Senior Director - IT Strategy and Program Operations

Northwest Permanente; Portland (OR); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

15% employer retirement contribution

Health plan coverage (90%)

Tuition reimbursement

Child care benefits

Flexible work schedules

Paid parental leave

Self-care days + PTO

Job summary

Northwest Permanente, part of Kaiser Permanente, seeks a Senior Director of IT Strategy and Program Operations to lead the technology strategy, planning, and operations for administrative systems. You will guide cross-functional teams, align IT with clinical initiatives, and drive cost-effective solutions while ensuring security and compliance.

The role partners with executive leadership to optimize systems, workflows, and technology roadmaps, balancing strategic impact with operational

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, engineering, business administration, insurance or related field, or equivalent education and experience.
• Minimum ten (10) years of progressive management experience with at least three (3) of those years at a senior leader or director level.
• 15+ years in IT consulting/management consulting or business analysis with process improvement and IT strategy experience.
• 5+ years IT experience in healthcare, including workflow analysis, business case development, and process-modeling tools.
• 4+ years leading cross-functional tech/business initiatives, vendor management, and executive collaboration.
• Extensive knowledge of IT systems, management, and application development methods.
• Facilitation skills for senior committees; ability to manage sensitive situations and competing priorities.
• Proven ability to conduct and interpret quantitative/qualitative analysis and lead multi-disciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Plans for a long-term system and application support model ensuring data ownership, access, and protection of proprietary data.
• Leads vendor selection and RFP processes.
• Directs the analysis of complex information system needs in areas like new operating models and IT solutions, plus market research and readiness assessment.
• Oversees technologies, system design, data, and metrics aligned with vision and goals.
• Liaises as escalation point for business system, data, and process initiatives.
• Assesses current systems and optimization in partnership with Kaiser national model to reduce duplication and cost while meeting compliance.
• Consults on integration of application systems regarding operations and training implications.
• Directs capacity planning, demand management, and workforce planning of resources.
• Partners with Compliance to evaluate data privacy, protection, and risk mitigation technologies.
• Ensures business continuity and disaster recovery procedures and infrastructure are in place.

Skills

IT strategy

Vendor management

Cross-functional leadership

Healthcare IT

Process improvement

Data privacy

Disaster recovery

Stakeholder facilitation

Analytics

Education

Bachelor's degree in IT/engineering/business or related field

Job description

Overview

The Senior Director of IT Strategy and Program Operations is responsible for overseeing the development, systems support, and IT compliance for Northwest Permanente’s business-supported administrative systems and technology. The role oversees the technology strategy and planning for existing and future technology roadmaps in collaboration with clinical technology initiatives. This position leads a team to evaluate and ensure efficient, cost-effective operational solutions which support system processes and functional requirements, as well as the resolution of problems in technology and business solutions. The Senior Director provides executive leaders with information on trends in healthcare and business technology and information systems and consults with across departments and IT managers to ensure systems security, infrastructure, network, and application controls are in place, and to influence and establish cross-functional and/or cross divisional task forces to identify and document functional requirements, workflows, system specifications an IT compliance requirements.

Major Responsibilities

• Plans for a long-term system and application support model ensuring the organization’s interest in data ownership, access, and protection of proprietary data.


• Leads vendor selection and RFP processes.


• Directs the analysis of complex information system needs in project areas such as new business operating models, innovative approaches to IT solutions support, market research of emerging or available product functionality and operational readiness assessment.


• Oversees technologies, systems solution design, data, and metrics to ensure alignment with the organization's vision, goals and objectives.


• Provides leadership through functioning as the key liaison and/or escalation point for business system, data, and/or process initiatives.


• Assesses current systems and applications optimization and support models, in partnership with the Kaiser Permanente national model, to identify opportunities to reduce duplication, lower cost and streamline support and fulfillment of compliance requirements.


• Consults on the integration of application systems regarding their operational and training implications.


• Directs the development and implementation of effective resources (for example, associates, vendors, infrastructure) capacity planning, demand management, and workforce planning.


• Partners with NWP compliance to evaluate new and existing technologies for data privacy, protection and risk mitigation.


• Provides consultation and serves as a liaison to departments and IT managers to ensure business continuity and disaster recovery procedures and infrastructure procedures are in place.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, engineering, business administration, insurance or related field, or equivalent education and experience.


• Minimum ten (10) years of progressive management experience with at least three (3) of those years at a senior leader or director level.


• Minimum fifteen (15) years’ experience in IT consulting, management consulting, business analysis or related field, with specific experience in business process improvement techniques, reengineering, strategic business and IT planning.


• Five (5) years of IT experience within a healthcare environment, including workflow analysis, business case development, and use of process-modeling tools (e.g., Visio, Lucid) preferred.


• Four (4) years of experience leading cross-functional technology and/or business initiatives, managing vendor relationships, and collaborating with executive leadership preferred.


• Considerable knowledge of IT systems and management, application development methods and techniques.


• Proficient facilitation skills for senior level committees, teams, or groups of key stakeholders from all levels and segments of the organization, while developing and building teams. Ability to manage sensitive situations and competing stakeholder priorities.


• Demonstrated ability to conduct and interpret quantitative/qualitative analysis and lead a multi-disciplinary team through the problem-solving process.

About Northwest Permanente

We are the Permanente in Kaiser Permanente. Northwest Permanente is a self-governed, multi-specialty group of 1,500 physicians, clinicians, and administrative professionals caring for over 600,000 members in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Together with Kaiser Foundation Health Plans and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, we form Kaiser Permanente of the Northwest, an integrated health care program. Kaiser Permanente is one of the nation's pre-eminent health care systems, a benchmark for comprehensive, integrated, value-based, and high-quality care.

Our Northwest Permanente administrative professionals enjoy a wide range of company sponsored benefits:

• 15% employer contribution to retirement programs, including pension


• 90% employer-paid health plan


• Tuition Reimbursement


• Child Care Benefits


• Flexible Work Schedules


• Paid Parental Leave


• Self-Care Days + Paid Time Off

Equal Opportunity Employer

Northwest Permanente is an equal opportunity employer committed to fair, respectful, and inclusive workplaces. Applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic or status.