Senior Director Operations

Penn Medicine; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Penn Medicine’s Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania (CPUP) Psychiatry department at Penn Behavioral Health seeks a Senior Director of Operations to lead day-to-day operations, improve access and care coordination, and ensure financial stewardship across ambulatory and inpatient services.

The SDOO partners with department and health system leadership to implement strategic initiatives, oversees clinical programs, and ensures regulatory compliance while driving workforce

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in a related field; 10+ years of management in healthcare.
• Health care management experience of at least 2 years in a large system.
• Experience leading ambulatory and hospital-based psychiatric services.
• Knowledge of CPT/ ICD-9 coding and revenue cycle processes preferred.

Responsibilities

• Develops and leads day-to-day operations for CPUP Psychiatry to ensure quality, access, and financial sustainability.
• Provides strategic oversight of ambulatory practices, clinic operations, and scheduling across locations.
• Partners with leadership to implement new programs and growth opportunities with feasibility and staffing plans.
• Oversees regulatory compliance, accreditation readiness, and clinical quality improvement initiatives.
• Manages human resources functions for CPUP staff, including recruitment, performance management, and development.
• Collaborates with UPHS, SOM, and executive leadership to align departmental budgets and strategic priorities.

Skills

Leadership

Healthcare management

Strategic planning

Budgeting & finance

Education

Bachelor's degree

10+ years management experience

Health care management experience

Masters degree (Preferred)

Tools

Practice management software

Job description

Description

Penn Medicine is dedicated to our tripartite mission of providing the highest level of care to patients, conducting innovative research, and educating future leaders in the field of medicine. Working for this leading academic medical center means collaboration with top clinical, technical and business professionals across all disciplines.

Today at Penn Medicine, someone will make a breakthrough. Someone will heal a heart, deliver hopeful news, and give comfort and reassurance. Our employees shape our future each day. Are you living your life's work?

Entity: Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania (CPUP)

Department: Psychiatry

Location: Penn Behavioral Health- 3535 Market St. Philadelphia

Hours: Full-Time

Summary:

• The Senior Director of Operations (SDOO) serves as a trusted advisor to the Department Chair, COO & VCCO and plans, leads, directs, and evaluates all day-to-day operations of the Department of Psychiatry's clinical services, both internal to the department and integrated with other departments and entities, to ensure strategic, operational, and financial success. The SDOO is central to the department's clinical mission, which is to ensure the delivery of high-quality, accessible, patient centered psychiatric care, and which supports the department's research and educational mission. The SDOO's primary function is to lead the development and implementation of initiatives that improve patient access, care coordination, quality, operational performance, workforce engagement, and financial sustainability across the Department's clinical programs. Through oversight and management of clinical operational leaders, the SDOO ensures the effective administration of clinician support functions, operational infrastructure, and clinical program performance in support of departmental and health system goals. The SDOO also oversees departmental leaders responsible for operational performance, regulatory compliance, accreditation readiness, quality improvement, ambulatory practice operations, and administrative services with the primary goal of delivering high-quality patient care and services.

Responsibilities:

• Develops and implements strategies to improve patient access and experience across ambulatory psychiatry, hospital-based psychiatry, addiction services, and integrated psychiatry programs.
• Operationalizes department strategic priorities through data-driven decision making, performance improvement initiatives, and accountability measures.
• Provides strategic and operational oversight of CPUP ambulatory psychiatry practices, ensuring consistency in practice management operations across all locations, including patient access, provider scheduling and template optimization, clinical capacity management, space utilization, referral workflows, workforce planning, telepsychiatry utilization, strategic growth initiatives, and practice performance improvement.
• Partners with Department and health system leadership to evaluate, develop, and implement new programs, clinical services, and practice expansion opportunities, including feasibility assessments, business planning, staffing models, facility planning, and operational readiness activities that support the Department's strategic growth objectives.
• Provides strategic and administrative oversight, for Department-employed faculty practicing across inpatient psychiatry, consultation-liaison psychiatry, emergency psychiatry, and other hospital-based psychiatry services.
• Partners with health system leadership to strengthen mental health integration across inpatient, ambulatory, emergency, primary care, and specialty practice settings.
• Ensures financial stewardship, regulatory compliance, accreditation readiness, and operational excellence across all departmental programs and practice locations.
• Partners with Chair, COO, SOM and CPUP Executive Committee in establishing annual strategic priorities, implementation plans and measures of success, and provides input for the development of Department strategic plan and budget.
• Participates in the analysis and evaluation of strategic business plans, and preparation of business cases on prospective new programs and opportunities for enhancing revenue.
• Participates as a member of the Department Leadership in the development of strategic capital and other resource priorities and manages them to achieve maximum benefit to Department.

Patient Care Processes (In partnership with UPHS and SOM Leadership):

• Ensures all Department facilities and environments of care are clean, safe and patient friendly.
• Ensures all outsourced services meet agreed upon service standards in support of all patient care processes.
• Supports the creation of clinical effectiveness targets, improvement plans and reporting systems to ensure the delivery of high quality, effective and efficient patient care.
• Ensures that teams and individuals have the clinical, informational and organizational tools to serve our patients and customers effectively and efficiently.
• Oversees physician revenue generation and third-party regulatory compliance through application of standardized financial counseling.
• Oversees physician services cost analysis, focused on identifying and managing physician productivity.
• Facilitates open sharing of practice management and physician productivity data.
• Develops and provide access to statistically valid benchmarking data.
• Provides decision support tools and analytic support through use of CPT data.
• As one representative of the Department, participates in financial negotiations with third parties, hospital and managed care organizations.
• Directs complex organizational and financial problem-solving and analyzes as related to physician services productivity, reimbursement, ICD-9, CPT and HCFA coding, compliance documentation, and site-specific professional, technical and global fee billing.
• Performs impact analysis of actual or proposed changes in payment methodologies, i.e., APC, MAPS, RVU updates, fee schedules. Manages insurers’ QA Audits and represents department with any necessary responses
• Monitors work product and provides reimbursement support and A/R performance of CBO.
• Schedules and oversees education programs for physician and support staff on reimbursement issues, including appropriate procedure and diagnosis coding, as well as appropriate record documentation needs and techniques.
• Develops practice management profiles measuring physician productivity, compensation and incentive planning, billing and coding compliance, workforce planning, revenue and payment forecasting, budget formulation and management.

Workforce Planning:

• Responsible for Human Resource function for select UPHS staff positions; this includes job posting, submission of position justification, performance management, and ensuring mandatory education compliance.
• Manages approximately eight direct reports, and is responsible for recruitment, evaluation, training, and development of these positions.
• Administers talent management initiatives for current and future staff.
• Creates and implements succession plans for critical positions.
• Implements and oversees the following staff functions: recruitment, development, retention

Regulatory Compliance (In partnership with CPUP, SOM and University):

• For all University, UPHS and SOM staff within the department, ensures that all areas of accountability are compliant with all federal, state and local regulatory standards and requirements, including JCAHO, Department of Health, funding agencies, FDA, HIPAA, HCFA, DPW, department specific NIH guidelines and others.
• Acts as department Liaison with CPUP Outpatient Audit, reviews and assesses CPUP findings, resolves any issues, and provides remedial training for identified physicians.
• Manages insurers’ QA Audits and represents Department with any necessary response.
• Reviews, implements and ensures compliance of regulatory and legislative changes for all third parties.
• Acts as Department Liaison and oversees routine audit of billing in accordance with established UPHS guidelines.
• Ensures adherence to regulatory requirements and collaborates with the Vice Chair of Quality and Safety to provide direct oversight to the Improvement Advisor who actively participates in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the quality, patient safety, and operational performance improvement programs for the Psychiatry clinics

Medical Records:

• Responsible for the development, implementation and maintenance of policies and procedures to ensure efficient processing of information.
• Oversees chart review process and conducts on-going assessment of documentation to ensure compliance with regulations and policies
• Ensures compliance with HIPAA, record filing practices, and all related policies

Department Information Systems:

• Facilitates the development of a technology infrastructure and plan for the Department in partnership with UPHS and SOM CIO.
• Is responsible for systems management including maintaining the network, designing and, or implementing programs, and upgrading equipment processes as required.
• Performs duties in accordance with Penn Medicine and entity values, policies, and procedures
• Other duties as assigned to support the unit, department, entity, and health system organization

Education or Equivalent Experience:

• Bachelor of Arts or Science (Required)
• 10+ years including direct management experience (minimum 5-7 years) (Required)
• Health care management experience- at least 2 years (Required)
• Masters Degree (Preferred)
• And Leadership experience in a large integrated healthcare delivery system that uses an integrated practice management software system to register, schedule and bill patientsBasic understanding of CPT and ICD-9 coding, third-party payer billing processes, pre-certification requirements, and the overall revenue cycle (Preferred)
• Solid understanding of the purchasing cycle (quote, requisition, purchase order, invoice, payment) and experience using ordering systems (Preferred)

We believe that the best care for our patients starts with the best care for our employees. Our employee benefits programs help our employees get healthy and stay healthy. We offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits program that includes one of the finest prepaid tuition assistance programs in the region. Penn Medicine employees are actively engaged and committed to our mission. Together we will continue to make medical advances that help people live longer, healthier lives.

Live Your Life's Work

We are an Equal Opportunity employer. Candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, familial status, genetic information, domestic or sexual violence victim status, citizenship status, military status, status as a protected veteran or any other status protected by applicable law.