Senior Director Operations

Overview

The Senior Director of Operations provides operational leadership across DCH Health System and serves as a senior administrative leader at Northport Medical Center. The position supports the Chief Operating Officer in ensuring effective day-to-day operations at Northport, facilitating collaboration across departments, resolving operational barriers, and advancing organizational priorities.

The Senior Director also has direct system-wide responsibility for designated clinical and support services, ensuring consistent performance, quality, financial stewardship, workforce effectiveness, and service excellence across DCH facilities.

Areas of Direct Responsibility - The Senior Director provides system-wide leadership and oversight for:

• Environmental Services
• Food and Nutritional Services
• Security
• Laundry Services
• Pastoral Care
• Rehabilitation and Therapy Services
• Behavioral Health Services

Responsibilities

Operational Leadership

• Serve as a visible senior administrative leader at Northport Medical Center and support effective day-to-day hospital operations.
• Partner with nursing, medical staff, clinical, and administrative leaders to identify and resolve operational issues.
• Facilitate coordination across departments to improve patient flow, service delivery, patient experience, and operational efficiency.
• Escalate significant operational, safety, workforce, physician, or patient concerns to the COO and other appropriate leaders.
• Support implementation of system strategic and operational priorities at Northport Medical Center.
• Represent Administration on committees, initiatives, and special projects as assigned.

System-Wide Departmental Leadership

• Provide direct leadership and accountability for assigned departments across DCH Health System.
• Establish consistent expectations, performance standards, and operating practices across facilities.
• Coach and develop department leaders and hold leaders accountable for operational, financial, quality, workforce, and service outcomes.
• Evaluate staffing models, productivity, workflows, resource utilization, and organizational structures.
• Identify opportunities to standardize services, improve efficiency, reduce unnecessary variation, and strengthen collaboration across facilities.
• Ensure appropriate coordination between system-wide departments and local hospital leadership.

Performance & Financial Management

• Establish and monitor key performance indicators for assigned departments, including quality, patient experience, workforce, productivity, and financial performance.
• Develop and implement corrective action plans when performance does not meet expectations.
• Provide oversight of departmental operating and capital budgets in collaboration with department leaders and Finance.
• Monitor labor, productivity, supplies, purchased services, contracts, and other significant expenses.
• Identify opportunities for cost reduction and operational improvement while maintaining quality, safety, and service.
• Support annual operating and capital planning for assigned areas.

Quality, Safety & Regulatory Compliance

• Promote a culture of quality, safety, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Ensure assigned departments maintain compliance with applicable regulatory, accreditation, and organizational requirements.
• Partner with Quality, Patient Safety, Infection Prevention, Risk Management, Compliance, Human Resources, and other leaders to address identified concerns.
• Ensure corrective actions resulting from audits, surveys, safety events, or performance reviews are completed and sustained.

Leadership & Organizational Effectiveness

• Develop high-performing leaders and promote a culture of collaboration, accountability, and service.
• Partner with Human Resources on recruitment, retention, succession planning, employee engagement, and leadership development.
• Promote a system-first approach to decision-making and service delivery.
• Lead or participate in strategic initiatives, service development, operational redesign, and other projects as assigned by the COO.

Leader Standards:

• Manages departmental budget
• Interviews, selects, hires, and retains employees
• Ensures orientation and training for employees
• Manages performance, including other management positions
• Promotes, demotes, or transfers employees to meet organizational needs
• Executes employee accountability process up to and including termination
• Manages departmental productivity standards
• Provides strategic leadership for department(s)
• Performs long range planning and overall direction setting at the departmental level
• Responsible for department organizational structure and alignment to meet forecasted business needs
• Responsible for development, implementation and interpretation of system policies within a major organizational/functional area or the development and review of system policies within a recognized discipline
• Performs compliance requirements
• Approves payroll and is responsible for accurate payment of employees
• Assures meeting/exceeding of DCH mission, vision, and departmental goals

DCH Standards: 

• Maintains performance, patient and employee satisfaction and financial standards as outlined in the performance evaluation.
• Performs compliance requirements as outlined in the Employee Handbook
• Must adhere to the DCH Mission, Vision, and Values including creating positive relationships with patients/families, coworkers, colleagues and with self.
• Performs essential job functions in a manner that ensures the safety of patients, visitors and employees.
• Identifies and reduces unsafe practices that may result in harm to patients, visitors and employees.
• Recognizes and takes appropriate action to reduce risks and hazards to promote safety for patients, visitors and employees.
• Requires use of electronic mail, time and attendance software, learning management software and intranet.
• Must adhere to all DCH Health System policies and procedures.
• All other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Required:

• Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration, Health Services Administration, Business Administration, Nursing, Public Health, or a closely related field from an accredited institution
• Minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible healthcare leadership experience.
• Minimum of three (3) years of experience at the Director level or above.
• Demonstrated responsibility for departmental operations, financial performance, workforce management, and performance improvement.
• Experience leading multiple departments, service lines, or complex operational functions.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and develop other leaders and achieve measurable performance improvement

Preferred:

• Leadership experience in an acute-care hospital or multi-hospital health system.
• Experience with multi-facility or system-wide operations.
• Experience overseeing both clinical and non-clinical services

Other Skills:

• Strong healthcare operational and financial acumen.
• Demonstrated ability to lead through both direct authority and influence.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and performance-management skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and diverse operational areas.
• Effective physician, clinical, and executive relationship-management skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Knowledge of healthcare regulatory, accreditation, quality, and safety requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to lead change, develop leaders, and drive accountability.
• Commitment to patient-centered care, employee engagement, operational excellence, and responsible stewardship of organizational resources

Must be able to read, write legibly, speak, and comprehend English.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Work Context

• Various communication and interaction with leadership, employees, visitors, and patients.

Physical Factors

• Travel between facilities required.
• Light work. Exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently, and/or a negligible amount of force constantly to move objects.
• Must be able to perform the duties with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Hearing and vision must be normal or corrected to within normal range.
• Physical presence onsite is essential