IT Director, Clinical Systems

Sentara Healthcare Inc; Virginia Beach, Northern (VA, KY); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

Sentara Healthcare Inc seeks an IT Director, Clinical Systems in Virginia Beach, VA to lead the portfolio for hospital-based clinical systems including Pharmacy, Lab, Inpatient care, ED, and research. This role partners with executives to align technology with clinical and operational goals while driving performance and patient outcomes.

The position requires strong strategic leadership, portfolio governance, and vendor management; governance, security, and risk mitigation are essential to

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree preferred; 8+ years management experience acceptable.
• Minimum 5 years of relevant IT leadership experience.
• Experience overseeing clinical systems portfolios across hospital operations.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the technology strategy and roadmap for hospital-based clinical systems.
• Provide executive partnership with clinical, operational, and IT leaders.
• Align technology investments with strategic goals and regulatory requirements.
• Drive adoption of innovative technologies and workflow improvements.
• Oversee portfolio governance, prioritization, and change management.
• Manage major clinical systems initiatives, upgrades, and integrations.
• Lead financial and vendor management for the portfolio.
• Ensure security, compliance, disaster recovery, and risk management.
• Develop leadership and succession within the team.

Skills

Strategic Leadership

Executive Partnership

Cross-functional Collaboration

Change Management

People Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree (Preferred)

8+ years management experience in lieu of bachelor's

Job description

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 role. Our Talent Acquisition team will be able to share more specific information during the recruiting process.

Sentara Independence provides quality outpatient services to the surrounding community. The facility includes an ambulance-accessible emergency room that is supported by board-certified physicians. Sentara Independence houses state-of-the-art medical equipment and highly-skilled physicians and staff. Sentara Independence is now an extension of the quality services at Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital including advanced imaging and physical therapy.