Rehab Clinical Specialist - 141906

University of California San Diego; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 141,000 - 186,000; Full time

Job summary

UC San Diego Health in La Jolla seeks a Rehab Clinical Specialist to lead clinical practice within Rehabilitation Services. The role provides expertise to therapists and the interdisciplinary team, guiding changes to improve care quality and efficiency.

Key responsibilities include implementing new workflows, mentoring therapists, and developing training materials for staff and students, while advancing program development and performance improvement initiatives across the department.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy or Speech-Language Pathology
• California licensure as Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist or Speech-Language Pathologist
• BART or BLS at time of hire with commitment to obtain within six months
• Five or more years of relevant experience
• Knowledge of evaluation, diagnosis and rehabilitation therapy services within specialty area or across disciplines
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to work effectively on a team with physicians, nurses and clinicians

Responsibilities

• Researches best practices and facilitates implementation of improvements across continuum of care
• Communicates and collaborates with multidisciplinary team to ensure comprehensive care planning
• Mentors therapists in patient education about condition, rehab potential and options
• Leads implementation of new workflows, procedures and policies to improve operations
• Develops training materials for therapists and staff and mentors students/externs
• Leads performance improvement initiatives within department
• Serves on committees to evaluate and revise campus-wide rehab policies
• May supervise support personnel and students as allowed by state practice acts
• Delivers skilled therapy interventions to patients in the designated setting

Job description

#141906 Rehab Clinical Specialist

Filing Deadline: Fri 10/30/2026

• Payroll Title: REHAB SVC SPEC 4 HX
• Department: REHABILITATION SERVICES
• Hiring Pay Scale: $67.46 - $89.01 / Hour
• Worksite: La Jolla
• Appointment Type: Career
• Appointment Percent: 100%
• Union: HX Contract
• Total Openings: 1
• Work Schedule: 8 hrs/day

UCSD Layoff from Career Appointment: Apply by 10/21/2026 for consideration with preference for rehire. All layoff applicants should contact their Employment Advisor.

Reassignment Applicants: Eligible Reassignment clients should contact their Disability Counselor for assistance.

DESCRIPTION

Serves as a clinical leader within area of specialty and / or across rehabilitationdisciplines. Provides expertise and guidance to rehabilitation therapists and interdisciplinary team. Recommends and supports / leads changes in department operations and methods to improve the quality and efficiency of services.

Key Responsibilities:

• Researches best practices and facilitates implementation of improvements or new models of practice across the continuum of care.
• Communicates and collaborates with the multidisciplinary team; ensuring a comprehensive approach to care planning for the patient / family.
• Mentors and assists therapists in providing patients with appropriate education about their clinical condition, rehabilitation potential, treatment options, patient rights, and health management.
• Leads the implementation of new workflows, procedures and policies to improve department operations or clinical care standards and practices.
• Develops, plans, and delivers training and educational materials for rehabilitation therapists, staff and other members of the healthcare team. Mentors and assists with program development for students, interns, and therapists.
• Leads implementation and is accountable for performance improvement activities and other new program initiatives within department.
• Serves on committees and leads projects to evaluate, revise, and improve campus-wide policies, standards, and other issues pertaining to rehabilitation services.
• May supervise support personnel as allowed by discipline specific State Practice Acts including Therapist Assistants and Rehabilitation Aides as well as students.
• Provides skilled therapy intervention to patients in the designated setting.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's Degree degree in Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy or Speech-Language Pathology.
• Licensure as an Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist or Speech Language Pathologist by the State of California.
• BART or BLS at time of hire with commitment to get BART within six (6) months of hire date.
• Five (5+) or more years of relevant experience.
• In-depth knowledge associated with providing evaluation, diagnosis and rehabilitation therapy services within specialty area, or across disciplines.
• Knowledge of applicable laws, internal policies and standards of professional conduct.
• Excellent interpersonal and communications skills.
• Must be able to work effectively on a team and collaborating with physicians, nurses, and multidisciplinary clinicians.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Three plus (3+) years experience with rehab outpatient care and leadership activities. * Prior experience managing and reporting performance improvement initiatives. * Experience with EPIC development and data analytics reporting.

SPECIAL CONDITIONS

• Must be able to work various hours and locations based on business needs.
• Employment is subject to a criminal background check and pre-employment physical..

Pay Transparency Act

Annual Full Pay Range: $140,862 - $185,851 (will be prorated if the appointment percentage is less than 100%)

Hourly Equivalent: $67.46 - $89.01

Factors in determining the appropriate compensation for a role include experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs. The Hiring Pay Scale referenced in the job posting is the budgeted salary or hourly range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position. The Annual Full Pay Range may be broader than what the University anticipates to pay for this position, based on internal equity, budget, and collective bargaining agreements (when applicable).

If employed by the University of California, you will be required to comply with our Policy on Vaccination Programs, which may be amended or revised from time to time. Federal, state, or local public health directives may impose additional requirements.

If applicable, life-support certifications (BLS, NRP, ACLS, etc.) must include hands-on practice and in-person skills assessment; online-only certification is not acceptable.

UC San Diego Health is the only academic health system in the San Diego region, providing leading-edge care in patient care, biomedical research, education, and community service. Our facilities include two university hospitals, a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, Shiley Eye Institute, Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center, the only Burn Center in the county, and dozens of outpatient clinics. We invite you to join our team!

Applications/Resumes are accepted for current job openings only. For full consideration on any job, applications must be received prior to the initial closing date. If a job has an extended deadline, applications/resumes will be considered during the extension period; however, a job may be filled before the extended date is reached.

To foster the best possible working and learning environment, UC San Diego strives to cultivate a rich and diverse environment, inclusive and supportive of all students, faculty, staff and visitors. For more information, please visit UC San Diego Principles of Community.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.

For the University of California’s Anti-Discrimination Policy, please visit: https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/1001004/Anti-Discrimination

UC San Diego is a smoke and tobacco free environment. Please visit smokefree.ucsd.edu for more information.

UC San Diego Health maintains a marijuana and drug free environment. Employees may be subject to drug screening.

Misconduct Disclosure Requirement: As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts an offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of substantiated misconduct with a previous employer.

a. "Misconduct" means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicant’s previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, or discrimination, as defined by the employer. For reference, below are UC’s policies addressing some forms of misconduct:

• UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
• UC Anti-Discrimination Policy
• Abusive Conduct in the Workplace