Director of Clinical Operations
Position Summary
The Director of Clinical Operations supports the Chief of Clinical Operations in the execution, standardization, and continuous improvement of clinical operations across all ExcelHealth Group service lines, including Dental, Optometry, Audiology, and Podiatry. This is a highly visible, field-based leadership position responsible for translating clinical operational strategy into consistent day-to-day execution.
Essential Responsibilities
- Maintain a significant field presence across all clinical service lines and geographic markets.
- Travel extensively to observe providers and clinical teams during actual clinic operations.
- Evaluate clinic-day workflows from arrival and setup through patient care, documentation, breakdown, and departure.
- Serve as a hands-on operational resource to providers and clinical teams.
- Identify barriers affecting provider productivity, patient flow, clinical capacity, or team effectiveness.
- Work directly with teams in the field to develop and implement practical solutions.
- Evaluate mobile clinical workflows, equipment utilization, setup processes, and operational readiness.
- Identify recurring field challenges and escalate systemic issues to the Chief of Clinical Operations.
- Follow through on corrective actions and operational initiatives to ensure changes are successfully implemented and sustained.
- Partner with the Chief of Clinical Operations to improve provider productivity and utilization across Dental, Optometry, Audiology, and Podiatry.
- Review provider schedules, clinic volumes, patient throughput, travel requirements, and available clinical capacity.
- Identify opportunities to increase patient access and maximize provider clinical time.
- Partner with Scheduling to improve clinic-day structure, provider routing, geographic efficiency, and schedule utilization.
- Identify scheduling practices or operational barriers resulting in lost clinical capacity.
- Monitor provider performance trends and assist with development and implementation of improvement plans when appropriate.
- Balance organizational productivity expectations with provider satisfaction, patient needs, and quality of care.
- Assist in developing and implementing standardized clinical workflows and operational best practices across all service lines.
- Ensure established clinical operational processes are consistently implemented across markets and teams.
- Identify variation in field practices and determine opportunities for standardization.
- Support implementation of new workflows, technologies, systems, equipment, and clinical operational initiatives.
- Develop scalable processes that can support organizational growth and expansion into new markets.
- Partner with service-line leadership to ensure workflows appropriately address the unique operational requirements of each discipline.
- Monitor clinical operational KPIs and performance benchmarks established by the Chief of Clinical Operations.
- Analyze operational data to identify trends, performance gaps, capacity opportunities, and areas requiring intervention.
- Evaluate metrics including provider utilization, scheduled versus completed patients, productivity, clinic efficiency, travel efficiency, cancellations, refusals, and other established clinical performance measures.
- Conduct field validation when reported performance does not align with expected outcomes.
- Develop action plans to address identified operational deficiencies.
- Provide routine performance updates, findings, and recommendations to the Chief of Clinical Operations.
- Track improvement initiatives through completion and evaluate whether implemented changes achieved the intended result.
- Support the Chief of Clinical Operations in maintaining consistent clinical quality and operational standards.
- Reinforce compliance with established clinical protocols, documentation requirements, patient safety practices, and company policies.
- Identify potential clinical operational risks during field observations and escalate concerns appropriately.
- Partner with Compliance and clinical leadership when operational processes create potential compliance or patient safety concerns.
- Participate in quality assurance and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Aid in the implementation and monitoring of corrective action plans.
- Promote clinical operations that support both excellent patient outcomes and regulatory compliance.
- Develop strong working relationships with providers across all clinical service lines.
- Serve as an accessible operational resource for providers experiencing workflow, scheduling, staffing, equipment, or field-related challenges.
- Gather provider feedback and identify recurring operational concerns affecting provider satisfaction or performance.
- Support provider onboarding and operational orientation.
- Reinforce organizational expectations regarding clinical operations, documentation, productivity, communication, and professionalism.
- Partner with the Chief of Clinical Operations and Human Resources regarding provider coaching and performance concerns.
- Aid in developing education and training based on trends identified through field observations and performance data.
- Serve as a liaison between clinical teams and the Chief of Clinical Operations.
- Partner closely with Scheduling to improve provider utilization, clinic capacity, routing, and patient access.
- Collaborate with Human Resources regarding staffing, onboarding, performance management, and workforce needs.
- Collaborate with Compliance and clinical leadership regarding quality, regulatory, documentation, and patient safety concerns.
- Work with operational leadership to resolve facility-level barriers affecting clinical service delivery.
- Support executive initiatives involving clinical expansion, operational improvement, new service implementation, and organizational growth.
- Ensure decisions and initiatives from the Chief of Clinical Operations are effectively communicated, implemented, and followed through at the field level.
Leadership Expectations
- Maintain a visible and consistent presence in the field.
- Lead through collaboration, accountability, and problem solving.
- Develop credibility and strong relationships with providers and clinical teams.
- Approach operational challenges with a solution-oriented mindset.
- Be comfortable addressing performance concerns and holding individuals accountable to established expectations.
- Recognize when an issue can be resolved operationally and when it requires escalation to the Chief of Clinical Operations.
- Maintain confidentiality and sound professional judgment when handling sensitive provider, employee, patient, or organizational matters.
- Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, clinical excellence, and continuous improvement.
Travel Requirements
Extensive travel is an essential function of this position. The Director of Clinical Operations must be willing and able to travel frequently throughout ExcelHealth Group's service areas to support Dental, Optometry, Audiology, and Podiatry operations. Travel. Travel may include: Frequent multi-state travel, Regular overnight travel, Facility and market visits, New-market and service-line launches, Provider onboarding and training, Operational troubleshooting, Performance improvement initiatives, Meetings with clinical and operational leadership. Travel schedules may vary based on organizational needs, provider performance, market priorities, and clinical operational initiatives.