Supervisor, Clinical Data Specialists

Job Title: Supervisor

The Supervisor is a frontline people leader responsible for the day-to-day operational management, performance oversight, and professional development of Clinical Data Specialists within Johns Hopkins Clinical Data Operations. This role is primarily focused on daily operations oversight, people management, workflow execution, quality assurance, and staff training & mentorship rather than routine hands-on abstraction.

This role is responsible for supporting Johns Hopkins Hospital, Johns Hopkins Bayview, Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center, Suburban Hospital, Sibley Hospital, and All Children's Hospital, and reports to the Registry Manager. The CDS Supervisor provides advanced registry expertise by assisting in the day-to-day operations of the registry, as well as supervising registry workflows and lower-level Clinical Data Specialists. The Supervisor ensures accurate reporting of patient information while maintaining compliance with regulatory standards. They assist in providing education and training to registry staff on best data practices, documentation standards, and regulatory requirements. Acting as a mentor and resource for the team, this role is involved in managing people operations, monitoring performance efficacy, and coordinating staff workflows across designated registry(s), while supporting the Registry Manager in addressing operational and team management needs.

Essential Functions

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform all functions.

Supervision and Registry Operations

• Supervises lower-level CDS staff, ensuring compliance with documentation standards and high-quality registry workflows.
• Conducts performance reviews, develops training materials, and provides ongoing feedback and mentorship to CDS's.
• Manages team workloads across registries to ensure proper task prioritization and deadline adherence.
• Conducts disciplinary actions as required to ensure team accountability while adhering to internal HR protocols for escalations.

Training and Development

• Designs formal training standards that apply across registries, addressing abstraction techniques, coding clarifications, and regulation compliance parameters.
• Provides leadership coaching to CDS team members, addressing emerging challenges across workflows while fostering opportunities for positive morale development.
• Oversees onboarding of new CDS analysts, ensuring proper education alignment for handling technical components under institutional policies.

Operational Collaboration and Documentation Oversight

• Assists the Registry Manager with written summaries consolidating audit schedules, registry metrics, performance levels achieved across team participation.
• Engages effectively with managing documentation software tools/resources aiding registry compliance checklists.

Qualifications

Education:

Requires successful completion of a Bachelor's degree from an accredited School in Nursing, Healthcare or Business Administration, Public Health or related field. Master's degree in Nursing, Healthcare or Business Administration, Public Health or related field preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Knowledge

• Strong working knowledge of medical procedures, terminology, treatment modalities, and clinical informatics related to registry operations.
• Strong understanding of data privacy principles and HIPAA regulations, as well as how they apply to registry disclosures and clinical documentation.
• Comprehensive knowledge of data management systems, clinical data analysis, and reporting best practices.
• Familiarity with financial requirements of registry operations, including budget awareness for assigned registries.
• Knowledge of national benchmarking databases, accreditation standards, and external registry compliance requirements.
• Strong understanding of clinical coding processes, medical coding systems, documentation standards, and coding guidelines.
• Familiarity with regulatory documentation and the preparation of audit-related materials for both internal and external assessments.
• Knowledge of evolving healthcare technologies, registry systems, and regulations related to healthcare information management and registry operations.
• Understanding of adult education principles and instructional design for developing and leading training for registry team members.
• Advanced knowledge of electronic health records (EHRs) and their integration with registry databases and reporting platforms.
• Familiarity with operational contracting, business service agreements, and data use agreements related to clinical registries.

Skills

• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, virtual meeting platforms, Tableau, Epic, and other electronic health record systems.
• Skilled in supervising, mentoring, and training lower-level Clinical Data Specialists (I-IV), ensuring team collaboration, equitable workload distribution, and adherence to departmental priorities.
• Ability to manage team workflows, organize priorities, and ensure deadlines are met while maintaining high standards of data accuracy and compliance.
• Competent in conducting performance reviews, delivering constructive feedback, and implementing corrective action as needed to improve individual and team performance.
• Strong interpersonal and conflict resolution skills for managing team dynamics while fostering a positive work environment.
• Robust ability to analyze healthcare data, identify trends, and develop actionable insights for operational and leadership decision-making.
• Demonstrated ability to create training programs and develop educational resources to maintain a high level of competency among registry staff.
• Experience with overseeing and coordinating internal team audits, regulatory compliance activities, and external registry assessments.
• Expertise in writing, organizing, and presenting detailed reports, manuals, and documentation for leadership, clinical committees, and auditing purposes.
• Skilled in delegating tasks and coordinating operational workflows to maintain registry compliance in a fast-paced healthcare setting.
• Ability to work independently and be self-directed while maintaining open communication with leadership regarding team progress and challenges.
• Experience in assisting with the hiring and onboarding of new registry team members.

Abilities

• Ability to positively model leadership behaviors and support team development while maintaining operational alignment with Registry Manager directives.
• Proven ability to prioritize tasks, manage multiple projects simultaneously, and handle competing deadlines under pressure.
• Ability to promote collaboration across clinical, administrative, and research teams to achieve institutional goals and ensure registry accuracy.
• Strong attention to detail and demonstrated ability to maintain accuracy in high-stakes clinical documentation environments.
• Ability to prepare, validate, and organize registry budgeting needs under the guidance of the Registry Manager to meet departmental goals.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate educational programs tied to compliance, team development, and registry process improvement.
• Strong ability to identify operational deficiencies and recommend process improvements to streamline workflows and drive quality data outcomes.
• Capable of facilitating a team culture of accountability and professionalism while building staff competency in registry workflows.
• Ability to track trends in staff performance, generate reports, and escalate concerns to management as needed to support organizational alignment.

Required Licensure, Certification, On-going Training:

• N/A; not req

Work Experience:

• At least 5 years of experience in mentorship, team leadership, or workflow coordination capacity, with prior exposure to supervising staff or tasks strongly preferred.

Machines, Tools, Equipment:

• Must be able to operate general office equipment including a personal computer.
• Requires familiarity with data abstraction and entry into all databases used for clinical documentation.

Dimensions

Cost Management:

• Assists with budget management as assigned, ensuring team workflow operates efficiently under department resource allocations.
• Collaborates with Registry Manager to address budgetary input related to registry operations, audits, and team resources.

Problem Complexity:

• Analyzes team workflows regularly to identify inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and operational inconsistencies across registries.
• Resolves conflicts within registry tasks and staff relationships by applying conflict management techniques or escalating major issues to the Registry Manager when needed.
• Proposes corrective actions for longstanding issues in registry data collection, abstraction errors, and process misalignments.

Autonomy and Responsibility:

• Organizes and prioritizes team workflows independently to meet changing deadlines and regulatory priorities.
• Exercises decision-making authority to delegate tasks, assign priorities, and solve day-to-day operational challenges based on established institutional policies and quality standards.
• Provides mentorship and professional guidance while monitoring compliance