Executive Director, Patient Experience Performance Optimization

About the role

Join a world-class academic healthcare system, UChicago Medicine, as the Executive Director, Patient Experience Performance Optimization. This role is based at the Hyde Park campus with some travel to Northwest Indiana and sites across the greater Chicagoland area.

Responsibilities

• Identify and implement evidence-based best practices across inpatient and emergency department settings.
• Develop and implement standardized workflows and behavioral expectations aligned to key drivers of experience and patient loyalty (willingness to recommend).
• Ensure consistent implementation and performance validation across all units and departments.
• Monitor consistency in application through real-time observations, rounding tools, and performance data.
• Lead patient experience and service excellence training for frontline staff and providers, inclusive of skills development, competency assessment, and real-time coaching.
• Analyze patient experience data (HCAHPS, real-time rounding, complaints, qualitative feedback) to identify actionable insights.
• Develop unit and departmental dashboards and reporting tools that drive leader accountability and frontline action.
• Evaluate effectiveness of interventions and continuously refine patient experience improvement plans.
• Design and deploy role-based education on patient experience best practices and promotes a culture of empathy, responsiveness, and patient-centered care.
• Partner with clinical and operational leaders to embed behaviors into daily workflows.
• Build frontline leadership capability in using data to drive daily improvement and accountability at unit and department levels.
• Partner with nursing, physician leaders, and operational teams across sites to operationalize patient experience standard work and behaviors.
• Support governance committees and workgroups with performance reporting, insights, and recommendations.
• Communicate progress, risks, and outcomes to senior leadership.
• Collaborate with Nursing, Operations, Quality/Safety, and Engagement teams to ensure alignment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s (MHA, MPH, MBA, or related) strongly preferred.
• Leverage Lean, Six Sigma, or equivalent improvement certification.
• 8 or more years of healthcare leadership experience in patient experience, healthcare operations, change management, or performance improvement.
• Proven success driving patient experience performance improvement initiatives across multiple sites.
• Strong expertise in HCAHPS / CAHPS performance improvement, survey vendor management & instrument design, and data analysis, dashboards, & performance management.
• Experience in an academic medical center preferred.
• Working knowledge of CMS Star Ratings and Leapfrog methodologies.
• Ability to design and deliver education and drive frontline behavior change.
• Demonstrated experience with enterprise customer experience survey platforms (e.g., Press Ganey, Qualtrics) preferred.

Skills

• Hands-on patient experience leadership.
• Strong change management and analytical skills.

Benefits

The organization offers a comprehensive benefits package, including:

• Medical and religious exemptions for flu vaccination.
• Transparency in compensation and benefits.
• Full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) pay range.
• Review of benefit options for eligible roles.

Pay

Compensation offered at the time of hire will vary based on candidate qualifications and experience and organizational considerations, such as internal equity.

Schedule

The role is flexible and based at the Hyde Park campus with some travel to Northwest Indiana and sites across the greater Chicagoland area as needed.