Director Risk Management

Position Summary

The Director of Risk Management serves as the operational leader for the organization's risk management and patient safety programs, supporting the Quality and Compliance department's mission to promote safe, compliant, and high-quality care. Working under the direction of the Vice President of Quality and Compliance, the Director is responsible for developing, implementing, and continuously improving enterprise risk management processes designed to identify, assess, mitigate, and monitor organizational risks.

As an inaugural role, the Director will play a key role in establishing and strengthening risk management infrastructure, tools, reporting mechanisms, and cross-functional partnerships that support organizational resilience and regulatory compliance. The Director collaborates closely with clinical, operational, and administrative leaders to advance patient safety, regulatory readiness, quality improvement, internal audit activities, and risk-informed decision-making across the organization.

Reportability

This position will report directly to the Vice President of Quality and Compliance. This position will collaborate extensively with clinical, operational, compliance, quality, human resources, finance, information technology, legal, and executive leadership teams.

This position may supervise Risk Management, Patient Safety, Audit, or Quality support staff, as organizational structure evolves.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead and maintain the organization's risk management and patient safety programs.
• Develop and support implementation of an enterprise risk management framework, including processes for risk identification, assessment, mitigation, monitoring, and reporting.
• Conduct and facilitate organizational risk assessments and partner with leaders to develop and monitor risk mitigation plans.
• Maintain the organizational risk register and monitor key risk indicators.
• Investigate incidents, adverse events, patient grievances, and potential liability exposures; facilitate root cause analyses and monitor corrective and preventive action plans.
• Analyze quality, safety, compliance, and operational data to identify trends, emerging risks, and opportunities for improvement.
• Partner with clinical and operational leadership to support Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) initiatives and organizational quality goals.
• Provide oversight of internal audits, including development of a risk-based audit plan, coordination of audit activities, reporting findings, and monitoring corrective actions.
• Support compliance with HRSA, FTCA, CMS, state and federal regulations, payer requirements, and accreditation standards.
• Coordinate organizational readiness for HRSA Operational Site Visits (OSVs), FTCA deeming activities, audits, regulatory reviews, and accreditation assessments.
• Develop and deliver training related to risk management, patient safety, incident reporting, quality improvement, compliance awareness, and regulatory requirements.
• Lead and maintain policy management processes, including policy development, review, approval tracking, version control, and regulatory alignment.
• Collaborate with department leaders to develop and maintain policies, procedures, and internal controls that promote compliance, safety, and operational effectiveness.
• Develop and maintain systems for tracking contracts, grants, vendor agreements, and associated compliance obligations.
• Monitor contract deliverables, grant requirements, renewal timelines, performance expectations, and vendor-related risks, escalating concerns as appropriate.
• Prepare risk, audit, quality, and readiness reports for leadership and organizational committees.
• Serve as a liaison with insurers, external auditors, consultants, legal counsel, and regulatory agencies as assigned.
• Foster a culture of safety, accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement throughout the organization.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications: The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities –
• Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree in healthcare administration, social work, nursing, public health, or a related field preferred.
• Strong knowledge of healthcare risk management, patient safety, quality improvement, and regulatory compliance principles.
• Understanding of enterprise risk management methodologies and risk assessment frameworks.
• Knowledge of HRSA Health Center Program requirements, FTCA risk management expectations, CMS regulations, and healthcare accreditation standards.
• Experience conducting incident investigations, root cause analyses, failure mode analyses, and corrective action planning.
• Ability to analyze complex clinical, operational, regulatory, and organizational risks and develop practical mitigation strategies.
• Skilled in data analysis, performance measurement, trend identification, and report preparation.
• Strong project management and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Ability to influence and collaborate across departments without direct operational authority.
• Strong facilitation, presentation, and training skills.
• Demonstrated ability to build relationships and effectively engage stakeholders at all organizational levels.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment, maintain confidentiality, and manage sensitive information with discretion.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and data management systems.

Language Requirement –
• No language requirement: Ability to communicate effectively in English is required. Additional language proficiency or fluency preferred.

Physical Demands – Regularly required to sit; frequently required to reach with hands and arms, walk, stoop, kneel, crouch, talk or hear; must be able to lift objects up to twenty-five (25) pounds.

Work Environment – Mostly in a typical office or clinic setting with quiet to moderate noise level. May be exposed to extreme cold, heat, and humidity due to outside weather conditions.
• Opportunity to work a hybrid schedule – remotely & onsite, as needed.