Program Manager, Service Excellence (Administrator Funded Project), Care Experience

NYC Health + Hospitals; New York (NY); On-site; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

NYC Health + Hospitals seeks a Service Excellence Program Manager to lead the ICARE with Kindness initiative system-wide, focusing on ambulatory services and patient experience. You will drive standardized expectations, coaching, and performance improvements in collaboration with Quality, HR, and Operations.

Responsibilities include embedding kindness into daily workflows, developing curricula for staff, and partnering with system leadership to measure impact on patient experience and trust

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a field related to healthcare, operations, or business.
• Four (4) years of relevant healthcare operations experience, or an equivalent combination.
• Master's degree preferred for advanced leadership and analytics.
• Experience implementing service excellence or patient experience initiatives is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead system-wide ICARE with Kindness program efforts across outpatient sites.
• Embed service excellence into daily workflows and front-desk operations.
• Develop curricula and coaching frameworks for clinical and administrative staff.
• Coordinate with Quality, HR, and Operations to drive performance improvements.
• Lead measurement and feedback loops using CAHPS and clinic metrics.
• Collaborate with Marketing to align service messaging with patient needs.

Skills

Leadership

Project management

Training & development

Healthcare operations

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree preferred

Tools

Microsoft Office

Adobe Suite

Job description

Marketing Statement

NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest public health care system in the United States. We provide essential outpatient, inpatient and home-based services to more than one million New Yorkers every year across the city’s five boroughs. Our large health system consists of ambulatory centers, acute care centers, post-acute care/long-term care, rehabilitation programs, Home Care, and Correctional Health Services. Our diverse workforce is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers.

Marketing Statement

NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest public health care system in the United States. We provide essential outpatient, inpatient and home-based services to more than one million New Yorkers every year across the city’s five boroughs. Our large health system consists of ambulatory centers, acute care centers, post-acute care/long-term care, rehabilitation programs, Home Care, and Correctional Health Services. Our diverse workforce is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers.

Duties & Responsibilities

The Service Excellence Program Manager leads the system-wide transition of the "ICARE with Kindness" initiative into a mature, embedded operating model, providing focused support within our outpatient and ambulatory services to ensure service excellence is treated as a core competency equivalent to clinical quality and patient safety. Reporting centrally, the Manager oversees the standardization of service expectations across all ambulatory environments and the rigorous implementation of operational tools—including clinic-based secret shopping and structured leader rounding—while partnering with cross-functional leadership in Quality, HR, and Operations to bridge performance gaps. By embedding kindness, respect, and accountability into daily outpatient workflows and administrative practices, the role drives workforce engagement and data-informed performance improvement to ensure reliable, sustainable, and measurable enhancements in patient experience and consumer trust across all NYC Health + Hospitals outpatient care settings.

Service Excellence Leadership & Ambulatory Integration

• Lead Phase II ICARE with Kindness initiatives with a focused mandate to improve the experience for Healthfirst members across all outpatient and ambulatory care settings
• Translate ICARE values into observable, auditable behaviors specifically tailored to the outpatient journey, from check-in and clinical encounter to discharge and follow-up
• Serve as the system-wide subject matter expert on ambulatory service excellence, emphasizing kindness and effective service recovery in a fast-paced clinic environment
• Embed service excellence expectations into daily ambulatory workflows, including huddles, pre-visit planning, and standardized front-desk operations

Training, Coaching & Staff Development

• Design and deploy role-specific curricula for outpatient clinical and administrative teams to ensure a uniform, high-quality experience for Healthfirst patients across all community health centers and clinics
• Establish an ambulatory coaching framework providing on-unit support and role-playing to move service behaviors—such as active listening and empathy—into daily clinic practice
• Scale tools that equip Ambulatory Care leaders to perform behavioral observations and deliver real-time feedback to staff on member interactions
• Partner with System HR to integrate outpatient service standards into centralized onboarding and performance management to ensure all new hires prioritize the member experience

Performance Improvement & Behavioral Validation

• Oversee ambulatory secret shopping and observational assessments to validate service excellence behaviors specifically during Healthfirst member visits
• Triangulate data from Member CAHPS, patient feedback, and clinic operational metrics to identify specific trends and gaps in the outpatient experience
• Lead site-based improvement initiatives in clinics with high Healthfirst volume to drive measurable gains in Top Box scores and patient loyalty
• Maintain closed-loop accountability, ensuring that member feedback directly informs staff coaching and sustained process improvements

Communication & Stakeholder Engagement

• Project manage the reinforcement of the NYC Health + Hospitals Code of Conduct within outpatient settings to set shared expectations for professionalism and respect
• Partner with Marketing and Ambulatory leadership to ensure consistent service messaging that resonates with Healthfirst members and the communities they live in
• Support site-based committees and ambassador programs to celebrate staff who achieve excellence in member service

Health Plan Liaising

• Act as the primary liaison with Healthfirst stakeholders to analyze Member CAHPS survey results and identify key drivers of dissatisfaction
• Curate and implement targeted improvement projects aimed at enhancing the Healthfirst member journey, focusing on access, communication, and coordination of care
• Monitor and report on pledge signing compliance and other member experience KPIs, providing periodic progress updates to health plan leadership

Program & Event Management

• Collaborate with the Care Experience team within Gotham Health to plan and execute Care Experience Week annually
• Support overall event success through planning, facilitation, and evaluation

Leadership & Operational Support

• Serve as a subject matter expert in engagement, training, and service excellence
• Manage multiple initiatives simultaneously while meeting deadlines and quality standards
• Support leadership and frontline staff with coaching, consultation, and resources

Performs ad hoc departmental tasks and duties as needed

Minimum Qualifications

Specific education, training and/or experience requirements will vary depending on the complexity, type, scope, variety and level of project(s) assigned to a particular position and assignment level will correspond to the requirements of the designated project(s).

• A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in a specialization or discipline consistent with project content; and
• Four (4) years of satisfactory, full-time experience related to the objectives of the project in a health care or hospital setting; or
• A satisfactory equivalent of education, training and/or experience.

Department Preferences

• A Master’s degree in Hospitality, Healthcare or a related field preferred
• Foundational knowledge of healthcare operations; understanding of HIPAA and other regulations designed to protect patient rights and confidentiality
• Prior background in the hospitality or related industry (hotels, travel, and tourism) exemplifying leading and best practices in customer service
• Experience with facilitating training programs and interventions focused on service excellence
• Proficient in Microsoft Office and Adobe suites of programs and applications
• Motivated self-starter with strong leadership, change management, planning, organizational and project management skills
• Excellent verbal, written, and facilitation skills to communicate with stakeholders at all organizational levels
• Ability to act as a change agent supporting organizational culture change and transformation
• Adept understanding of business principles, operations and process improvement strategy
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to manage a multitude of activities in a fast-paced environment