THE OPPORTUNITY

UAB Health System's passion is caring for their patients. With the eighth largest hospital in the country, UAB Health System cares for patients from every county in the state. As a nationally ranked academic medical center, they provide clinical services not available anywhere else in Alabama. Their mission is improving the health of the citizens of Alabama. They collaborate with the other hospitals in the state to bring the right resource to every patient and to maximize the specialty care services within the UAB Health System, making sure these services are available when someone needs them. To achieve this requires a high degree of operational strategy and agility. Thus, a major focus of the UAB Health System is maximizing ambulatory and inpatient operations, improving financial performance, patient satisfaction, and market growth across the system. This results in better patient access, length of stay, quality and safety, and patient throughput. To lead these efforts, UAB Health System is conducting a national search for a Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Reporting to the CEO of UAB Health System, the COO will be responsible for the execution, coordination, integration, and optimization of UAB Medicine’s delivery system. UAB Medicine, the academic medical center enterprise located in Birmingham, Alabama, is the cornerstone of UAB Health System. UAB Medicine generates over $4.2 billion in annual net revenues and has more than 18,000 employees. UAB Medicine includes UAB Hospital (the 8th largest hospital in the US), its ambulatory services including The Kirklin Clinic, Callahan Eye Hospital, and the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB. The COO is responsible for the overall direction, leadership, and management of UAB Medicine, and will be accountable for translating institutional priorities into operational tactics to achieve the goals and objectives of UAB Medicine. Additionally, the COO serves as a member of the UAB Health System executive leadership team, participating in the overall strategic direction and management of the system, and providing valuable operational guidance to the UAB Health System’s member hospitals.

The COO will work closely with clinical, research, and business operations leadership to ensure the UAB Health System provides outstanding outcomes, experience and value for patients, with a primary focus on UAB Medicine. The COO will ensure the optimization of clinical and business operations, simultaneously, driving a patient-centered service culture that positions UAB Health System as a nationally recognized leader for superior quality and patient safety.

UAB Health System is a rapidly growing $7B organization with more than 37,000 employees. Its headquarters along with its academic medical center are based in Birmingham, Alabama. UAB Health System is anchored by UAB Hospital, its 1,200-bed tertiary hospital and academic health science center. In 2022, the academic center earned national recognition as one of the country's best hospitals with 8 US News & World Report ranked programs including three in the top 20; OB/GYN (#5), Rheumatology (#10) and Rehabilitation (#20). The hospital also earned the distinction as the "Best Hospital" in the state of Alabama. Further in 2022, UAB Hospital cared for over 135,000 emergency room visits, 53,000 discharges and over 4,000 deliveries. UAB Hospital remains a destination for the region as the state’s only American College of Surgeons (ACS)-designated level 1 trauma center and a magnet-designated facility.

This is an exciting time to join UAB; the Heersink School of Medicine has experienced tremendous growth in National Institutes of Health grant funding and recently received a transformational $95M naming gift. This gift will further support priority initiatives, recruitment, and retention of nationally recognized faculty leaders. Given the demand for services, UAB has several ongoing expansion initiatives and is considering additional longer-term opportunities.

The ideal candidate will possess a demonstrated history of successive accomplishments in the overall improvement of operational, quality, strategic and financial performance of a large, integrated healthcare delivery system, preferably an academic medical center. They will be an operationally-talented and innovative leader who has a proven capability of collaborating and working synergistically with diverse constituencies to affect the cultural and operational changes necessary to ensure a high-quality, patient centered, value-based healthcare delivery system.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Leadership

• Serves as a key member of UAB Health System executive team.
• Promotes and reinforces, through leadership behaviors, the mission, core values and quality principles of UAB Health System.
• Facilitates the integration of services across UAB Medicine and the UAB/Ascension St. Vincent’s Alliance, as appropriate for patient care, education, and efficiency.
• Leads and supports key committees pertaining to areas of responsibility.
• Shows a sensitivity for and understanding of academic disciplines and issues.
• Actively supports entity leads in achieving their goals and in identifying areas of need.
• In addition to primary clinical operations, oversees major functions including Patient Access, Patient Experience, Corporate Compliance, Clinical Funding, Information Systems, Facilities, Diversity and Inclusion, and Leadership Development.
• Provides straight-forward, transparent leadership and guidance in improving operational performance and promoting real-time problem solving.
• Interfaces with UA System Office, University Officers, UAB/Ascension St. Vincent’s Alliance leadership, Heersink School of Medicine leadership, various Boards of Directors, faculty and leadership of the various entities of the UAB Health System.
• Provides expertise to our affiliate clinical partners throughout the state as needed.
• Represents UAB Health System at local, state and national activities, as required.

Vision & Strategy

• Contributes to the long range strategic and financial planning and development programs.
• Develops new business strategies to enhance market share and improve overall performance.
• Directs and participates when necessary in acquisition and growth activities.
• Participates in a continuing efforts to market the institutions services and programs.
• Provides new and enhanced services that respond to community needs and differentiates UAB Health System.
• Participates in the continuous planning for the future of the clinical component of UAB Health System; identifies goals and objectives.

Organizational Design & Development

• Develops and maintains a sound and efficient organizational structure for effective management of the clinical operations of UAB Medicine, addressing both current and future responsibilities and objectives.
• Coordinates programs and activities to enhance teamwork and optimal use of resources across UAB Medicine.
• Assures the organization provides a climate in which employees are managed fairly and are engaged.
• Promotes diversity, inclusion and equity within operations.
• Ensures equity in the care that is delivered across the clinical enterprise.
• Responsible for measuring and continuously improving workforce culture and engagement.
• Continually fosters open, ongoing and effective communication and flow of information among and between staff, providers, and all levels of administration.

Operations & Finance

• Develops and fosters effective relationships and collaboration between entity leadership, clinical departments, medical staff leadership, and faculty to ensure an integrated approach to providing services and fulfilling the system’s clinical, research and educational goals and objectives.
• Develops and deploys a results-oriented, accountable, responsive, and accessible leadership and management team.
• Keeps the CEO appropriately apprised of internal and external developments and issues.
• Assures the proper management, control, and enhancement of all resources, tangible and intangible.
• In conjunction with the Health System CFO, responsible for the preparation and maintenance of UAB Medicine budgets and its financial stability.
• Works through the leadership team and medical leadership, to help reduce costs, enhance revenues, achieve effective utilization and quality goals and objectives, analyze and utilize information to develop and support management decisions.
• Utilizes information and data to drive process improvement and organizational change.
• Effectively links organizational, departmental and individual priorities, goals and objectives in a way that makes sense to stakeholders and moves the institution forward.
• Facilitates an institutional mindset of innovation through business processes and performance measures.

QUALFICATIONS, KNOWLEDGE, AND SKILLS

• Ten or more years of related, progressive leadership experience within a large, complex healthcare setting.
• Direct experience in a major Academic Medical Center resulting in a full understanding of and appreciation for the importance of medical teaching programs, medical school relationships, and medical research is preferred.
• Demonstrates ability to manage a business or institution with a solid understanding of financial planning and budgetary cost controls.
• Possesses thorough understanding of current regulations and trends in the health care field regarding reimbursement, cost containment, optimal utilization of resources, etc.
• Success handling labor and personnel relations matters; proven ability to create and maintain a positive employee experience.
• Prior experience in planning and directing facility renovation and/or expansion, is desirable.
• Successful leadership of information technology services in a large, complex healthcare environment; experience in conversion of electronic medical record system desired.
• Demonstrates ability to work effectively with both full-time academic and voluntary private practicing physicians.
• Record of achievement in organization building and management development; proven ability to attract high quality staff; comfortable with the concepts of management-by -objectives and performance measurement.
• Record of effective working relationships with boards and board committees and with medical and professional staffs.
• Treats all people with respect, demonstrates faith in people, appreciates differences and builds open, trusting relationships.
• Comfortable in role of advisor, mentor, coach and facilitator. Also willing and able to confront and resolve differences. Willing to “roll up sleeves and pitch in” when needed.
• Demonstrates seasoned judgment; ability to balance competing priorities; achieves goals in a dynamically changing environment; demonstrates flexibility; can live with and work through ambiguity.
• Functions as a change agent: adaptable; establishes trust; encourages innovation and risk taking; champions breakthrough ideas.
• A team player; promotes collaboration; champions ideas and contributions of others; demonstrates mature confidence; accepts criticism.
• Highly skilled communicator; effective listener; articulate presenter and interpreter.

EDUCATION

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Finance, Clinical Science or a related field; graduate degree in health administration, public health, business administration or a related discipline preferred.

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Korn Ferry shall provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified candidates, and will refer candidates without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, veteran status or any other legally protected basis.