Description

The Department of Neurology at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston invites applications for Vice Chair of Clinical Operations at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor. We seek an accomplished academic neurologist and operational leader to build an integrated, high-performing clinical enterprise distinguished by access, quality, efficiency, innovation, and an exceptional experience for patients, faculty, staff, and trainees.

Reporting to the Chair of Neurology, the Vice Chair will serve as the department’s senior physician executive for clinical operations and its primary liaison with Memorial Hermann Health System, Harris Health Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital, and other clinical partners. The successful candidate will translate departmental strategy into reliable execution across hospital-based and ambulatory neurology.

This is a leadership role for someone who leads from the front. The Vice Chair will maintain a substantive clinical practice, including acute inpatient hospital service.

Leadership Scope:

• Enterprise clinical operations: Direct the design, coordination, performance, and continuous improvement of the department’s inpatient, consultative, and ambulatory clinical services.
• Institutional partnership: Serve as the principal departmental liaison with Memorial Hermann and Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital, aligning strategic priorities, service expectations, staffing models, capital needs, and standards of care.
• Hospital-based neurology: Provide executive and operational leadership for the neurohospitalist, general neurology, inpatient consult, emergency consultation, and related acute-care services.
• Ambulatory neurology: Lead access, capacity, growth, and operating performance across UT Physicians neurology clinics and the integrated UTHealth Houston–Memorial Hermann neurology service line.
• People and culture: Recruit, retain, develop, and support outstanding faculty and physician leaders while fostering accountability, teamwork, professionalism, and shared purpose.

Key Roles and Responsibilities:

• Develop and execute a comprehensive clinical operations strategy aligned with the department’s missions of patient care, education, research, and service.
• Establish a transparent performance-management system with defined goals, accountable owners, reliable data sources, and regular operating reviews.
• Build and monitor clinical dashboards spanning access, referral conversion, new-patient lag, clinic utilization, template optimization, cancellation and no-show rates, volumes, productivity, length of stay, consult response times, throughput, discharge efficiency, quality, safety, patient experience, and financial performance.
• Use data to identify unwarranted variation, operational bottlenecks, unmet demand, and opportunities for service redesign; test interventions, measure results, and scale successful models.
• Work with the Chair to lead data-driven service innovation, including new clinical programs, redesigned care pathways, appropriate technology-enabled care, and models that improve access and continuity across care settings.
• Create coordinated staffing, scheduling, coverage, escalation, and handoff standards for neurohospitalist, general neurology, and inpatient consult services.
• Partner with hospital leadership to strengthen patient flow, bed utilization, transfers, emergency and inpatient consultations, discharge planning, and transitions to ambulatory care.
• Develop clinical pathways and operating standards in collaboration with departmental divisions, nursing, advanced practice providers, pharmacy, rehabilitation, case management, and other clinical partners.
• Oversee recruitment and retention of outpatient and hospital-based neurologists for the integrated UT Physicians and Memorial Hermann neurology service line.
• Assess faculty and advanced practice provider deployment, clinical effort, panel capacity, and workforce needs; recommend resource allocation based on demand, performance, and strategic priorities.
• Mentor, guide, and support division chiefs, medical directors, and emerging physician leaders; clarify decision rights and build a strong clinical leadership structure.
• Collaborate across departments and hospitals to expand multidisciplinary programs, improve referral pathways, and develop new clinical services responsive to community and system needs.
• Evaluate business plans for program growth, faculty recruitment, space, technology, and capital investment using disciplined operational and financial analysis.
• Advance quality, safety, regulatory readiness, clinical documentation, coding integrity, and professional billing performance in partnership with the appropriate institutional teams.
• Promote timely, candid communication and high-functioning teamwork across divisions, practice sites, and partner institutions.
• Anticipate the department’s future clinical needs and advise the Chair on strategy, organizational design, investments, risks, and opportunities.
  

Clinical Expectations:

• Provide up to six weeks per year of acute inpatient hospital service.
• Maintain two full days per week of outpatient clinical neurology practice at UT Physicians during non-service weeks
• Model clinical excellence, operational discipline, accessibility, and collegiality through a visible presence at the point of care.

Requirements

Required Qualifications:

• MD, DO, or equivalent medical degree.
  Successful completion of an ACGME-accredited neurology residency and, where applicable, an ACGME-accredited fellowship.
• Active board certification in neurology and eligibility for an unrestricted Texas medical license.
• Academic accomplishments and leadership experience appropriate for appointment at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor.
• Substantial experience in hospital and clinic operations, with a proven record of improving clinical performance, access, quality, efficiency, growth, or financial outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to lead physicians and multidisciplinary teams across complex organizations and to build effective partnerships with hospital and health-system executives.
• Strong command of clinical metrics, performance improvement, budgeting, workforce planning, and data-informed decision-making.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Healthcare-focused MBA, Master of Health Administration (MHA), or comparable advanced training in healthcare management.
• Experience leading an integrated academic neurology practice or service line spanning inpatient, consultative, and ambulatory care.
• Experience developing clinical dashboards, redesigning services, launching programs, and delivering measurable operational improvement.
• A leadership style characterized by visibility, decisiveness, collaboration, accountability, and the ability to translate strategy into execution.

Academic Appointment:

The successful candidate will be appointed at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor, commensurate with qualifications, experience, academic accomplishments, and leadership record.

Application:

Applicants should apply from the posting and submit a curriculum vitae with a letter of interest describing their clinical operations experience, leadership philosophy, and record of measurable impact.