Director of Operations

Job Location:

Northland - Columbus, OH 43231

Lower Lights Christian Health Center (LLCHC) is a mission-driven, faith-based Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) that provides whole-person, high-quality, and accessible healthcare to underserved communities in Central Ohio. We are passionate about removing barriers to care and transforming lives through compassionate, patient-centered service. Join us in delivering hope and healing to our patients and their families.

The Director of Operations provides strategic and operational leadership for assigned service lines, sites, and operational functions across LLCHC. This role is accountable for developing department direction, operational standards, staffing models, and performance expectations that support access, quality, patient experience, workforce stability, and regulatory compliance. The Director designs how operational work should run, translates organizational priorities into department plans, and ensures consistent execution across teams and locations.

Working in close collaboration with senior leadership, clinical leaders, human resources, finance, quality, compliance, support services, and health informatics, the Director of Operations establishes clear operational guardrails, oversees cross-departmental implementation, and ensures accountability for results. This role leads longer-term planning for access, template governance, staffing, and workflow design; separates capacity decisions from scheduling decisions; standardizes core operational processes; and reduces dependence on manual workarounds by building durable systems, clear policy, and measurable performance expectations.

• Provides strategic leadership for assigned operational areas, sites, and service lines, establishing department direction, priorities, and standards aligned with organizational goals.
• Designs and oversees operational models that improve access, throughput, patient experience, workforce stability, and consistency across locations. Leads access and template governance by defining operational guardrails, standardizing scheduling structures where appropriate, and ensuring template decisions support policy rather than substitute for unresolved capacity issues.
• Establishes clear ownership and decision pathways for template standards, access protection, exceptions, and workflow changes in collaboration with clinical, operational, and information systems leaders.
• Leads standardization of key operational processes, including appointment types, slot structures, access windows, escalation pathways, and site workflows as assigned.
• Develops and monitors department productivity, service, quality, compliance, and access goals, and adjusts plans based on performance data and organizational priorities.
• Represents operations in cross-departmental initiatives and serves as the accountable operational leader for implementation of approved strategies and policies.

• Directly supervises Practice Managers and/or assigned operational leaders, providing coaching, performance management, and development support.
• Builds leadership capability within operational teams by mentoring managers, clarifying expectations, and reinforcing accountability for outcomes.
• Partners with Human Resources and executive leadership on workforce planning, recruitment priorities, succession planning, role design, and organizational change.
• Establishes staffing models and coverage expectations that support safe, efficient, and patient-centered operations across assigned areas.
• Leads performance evaluation and corrective action processes for direct reports in alignment with LLCHC policies and values.
• Promotes a culture of collaboration, professionalism, continuous improvement, and service excellence across departments and sites.

• Develops, monitors, and manages operational budgets, productivity targets, and resource plans for assigned areas, identifying opportunities for cost stewardship and operational improvement.
• Uses operational, access, financial, quality, and workforce data to identify trends, measure results, and guide decisions.
• Oversees implementation of strategic initiatives, including workflow redesign, access improvement efforts, standardization projects, and system-based solutions that reduce reliance on manual…