Director | Inpatient Operations - Palmer

Love + medicine is who we are, it's what we do, it's why people want to work here.

Scheduled Weekly Hours: 40 Director of Inpatient Operations Location: West Union, Iowa Emplify Health by Gundersen Palmer is looking for a Director of Inpatient Operations who can lead across a diverse set of inpatient departments, build strong relationships, and drive accountability, quality, and operational excellence.

This role is ideal for a leader who thrives in a dynamic environment, enjoys working across teams, and understands both the clinical and operational sides of patient care.

This position serves as a key link between system strategy and day-to-day operations. The Director is responsible for anticipating market and environmental trends, responding to changing care delivery models, and leading the area of responsibility in support of Emplify Health by Gundersen's mission and goals. The role requires a leader who can balance strategy, fiscal stewardship, people leadership, and clinical quality while working closely with managers, clinicians, and system leaders.

What you’ll do

• Lead the development and execution of operational plans aligned with system strategy
• Oversee fiscal performance, resource management, and cost-effective operations
• Build, coach, and hold accountable a team of managers and staff across multiple departments
• Drive quality, safety, service, and patient experience improvements
• Partner with physicians, leaders, and staff to remove barriers and improve care delivery
• Support a culture of collaboration, respect, communication, and professional growth
• Participate in senior leadership call rotation with four leaders sharing coverage
• Contribute to system-level committees and initiatives

What we’re looking for

• Master’s degree in a related field preferred, or the ability to complete a master’s degree within 5 years of starting the role
• 5 to 7 years of experience leading system-level work
• Strong leadership experience in health care
• Experience overseeing multiple departments or a diverse operational portfolio
• Strong clinical background, preferably in nursing
• Experience as a PDN, charge nurse, quality leader, or similar clinical leadership role is a plus
• Experience in critical access hospital or rural health clinic settings is helpful
• Strong relationship-building skills and a proven ability to hold teams accountable

About the community West Union, Iowa is a welcoming small town where you can build a meaningful career and still feel connected to the community around you. It offers a friendly atmosphere, beautiful outdoor spaces, and a downtown with real character. If you’re looking for a place that feels grounded, supportive, and easy to call home, West Union may be the right fit.

We inspire your best life by relentlessly caring, learning and innovating. This is our purpose. Together with our values — belonging, respect, excellence, accountability, teamwork and humility — our pillars set our foundation and our future.

Equal Opportunity Employer Around here, loving your job is part of the job. Join our mission in changing healthcare while finding a career you’ll love! Gundersen Health System offers a proud, local history spanning more than 100 years. Our personalized patient care model is only the beginning of what you will experience as we foster population health transformation and innovation to serve our communities and you. We’ve made it a priority to enrich the lives of our employees as they find a career they love. Using each employee’s unique talents and passions, Gundersen is committed to delivering exceptional patient and family-centered care to the communities we serve. You can be part of an exciting, highly adaptable and mission-driven organization with a work environment that supports you personally and professionally and a work culture where you are valued and appreciated offering an employee-first culture, work-life balance, and career advancement & growth opportunities. This culture allows our organization to attract elite talent, like yourself!

What You Can Expect

• Empowerment to shape your work environment, encouragement to improve processes and create efficiencies, and support when seeking opportunities for growth
• Culture that encourages self-care and provides you with opportunities to be your best self at work and at home
• Competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits packages, as applicable, ensuring your comfort and well-being as a valuable team member
• Support for your career growth through Professional Development Opportunities, our Tuition Investment Program, Career Development Center, and online continuing education courses
• Inside our walls and our neighborhoods, we deliver world-class medical care and the right amount of love
• We call it LOVE + MEDICINE and it’s more than our practice
• We deliver Love + Medicine every day to change lives in our communities and enrich the lives of our employees

Select Remote/Hybrid Eligible under More search to see our remote-eligible openings. A rewarding career and an excellent quality of life awaits you. Learn more about our excellence in patient care, education, research, culture, and something we call Love + Medicine at