Executive Director, Clinical Operations

When you join the growing BILH team, you're not just taking a job, you’re making a difference in people’s lives.

Job Description:

Reporting to the Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer (CCO), the Executive Director, Clinical Operations serves as a strategic operational partner to the CCO and the Office of the Chief Clinical Officer (OCCO) at Beth Israel Lahey Health (BILH). This role is responsible for translating the CCO’s strategic priorities into coordinated, system-level action across a large, complex portfolio spanning clinical quality, patient safety, behavioral health, primary care, value-based care, managed care, and digital health and innovation.

The Executive Director, Clinical Operations will serve as the operational nerve center for the OCCO, ensuring that the CCO’s agenda is advanced with rigor, timeliness, and alignment across a team of approximately 15 direct reports and their respective organizations. The position will directly manage a portfolio of high-priority enterprise initiatives, coordinate the CCO’s leadership forums including joint CMO/CNO governance meetings, oversee budget management and financial reporting for the OCCO, and lead the performance management cycle including quality dashboards, KPI tracking, and leadership evaluations.

This role requires an exceptional leader who combines executive-level business acumen with deep healthcare operational knowledge, the ability to build and maintain trusted relationships across all levels of the organization, and the discipline to drive accountability and execution in a large integrated health system.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & CCO Office Operations

• Serve as the primary operational advisor and thought partner to the CCO, providing strategic counsel on organizational priorities, resource deployment, and leadership effectiveness

• Manage the day-to-day operational rhythm of the OCCO, including agenda management, decision tracking, and follow-through on commitments across the CCO’s portfolio

• Maintain comprehensive situational awareness of enterprise-wide clinical, operational, and strategic activities relevant to the CCO’s agenda; proactively surface issues, risks, and opportunities

• Prepare and staff the CCO for executive meetings, board presentations, and external engagements including synthesis of materials, briefings, and pre-reads

• Represent the CCO in select cross-functional meetings and workgroups; serve as a trusted proxy with authority to advance decisions in the CCO’s absence

Direct Report & Team Leadership Support

• Partner with the CCO to manage an executive team of approximately 15 direct reports spanning clinical quality, patient safety, primary care, behavioral health, managed care, digital health, and innovation

• Coordinate an integrated leadership calendar for the OCCO including team meetings, one-on-ones, leadership forums, and performance check-ins

• Lead the annual performance evaluation cycle for the CCO’s direct reports including goal-setting alignment, mid-year reviews, year-end assessments, and competency documentation

• Facilitate onboarding and integration of new direct reports and senior hires into the CCO’s organizational structure

• Identify and address gaps in team communication, coordination, and accountability across the OCCO leadership team

Budget Management & Financial Oversight

• Oversee budget planning, monitoring, and reporting for the Office of the Chief Clinical Officer and its affiliated functions

• Coordinate the annual budget development process for OCCO cost centers in partnership with Finance; establish timelines, templates, and submission requirements

• Track budget-to-actual performance on a monthly basis; produce executive summaries and variance analyses for the CCO and CFO

• Manage capital and operational budget requests across the OCCO portfolio, ensuring alignment with enterprise financial planning cycles

• Support development of business cases, ROI analyses, and investment proposals for new initiatives within the clinical enterprise

Project & Initiative Portfolio Management

• Maintain a master inventory of enterprise projects and initiatives within the CCO’s portfolio; establish governance structures, timelines, milestones, and accountability frameworks

• Directly manage a set of high-priority, cross-functional initiatives on behalf of the CCO, including program design, stakeholder coordination, and implementation oversight

• Track and report on the status of strategic initiatives, escalating risks and barriers to the CCO and relevant forums in a timely manner

• Coordinate with System Services, clinical operations, finance, IT, and other functions to align project resources and resolve cross-cutting execution challenges

• Apply structured project management methodologies and shared digital platforms to ensure disciplined planning, accountability, and organizational learning

Clinical Quality & Performance Management

• Coordinate the CCO’s quality and patient safety governance activities, including support for the annual goal-setting cycle, enterprise quality plan, and KPI alignment across clinical domains

• Oversee development and production of quality performance dashboards in partnership with Quality, Analytics, and IT, including CMS Star Ratings tracking, HCAHPS/patient experience metrics, and safety indicators

• Support preparation for Joint Commission surveys, regulatory reviews, and accreditation activities as they relate to the CCO’s portfolio

• Facilitate preparation and follow-through for quality committee meetings, Quality and Patient Safety Board reporting, and the Q-PECA cycle

• Coordinate the integration of value-based care performance metrics into the CCO’s broader quality and safety management framework

CMO/CNO Governance & Leadership Forums

• Plan and manage the operational structure of joint CMO/CNO governance forums, including agenda development, pre-read preparation, action item tracking, and follow-through

• Coordinate cross-functional leadership meetings involving the CCO, Chief Medical Officers, Chief Nursing Officers, and clinical operations leaders across BILH’s hospital and ambulatory enterprise

• Support design and facilitation of leadership retreats, strategic planning sessions, and executive team offsites within the OCCO portfolio

• Ensure effective multidirectional communication between the OCCO and clinical leadership across BILH’s 14 hospitals and their affiliated ambulatory networks

• Work with divisional CMOs and CNOs to coordinate system-level clinical initiatives, identify common themes, and surface constructive feedback to the CCO

Data Governance & Innovation

• Partner with IT, Analytics, and Finance to develop and maintain data governance standards that support clinical performance monitoring across the OCCO portfolio

• Drive adoption of shared digital platforms and reporting tools that standardize how the OCCO accesses, interprets, and communicates performance data

• Support the CCO’s digital health and healthcare innovation agenda, including coordination of the BILH Launchpad and related strategic partnerships

• Identify and advance opportunities for AI-enabled tools and analytics to enhance clinical operations and performance management within the CCO’s portfolio

Minimum Qualifications

Education

• BA/BS required. Master’s degree in healthcare administration, business administration, public health, or a related field strongly preferred.

Experience

• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in healthcare management, clinical operations, strategy, or management consulting

• Demonstrated experience operating in a complex, matrixed health system environment at the system or enterprise level

• Prior experience in a Chief of Staff, VP of Operations, or senior strategy/operations role in a major health system or academic medical center strongly preferred

• Experience managing budgets, performance cycles, and senior leadership teams

• Familiarity with clinical quality, value-based care, patient experience, and population health management

Skills, Knowledge & Abilities

• Exceptional organizational intelligence and political acuity; ability to navigate complexity, build consensus, and advance priorities across diverse constituencies

• Superior written and oral communication skills, including executive-level briefing, presentation development, and board-ready materials

• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent high-stakes initiatives with precision and disciplined follow-through

• Strong analytical skills, including financial analysis, performance data interpretation, and translation of complex data into actionable insights

• Deep knowledge of healthcare operations, clinical governance structures, and regulatory and accreditation frameworks

• Proficiency with project management tools, performance dashboards, and digital collaboration platforms

• High degree of professional integrity and discretion; ability to handle sensitive organizational and personnel matters with confidentiality

• Collaborative leadership style with the ability to inspire a high-performing team and create a culture of accountability and excellence

Pay Range:

$190,000.00 USD - $250,000.00 USD

The pay range listed for this position is the annual base salary range the organization reasonably and in good faith expects to pay for this position at this time. Actual compensation is determined based on several factors, that may include seniority, education, training, relevant experience, relevant certifications, geography of work location, job responsibilities, or other applicable factors permissible by law.

As a health care organization, we have a responsibility to do everything in our power to care for and protect our patients, our colleagues and our communities. Beth Israel Lahey Health requires that all staff be vaccinated against influenza (flu) as a condition of employment.

More than 35,000 people working together. Nurses, doctors, technicians, therapists, researchers, teachers and more, making a difference in patients' lives. Your skill and compassion can make us even stronger.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled