Division Manager

About the Role

The Division Manager serves as the Division's chief administrative officer and principal administrative partner to the Division Chief, providing administrative leadership for one of the Department of Medicine's largest and most operationally complex academic clinical enterprises. The position is responsible for integrating the Division's clinical, academic, research, financial, and administrative operations across multiple inpatient and specialty clinical service lines, faculty-led operational portfolios, and institutional partnerships to ensure coordinated execution of divisional priorities.

Working with substantial independence within a matrixed organization, the Division Manager exercises broad judgment in organizational planning, resource stewardship, governance, and operational improvement while developing the systems, relationships, and administrative infrastructure that enable the Division to achieve excellence across its clinical, educational, scholarly, and health system missions.

The Division encompasses multiple inpatient and specialty clinical service lines, including the Faculty Inpatient Service, Resident Inpatient Service, Acute Care for Elders (ACE), Addiction Care Team (ACT), and Palliative Care Service (PCS), together with a growing research enterprise, educational programs, faculty development initiatives, and health system improvement activities.

The Division Manager is responsible for integrating these operational portfolios into a coordinated academic clinical enterprise while ensuring alignment across clinical operations, finance, faculty affairs, research administration, education, quality, compliance, and institutional priorities. The position functions within a matrixed organization where major portfolios are led by designated faculty leaders. The Division Manager provides organizational leadership by coordinating execution across these portfolios through influence, shared governance, and independent judgment.

This role requires systems thinking, organizational leadership, and the ability to anticipate organizational needs, lead complex cross-functional initiatives, and develop sustainable solutions that strengthen organizational performance, faculty experience, and operational reliability. The Division Manager develops the organizational systems, governance structures, administrative infrastructure, and institutional partnerships that enable the Division to achieve its missions and continuously improve as a learning organization.

This position offers an opportunity to help shape one of the Department's largest and most dynamic divisions within a nationally recognized academic safety-net health system. The role is eligible for a flexible schedule including on-site and hybrid arrangements.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the Division Chief's principal advisor on organizational planning, operational performance, financial stewardship, and administrative strategy.
• Integrate clinical, academic, research, financial, and administrative operations across multiple inpatient and specialty clinical service lines.
• Coordinate execution of divisional priorities across faculty-led operational portfolios and institutional partnerships.
• Align the work of faculty and administrative leaders to ensure coordinated execution of divisional priorities.
• Lead organizational change, including building stakeholder alignment, navigating ambiguity, and managing resistance.
• Develop and implement enterprise-wide strategic initiatives within a complex academic health system.
• Apply systems-thinking to design solutions that improve organizational effectiveness by understanding interactions among people, processes, technology, finances, governance, and institutional priorities.
• Balance competing organizational priorities and achieve objectives through influence, coordination, and shared governance.
• Manage multiple complex administrative and operational initiatives with accountability, operational reliability, and consistent follow-through.
• Supervise, coach, and resolve conflicts to achieve organizational objectives within a matrixed environment.
• Lead organizational improvement, process redesign, quality improvement, or operational transformation using data, stakeholder engagement, and continuous improvement methodologies (e.g., Lean, Lean Six Sigma, A3 Thinking).
• Leverage enterprise information systems, data management tools, and emerging technologies to improve operational performance.
• Build collaborative relationships and communicate effectively with faculty, staff, trainees, senior leaders, and external partners.
• Foster an inclusive, collaborative workplace culture that supports diversity and continuous improvement.
• Serve as an AI champion within the division, leveraging AI tools to optimize efficiency as needed.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a related area or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
• Six or more years of progressively responsible administrative leadership experience, including five or more years supervising and developing high-performing professional staff in a complex healthcare, academic, or similarly matrixed organization.
• Demonstrated ability to serve as a trusted strategic partner to physician leaders, providing executive-level counsel and influencing high-impact decisions across clinical, academic, and administrative domains.
• Proven ability to exercise independent judgment in evaluating complex organizational issues, anticipating needs, identifying risks, and implementing sustainable solutions.
• Broad knowledge of clinical operations, healthcare administration, and the operational requirements of an academic medical center and integrated public safety-net health system.
• Experience with organizational planning, financial management, grants administration, human resources, faculty affairs, compliance, and administrative operations.
• Exceptional project management, organizational, and implementation skills.
• Demonstrated experience leading organizational improvement or process redesign initiatives using continuous improvement methodologies.
• Broad knowledge of enterprise information systems, data management tools, and emerging technologies supporting clinical, financial, human resources, and administrative operations.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills with the ability to build relationships across organizational boundaries.
• Experience working effectively with individuals from diverse backgrounds and fostering an inclusive workplace culture.
• Ability and/or willingness to leverage AI to optimize efficiency and adopt AI tools.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in business administration, Health Administration, Public Health, Organizational Leadership, or a related field.
• Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt (or higher), Lean certification, Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), or equivalent training.
• Experience evaluating or implementing workflow automation, artificial intelligence, or other emerging technologies to improve administrative efficiency.
• Familiarity with UCSF, University of California, or comparable academic health system policies, sponsored research administration, academic personnel processes, labor agreements, compliance requirements, and clinical operations.
• Professional coaching certification.