Senior Director, Physician Strategy & Practice Integration

About the role

The job manages multiple related teams of managers and professional staff responsible for the financial and management functions of a department in support of teaching, medical research and clinical care. Facilitates research initiatives of the faculty and staff. Develops departmental plans. Provides leadership and supervision to a large staff of exempt and non-exempt employees, including management teams.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Alignment & Innovation
  • Partner with physician and departmental leaders to translate enterprise priorities such as access expansion, care model redesign, compensation alignment, and multi-site growth, into operational workflows and measurable outcomes.
  • Identify and champion enterprise opportunities including cross-departmental access strategies, specialty growth initiatives, and standardization across network sites.
  • Advise senior leadership on the strategic roadmap for faculty practice modernization, including digital innovation, analytics maturation, emerging care models, and readiness for value-based reimbursement.
• Change Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement
  • Serve as a change leader, engaging physician leaders, department chairs, practice administrators, strategy, ambulatory operations, and digital/IT teams in the design and implementation of modernized practice models.
  • Lead cross-functional governance that connects UCFP leadership, UCMC Strategy, ambulatory operations, and departments to ensure coordinated execution of enterprise initiatives.
  • Develop mechanisms that elevate physician voice in operational and strategic decision-making, ensuring system strategy reflects real-world clinical practice needs.
  • Leverage national faculty practice networks and benchmarking organizations to identify emerging best practices and innovative operating models.
• Operational Process Improvement
  • Partner with UCMC Strategy and Ambulatory Operations to translate enterprise priorities into standardized operational procedures, workflows, and accountability structures across departments and sites.
  • Ensure initiatives related to growth, access, compensation alignment, and care delivery transformation are implemented through practical, physician-centric workflows that enable clinicians to practice at the top of their license.
  • Engage department leaders in redesigning clinical and administrative workflows using Lean/Six Sigma or similar methodologies to improve efficiency, productivity, and patient access.
  • Establish performance metrics, feedback loops, and governance structures that support continuous improvement and sustained operational performance.
• Technology and Systems Optimization
  • Serve as a senior operational partner in the evaluation, governance, and implementation of emerging technologies, including AI-enabled tools, automation, and digital workflow innovations supporting ambulatory care.
  • Collaborate with IT, analytics, and digital innovation teams to implement and optimize core platforms such as EHR enhancements, automation solutions, and documentation tools.
  • Ensure technology investments support enterprise strategy and frontline clinical workflows through strong physician engagement and validation.
  • Advance the use of predictive and prescriptive analytics to guide operational decision-making, optimize resource deployment, and identify performance improvement opportunities.
  • Support faculty practice readiness for evolving reimbursement models, including value-based care, risk-sharing arrangements, and payment reform.
• Manages non-medical activities of the department(s). Advises policy development and implementation in various departmental areas. Performs other related work as needed.

Qualifications

• Education: Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration, Business, Public Health or related field.
• Experience: 7 – 10+ years of progressive experience in healthcare operations and strategy, practice management, digital/analytics-led transformation in an academic health system or large physician enterprise.
• Demonstrated success in deploying technology-enabled operational improvements, standardizing workflows and driving measurable performance gains.
• Experience with benchmarking, KPI frameworks and performance analytics consistent with mature medical practice models.
• Familiarity with value-based care, risk models, payment reform, and how faculty practices align with evolving reimbursement and care delivery paradigms.
• Prior experience within a faculty practice plan or physician enterprise of an academic medical center.
• Experience in value-based care contracting, shared-savings arrangements or population health models.

Skills

• Strategic and analytical thinker with strong execution capabilities.
• Proven ability to lead change within complex academic health systems.
• Skilled at bridging clinical, operational, and technology teams.
• Experience leveraging analytics and data to drive operational improvement.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Demonstrated experience deploying advanced analytics, AI-enabled tools, or digital workflow innovations within ambulatory or physician enterprise settings.

Benefits

The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.