Vice Chair of Clinical Operations

The Department of Medicine (DOM) at Boston Medical Center (BMC) and the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine seek an accomplished, innovative, and mission-driven physician leader to serve as Vice Chair of Clinical Operations.

This senior leadership role offers a unique opportunity to advance operational performance across one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers. The Vice Chair will shape and execute strategies that enhance clinical efficiency, quality, access, patient and clinician experience, innovation, and financial sustainability across both inpatient and ambulatory domains.

Reporting directly to the Chair of the Department of Medicine, and partnering closely with the Vice President of Medicine at BMC, Section Chiefs, Medical Directors, Nursing, and hospital operations leadership, the Vice Chair will be responsible for aligning clinical operations with BMC’s overarching mission of exceptional care without exception, ensuring that the Department’s systems and structures enable both clinical excellence and health equity.

Strategic Context and Mission Alignment

Boston Medical Center is a nationally recognized leader in health equity, integrated care delivery, and innovation in academic medicine. The Department of Medicine spans ten clinical sections and four research sections, encompassing general internal medicine, hospital medicine, and a wide range of medical subspecialties. Its faculty deliver care across hospital, outpatient, and community settings while training future generations of clinicians and conducting groundbreaking research.

The Vice Chair for Clinical Operations will play a transformative role in driving operational alignment and excellence across this complex ecosystem—linking clinical care with BMC’s academic, educational, and clinical missions. This position requires a strategic, data-driven, and collaborative physician executive capable of translating institutional vision into measurable performance and meaningful improvement in care delivery.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic Leadership and Vision

• Develop and lead a comprehensive operational strategy for the Department of Medicine, aligning with institutional goals in clinical delivery, efficiency, quality, and patient and clinician experience.
• Represent the Department in hospital and system-level operational committees, partnering with senior hospital leadership to improve capacity management, throughput, and patient flow.
• Translate institutional priorities into actionable departmental initiatives, ensuring alignment across all sections.
• Drive innovation in care models that optimize resources, enhance provider well-being, and promote sustainable, high-value care.
• Champion a culture of continuous improvement and accountability, integrating data and analytics into decision-making and operational planning.

2. Inpatient Clinical Operations Leadership

• Provide executive oversight/mentorship of all inpatient medical services, consultation services, and subspecialty co-management models.
• Partner with hospital operations teams to improve throughput, discharge planning, and transitions of care, reducing avoidable delays and optimizing capacity utilization.
• Lead multidisciplinary efforts to reduce length of stay and readmission rates while maintaining or improving quality, patient and clinician experience.
• Support standardization of inpatient workflows, rounding models, and communication practices across services to enhance efficiency and coordination.
• Evaluate staffing models and provider deployment to ensure optimal coverage, safety, and team effectiveness.

3. Ambulatory Integration and Transitions of Care

• Collaborate with a newly developed role, the Associate Vice Chair for Ambulatory Operations, and Primary Care leadership to enhance continuity of care between inpatient and outpatient settings.
• Develop and oversee systems to improve post-discharge follow-up, ambulatory access, and communication between care teams.
• Support integration of population health strategies, leveraging care management and digital tools to reduce readmissions and close care gaps.
• Align inpatient and outpatient operations to ensure seamless coordination across the continuum of care.

4. Operational Excellence and Performance Management

• Define and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) for inpatient and ambulatory operations in collaboration with analytics, quality, and finance teams.
• Lead data-informed initiatives to improve care efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and resource utilization.
• Partner with the Vice Chair for Quality & Safety to ensure operational strategies reinforce quality, safety, regulatory compliance, and accreditation standards.
• Ensure that operational performance improvement efforts are financially sustainable and aligned with institutional value and affordability goals.
• Drive integration of high-reliability principles into daily operations, emphasizing prevention of harm, transparency, and continuous learning.

5. Leadership Collaboration and Governance

• Serve as the Chair’s delegate for clinical operations, representing the Department in institutional operational forums.
• Collaborate across departments, nursing, case management, and ancillary services to achieve shared institutional goals in patient flow and operational efficiency.
• Co-lead the Department’s Clinical Operations Council and participate in multidisciplinary task forces focused on performance improvement and care redesign.
• Support alignment of operational initiatives with education, research, and faculty development priorities.
• Maintain open communication channels across the Department, ensuring shared understanding of goals, priorities, and progress.

6. Faculty and Staff Development

• Mentor emerging physician, advanced practice, and administrative leaders in operations and performance improvement.
• Partner with the VP of Medicine and Section Chiefs to ensure staffing adequacy, workforce planning, and optimization of advanced practice provider roles.
• Promote an inclusive, team-oriented culture that values collaboration, professional growth, and faculty well-being.
• Foster a learning environment that encourages innovation, reflection, and shared accountability for results.

Institutional Impact and Opportunities

The Vice Chair for Clinical Operations will play a transformational leadership role at a pivotal moment in BMC’s evolution as an integrated, high-performing academic health system. Over the next three to five years, the Vice Chair will have the opportunity to lead and influence several major institutional priorities:

Inpatient Throughput and Flow Redesign

• Lead a multi-phase initiative to improve bed utilization, discharge efficiency, and patient progression across medicine services in close collaboration with Emergency Medicine leaders.
• Integrate predictive analytics and real-time dashboards to inform operational decision-making and capacity management
• Partner with hospital leadership to design next-generation inpatient models that improve access and reduce delays in patient movement through the system.

Integrated Care Continuum and Ambulatory Alignment

• Build stronger bridges between inpatient and ambulatory medicine to improve transitions of care, continuity, and outcomes.
• Develop new processes that ensure timely discharge follow-up, medication reconciliation, and care coordination with primary and specialty providers.
• Lead collaborative efforts to integrate telehealth, remote monitoring, and digital communication tools into post-discharge care pathways.
• Support the development and evaluation of innovative care models that support clinicians, promote team-based practice, and provide high quality care.

Operational Analytics and Data-Driven Decision Support

• Partner with the Department’s and hospital’s analytics teams to build a robust operational data infrastructure that tracks key metrics (e.g., LOS, readmissions, capacity utilization, ambulatory access).
• Translate data insights into actionable strategies and dashboards for Section Chiefs and Medical Directors.
• Champion a “learning health system” approach—using real-time data to continuously improve care delivery and system performance.

Care Team Redesign and Workforce Optimization

• Lead a comprehensive review of inpatient staffing and team structures to improve provider experience, communication, and coverage efficiency.
• Develop scalable models for interdisciplinary care that balance physician, nursing, and advanced practice provider resources.
• Collaborate with educational leaders to ensure care models support resident and fellow education in efficient, team-based environments.

High Reliability and Quality Integration

• Partner with the Vice Chair for Quality & Safety to align operational redesign with safety and quality imperatives.
• Embed reliability principles in daily operations, ensuring consistency, compliance, and proactive risk mitigation.
• Create cross-functional forums where clinical operations, quality, and finance leaders work jointly on high-impact improvement projects.

Faculty Engagement and Leadership Development

• Establish leadership development programs in clinical operations and management for physicians and administrative staff in collaboration with the VC for Faculty Development and Boston University Medical Group.
• Strengthen communication and engagement between front-line clinicians and department leadership.
• Recognize and celebrate operational excellence and innovation throughout the Department.

These initiatives will not only enhance operational performance but also advance BMC’s national reputation as a leader in equitable, innovative, and sustainable academic healthcare delivery.

Qualifications

• M.D. or equivalent degree with Board Certification in Internal Medicine or one of its subspecialties. Additional leadership development in health care administration is preferred.
• Minimum of five years of progressive leadership experience in clinical operations within an academic medical center or comparable integrated health system.
• Eligibility for faculty appointment at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine at the rank of Assistant Professor or above.
• Demonstrated success in leading large, multidisciplinary teams and implementing operational change at scale.
• Eligibility for medical licensure in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Knowledge, Skills, and Leadership Attributes

• Strategic thinker with demonstrated ability to develop and implement operational improvement plans.
• Collaborative leader adept at fostering consensus and driving performance in complex, matrixed environments.
• Data-informed decision-maker with experience using operational and clinical analytics to guide improvement.
• Strong communicator with ability to engage and influence across all levels of the organization.
• Cultivates a culture of growth and learning. Skilled at both giving and receiving feedback
• Deep commitment to BMC’s mission of health equity, community service, and academic excellence.
• Integrity, resilience, and adaptability in leading through change.

Reporting Structure

Reports directly to the Chair of the Department of Medicine. The Associate Vice Chair of Operations will report to the VC of Operations.
Key partners include:

• Vice President of Medicine
• Vice Chairs for Quality & Safety, Ambulatory Operations, Education, and Research
• Section Chiefs, Unit Chiefs, and Medical Directors
• Nursing, Case Management, and Ambulatory Operations leadership
• Hospital Operations, Finance, Analytics, and Quality teams

Compensation

Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine (BU-CASM) offers a competitive salary commensurate with academic training and practice experience.  We continue to evaluate our compensation plan to remain one of the most competitive in salary and benefits.  Our staff receive a highly competitive salary and generous benefits that include paid vacation, sick time, parental leave, and CME expenses. Faculty members and their dependents qualify for greatly reduced tuition at Boston University, ranked among the top 50 universities in the US.

Appointment and Evaluation

This is a renewable leadership appointment, contingent upon continued excellence in performance and alignment with institutional and departmental priorities. Performance will be evaluated annually by the Chair of Medicine in collaboration with hospital senior leadership.

Salary range:  $252,674 to $359,918

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

Apply: If interested in this employment opportunity, please send your resume/CV and cover letter via this job post or directly to: karin.laping@bmc.org

About Boston Medical Center

Boston Medical Center (BMC) is a leading academic medical center and the primary teaching affiliate of the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. With a mission to provide exceptional care without exception, BMC delivers comprehensive, high-quality, and equitable care to a diverse urban population. The Department of Medicine includes more than 400 faculty members across multiple sections and is nationally recognized for excellence in clinical innovation, education, and research.

Boston Medical Center proudly serves a diverse population in Boston and boasts a world-class academic medical center in Boston University School of Medicine, with a commitment to caring for all patients, including the underserved.   BMC is a 514-bed academic medical center located in Boston’s historic South End. The largest safety-net hospital in New England, BMC provides consistently excellent and accessible health care to all. BMC is the primary teaching affiliate of BU-CASM, a highly ranked medical school dedicated to urban and international health and a recognized leader in groundbreaking medical research. Boston Medical Center is the academic teaching hospital for Boston University School of Medicine.

Boston is an exciting place to live with everything a major world city can offer.  The “smallest big city” in the US, enjoy watching the Patriots, Celtics, Bruins, and Red Sox, then hop a flight to Paris at Logan International Airport, just 10 minutes from downtown. Boston is also the nation’s healthcare hub and offers dramatic opportunities for innovation and academic advancement in the healthcare industry. Bostonians enjoy surrounding parks, beaches, and forest preserves by day, and local breweries, eclectic restaurants, historic theaters, and world-class music and arts by night, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Boston Ballet. With the most Colleges and Universities in the country, Boston feels young, cutting edge, and highly academic. 

Boston Medical Center and Boston University complies with all state, federal, and local laws and regulations.

Boston Medical Center and Boston University equal opportunity employers, committed to a common mission of improving the health of Boston’s residents while adhering to the highest standards of academic medicine. We are a VEVRAA Federal Contractor. Boston University conducts a background check on all final candidates for certain faculty and staff positions.  The background check includes contacting the final candidate’s current and previous employer(s) to ask whether, in the last seven years, there has been a substantiated finding of misconduct violating that employer’s applicable sexual misconduct policies. To implement this process, the University requires a final candidate to complete and sign the form entitled “Authorization to Release Information” after the execution of an offer letter.

Compensation Range:

This range offers an estimate based on the minimum job qualifications. However, our approach to determining base pay is comprehensive, and a broad range of factors is considered when making an offer. This includes education, experience, skills, and certifications/licensures as they directly relate to position requirements; as well as business/organizational needs, internal equity, and market-competitiveness. In addition, BMCHS offers generous total compensation that includes, but is not limited to, benefits (medical, dental, vision, pharmacy), discretionary annual bonuses and merit increases, Flexible Spending Accounts, 403(b) savings matches, paid time off, career advancement opportunities, and resources to support employee and family well-being. 

NOTE: This range is based on Boston-area data, and is subject to modification based on geographic location.

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