Director, Labor Optimization

MemorialCare is a nonprofit integrated health system that includes four leading hospitals, award-winning medical groups – consisting of over 200 sites of care, and more than 2,000 physicians throughout Orange and Los Angeles Counties. We are committed to increasing access to patient-centric, affordable, and high-quality healthcare. Your personal contributions are integral to MemorialCare's recognition as a market leader and innovator in value-based and other care models.

About the role

The Director of Labor Optimization is responsible for optimizing labor productivity performance across the health system. This encompasses supporting and standardizing labor productivity performance, benchmarking, target standard creation, and position control management. This role will work closely with finance, hospital directors, and executive leadership to educate, identify productivity opportunities, communicate recommended solutions, and drive labor and expense management improvements. The position reports to the Executive Director of Financial Planning and Decision Support and supports the annual planning process.

The ideal candidate will have strong leadership skills and in-depth knowledge of hospital staffing and operations with experience in optimizing financial performance within a clinical environment. This role is critical in monitoring, analyzing, and improving labor utilization across hospital departments to drive cost-effective and high-quality patient care.

Responsibilities

• Utilize the Strata Labor Productivity tool to monitor and drive productivity improvements.
• Deliver system-wide labor KPI reporting to facilitate informed management and continuous improvement.
• Support hospital management teams in the creation of labor reports tailored to their specific needs, including both routine and ad hoc reporting to verify and validate workforce optimization and cost savings opportunities.
• Support hospital management teams in the execution of productivity initiatives and participate in departmental interviews at local hospitals to understand department practices, shift management, and enhance daily labor practices.
• Provide training to lean project managers, department leaders, and subject matter experts to ensure effective labor management.
• Maintain advanced competencies with decision support and BI tools, such as Strata, PeopleSoft, and Vizient ODB.
• Utilize Vizient Operational Database (ODB) to assist with target setting and benchmarking for comparable departments to drive system-wide consistency and performance.
• Identify areas of opportunity for productivity gains and recommend actionable improvements.
• Manage and standardize reporting and processes across campuses where appropriate.
• Participate in hospital labor productivity governance and position control process, contributing expertise and providing essential data necessary to support informed decision making.

Requirements

• 7+ years of relevant experience working in an acute care hospital or multi-facility health system.
• 3+ years of experience managing high-performing teams and a track record of developing future leaders.
• Experience working with Epic information systems, Strata Decision, and Vizient ODB is preferred.
• Understanding of hospital productivity staffing ratios in California.
• Experience in Strata Labor Management platform or equivalent.
• Experience in data analysis and reporting, demonstrating advanced proficiency in MS Excel is required.
• Experience in health care labor data and terminology, finance, and/or hospital operations.
• Knowledge and understanding of key workforce management concepts and tools (e.g., shift management, productivity tracking, labor productivity metrics such as hours per UOS, staff scheduling).
• Comprehensive knowledge in healthcare industry practices, including labor data, finance, charge master/billing, and hospital operations, with a strong preference for candidates experienced in labor/workforce-specific benchmarking and productivity metrics across various settings such as acute care, ambulatory care, and corporate shared services.
• Strong work ethic with the ability to complete tasks and deliverables under tight deadlines.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills with the ability to convey complex data insights to diverse audiences, enhancing decision-making processes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in accounting, business, health administration, finance, nursing, public health, industrial engineering, statistics, management information systems, or a closely related field.
• MBA, MPH, or similar graduate degree preferred.

Pay

Placement in the pay range is based on multiple factors including, but not limited to, relevant years of experience and qualifications. Pay range: $152,152.00 - $228,217.60 annually. In addition to base pay, there may be additional compensation available for this role, including shift differentials, extra shift incentives, and bonus opportunities.

Benefits

MemorialCare offers high-quality health insurance plan options, allowing you to select the best choice for your family. Additional benefits include wellness programs and other rewards. Check out our MemorialCare Benefits for more information.