ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW

UF Health

UF Health is part of the University of Florida, one of the nation’s top public universities for the past eight years, according to U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings. It is unique for its diverse constellation of health colleges, research centers and institutes, hospitals, faculty practices, and patient care programs. UF Health is headquartered in Gainesville, where the colleges, several hospitals, and a majority of the research institutes and centers are located on UF's main campus. UF Health Shands serves as the flagship hospital system of UF Health and one of its two major teaching hospitals. It features a state-designated Level 1 trauma center and provides comprehensive care through five specialty hospitals focused on areas such as cancer, cardiology, neurology, pediatrics, psychiatry and women’s health.

UF Health Shands Hospital

UF Health Shands is the 1,145-bed, flagship academic medical center of UF Health and the primary teaching hospital for the University of Florida College of Medicine. Together with its specialty hospitals, children’s hospital, psychiatric hospital, emergency centers, and community-based facilities, UF Health Shands serves as a tertiary and quaternary referral center for North Central Florida and beyond, delivering highly complex care, advancing clinical research, and training future health care leaders.

UF Health Shands Hospital is a nationally recognized academic medical center and one of Florida’s leading hospitals for complex and specialized care. It functions as the system’s primary adult teaching hospital and a major referral destination for patients across the state, region, and nation.

UF Health Shands Hospital is designated as one of Florida’s five regional burn centers and operates a nationally recognized Comprehensive Stroke Center. The hospital is a national leader in solid-organ transplantation, ranking as the No. 1 liver transplant program in the United States and among the top programs for kidney and lung transplantation.

UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital

UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital delivers comprehensive pediatric and neonatal care across more than 20 specialties. The hospital serves as a regional referral center for complex pediatric conditions and supports extensive inpatient, outpatient, surgical, and emergency services.

UF Health Shands Cancer Hospital

The UF Health Shands Cancer Hospital is part of the UF Health Cancer Institute, a National Cancer Institute–designated center and state-designated Center of Excellence. The facility houses advanced diagnostic and treatment capabilities, including stem cell and bone marrow transplant services, leading-edge operating rooms, and the region’s only Level 1 trauma center, co-located with adult emergency services.

The UF Health Cancer Center has received prestigious designation from the National Cancer Institute, or NCI, and joins the ranks of the country’s most distinguished cancer centers, becoming the 72nd in the United States and the only one in North Central Florida. The designation signifies that the UF Health Cancer Center has met rigorous standards in its leading-edge cancer research programs, advanced scientific leadership, distinctive training programs and forward-thinking community outreach.

UF Health Heart & Vascular Hospital and UF Health Neuromedicine Hospital

These two specialty hospitals provide highly advanced cardiovascular and neurological care, with a combined 216 beds, including 120 intensive-care beds. The hospitals feature state-of-the-art operating rooms, hybrid endovascular suites, intraoperative MRI capabilities, and comprehensive stroke services certified at the highest national level.

UF Health Psychiatric Hospital

UF Health Psychiatric Hospital provides comprehensive behavioral health and addiction medicine services for adults, adolescents, and children. Services include inpatient and outpatient psychiatry, crisis stabilization, and substance use disorder treatment. The hospital is a Baker Act receiving facility and is closely aligned with the UF Health Florida Recovery Center, recognized as Florida’s Best Addiction Treatment Center in 2025.

Emergency, Community, and Mobile Services

UF Health Shands operates multiple community-based emergency centers, urgent care locations, neighborhood hospitals, and mobile clinical programs. These include freestanding emergency departments, urgent care centers, mobile stroke treatment units, mobile cancer screening services, and OB/GYN outreach programs designed to improve access to care across urban and rural communities.

UF Health Ocala

The system also includes the UF Health Ocala Neighborhood Hospital, which delivers community-centered care in Ocala. Gainesville is home to UF Health’s headquarters, encompassing the majority of the university’s health colleges, research institutes, and centers. The campus serves as a hub for advanced clinical care, medical research, and professional training, attracting patients from all 67 Florida counties as well as from across the nation and the world.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Regional Chief Operating Officer (COO) serves as the senior operational executive for UF Health Shands and is a key member of the executive leadership team. Reporting to the Regional President/System CEO, the COO is accountable for the execution, coordination, integration, and optimization of all hospital operations across the region ($3B net revenues), ensuring alignment with organizational strategy, academic mission, and system priorities.

The Regional COO provides executive leadership for all aspects of operations and overseeing clinical and non clinical functions to ensure the delivery of high quality, safe, efficient, and patient centered care. This leader translates strategic and institutional priorities into operational plans, performance metrics, and sustainable execution, driving operational excellence across inpatient, outpatient, ambulatory, and behavioral health settings.

As a collaborative partner to physician, nursing, and administrative leaders, the COO fosters strong clinical engagement and interdisciplinary alignment to improve patient throughput, access, quality outcomes, length of stay, and patient experience, while maintaining regulatory readiness and operational resilience. The COO is responsible for ensuring an optimal environment of care, effective human capital strategy, and disciplined resource utilization, supporting both near term performance and long term financial and operational sustainability.

The Regional COO is expected to be a highly visible, consensus building leader who brings rigor, transparency, and accountability to a complex, academic health system environment. This individual models ethical, inclusive, and values driven leadership; develops high performing leadership teams; and creates a culture of continuous improvement, safety, and engagement. In partnership with the executive team, Board, and system leaders, the COO plays a critical role in advancing UF Health Shands’ mission, strengthening regional integration, and positioning the organization for future growth, innovation, and excellence in care delivery.

EXPERIENCE AND PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

Experience and professional qualifications include but are not limited to:

• Master’s degree in Business Administration and/or Health Care Administration.
• Ten years of progressive healthcare management with at least five years in a senior management position at an academic medical center or large healthcare system.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Visionary and execution focused leader with the ability to translate long term strategy into disciplined operational plans, measurable outcomes, and sustained performance improvement across complex, multi facility environments
• Proven financial and operational acumen, including expertise in operating and capital budget development, resource allocation, productivity optimization, and cost effective strategies that support quality, access, and long term financial sustainability
• Highly analytical and data driven decision maker, adept at interpreting complex operational, clinical, and financial data to identify trends, mitigate risk, and drive informed, timely decisions
• Deep understanding of hospital and health system operations, including inpatient, outpatient, ambulatory, and behavioral health settings, with strong working knowledge of healthcare regulations, accreditation standards, and continuous readiness requirements
• Demonstrated ability to lead performance improvement and operational transformation, integrating quality, safety, patient experience, throughput, and efficiency initiatives into daily operations
• Strong people leader and mentor, capable of building, developing, and sustaining high performing leadership teams in fast paced, high pressure, and highly visible environments
• Collaborative and influential partner to physicians, nursing leadership, and interdisciplinary teams, with the ability to align diverse stakeholders around shared goals and enterprise priorities
• Clear, credible communicator with the presence and judgment to lead through complexity, manage sensitive situations, and foster trust, transparency, and accountability at all levels of the organization

Equal Employment Opportunity

University of Florida is an equal opportunity employer and, as an institutional practice, does not discriminate against any employee or applicant on the basis of race, creed, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, national origin, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

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Korn Ferry shall provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified candidates, and will refer candidates without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, veteran status or any other legally protected basis. Artificial Intelligence tools may be used in connection with the recruitment process for this position.