Patient Experience Lead

UVM Health; Burlington (VT); Hybrid; USD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

UVM Health in Burlington, VT seeks a Patient Experience Lead to oversee frontline staff and volunteers, ensuring staffing, workflow, and consistent service standards across patient-facing areas. The role provides coaching, mentoring, and real-time problem resolution, partners with leadership on performance, and promotes a culture of service excellence, teamwork, and continuous improvement.

The incumbent leads onboarding and ongoing staff development, focuses on compassionate patient care, and

Qualifications

• Two to three years of experience in customer service in a healthcare setting or similar environment.
• Ability to diffuse agitated customers/patients and handle stressful situations.
• Professional presentation and excellent verbal communication skills.
• Experience working with communities facing barriers to health care access is beneficial.
• Demonstrated ability to handle sensitive situations with compassion.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day leadership for Ambassadors, ACC Circle Entrance Assistants, Welcoming Specialists, and Volunteers.
• Coordinate staffing and workflow to ensure service coverage in patient-facing areas.
• Coach, mentor, and resolve staffing and operational issues in real time.
• Oversee onboarding, training, orientation, and ongoing staff development; reinforce service standards.
• Identify opportunities to enhance processes and improve the patient, family, visitor, and staff experience.

Skills

Customer service

Healthcare environment experience

De-escalation

Verbal communication

Professional demeanor

Community outreach understanding

Education

Associate's degree

Job description

JOB DESCRIPTION:

The Patient Experience Lead provides day-to-day leadership, direction, and operational oversight for Ambassadors, ACC Circle Entrance Assistants, Welcoming Specialists, and Volunteers. Serving as the frontline operational lead, this position is responsible for ensuring appropriate staffing, workflow management, service coverage, and consistent execution of service standards across patient-facing areas.

The Patient Experience Lead serves as the primary day-to-day resource for staff and volunteers, providing operational direction, coaching, mentoring, and problem resolution. The role prioritizes work activities, adjusts staffing assignments to meet operational needs, addresses service concerns in real time, and serves as the first point of contact for workflow, staffing, and operational issues.

This position provides leadership for onboarding, training, orientation, and ongoing staff and volunteer development. Working closely with operational partners, the Patient Experience Lead supports staff performance, reinforces accountability to service standards, and promotes a culture of service excellence, teamwork, and continuous improvement.

The Patient Experience Lead provides real-time operational oversight, monitors workflow and staffing needs, reallocates resources as appropriate, and resolves operational issues to maintain efficient and effective service delivery. The incumbent delivers ongoing coaching, mentorship, and performance feedback to staff and volunteers, while partnering with leadership to address performance concerns and support professional development.

The Patient Experience Lead proactively identifies opportunities to enhance processes, improve operational efficiency, and strengthen the patient, family, visitor, and staff experience. In the absence of the Patient Experience Manager, the incumbent assumes delegated operational responsibility to ensure continuity of services and successful execution of departmental priorities.

EDUCATION:

Associate's degree preferred or relevant work experience.

EXPERIENCE:

• Requires two to three years of experience in customer service in a healthcare setting or other customer-focused environment.

• Requires ability to diffuse agitated customers/patients and handle stressful situations.

• Must present oneself in a professional manner and exhibit excellent verbal communication skills.

• Experience working with communities or populations experiencing barriers to health care access beneficial.

• Demonstrated experience dealing effectively and compassionately with sensitive situations.