Director of Business Operations & Strategy

Northwest Acute Care Specialists is an independent, physician-owned emergency medicine group serving communities across Oregon and Southwest Washington. Our democratic structure gives physicians a voice in the organization and supports close collaboration between clinical and business leaders. This position offers the opportunity to work directly with the CEO, strengthen the systems supporting our clinicians, and help shape the organization’s next stage of growth.

Job Summary: 

The Director of Business Operations & Strategy partners with the CEO to strengthen business operations and advance sustainable growth and revenue diversification. Working closely with the CFO, medical directors, clinical leadership, and technology specialists, the Director improves financial and operational reporting, supports staffing and resource decisions, and leads business process and systems improvements. The role also evaluates new business opportunities and coordinates implementation of approved initiatives. Success requires strong financial analysis, practical problem-solving, relationship building, and the ability to move projects from evaluation through execution.

Essential Job Functions: 

Strategic Growth and Business Development

• Partners with the CEO to identify, evaluate, and advance growth opportunities aligned with the strategic plan, including new services and business partnerships.
• Conducts market research and competitive analysis to assess demand, organizational capabilities, financial potential, and implementation requirements
• Develops business cases, financial models, and proposals that evaluate strategic fit, financial viability, resource requirements, and risk.
• Builds and maintains relationships with prospective business partners, clients, and other key stakeholders.
• Maintains a prioritized pipeline of growth opportunities with clear recommendations and next steps.
• Leads or supports commercial negotiations within delegated authority and coordinates due diligence with finance, legal counsel, and other advisors
• Manages implementation of approved initiatives, including budgets, timelines, responsibilities, and transition to ongoing operations.
• Tracks approved initiatives against financial and operational goals and recommends adjustments based on results.

Business Operations and Financial Planning

• Provides day-to-day operational oversight that reflects the mission and core values of the organization and collaborates with the CEO to define tactical plans that execute the strategic goals set by the Board of Directors.
• Develops, implements, and maintains operational policies and procedures; oversees compliance with policies, standards, and regulations; and establishes documented procedures and backup coverage for essential business processes.
• Evaluates and optimizes operational systems and procedures to gain efficiencies and minimize risk and measures the effectiveness of internal and external processes.
• Coordinates work across support functions (such as finance, payroll, scheduling, billing, and reporting platforms) to ensure smooth workflow and cost-efficient service delivery.
• Supports the CFO with budgeting, forecasting, and business planning, and contributes to short- and long-range planning and the annual operating budget.
• Monitors and analyzes revenue, expenses, productivity, and profitability against established goals; investigates variances and recommends improvements.
• Develops management reports that provide timely, accurate, and complete insight into financial and operational performance, and coordinates operational inputs into financial reporting and planning.
• Improves financial workflows, reconciliation processes, documentation, and internal controls in collaboration with CFO.
• Supports vendor evaluation, contract administration, renewals, and cost management.

Medical Director and Clinical Leadership Support

• Partners with medical directors and clinical leaders to assess staffing and resource needs using service demand, workload, clinician availability, productivity, and cost.
• Models staffing alternatives and supports division budgeting and financial performance reviews, considering service quality and sustainable workloads.
• Helps clinical leaders interpret reports, identify improvement opportunities, and evaluate the results of operational changes. 

Systems Optimization and Reporting

• Assesses business systems, workflows, and data flows to identify gaps, duplication, manual work, and improvement opportunities.
• Develops a prioritized improvement roadmap with clear costs, expected benefits, responsibilities, and timelines.
• Defines business requirements and coordinates systems improvements and integrations with technical specialists and vendors.
• Improves data sharing across accounting, payroll, scheduling, billing, and reporting systems, with consistent definitions, quality checks, and appropriate access.
• Works with Finance, clinical leaders, and technical specialists to develop useful dashboards, reports, and decision-support tools.
• Coordinates automation, appropriate use of AI, testing, training, documentation, and adoption; measures whether changes improve accuracy, efficiency, and usability.
• Performs other related duties as assigned by the CEO.

Job Qualifications (including education and experience): 

Required

• Bachelor's degree in business, finance, operations, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• Seven or more years of progressively responsible experience in business operations, financial planning, business development, or related roles, including leadership of initiatives involving multiple teams.
• Demonstrated experience evaluating business opportunities and leading implementation of new services, partnerships, or strategic initiatives.
• Strong financial modeling, budgeting, forecasting, and profitability analysis skills.
• Experience developing business proposals, managing external relationships, and supporting commercial negotiations.
• Advanced Excel proficiency and experience using Power BI or comparable business intelligence tools to support business decisions.
• Experience leading process improvements, systems implementations, and projects involving multiple teams.
• Ability to translate complex information into clear recommendations and actionable plans.
• Strong communication, presentation, negotiation, judgment, and project management skills.
• Ability to build trust and lead change across teams with different priorities and areas of responsibility.

Preferred

• MBA or another relevant advanced degree.
• Experience in professional services, a physician-owned organization, or a business with multiple operating divisions.
• Healthcare experience helpful but not required.
• Experience partnering with senior financial and operational leaders.
• Experience coordinating initiatives with finance, HR, technology specialists, and external advisors.
• Experience with systems integration, workflow automation, and organizational change.

Work Location: 

Hybrid position. The office is located in Downtown Portland, and full-time in-office work is also welcome. Candidates must live in Washington or Oregon. 

Benefits: 

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

401(K)

Paid Time Off

Disability Insurance

Life Insurance

Diversity & Equal Employer Opportunity Statement: 

Northwest Acute Care Specialist is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. Northwest Acute Care Specialist values diversity, equity, and inclusion. We strive to diversify our workforce and seek applications by individuals from all backgrounds, abilities, cultures, orientations, identities, and communities.