President of Comer Children’s Hospital

Join a world-class academic healthcare system, UChicago Medicine, as the inaugural President of Comer Children’s Hospital responsible for operational and strategic leadership of the Children’s Hospital reporting to the President of The UChicago Medicine Health System (UChicago Medicine).

The President of Comer Children’s Hospital will work with key stakeholders across the enterprise to set the strategic direction for UChicago Medicine’s approach to pediatric care, in alignment with the health system’s overarching strategic plan, translating that vision into actionable priorities and measurable outcomes. This leader will ensure the effective stewardship of clinical, operational, and financial resources and foster a culture of collaboration among governance, medical staff, and system leadership, and will partner across the organization to advance an integrated delivery strategy that enhances care and health outcomes for the patients and communities UChicago Medicine serves.

The President of Comer Children’s Hospital will also partner closely with the Chairs of Pediatrics and OB/GYN and the Physician-in-Chief of Comer Hospital to ensure strategic alignment and strong communication between the medical staff and hospital administration, ensuring that both clinical excellence and organizational goals are met. The president will also advance a culture of innovation by empowering leaders and teams to develop new models of care, programs, and partnerships that strengthen Comer’s position as a provider of choice across the continuum of care.

Who you are:

 A strategic and collaborative healthcare executive with:

• Master’s degree in healthcare related field, such as MBA, MHA, MPH or similar.
• 10 years of progressive executive leadership experience in healthcare, ideally within a pediatric hospital; clinical background valued but not required.
• Strong business acumen, deep understanding of pediatric healthcare economics, and the ability to navigate complex, competitive markets to make informed, strategic decisions that ensure financial strength and institutional success.
• Understanding of tertiary care delivery and academic medical center operations and capability to lead within complex, academic healthcare environments.
• Significant pediatric healthcare experience, with a deep understanding of pediatric care and family-centered services across inpatient and ambulatory settings.
• Deep appreciation for and ability to navigate the unique dynamics of obstetrics and pediatrics and ability to build trust and partnership with OB and pediatric providers.
• Proven success leading large-scale initiatives or new facility development projects.
• Efficiency balancing the desire/need for broad change with an understanding of how much change the organization is capable of handling, to create realistic goals and implementation plans that are achievable and successful.
• Track record of advancing safety culture and operational excellence and the ability to set clear and challenging goals while committing the organization to improved performance; tenacious and accountable in driving results.
• Comfort with ambiguity and uncertainly and the ability to adapt nimbly and lead others through complex situations.
• Experience recruiting top talent, motivating staff, delegating effectively, celebrating diversity, and managing performance while encouraging others to share the spotlight and visibly celebrating and supporting the success of the team.
• The ability to connect and build relationships with others and communicate clearly and persuasively while inspiring trust and followership in others through compelling influence, powerful charisma, passion in your beliefs, and active drive.
• Success collaborating with physicians, boards, and executive governance bodies to achieve positive organizational outcomes and ability to cultivate and maintain extramural partnerships that enhance program growth and community impact.

What you’ll gain as President of Comer Children’s Hospital: 

• Opportunity to develop and strengthen strategic partnerships with external health systems, specifically the Chicagoland Children’s Health Alliance, to advance shared goals in pediatric care, expand access, and enhance coordinated services across the region and explore and cultivate partnerships and affiliations that expand reach, improve care delivery, and reinforce the organization’s commitment to accessible, high-quality pediatric care.
• Visibility as a trusted and engaged community leader by actively building relationships with business, civic, and political leaders; fostering collaboration with regulatory agencies; and representing the organization within state and regional hospital associations, and act as a credible and influential advocate for the health and well-being of children and families across the region and state.

What you’ll do as the President of Comer Children’s Hospital:

• Lead with a clear and compassionate vision for advancing pediatric and maternal health.
• Work closely with key partners to develop and communicate a strategic plan that elevates women’s and children’s services that aligns with the system’s overall mission and goals.
• Identify and pursue strategic opportunities that strengthen the hospital’s role as the most trusted destination for children’s and family care by enhancing access, quality, and the patient and family experience across the communities served.
• Champion care design and service delivery innovation by transforming clinical and operational models to meet evolving patient, provider, and community needs.
• Identify and develop growth strategies grounded in financial discipline to achieve organizational goals and better serve patients and communities.
• Oversee budgeting, staff productivity, key contracts, and operational accountability across pediatric service lines.
• Understand financial drivers and deliver revenue and cash flow performance at or above budget, pursuing continuous improvements in productivity and revenue generation amid a challenging healthcare environment.
• Critically evaluate strategic and operational approaches that mitigate cost risk and maximize revenue potential, while prioritizing capital investments based on ROI, physician alignment, and safety impact.
• Engage in advocacy efforts that advance the organization’s mission and influence healthcare policy at the local, state, and national levels.
• Establish and advance key operational metrics, tactics, and systems to achieve best-practice performance across clinical, operational, and financial indicators utilizing best-in-class pediatric metrics and external systems.
• Leverage data-driven insights to inform strategic decisions and advance a culture of excellence in quality, safety, and patient experience.
• Continuously monitor, assess, and optimize operational processes to achieve or exceed key performance metrics while upholding the highest standards of quality and patient care.
• Build and sustain strong relationships with employees, medical staff, senior leaders, faculty, community stakeholders, the Board of Trustees and serve as a visible and accessible leader who actively engages employees at all levels, fostering a supportive, trust-based culture and championing workforce development and engagement initiatives.
• Build and empower a highly collaborative, performance-driven senior leadership team that models servant leadership, mutual respect, and accountability and act as a key liaison between medical staff leadership, board members, and system executives to promote alignment, transparency, and shared purpose.
• Establish and strengthen effective governance structures that foster collaboration, alignment, and shared ownership of key strategic initiatives, breaking down silos and driving system integration.
• Identify, develop, and support physician leaders for both established and emerging clinical programs and collaborate to ensure clinical workflows are efficient, patient- and quality-centered, and designed to enhance their work experience. 

E4 Leadership (Equity, Engage, Evolve, Excel) is a patient centered management system that empowers teams to improve on a daily basis. This is done through daily readiness huddles, real time process monitoring, performance review huddles and structured problem solving. E4 Leadership is an evolving system where leaders work together to cultivate a culture of equity and continuous improvement that enables:

1. Each person to realize their full potential for contribution
2. The organization to achieve high performance outcomes
3. System-wide integration, coordination, and seamless execution
4. Clear focus on exceptional, equitable patient care and experiences.

As part of the leadership team, this position will be instrumental in reinforcing and sustaining UCM’s E4 Leadership Culture.

We’ve been at the forefront of medicine since 1899. We provide superior healthcare with compassion, always mindful that each patient is a person, an individual. To accomplish this, we need employees with passion, talent and commitment… with patients and with each other. We’re in this together: working to advance medical innovation, serve the health needs of the community, and move our collective knowledge forward. If you’d like to add enriching human life to your profile, UChicago Medicine is for you. Here at the forefront, we’re doing work that really matters. Join us. Bring your passion.

UChicago Medicine is growing; discover how you can be a part of this pursuit of excellence at: UChicago Medicine Career Opportunities

UChicago Medicine is an equal opportunity employer.  We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, civil union status, parental status, religion, national origin, age, disability, veteran status and other legally protected characteristics.

As a condition of employment, all employees are required to complete a pre-employment physical, background check, drug screening, and comply with the flu vaccination requirements prior to hire. Medical and religious exemptions will be considered for flu vaccination consistent with applicable law.

Compensation & Benefits Overview

UChicago Medicine is committed to transparency in compensation and benefits.  The pay range provided reflects the anticipated wage or salary reasonably expected to be offered for the position.

The pay range is based on a full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) and is reflective of current market data, reviewed on an annual basis. Compensation offered at the time of hire will vary based on candidate qualifications and experience and organizational considerations, such as internal equity. Pay ranges for employees subject to Collective Bargaining Agreements are negotiated by the medical center and their respective union.

Review the full complement of benefit options for eligible roles at Benefits - UChicago Medicine.