Director of Operations

Role Summary

The Director of Operations is responsible for leading and scaling the day-to-day operations of a healthcare staffing organization in the United States. This role oversees service delivery, workforce planning, compliance, credentialing, client satisfaction, and operational efficiency across all markets and service lines (e.g., travel, per diem, locum tenens, allied, non-clinical).

The Director of Operations is accountable for building and managing high-performing teams, ensuring regulatory compliance, driving margin and fill-rate performance, and delivering a consistent, high-quality experience to both clients and healthcare professionals.

Key Responsibilities

• Operational Leadership & Strategy
• Develop and execute the operational strategy to support company growth targets in the US healthcare staffing market.
• Translate company goals into clear operational plans, targets, and KPIs for teams.
• Design and optimize processes for candidate onboarding, credentialing, placement, assignment management, and extension.
• Partner with executive leadership on market expansion, new service lines, and key strategic initiatives.
• Service Delivery & Client Management
• Ensure high service levels to hospitals, health systems, long-term care facilities, and other healthcare clients.
• Oversee order intake, job broadcasting, matching, and fulfillment processes to maximize speed-to-fill and quality-of-hire.
• Work closely with Sales / Account Management to understand client needs, resolve escalations, and maintain high client satisfaction and retention.
• Support the implementation and management of MSP (Managed Service Provider) and VMS (Vendor Management System) relationships and contracts.
• Workforce Planning & Talent Supply
• Manage demand forecasting and workforce planning in partnership with Sales and Recruitment leaders.
• Align recruiting capacity and sourcing strategies with client demand by specialty, geography, and shift type.
• Oversee candidate lifecycle : sourcing, screening, credentialing, onboarding, compliance, and redeployment.
• Implement strategies to increase candidate retention, re-booking, and assignment extensions.
• Compliance, Quality & Risk Management
• Ensure all operations comply with federal, state, and local regulations, as well as client and accreditor requirements (e.g., Joint Commission, CMS, state boards of nursing and medicine).
• Oversee credentialing and compliance processes, including licenses, certifications, background checks, drug screens, immunizations, and health clearances.
• Establish and monitor quality standards, incident reporting, and corrective action plans.
• Work with legal / compliance to manage contracts, audits, investigations, and risk mitigation.
• Financial & Performance Management
• Own key operational metrics : fill rate, time-to-fill, gross margin, billable hours, assignment completion rate, and overtime / discount controls.
• Manage operational budgets, headcount planning, and resource allocation across teams.
• Analyze performance data and provide regular reporting to executive leadership.
• Identify opportunities to improve profitability through efficiency, automation, process redesign, and vendor negotiation.
• Technology, Systems & Process Improvement
• Oversee effective use of ATS / CRM, VMS platforms, scheduling systems, and back-office tools.
• Work with IT / Systems to implement new tools, integrations, and automation to reduce manual effort and errors.
• Standardize best practices across branches / teams to ensure scalability and consistency.
• Drive a culture of continuous improvement : diagnose bottlenecks, run pilots, and roll out process changes.
• Leadership & People Management
• Lead, mentor, and develop managers and teams across operations functions (e.g., recruitment ops, credentialing, assignment management, compliance, customer support).
• Set clear expectations, goals, and development plans for direct reports and departments.
• Build a culture of accountability, collaboration, and high performance.
• Support recruiting, hiring, and onboarding of key operational roles.