Chief Operating Officer - The Portland Clinic

The Portland Clinic is seeking a Chief Operating Officer to provide executive leadership for its clinical and business operations. This role is responsible for ensuring the efficient, effective, and compliant delivery of healthcare services across the organization’s ambulatory clinics, branch management, ancillary services, and facilities.

The COO will work closely with the Chief Executive Officer, executive team, physicians, and senior leaders to translate organizational strategy into disciplined operational execution. The successful candidate will improve patient access and experience, strengthen consistency across locations, develop accountable leaders, optimize the use of people and facilities, and help guide thoughtful organizational growth.

This is an opportunity for an experienced healthcare operator who is comfortable working in a complex, physician-led environment and who can combine strategic perspective with visible, practical, day-to-day leadership.

Primary Responsibilities

Operational Leadership

• Oversee the day-to-day operations of all clinics including administrative functions and support services.
• Direct and coordinate Branch Management, Ancillary Services, and Facilities, creating clear expectations and accountability across these functions.
• Establish and monitor performance expectations related to organizational and financial performance, quality, productivity, patient access, and patient experience.
• Develop and maintain standardized operating policies, procedures, workflows, and performance standards across clinic locations and assigned functional areas.
• Evaluate clinic capacity, scheduling, staffing, throughput, resource utilization, and patient access, and implement improvements that respond to patient and organizational needs.
• Select, direct, develop, evaluate, and, when necessary, separate non-clinical personnel within assigned functional areas.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-functioning team of managers and staff while fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, accountability, and excellence.

Strategy and Organizational Growth

• Partner with the CEO and executive leadership team in developing organizational strategy and assume executive accountability for converting approved priorities into operational plans, timelines, responsibilities, and measurable outcomes.
• Maintain regular, candid communication with the CEO and provide the information, recommendations, and operational insight needed to support executive decision-making.
• Lead the operational evaluation, planning, and implementation of growth initiatives, including new services, partnerships, clinic expansion, geographic opportunities, and other approved strategic initiatives.
• Prepare recommendations concerning operational planning, policy, organizational structure, controls, and continuity.

Financial and Resource Stewardship

• Work with the CEO and CFO to develop and manage operating budgets that support financial sustainability and organizational performance.
• Analyze operational and financial performance metrics and implement strategies to achieve established targets.
• Continually evaluate operating costs within assigned areas and take or recommend corrective action consistent with organizational objectives.
• Optimize the allocation and utilization of staffing, facilities, and other operational resources.
• Collaborate with the CEO and Human Resources leadership in the administration of non-physician wage and salary programs.

Quality, Compliance, and Operational Risk

• Ensure clinic operations comply with applicable federal, state, and local requirements and relevant community and industry standards.
• Monitor operating and quality metrics and implement corrective action or process-improvement plans when performance does not meet expectations.
• Work with clinical leadership to strengthen patient care, engagement, access, and satisfaction.
• Collaborate across Compliance, Risk, Human Resources, Information Technology, Finance, and clinical leadership to identify and mitigate operational risk.
• Promote continuous improvement and data-informed decision-making throughout clinic operations.
• Utilize effective change management strategies to ensure operational efficiencies when necessary.
• Support emergency preparedness, business continuity, workplace safety, and operational response planning.
• Partner with Information Technology leadership to support data security and integrity.

What The Portland Clinic Is Seeking

The strongest candidates will bring the following required experience and capabilities:

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, healthcare administration, or a related field. MBA, MHA, or comparable degree is highly preferred.
• At least three years of experience serving as an operations executive in a multi-location healthcare organization is required. This experience within a physician-owned practice is highly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze operational and financial data, draw sound conclusions, and use those insights to improve performance.
• Strong organizational and prioritization skills, including the ability to lead effectively in a changing environment.
• Experience managing complex projects and converting strategy into coordinated execution.
• A leadership style that combines accountability, sound judgment, adaptability, decisiveness, and respect.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including strong listening and conflict-resolution capabilities.

Preferred Background

• Five or more years of experience serving as a Chief Operating Officer in healthcare.
• Leadership experience in a large, multisite ambulatory or physician-owned medical practice.
• Strong knowledge of healthcare regulations, quality standards, operational best practices, and healthcare technology systems, including electronic health records.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification or comparable formal project-management training.
• A record of developing strong leaders and building alignment across clinical, operational, and administrative teams.

Leadership Profile

The Portland Clinic needs a COO who can:

• Translate strategy into execution. Create clarity around priorities, ownership, timelines, measures, and follow-through.
• Lead through other leaders. Delegate meaningful authority while retaining accountability for results.
• Work effectively with physicians. Listen carefully, communicate directly, and build credibility in a physician-led organization.
• Standardize without losing judgment. Create appropriate consistency across locations while recognizing legitimate operational differences.
• Balance people and performance. Develop teams, address conflict, set expectations, and make difficult decisions when needed.
• Stay close to operations. Understand how decisions affect patients, physicians, staff, access, workflow, and organizational sustainability.

Position Expectations

• Reports to the Chief Executive Officer.
• Executive, exempt position with variable hours based on organizational needs.
• The annual compensation range for this position is $175,000 to $250,000.
• Regular in-person attendance and punctuality are essential.
• The role requires the ability to travel between The Portland Clinic locations and other relevant sites.
• The COO is expected to work respectfully and collaboratively with physicians, leaders, employees, patients, community members, and business partners and to comply with organizational policies.

Organizational Overview

Approximate headcount: 350 - 400 (factoring in job opening, physicians, and advanced practitioners)

Current Physician headcount: 44

Current Advance Practitioner headcount (i.e. Nurse Practitioners, Physician Associates, Physical Therapists, Audiologist, Psychologists, Optometrist, Dietitian, Behavioral Health Clinicians, Diabetes Pharmacist): 26

• Internal Medicine
• Family Medicine
• Foot and Ankle
• Gynecology
• Nephrology
• Ophthalmology
• Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
• Ear, Nose, Throat (ENT)
• Urology
• Audiology
• 6 locations: Downtown (administrative), Beaverton, Northeast, South, Tigard, and Ambulatory Surgical Center

The Portland Clinic is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, creed, marital status, gender identity, physical or mental handicaps, genetic conditions or predisposition to certain diseases, veteran status or any other status characteristics protected under applicable federal or state law. If you need assistance or accommodation during the application process because of a disability, it is available upon request. The company is pleased to provide such assistance and no applicant will be penalized as a result of such a request.