Senior Associate Dean, Finance and Strategic Operations

• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Salary Range: $275,000 - $350,000

The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, and training. The above hiring range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.


Position Summary


Established at Columbia University in 1916, the College of Dental Medicine advances the practice, teaching, and science of dentistry from within a world-class academic medical center at an Ivy League university. CDM is guided by the conviction that oral health is integral to overall health and that dental medicine is strongest when taught, practiced, and studied in close connection with medicine and the biomedical sciences.


CDM's mission is to engage in high-quality education, patient care, research, and services that improve the oral health of the diverse communities it serves. The school prepares oral health leaders through rigorous DDS, postdoctoral, residency, advanced standing, continuing education, and dual degree programs.


Columbia University College of Dental Medicine seeks an accomplished, strategic finance and operations executive to serve as Senior Associate Dean for Finance and Strategic Operations. Reporting to the Vice Dean for Finance and Administration, the Senior Associate Dean will translate the Dean's priorities into financial strategy, budget planning and operational execution across a complex academic, clinical, research and administrative enterprise.


This role will serve as a senior administrative leader and advisor to the Dean and Vice Dean with primary responsibility for financial strategy, budget performance, revenue cycle oversight, and capital planning to support CDM's achievement of its strategic initiatives and successful ongoing operations in education, research, clinical care, and service. The position will supervise the CFO, Revenue Cycle Director, and their respective units.


The Senior Associate Dean for Finance and Strategic Operations is a position that is envisioned to be part of succession planning for the Vice Dean for Finance and Administration. A candidate, if successful in the position, has the opportunity to ultimately take over the balance of the portfolio of the Vice Dean for Finance and Administration, including oversight of the school's IT operations, and supply chain activities across all clinical operations.


Responsibilities


Financial Leadership

• Lead financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, reporting and financial optimization of education and research missions, teaching clinic and faculty practices and overall school performance in partnership with the Vice Dean for Finance and Administration and the CFO.
• Translate Dean's strategic priorities into actionable financial plans, operating models, and executive-level recommendations.
• Advise the Dean and senior leaders on fiscal impacts, financial risks, strategic investments, and early warning indicators related to strategic plans, capital investments, and operational changes.
• Drive revenue growth, cost containment, operational efficiency initiatives that support long-term financial sustainability.
• Provide oversight, support, visibility and any needed adjustments to ensure the success of the school's long-range financial plan.
• Oversee capital program planning and funding strategy for facility, infrastructure, clinical technology, and other strategic investments.
• Provide executive financial oversight for clinical operations, including faculty practice and teaching clinic performance, revenue optimization and operational analytics.
• In partnership with the school's clinical leadership and Revenue Cycle Director, develop and implement a plan to optimize payer mix, patient mix and related clinical revenue opportunities across all clinical operations.
• Prepare and deliver executive presentations, financial briefings, proposals, compensation plan updates and strategic recommendations for the Dean, central financial teams, and senior leadership forums.
• Work with colleagues across the school to promote access to key financial information, understanding of financial indicators, and insights to support decision making and effective execution.
• Lead, mentor, develop, and support the CFO, Revenue Cycle Director, and finance and revenue cycle teams, fostering accountability, excellence, continuous service improvement and talent development.
• Ensure compliance with all financial regulations and reporting requirements

Strategic Operations

• Serve as business owner for technology-enabled clinical and administrative initiatives, including system implementations, stabilization, optimization, and issue resolution.
• In partnership with practice leadership, manage operational enhancements to improve patient and provider experience, while promoting overall financial health of the practice.
• Partner with administrative, clinical, IT, and supply chain leaders to align staffing, systems, procurement, and support models with sustainable operations.
• Ensure the policies, procedures, tools and technologies that underpin the transactional side of the school's operations are navigable, understandable, adhered to and ultimately facilitative for users.
• Represent the school at administrative executive committees, university wide initiatives, board meetings and external engagements, building strong partnerships across the medical center, university and affiliated schools.
• Maintain active working relationships and collaborations with peer senior administrators across the medical center and university as part of senior leadership teams advising and managing campus and university-level initiatives, coordinating with central departments to advance school operations andprojects, and ensuring success of partnerships with other schools and academic departments at the university.
• Build effective relationships with faculty, staff, school leadership, CUIMC partners, and University stakeholders to support operational success.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and experience required.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive budgeting, finance, and operational leadership experience in a clinical, academic health care, or similarly complex environment.
• Expertise in financial management, including clinical revenue cycle operations; dental clinic revenue cycle experience preferred.
• Demonstrated success in strategic financial planning, financial modeling, forecasting, capital planning and executive level decision support.
• Advanced analytical and operational leadership capabilities with a proven ability to drive organizational strategy, excellence and measurable performance improvement.
• Experience leading large scale operational transformation initiatives, including system implementations, restructuring, stabilization efforts, and technology enabled process improvement.
• Proven ability to lead, mentor, and develop high-performing finance and operational teams through periods of growth and change.
• Exceptional executive communication, presentation development, and stakeholder engagement skills,
• Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated sound judgement, political acumen, emotional intelligence, and discretion in handling highly confidential and sensitive matters.
• Experience supporting capital programs, strategic planning, fundraising planning, organizational restructuring, or major operational transformation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in business, finance, health administration, public administration, or a related field.
• Experience in an academic health center, dental school, dental clinic, faculty practice, or ambulatory clinical enterprise.
• Experience with Epic, e-procurement systems, digital dentistry technologies, imaging systems, or similar clinical technology platforms.

Other Requirements

• Strategic financial leadership and resource stewardship
• Executive communication, briefing, and decision support
• Revenue cycle, clinical operations, and academic health care finance acumen
• Capital planning, financial modeling, and risk assessment
• Change leadership, team development, and accountability management
• Cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder relationship management
• Operational process improvement and technology adoption
• Confidentiality, discretion, tact, and sound judgment

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran


Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.