Senior Director- Preceptor Recruitment and Clinical Affiliations

Description Reporting to the Associate/Assistant Dean for Clinical Strategy and Partnerships, the Director for Preceptor Recruitment and Clinical Affiliations is a key member of the Medical Education team at the Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine and provides strategic and operational support for the development, expansion, coordination, and stewardship of the college’s network of clinical preceptors, healthcare organizations, and affiliated clinical training sites. This role is responsible for leading complex, relationship-driven efforts to recruit and retain physicians and healthcare organizations in an increasingly competitive clinical environment while ensuring that the medical school maintains sufficient, high-quality, and appropriately distributed clinical training experiences across all phases of the curriculum. Working closely with medical education leadership, department chairs, clinical course and clerkship leaders, faculty affairs, legal counsel, compliance, and external healthcare organizations, the Director oversees the full lifecycle of clinical affiliation development, from initial outreach and relationship cultivation through affiliation agreements, onboarding, faculty appointments, data tracking, operational coordination, preceptor stipend payments, and ongoing relationship management. The Director also provides leadership for systems and processes that monitor and coordinate the multiple operational steps, stakeholders, approvals, and timelines involved in developing and sustaining clinical education partnerships and voluntary faculty appointments. The Director may supervise or coordinate administrative personnel responsible for data management, document collection, and operational follow-up. In collaboration with senior leadership, including the Associate Dean for Medical Education, clinical department leaders, LIC leadership, clerkship directors, and course directors, identify current and projected clinical training needs across specialties, geographic regions, and curricular phases. Leads strategic recruitment and relationship-building efforts to expand and sustain a diverse network of community physicians, healthcare systems, clinics, hospitals, and other healthcare organizations willing to serve as clinical preceptors and training sites. Develops and implements proactive recruitment strategies in response to evolving healthcare workforce pressures, competition for clinical teaching sites, changes in healthcare delivery models, and increasing accreditation expectations. Conducts market analysis and competitive benchmarking to identify opportunities, risks, and emerging trends affecting clinical training capacity. Cultivates and maintains strong relationships with healthcare executives, physician leaders, practice administrators, and community stakeholders to support long-term educational partnerships. Represents the college in meetings and outreach activities with affiliated healthcare organizations, community partners, and external stakeholders. Collaborates with medical education leadership to align preceptor and site recruitment efforts with curricular goals, enrollment growth, specialty distribution needs, and strategic institutional priorities. Identifies risks, gaps, or vulnerabilities in clinical training capacity and develops mitigation strategies to ensure continuity and quality of clinical education experiences. Oversees the development, coordination, tracking, execution, renewal, and maintenance of affiliation agreements and other partnership agreements with healthcare organizations and clinical training sites. Coordinates closely with legal counsel, compliance, risk management, contracting offices, and external entities to facilitate timely review and execution of agreements. Monitors agreement status, renewal timelines, compliance requirements, and operational readiness of affiliated sites. Ensures that affiliated clinical training sites meet institutional, regulatory, accreditation, and programmatic expectations, including LCME standards and university policies. Serves as a primary liaison between the college and affiliated healthcare organizations to facilitate communication, addresses operational concerns, and supports effective educational partnerships. Coordinates with institutional leadership and operational stakeholders to support onboarding and integration of new clinical sites into educational programs. In collaboration with the Office of Faculty Affairs, oversees processes related to voluntary and preceptor faculty appointments, including initiation, tracking, follow-up, and completion of appointment materials and required documentation. Ensures effective coordination and handoffs among faculty affairs, departmental leadership, medical education offices, and external partners to support timely onboarding and appointment completion. Collaborates with educational leadership to connect preceptors with faculty development resources, orientation materials, educational expectations, and ongoing support. Strategizes and supports efforts for preceptor engagement, recognition, retention, and communication. Assists educational leaders in addressing concerns related to preceptor participation, site quality, learner experiences, or operational challenges. Leads the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of operational systems and workflows that support the recruitment, onboarding, tracking, and management of clinical preceptors, faculty appointments, and affiliated clinical sites. Maintains comprehensive databases and tracking systems related to: Preceptor recruitment pipelines; Clinical site development; Affiliation agreement status; Faculty appointment progress; Credentialing and onboarding requirements; Site capacity and utilization; Renewal timelines and compliance requirements. Monitors and coordinates the multiple operational steps involved from initial contact with a prospective preceptor or site through activation for student placements. Develops dashboards, reports, and operational metrics to support leadership decision-making, workforce planning, accreditation reporting, and continuous quality improvement. Identifies operational bottlenecks, process gaps, or communication failures and implements process improvements to enhance efficiency, accountability, and responsiveness. Collaborates with medical education leadership, faculty affairs, assessment and quality improvement teams, and administrative offices to support accreditation activities, data reporting, and institutional planning. Coordinates communication and operational activities among multiple internal and external stakeholders, including: Dean’s Office leadership; Medical education leadership; Clerkship and course directors; Department chairs; Faculty Affairs; Legal and compliance offices; Hospital and clinic administrators; External healthcare organizations; Community physicians and preceptors. Facilitates collaborative problem-solving and communication across organizational boundaries to support timely execution of agreements, onboarding, placements, and educational operations. Participates in institutional committees, planning efforts, and accreditation activities related to clinical education and affiliated partnerships. Job Requirements Education : Requires application of advanced principles, techniques and theory in a professional discipline or a thorough general business management knowledge. Knowledge of this level is typically obtained through a directly job-related Master’s degree or equivalent formal training in a recognized field of specialization that is directly related to the type of work being performed. Preferred : Master’s degree in healthcare administration, higher education, business administration, public health, or a related field. Relevant terminal degree preferred. Experience : Requires a minimum of five (5) years of directly job-related experience. Preferred : 7-10 years progressively responsible experience in healthcare administration, healthcare partnerships, clinical operations, physician relations, medical education, affiliation management, or related strategic roles. Experience working with clinical education programs, faculty affairs, or healthcare partnerships in an academic medical environment. Experience leading complex operational processes involving multiple stakeholders and external organizations. Experience with database systems, operational tracking systems, and project management processes. Department is willing to accept education in lieu of experience. All positions at the University of Houston-System are security sensitive and will require a criminal history check. The University of Houston System and its universities are Equal Opportunity Institutions. Everyone is encouraged to apply. #J-18808-Ljbffr University of Houston