Director, Surgical Systems Strategy

Department

BSD SUR - Administration

About the Department

Operating since 1927 on a strong foundation of multidisciplinary clinical and academic excellence, the University of Chicago Department of Surgery's mission is to meet the most challenging and complex health problems on both a local and global scale. Many of our faculty members are known for their contributions to the advancement of groundbreaking surgical procedures and techniques, including minimally invasive surgery. In addition to our department's clinical work, our scientists pursue a diverse range of basic, translational, and clinical research projects, including studies on the gut microbiome, tissue bioengineering, stem cell research, cancer, and immunotolerance. This ongoing work and achievement would not be possible without the cohesive effort and commitment of the faculty and staff. We are looking for high energy, collaborative individuals who share our commitment to improving the health of patients in the community and beyond.

Job Summary

The Director of Surgical System Strategy is responsible for working with the Senior Executive Director for Surgery System Operations and Health System Vice President for Perioperative, Procedural, and Imaging Services to support the strategic plan of the health system by aligning faculty recruitment and deployment across all perioperative departments and service lines within the health system. This leadership role involves understanding regionalization and operationalizing surgical systems across capacity, access, and margins by location to ensure efficient allocation of resources, optimal patient care, and adherence to regulatory standards. The role will utilize data analytics to provide findings to Senior Executive Director for Surgery System Operations to better monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) related to operational efficiency, financial outcomes, and patient care quality, leveraging insights to drive improvements in surgical services. In collaboration with department heads, service line leaders, location‑specific system leaders, and strategy teams, this role develops comprehensive deployment plans, aligns financial and operational objectives, and fosters innovation in surgical services while advancing the overall health system strategy.

Responsibilities

• Support site‑level and health system surgical deployment planning in partnership with department, service line, strategy, and operational leaders.
• Assist in evaluating market needs, growth opportunities, recruitment priorities, and potential partnerships to inform surgical services planning.
• Help coordinate faculty deployment across perioperative departments and service lines, considering OR capacity, clinic access, resource needs, and financial goals.
• Monitor program growth, operational performance, and key metrics such as access, capacity, utilization, length of stay, and quality outcomes.
• Partner with operational and ambulatory leaders to support scheduling, staffing, space planning, patient routing, and resource coordination.
• Support budget tracking, reporting, compliance, quality improvement, and performance follow‑up to help ensure strategic and operational goals are met.
• Provide leadership to managers and professional staff within a department to support teaching, medical research and clinical care. Facilitate research initiatives of the faculty and staff.
• Establish department priorities, allocate resources and execute strategic plans.
• Manage non‑medical activities of the department(s). Advise policy development and implementation in various departmental areas.
• Perform other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

• Education: Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.
• Work Experience: Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 7+ years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Preferred Qualifications

• Education: Master's degree in healthcare administration, business administration, or a related field strongly preferred.
• Experience: 10 years of experience in healthcare operations, specifically surgical services strongly preferred.
• Experience: Proven experience in a leadership role with a successful track record in team management and project execution.
• Experience: Ability to manage in an efficient, dynamic, and growth‑oriented manner by fostering a continuous learning mentality that is applied to the overall department in alignment with the organizational commitment to excellence.

Preferred Competencies

• Demonstrates developing leadership skills and sound judgment in supporting strategic initiatives.
• Applies strong organizational, analytical, and problem‑solving skills to manage priorities and support decision‑making.
• Uses data, reporting tools, and healthcare information systems to monitor performance and identify opportunities.
• Communicates clearly and professionally with leaders, faculty, staff, and cross‑functional partners.
• Builds effective working relationships and supports collaboration across departments, service lines, and locations.
• Shows initiative, adaptability, and attention to detail in advancing operational and strategic goals.

Working Conditions

• Office Environment.

Benefits

The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.

Posting Statement

The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

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All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment. Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case‑by‑case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

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