Director, Hospital Lab

About the role

The successful candidate will lead operational excellence in a hospital laboratory, clinical laboratory, or healthcare operations environment. They will oversee processes, manage teams, and ensure regulatory compliance while fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

• Ensures all testing is conducted according to established procedures and quality control policies.
• Manages hiring, firing, and performance evaluations of team members.
• Evaluates employee performance, recommends pay raises, and addresses grievances.
• Counsels and coaches team members to enhance their professional development.
• Develops and implements long and short-term goals for the department.
• Prepares and submits monthly reports of laboratory activities to the Regional Director.
• Establishes and maintains budgetary controls to keep costs within budgeting constraints.
• Supports and complies with all regulatory policies and procedures.
• Coordinates Point-of-Care-Testing (POCT) within the hospital.
• Makes recommendations for purchasing capital equipment.
• Participates in the hospital's performance improvement process.
• Investigates and resolves problems, reporting major issues to the Regional Director.
• Maintains and ensures the laboratory's certification and license.
• Maintains safety and infectious control procedures to ensure patient, staff, and visitor safety.
• Promotes mutual respect and professionalism throughout the company and hospital.
• Handles client inquiries and problems professionally and promptly.
• Executes other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Minimum of seven years of progressive leadership experience in hospital laboratory, clinical laboratory, or healthcare operations.
• Minimum of five years of direct people leadership experience with responsibility for employee performance, coaching, engagement, accountability, and leadership development.
• Experience leading laboratory or healthcare operations, including staffing models, productivity standards, quality, financial performance, and service excellence.
• Demonstrated success using operational data, KPIs, trend analysis, and root cause analysis to improve operational performance and drive sustainable results.
• Experience leading Lean Six Sigma, workflow optimization, continuous improvement, or operational excellence initiatives.
• Experience managing multiple projects, priorities, sites, or operational workstreams simultaneously.
• Experience partnering with physicians, pathologists, nursing leadership, hospital executives, and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Experience leading or coordinating regulatory inspections, including CAP, CLIA, State Department of Health, Joint Commission, or other applicable agencies.
• Experience leading teams through organizational change, operational challenges, and performance improvement initiatives.
• Experience presenting operational, quality, financial, and performance results to C-suite executives and governing committees.
• Preferred experience leading multi-site or multi-department healthcare or laboratory operations.
• Preferred experience in laboratory management services or outsourced hospital laboratory operations.
• Preferred experience supporting laboratory consolidations, implementations, integrations, transitions, or operational turnaround initiatives.
• Preferred experience in unionized healthcare environments.
• Preferred experience with workforce planning, labor management, budgeting, and financial analysis.
• Preferred Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification.
• Preferred Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
• Working knowledge of hospital and clinical laboratory operations, quality systems, workflow optimization, staffing, productivity, and regulatory requirements.
• Knowledge of CAP, CLIA, Joint Commission, CMS, OSHA, HIPAA, and State regulatory requirements.
• Knowledge of quality management systems, inspection readiness, risk management, and patient safety principles.
• Knowledge of Lean Six Sigma, continuous improvement methodologies, workflow analysis, process mapping, and root cause analysis.
• Knowledge of healthcare operational metrics, financial performance indicators, budgeting, and productivity management.
• Working knowledge of Laboratory Information Systems (LIS), Electronic Medical Records (EMR), and healthcare technology.
• Collaborative and approachable leadership style.
• Strategic thinker with strong business acumen.
• Results-oriented with a continuous improvement mindset.
• Adaptable, resilient, and effective in a dynamic healthcare environment.
• Demonstrates professionalism, integrity, and accountability.
• Willingness to maintain a regular onsite presence across one or more hospital locations.
• Ability to work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends, as operational needs require.
• Bachelor’s degree in Medical Laboratory Science, Medical Technology, Biology, Chemistry, Healthcare Administration, Business, Engineering, or a related field.
• Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, Public Administration, Laboratory Science, or a related discipline strongly preferred.
• Lean Six Sigma certification, Project Management Professional (PMP), ASCP certification, or other relevant professional certifications preferred.

Skills

• Leadership: Builds, develops, coaches, and leads high-performing teams.
• Operational Excellence: Analytical and data-driven decision-making skills; ability to interpret operational data, identify trends, determine root causes, and implement sustainable process improvements.
• Client & Executive Relationship Management: Exceptional interpersonal and relationship-building skills; experience developing trusted partnerships with physicians, pathologists, hospital executives, and C-suite leadership.
• Technical & Business Skills: Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams; ability to analyze operational and financial data and present actionable recommendations to executive leadership.

Benefits

We are proud to offer best-in-class benefits and programs to support employees and their families in living healthy, happy lives. Our pay and benefit plans have been designed to promote employee health in all respects – physical, financial, and developmental. Depending on whether it is a part-time or full-time position, some of the benefits offered may include:

• Medical/Prescription Drugs
• Dental
• Vision
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)
• Supplemental Health Plans
• 401(k) Plan – Company match dollar-for-dollar up to 5%
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)
• Supplemental Life Insurance
• Dependent Life Insurance
• Short- and Long-Term Disability buy-up
• Blueprint for Wellness
• Emotional Well-Being Resources
• Education Assistance
• Paid time off
• Health Time

Pay

Pay Range: $120,000 - $168,000/year

Salary offers are based on a wide range of factors including relevant skills, training, experience, education, and, where applicable, certifications obtained. Market and organizational factors are also considered. Successful candidates may be eligible to receive annual performance bonus compensation.