Director, Access Strategy and Capacity Management

Position Title

Director, Access Strategy and Capacity Management

Job Description Summary

Director, Access Strategy and Capacity Management

VHC Health - Arlington, Virginia Full-Time | Main Hospital Campus

The Director, Access Strategy and Capacity Management provides strategic and operational leadership for patient access, capacity planning, scheduling optimization, access analytics, and performance improvement across VHC Health Medical Group. The Director develops and executes strategies to improve appointment availability, optimize provider capacity, strengthen referral conversion, enhance scheduling and call center performance, reduce avoidable capacity loss, and improve the patient experience.

The Director leads Access Governance and partners with executive, physician, clinical, operational, Information Technology, and Epic leaders to establish Medical Group access standards, remove barriers to care, and implement sustainable operational improvements. This role establishes performance goals, monitors results, and provides data-informed recommendations that support decision-making, resource allocation, and Medical Group growth.

The Director is accountable for measurable improvement in access performance, capacity utilization, workflow standardization, governance implementation, and operational outcomes.

Why VHC Health

VHC Health is a nationally recognized, independent health system known for clinical excellence, innovation, physician engagement, and exceptional patient outcomes.

Highlights include:

• Ranked among the top hospitals in Virginia and the Washington, DC metropolitan region by U.S. News & World Report
• Multiple "A" Hospital Safety Grades from The Leapfrog Group
• CMS 5-Star Overall Hospital Quality Rating
• Magnet designation for nursing excellence
• Accredited with Commendation by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer (CoC)
• Independent health system with strong physician leadership and administrative support
• Modern ambulatory and inpatient oncology infrastructure with continued investment in cancer services
• Located in Arlington, Virginia - consistently ranked among the best places to live in the United States with immediate access to Washington, DC
• At VHC Health, physician leaders have the opportunity to meaningfully influence strategy, operations, quality, and growth while practicing in a collaborative and highly respected clinical environment.

Position Overview

The Director, Access Strategy and Capacity Management leads patient access, scheduling optimization, capacity planning, and performance improvement across VHC Health Medical Group. This role develops and implements strategies to improve appointment availability, provider capacity, referral conversion, operational efficiency, and patient experience while partnering with clinical, operational, and technology leaders to drive sustainable access transformation.

Position Responsibilities

• Lead patient access, scheduling, and capacity management strategies across the Medical Group.
• Establish and oversee access governance standards, policies, and performance metrics.
• Monitor access, referral, scheduling, and call center performance through analytics and reporting.
• Drive initiatives that improve appointment availability, provider utilization, referral conversion, and workflow efficiency.
• Partner with operational, clinical, physician, and IT leaders to implement process and technology improvements.
• Develop and monitor performance improvement plans to achieve access and capacity goals.
• Lead change management, stakeholder engagement, and adoption of standardized workflows and best practices.
• Provide strategic recommendations and performance updates to organizational leadership.

Qualifications

• Bachelor''s degree in Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, Health Informatics, Public Health, Nursing, or a related field required.
• Master''s degree in Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, Public Health, Health Informatics, or a related field preferred.
• Five to ten years of progressive healthcare leadership experience in patient access, ambulatory operations, healthcare operations, capacity management, analytics, scheduling operations, call center operations, or a related discipline.
• Demonstrated experience leading access transformation, governance, capacity optimization, performance improvement, or operational excellence initiatives.
• Experience establishing performance measures, monitoring outcomes, and leading corrective action plans.
• Experience partnering with executive, physician, clinical, technical, and multidisciplinary operational leaders.
• Experience using healthcare analytics, reporting, and performance metrics to guide decision-making and measure results.
• Experience leading complex projects, teams, or cross-functional workgroups with accountability for defined outcomes.
• Experience with Epic Cadence and healthcare reporting platforms preferred.
• Epic Cadence or other relevant Epic certification preferred.
• Lean, Six Sigma, Project Management, or other process-improvement certification preferred.

Position Highlights

• Lead enterprise-wide patient access, scheduling, and capacity management strategies.
• Drive Access Governance, scheduling standards, and performance accountability.
• Oversee access analytics, reporting, and data-driven decision-making.
• Optimize provider capacity, appointment availability, and referral conversion.
• Lead operational improvement initiatives, including centralized scheduling and digital access.
• Partner with clinical, operational, executive, and IT leaders to remove access barriers.
• Manage performance improvement plans and track organizational access goals.
• Champion change management, workflow standardization, and continuous improvement.

Compensation & Benefits

• Comprehensive medical benefits
• Generous paid time off for full-time and permanent part-time positions
• Retirement plan options

Job Description

Purpose & Scope:

The Director, Access Strategy and Capacity Management provides strategic and operational leadership for patient access, capacity planning, scheduling optimization, access analytics, and performance improvement across VHC Health Medical Group. The Director develops and executes strategies to improve appointment availability, optimize provider capacity, strengthen referral conversion, enhance scheduling and call center performance, reduce avoidable capacity loss, and improve the patient experience.

The Director leads Access Governance and partners with executive, physician, clinical, operational, Information Technology, and Epic leaders to establish Medical Group access standards, remove barriers to care, and implement sustainable operational improvements. This role establishes performance goals, monitors results, and provides data-informed recommendations that support decision-making, resource allocation, and Medical Group growth.

The Director is accountable for measurable improvement in access performance, capacity utilization, workflow standardization, governance implementation, and operational outcomes.

Education:

• Bachelor''s degree in Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, Health Informatics, Public Health, Nursing, or a related field is required; Master''s degree preferred.

Experience:

• Five to ten years of progressive healthcare leadership experience in patient access, ambulatory operations, healthcare operations, capacity management, analytics, scheduling operations, call center operations, or a related discipline.
• Demonstrated experience leading access transformation, governance, capacity optimization, performance improvement, or operational excellence initiatives.
• Experience establishing performance measures, monitoring outcomes, and leading corrective action plans.
• Experience partnering with executive, physician, clinical, technical, and multidisciplinary operational leaders.
• Experience using healthcare analytics, reporting, and performance metrics to guide decision-making and measure results.
• Experience leading complex projects, teams, or cross-functional workgroups with accountability for defined outcomes.
• Experience with Epic Cadence and healthcare reporting platforms preferred.

Certification/Licensure:

• Epic Cadence or other relevant Epic certification preferred.
• Lean, Six Sigma, Project Management, or other process-improvement certification preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strategic leadership, sound judgment, and organizational influence.
• Expertise in patient access, scheduling optimization, capacity planning, referral management, access analytics, and governance.
• Strong knowledge of ambulatory operations, provider template management, call center performance, and patient access best practices.
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to translate data and strategic objectives into measurable operational plans and recommendations.
• Ability to establish performance measures, identify root causes, and lead corrective action.
• Executive-level written, verbal, presentation, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Strong project management, change-management, relationship-building, and organizational skills.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and drive adoption across multidisciplinary groups.
• Demonstrated commitment to accountability, service excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Additional Job Description

At VHC Health, every role contributes to exceptional care, better outcomes, and stronger communities.In addition to your base compensation, VHC Health offers a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision coverage (subject to eligibility requirements), as well as additional wellness and retirement benefits designed to support our employees and their families.VHC Health is committed to wage transparency and equitable pay practices. The compensation offered for this position-whether expressed as an annual salary or hourly rate-is determined based on a variety of legitimate, non-discriminatory factors. These factors include, but are not limited to, a candidate's qualifications, relevant training and experience, skill level, shift differentials (where applicable), internal equity, and current market conditions.The posted hiring range reflects the range VHC Health, in good faith, believes is appropriate for this role at the time of posting. This range may be adjusted in the future based on business needs or market changes. No portion of compensation is considered earned until it is vested and determined in accordance with the terms of applicable policies and benefit plans. The availability and amount of any bonuses, incentives, or other benefits are subject to the terms of those plans and may be modified at the sole discretion of VHC Health, in accordance with applicable law.VHC Health is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, pregnancy (including childbirth, pregnancy-related conditions and lactation), race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristics protected by law.VHC Health maintains a drug-free workplace. The unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensing, possession, or use of a controlled substance is prohibited at all VHC Health locations.