor Management

• Develop and manage operating and capital budgets for the clinical systems portfolio.
• Ensure effective stewardship of financial resources and technology investments.
• Lead vendor relationships, contract negotiations, service reviews, and performance management.
• Support business case development and strategic investment planning.

Regulatory Compliance, Security & Risk Management

• Ensure compliance with applicable healthcare regulations, organizational policies, and security requirements.
• Partner with cybersecurity, compliance, privacy, and risk management teams to protect clinical and patient data.
• Maintain disaster recovery, business continuity, system resiliency, and access governance processes.
• Identify and mitigate operational, regulatory, and technology risks.

Leadership & Talent Development

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of managers, analysts, and technical professionals.
• Establish clear goals, accountability measures, and performance expectations.
• Build leadership bench strength and succession plans.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Executive Communication & Stakeholder Management

• Present portfolio status, risks, investment needs, and strategic recommendations to executive leadership.
• Build trusted relationships with physicians, nursing leadership, department directors, and operational partners.

Sentara is currently reviewing market compensation for this