System Chief Operating Officer
Department/Unit:
PresidentWork Shift:
Day (United States of America)Salary Range:
$0.00 - $0.00Albany Med Health SystemChief Operating Officer (COO)
Reports to: Health System Chief Executive Officer
Location: Albany, New York (Systemwide responsibilities)
Albany Med Health System (AMHS) is in the midst of executing First Choice 2030, a bold, multi-year transformation agenda designed to position AMHS as the region’s trusted, connected, and transformative academic health system.
AMHS’s Vision states:
Albany Med Health System will be the region’s trusted, connected, and transformative academic health system-advancing the health and well-being of every community we serve.
We will unite exceptional care, discovery, and education to deliver the highest quality outcomes, expand equitable access, and shape the next generation of healthcare professionals.
Through collaboration, innovation, and compassion, AMHS will set the standard for value-based, patient-centered care and serve as a catalyst for health, hope, and opportunity across Upstate New York.
AMHS will be the first choice for patients seeking exceptional care, for providers pursuing the most rewarding careers, for partners driving the most advanced innovation, for students aspiring to the best education, and for supporters seeking the greatest impact.
The AMHS mission is to provide compassionate, high-quality care; advance medical discovery and education; and improve the health of the communities we serve.
To realize this vision, AMHS must integrate its academic medical center, community hospitals, physician enterprise, and clinical programs into a unified, high-performing system defined by clinical excellence, operational discipline, value-based performance, and physician alignment.
The Chief Operating Officer (COO) is the senior executive responsible for system-wide operational strategy, performance, and integration across Albany Med Health System (AMHS).
The COO provides enterprise leadership to ensure operational excellence, system integration, service delivery effectiveness, and performance management across hospitals, clinical support services, infrastructure, and enterprise operational functions.
Working closely with the Chief Executive Officer and executive leadership team, the COO ensures that the operational foundation of the system supports the successful execution of First Choice 2030, enabling AMHS to function as a coordinated academic health system rather than a collection of individual institutions.
The COO leads the development, implementation, and refinement of the system’s operational strategy, ensuring alignment of operational performance, workforce deployment, infrastructure, and service delivery with the mission, values, and strategic vision of AMHS.
Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer, the COO partners closely with the Chief Clinical Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Digital Officer, strategy leadership, and hospital presidents to ensure that operational execution supports clinical excellence, financial sustainability, and enterprise growth.
The COO ensures that system priorities are translated into measurable operational plans with clear accountability, performance metrics, and continuous improvement processes across hospitals and operational infrastructure.
Consistent with the future leadership structure of AMHS, the COO provides executive oversight for operational leaders and functions across the enterprise, including:
President & CEO, Albany Medical Center Hospital
President & CEO, Columbia Memorial Health
President & CEO, Glens Falls Hospital
President & CEO, Saratoga Hospital
Chief Nursing Executive
System Clinical Support Services (Pharmacy, Diagnostics, and Therapies)
Facilities and Infrastructure Operations
Security and Safety
CEO, System Visiting Nurses Association
The COO collaborates closely with human resources leadership on workforce strategy and organizational performance but does not have direct reporting responsibility for system human resources functions.
Key Responsibilities
Provides executive leadership for system-wide operational performance across hospitals, ambulatory settings, and enterprise operational infrastructure.
Leads the operational integration of Albany Medical Center Hospital and community hospitals within AMHS into a unified system operating model.
Oversees hospital presidents across the enterprise, ensuring alignment of operational priorities, performance expectations, and resource deployment.
Establishes system-wide operational standards, performance management processes, and accountability structures to ensure consistent operational excellence.
Oversees enterprise operational infrastructure including facilities, engineering, environmental services, security, and related support functions.
Provides executive leadership for the Chief Nursing Executive and ensures alignment of nursing operations, workforce deployment, and patient care delivery standards across the system.
Ensures that system clinical support services-including pharmacy, diagnostics, and therapies-operate efficiently and support high-quality clinical care.
Partners with the Chief Clinical Officer to ensure operational systems and infrastructure enable safe, efficient, and high-quality care delivery.
Collaborates with finance leadership to align operational performance with financial performance, including productivity management, cost discipline, capital planning, and operational efficiency.
Develops operational strategies to improve patient access, patient throughput, capacity management, and care coordination across inpatient and ambulatory environments.
Leads enterprise initiatives to improve operational reliability, patient flow, length of stay, and access to care.
Establishes operational dashboards, performance metrics, and reporting structures to monitor operational performance and support continuous improvement.
Partners with strategy leadership to support service line development, facility planning, and operational readiness for new programs and partnerships.
Provides operational oversight for facilities planning, engineering, construction, maintenance, environmental services, and system infrastructure investments.
Ensures enterprise readiness for emergency management, operational resilience, and business continuity.
Collaborates with human resources leadership to support workforce strategy, operational staffing models, leadership development, and employee engagement.
Partners with digital and technology leadership to deploy operational technologies, digital tools, and analytics capabilities that improve efficiency and transparency.
Supports cross-enterprise integration initiatives that unify operational practices across AMHS hospitals and clinical sites.
Serves on relevant system leadership forums and represents operational performance in executive and governance discussions.
Represents AMHS in operational partnerships and collaborates with community organizations, healthcare partners, and regulatory authorities as appropriate.
Qualifications and Experience
Required
Master’s degree in healthcare administration, business administration, public health, or related field.
Minimum of 15 years of progressive leadership experience in a complex healthcare system that includes both academic medical center and community hospital environments.
Demonstrated executive experience managing large-scale healthcare operations across multiple hospitals or service lines.
Strong understanding of hospital operations, nursing operations, clinical support services, and enterprise performance management.
Demonstrated experience leading operational transformation initiatives in complex healthcare organizations.
Proven ability to improve operational performance through data-driven management, process redesign, and system integration.
Demonstrated financial acumen, including experience with budgeting, productivity management, capital planning, and cost structure optimization.
Experience presenting operational strategies and performance updates to Boards of Directors and executive leadership teams.
Preferred
Experience in an integrated delivery system or multi-hospital regional health system.
Experience operating in environments that combine academic medicine, community hospital operations, and physician enterprise complexity.
Familiarity with value-based care models, care delivery redesign, and enterprise operating model transformation.
Record of success in organizational integration, operational turnaround, or large-scale performance improvement initiatives.
Leadership Attributes
Enterprise mindset with strong systems thinking and the ability to integrate operations across academic and community hospital environments.
Execution-oriented leader capable of translating strategy into measurable operational outcomes.
High integrity, credibility, and professional presence with physicians, nurses, executives, and governance bodies.
Collaborative leadership style with the ability to influence across a federated system and build alignment among diverse stakeholders.
Comfort operating in complex environments and leading large-scale organizational transformation.
Strong interpersonal, analytical, facilitation, and communication skills.
Action- and results-oriented leader with a demonstrated commitment to operational excellence and continuous improvement.
Thank you for your interest in Albany Med Health System!
Albany Med Health System is an equal opportunity employer.
This role may require access to information considered sensitive to Albany Med Health System, its patients, affiliates, and partners, including but not limited to HIPAA Protected Health Information and other information regulated by Federal and New York State statutes. Workforce members are expected to ensure that:
Access to information is based on a “need to know” and is the minimum necessary to properly perform assigned duties. Use or disclosure shall not exceed the minimum amount of information needed to accomplish an intended purpose. Reasonable efforts, consistent with Albany Med Health System policies and standards, shall be made to ensure that information is adequately protected from unauthorized access and modification.