Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer

Start the day excited to make a difference…end the day knowing you did.  Come join our team.

Job Summary

The Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer is responsible for overseeing all aspects of Mary Washington Healthcare (MWHC) information technology, biomedical engineering, security, artificial intelligence, emergency management and telecommunications services. Reporting to the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, this role oversees and manages a critical set of functions, ensuring business continuity, security, and operational efficiency across the organization. The SVP and CTO leads and advances technology, digital platforms and elements of informatics and data governance. This role is a relationship focused leader who articulates a compelling vision and is adept at fostering collaboration across the health system. The SVP and CTO and their team are integrally involved in many projects across the health system and as such must be able to identify and prioritize technology investments that align with business objectives. The role manages a robust project framework requiring the balance of strong operational execution with an acute awareness of emerging trends and advancements in the healthcare technology landscape. This position will work closely with executive leadership and other departments to drive the company’s strategic objectives, safeguard assets, and ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations. The SVP and CTO demonstrates the ability to collaborate and influence stakeholders at all levels of the organization while thriving in a high-pressure, dynamic environment with shifting priorities.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

Patient Experience:

• Works in collaboration with the Senior Leadership team as well as the Patient Experience Team to provide an environment that focuses on a positive patient and Associate experience every time.
• Recognizes the importance of patient/staff safety precautions as it relates to specific departments, the organization, and areas of responsibility.
• Leads the development of patient-centric technologies, such as telehealth platforms, patient portals, and mobile apps, to enhance engagement and satisfaction.
• Partners with clinical and administrative teams to deliver seamless and secure technology solutions that improve patient care coordination and outcomes.
• Participates in Senior Leader Experience Rounding and all applicable reporting and follow up.

Performance Improvement:

• Participates in the organization’s performance improvement program and practices; actively assists in improving performance based on results obtained from patient satisfaction/PI activities.
• Where appropriate, participates in Performance Improvement activities, including team membership.
• Fosters a High Reliability and an operationally excellent philosophy.

Leadership and Operational Excellence:

• Fosters an environment of accountability by applying consistent and fair practice in day-to-day oversight of areas of responsibility.
• Leads by example upholding the highest level of excellence in leadership standards and applications.
• Integrates organizational standards of performance into department strategies and processes.
• Supports all operational excellence initiatives ensuring full participation by team in all in-services and training programs, following up to ascertain that leaders are applying consistent standards of practice.
• Leads, mentors, and develops a high-performing team across multiple functions.
• Collaborates with other senior leaders to align operational strategies with corporate goals and objectives.
• Drives cross-functional initiatives that improve organizational effectiveness, safety, and business continuity.
• As a member of leadership, demonstrates and always supports our mission, our vision, our values, and our standards of behavior.

Executive Oversight and Operations:

Information Technology

• Develops and executes a comprehensive IT strategy aligned with the healthcare system’s goals and objectives, to facilitate ongoing operations and protect the integrity of MWHC information, data and medical records.
• Leads and manages the IT department, including infrastructure, software applications, enterprise systems, and cloud services to enhance service delivery, operational efficiencies, and clinical outcomes.
• Leads initiatives to modernize existing systems and oversees the adoption and integration of new technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and digital health innovations, to improve the patient and provider experience, and ensure the healthcare system remains on the leading edge of medical technology.
• Utilizes and integrates highly technical demands and considerations with the management requirements of interfacing the Information Services Department with all levels of MWHC management.
• Partners with other departments, including Patient Accounting, Human Resources and the Finance Department regarding information analysis and management.
• Manages relationships with IT vendors, ensuring value-driven partnerships, service quality, and cost effectiveness.
• Streamlines IT Governance to create a transparent and efficient process to review and prioritize project requests while improving strategic alignment to organizational goals.
• Makes final recommendations to the President and the Board of Trustees regarding budgeting proposals and allocations for hardware and software to be used in future systems.

Clinical Engineering:

• Oversees the clinical engineering function, ensuring that all medical equipment, devices, and systems are safely maintained, upgraded, and integrated with IT infrastructure.
• Collaborates with clinical teams to evaluate and deploy new technologies that improve patient care, operational workflows, and clinical outcomes.

Emergency Preparedness and Business Resiliency:

• Develops, implements, and oversees the company’s emergency management and business continuity plans to ensure resilience in the face of disruptive events.
• Coordinates with key stakeholders to conduct risk assessments, scenario planning, and impact analysis, ensuring operational and organizational readiness.
• Leads emergency preparedness team and establishes clear response protocols for emergencies, natural disasters, pandemics, and other high-impact events.
• Ensures continuous improvement of business continuity frameworks, performing regular drills and testing.

Cyber and Physical Security:

• Serves as the organizational Chief Information Security Officer.
• Leads the cybersecurity strategy, ensuring the organization’s IT infrastructure and data are protected from cyber threats, breaches, and vulnerabilities.
• Oversees physical security strategies, including access controls, monitoring systems, and emergency evacuation procedures to ensure the safety of employees, assets, and facilities.
• Manages the cybersecurity risk management framework, including threat detection, incident response, and ongoing vulnerability assessments.

Data Analytics:

• Works in collaboration with the appropriate partners and leaders to create a robust data analytics framework that supports decision-making across the organization, ensuring operational efficiency and performance tracking.
• Implements key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor the effectiveness of security, facilities, and operational strategies.
• Leverages data to optimize business processes, identify trends, and drive proactive improvements in support operations.

Auditing and Policy Compliance:

• Coordinates activities in collaboration with the Regulatory Department, with both the Internal Audit function and the External Audit function to ensure proper internal audit controls are in place.
• Ensures proper reporting of violations or potential violations to duly authorized enforcement agencies as appropriate and/or required (i.e., self-disclosures).
• Works with the Compliance Officer to provide reports on a regular basis, and as directed or requested, to keep senior management informed of the operation and progress of compliance efforts.

• Ensures that all policies and procedures are communicated effectively to all staff and the organization as a whole; provides follow-up, as necessary.
• Monitors staff to ensure that required tasks are performed in a manner prescribed by policy and procedure.
• Maintains responsibility for interpreting regulatory compliance mandates for all assigned areas.

Strategy and Growth:

• Participates in the growth and strategy initiatives of the health system. Maintains oversight of the capital budget needed for future growth and development projects.
• Ensures IT, data and cyber security governance of all pending acquisitions or mergers.
• Develops operational objectives and the implementation of operationally based programs that aid the system in reaching its long term strategic as well as short range operational objectives.
• Manages and integrates the various areas within operational areas of oversight to yield goal specific departmental results. Evaluates the changing demographic, legal and technical developments in the field and develops new programs to ensure compliance with laws and assure continual improvement of the services provided by the department.       

• Facilitates empowerment of management and workforce.

Financial Oversight:

• Prepares in collaboration with reporting leadership, the annual departmental operating and capital budgets for respective areas of oversight within established guidelines; assures adherence to budgetary policies.
• Effectively manages not only organizational resources but departmental resources within departmental budgets under areas of oversight.
• Monitors key departmental cost areas for containment ideas, solutions, and programs.
• Analyzes financial statistical reports; recommends changes to improve financial operations; implements necessary actions.

Human Capital:

• Supports all Great Place to Work initiatives to foster a highly engaged associate environment.
• Ensures all performance reviews, engagement plans, associate rounding are completed.
• Maintains visibility as a leader attending associate related events.
• Conducts Associate rounding and supports all staff related engagement and recognition programs.

 Quality Assurance and Safety:

• Participates in all organization led quality initiatives.
• Maintains a safe, orderly working environment; maintains compliance with OSHA regulations.
• Ensures that HIPAA regulations, Joint Commission standards and MWHC’s corporate compliance policies are adhered within areas of oversight.
• Keeps abreast of all regulations, procedures, and interpretation of Federal, State, and local law as it pertains to financial operations and regulatory compliance.
• Identifies and reports any potential situations of concern to managers which could cause medical error and/or patient or staff harm.
• Immediately acts, where appropriate, to minimize the risk of injury to patient and Associates. Participates when appropriate in Root Cause Analysis and/or other efforts to reduce the risk of medical error and/or patient or staff harm.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

Required

• Master’s degree in IT, Business or Healthcare Administration. 
• A minimum of eight (8) years’ experience in a leadership role at the executive level in hospital operations and information technology.
• Demonstrated experience in optimizing an electronic health record (Epic preferred) including co-developing applications to drive efficiency, experience and team member engagement.
• Acute understanding of healthcare operations, regulations, IT security standards and compliance with various regulatory agencies.
• Familiarity with complex hospital enterprise applications and experience addressing the unique security and confidentiality requirements of the healthcare environment
• Experience leading digital and analytics health technology transformation. Demonstrated experience developing and implementing a digital analytics roadmap to drive operational and strategic imperatives
• Ability to demonstrate effective leadership, demonstrate team management skills with a focus on cross-department collaboration.
• Proven track record of successful project management demonstrating an Innovative mindset with a focus on continuous improvement
• Ability to make critical decisions under pressure, maintain composure and sound judgement.
• Must effectively be able to communicate (both written and oral) with peers, staff, legal counsel, board members and physicians (including large group presentations).
• Must have a working knowledge of the regulatory rules and consequences of non-compliance, such as those for Medicare and Medicaid. Knowledge of security best practices and regulations that focus on IT (HIPAA, FERPA, FISMA, PCI, MU/ACI and other regulatory compliance)
• Requires an exceptional level of people skills, sensitivity, tact, and diplomacy.
• Expertise in data-driven decision-making and using analytics to drive performance improvements

Preferred

• Epic Certification strongly preferred

As an EOE/AA employer, the organization will not discriminate in its employment practices due to an applicant's race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, and veteran or disability status.