Vice President, Patient Growth & Referral Development

About the company

Our client is a private equity-backed provider of interventional pain and musculoskeletal (MSK) care with clinics and ambulatory surgery centers across multiple states. The company is growing through new clinic openings, acquisitions, and expansion into broader MSK service lines. It is hiring its first dedicated leader to own patient growth across the platform.

The role

This is a hands-on growth leader whose job is simple to state: get more patients through the company's doors. You'll build and run the referral engine that fills the company's clinics, working with primary care, orthopedic and spine surgeons, urgent care, physical therapy, chiropractic, workers' compensation, and personal injury referral sources. You'll lead a field team of 20+ business development representatives through two managers, and you'll be in the field with them: visiting practices, hosting lunches and dinners, and earning referral relationships one office at a time.

This is not a physician recruitment, joint venture, or ASC syndication role. Success is measured in new patients, referral source growth, and same-store volume.

What you'll do

Drive new-patient growth

• Own new-patient volume and same-store growth across existing clinics, and ramp-up plans for new sites and newly acquired practices.
• Build annual growth plans by market and service line, tied to the company budget.
• Track referral leakage and source retention; move fast with recovery plans when volume dips.

Lead the field team

• Lead, coach, and develop two managers and a team of 20+ business development representatives.
• Set territory design, call plans, referral-source targeting, and CRM standards (Salesforce or HubSpot).
• Spend real time in the field: ride-alongs, practice visits, and relationship-building events.

Turn referrals into appointments

• Partner with Patient Access and call center leadership on speed-to-contact, lead-to-appointment conversion, and new-patient wait times.
• Help new providers reach target patient volume on schedule.

Partner across the business

• Work with the VP of Marketing on demand generation, campaign timing, and the shared patient-acquisition funnel.
• Build volume-generating partnerships with health systems, employers, and other organizations.
• Report growth KPIs to the CEO, executive team, board, and sponsor: new patients, referral source growth and retention, conversion, procedure and ASC case volume.

Keep it compliant

• Ensure all referral and marketing activity complies with the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Stark Law, HIPAA marketing rules, and state patient brokering laws.

What you bring

• 10+ years in healthcare business development, physician relations, or referral development, including 5+ years leading field-based liaison or BD teams across multiple markets.
• A measurable track record of growing new-patient volume in outpatient settings: pain management, orthopedics, spine, physical therapy, urgent care, ASCs, or similar.
• Experience leading managers and a sizable field team, and a style that is hands-on rather than purely strategic.
• Working knowledge of Anti-Kickback, Stark, and state patient brokering rules as they apply to referral development.
• Comfort with data: CRM reporting, referral analytics, and building and defending a growth plan.
• Credibility with physicians and practice staff, and polished presentation skills, including to executives and boards.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.

Preferred: experience in a PE-backed or multi-site provider group; workers' compensation and personal injury referral channels; de novo launches and integrating acquired practices; employer or health system partnerships; an MBA.

Location: Mid-Atlantic (Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey preferred) – field-based with heavy travel