Vice President, Operational Excellence

About the role

Develop and lead the multi-year operational excellence roadmap, ensuring strong alignment with the organization’s long-term strategy and annual goals. Identify and prioritize value streams and breakthrough initiatives that will deliver impact on quality, safety, access, patient experience, team member engagement and affordability.

Strategy Deployment

Develop and oversee the system’s strategy deployment process, ensuring that breakthrough goals and annual priorities are clearly defined, aligned and resourced. Establish catchall processes to engage leaders across the organization in aligning goals, identifying performance gaps and confirming ownership. Establish visual strategy deployment systems and lead regular performance reviews focused on countermeasures, learning and delivery of enterprise outcomes.

Performance Improvement & Breakthrough Achievement

Oversee the execution of high-impact improvement initiatives using methodologies such as value stream mapping, rapid improvement events, standard work and 3P design. Lead cross-functional teams to eliminate waste, improve flow, expand access, enhance reliability, and reduce total cost of care. Establish sustainment mechanisms that integrate into daily management – e.g. standard work audits – to ensure operational stability and maintain improvements over time.

Lean Management System & Daily Management

Implement and oversee a comprehensive lean management system, including tiered daily huddles, leader standard work, visual management, standard work audits and A3 problem solving. Coach leaders at all levels in using daily management to sustain operations, surface problems early and drive continuous improvement. Ensure consistency, rigor and spread of daily management across all hospitals, ambulatory sites and shared services.

Leadership Development & Culture Building

Develop leaders and staff at all levels in lean thinking, A3 problem solving, daily management and accountability-based leadership practices. Model a leadership style focused on respect for people, humility, transparency, and performance discipline. Promote psychological safety and continuous learning through frequent Gemba presence, humble inquiry and support for structured experimentation.

Performance Measurement & Results

Partner with Quality, Finance, HR, Patient Experience, operations and service lines to define aligned system and site-level KPIs tied to breakthrough goals and daily management. Monitor progress on systemwide improvement goals and communicate actionable insights on performance, trends, risks and countermeasures to executive leadership. Deliver measurable, high-impact improvements in quality, safety, access, patient experience, team member engagement and cost of care.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree
• Demonstrated expertise in lean tools, lean management systems and strategy deployment
• 10+ years leading complex operations improvement initiatives in multi-site health care operations
• Demonstrated track record of achieving breakthrough performance results through implementation of large-scale projects and value-added change
• Proven success leading enterprise-level change across multi-hospital or multi-site organizations
• Exceptional communication, facilitation, coaching and relationship-building skills with executives, physicians, and operational teams

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree
• PMP certification

Leadership Competencies

• Strategic systems thinker with enterprise perspective
• Courage to challenge the status quo and lead large-scale change
• Operates with humility, curiosity and respect for people
• Executive presence with the ability to influence without authority
• Skill in coaching and developing others
• Highly data-driven, disciplined and results-oriented
• Must be able to achieve consistently high results through team effort
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, listening and presentation skills

About Us

At Atlantic Health, our promise to our communities is; Anyone who enters one of our facilities will receive the highest quality care delivered at the right time, at the right place, and at the right cost. This commitment is also echoed in the respect, development and opportunities we give to our more than 22,000 team members. Headquarters in Morristown, New Jersey, we are one of the leading non-profit health care systems in the nation. Our facilities and sites of care include:

• Atlantic Health Morristown Medical Center, Morristown, NJ
• Atlantic Health Overlook Medical Center, Summit, NJ
• Atlantic Health Newton Medical Center, Newton, NJ
• Atlantic Health Chilton Medical Center, Pompton Plains, NJ
• Atlantic Health Hackettstown Medical Center, Hackettstown, NJ
• Atlantic Health Goryeb Children's Hospital, Morristown, NJ
• Atlantic Health CentraState Healthcare System, Freehold, NJ
• Atlantic Medical Group
• Atlantic Visiting Nurse
• Atlantic Mobile Health
• Atlantic Rehabilitation

Summary

Atlantic Health offers a competitive and comprehensive Total Rewards package that supports the health, financial security, and well-being of all team members. Offerings vary based on role level (Team Member, Director, Executive).

Note

In Compliance with the NJ Pay Transparency Act (effective Sunday, June 1, 2025), all job postings will include the hourly wage or salary (or a range), as well as this summary of benefits.

EEO Statement

Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity Employer

About The Team

Atlantic Health System is at the forefront of medicine, setting standards for quality health care powered by a workforce of more than 18,000 team members and 4,800 affiliated physicians dedicated to building healthier communities, the system offers more than 400 sites of care, including eight award-winning medical centers. Specializing in cardiovascular care, cancer care, orthopedics, neuroscience, pediatrics, women's health and rehabilitation medicine. Atlantic Medical Group, comprised of 1,000 physicians and advanced practice providers, represents one of the largest multi-specialty practices in New Jersey and includes finance, legal, marketing, human resources, talent acquisition, ISS and more. Caring for our patients, our team members and the communities we serve is our central mission.