Lead Department Program Specialist

Job Location: 60 Corporate Woods, Brighton, NY 14623. Full-time, 40 hours/week, day shift. Department: Office of Community Health Optimization (900500).

About the role

As a member of the Office of Community Health Optimization (OCHO) and the program management leadership team, this position directs and manages a complex portfolio of projects and initiatives that span the UR Medicine enterprise. OCHO’s mission is to support innovative, coordinated, and population health-focused efforts to improve equitable access to care and services through strong program management, continuous process improvement, and data-informed decision-making structures. Reporting to the OCHO Assistant Director, the Lead Department Program Specialist is a seasoned professional who exercises discretion and independent judgment working with limited supervision. The role requires extensive applied knowledge in health equity, population health, healthcare system operations, program management and finance, as well as experience implementing and managing innovative complex change. The position leverages change management tools, collaborative decision structures, and clear communication strategies within teams and across UR Medicine leadership to influence, align, and accomplish goals, and produces reports and presentations for audiences ranging from team level to executive leadership.

Responsibilities

• Portfolio Management:
  • Identifies strategic alignment of programs with organizational goals and determines project breakdown and initiation to accomplish program objectives.
  • Proactively applies sophisticated understanding of clinical, administrative, and financial processes to reduce barriers and identify new opportunities.
  • Moves new opportunities from initial conception into alignment with other programs within the portfolio.
  • Manages multi-faceted initiatives across a variety of settings, departments, and leadership structures.
  • Proactively communicates with project and program stakeholders.
  • Serves as subject-matter leader in the job family.
• Program/Project Management:
  • Applies expertise to lead planning and implementation of medium to large complex programs from inception to completion, regularly interfacing with senior management and executive leadership.
  • Identifies scale and scope of projects required to achieve program requirements.
  • Negotiates with management and/or project sponsors to obtain key resources or materials.
  • Applies change management models and approaches to increase adoption and sustainment of change.
  • Utilizes project management methodologies to successfully lead multi-faceted projects through the project lifecycle and incorporate into sustained operations.
• Reporting:
  • Develops and maintains a reporting portfolio to monitor overall performance and ROI of projects and programs, including analysis of metrics for reports to senior staff.
  • Interprets key metrics and pivots approach as needed to ensure success.
  • Designs recommendations about reports and analytical approaches.
• Financial Management:
  • Develops and manages annual operating budgets for assigned OCHO projects.
  • Monitors expenses and budget performance, addressing discrepancies and variances.
  • Participates in development of business plans to yield sustainable implementation of programs.
  • Proactively identifies grant and foundational opportunities to support OCHO’s ongoing work.
• Leadership and Development:
  • Delegates work to OCHO staff while balancing strategic priorities, resource availability, and competing demands.
  • Establishes and maintains an environment conducive to effective communication and problem resolution, modeling and setting expectations for ICARE values and behaviors.
• Leadership, Communication and Relationship Building:
  • Communicates key strategic metrics and complex program variables at various organizational levels, including senior management and executive leadership.
  • Responsible for collaborative development and execution of productive, successful teams with an inclusive workplace environment.
  • Values contributions of team members and upholds a team culture that is inclusive, supportive, and celebrates accomplishments.
  • Troubleshoots breakdowns in communication within and across departments promptly.
  • Supports operations staff across departments through significant policy, operational, or technical changes.
  • Represents University of Rochester Medicine at community-based tables focused on population health and social determinants of health (SDOH).
  • May participate in state and national collaboratives focused on population health and SDOH.
• Other duties as assigned.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree and 8 years of relevant experience required.
• Master’s degree preferred.
• Relevant coursework or specialized experience in population health, lifestyle management, or SDOH desirable.
• Equivalent combination of education and experience accepted.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Basic knowledge of clinical workflows and eRecord preferred.
• Basic knowledge of Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) preferred.
• Strong time-management and organizational skills preferred.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills preferred.

Licenses & Certifications

• PMP certification preferred.

Pay

Compensation range: $77,600 – $116,400 annually. Individual salaries are set within this range based on market data, education, experience, qualifications, expertise, and internal equity considerations.

Schedule

Full-time, 40 hours per week, day shift.