Principal Operations Informaticist (Local / Hybrid)

Discover Vanderbilt Health: With eight hospitals and over 180 clinics, we are the region’s largest comprehensive academic health system. Vanderbilt Health has a long tradition of providing world-class care to the people of the Mid-South, living out our mission of moving medicine forward through preeminent programs in patient care, education and research. Here you’ll find a spirit of collaboration and a supportive community where your expertise is valued, your knowledge expanded and your uniqueness celebrated. We are committed to fostering an environment where talented, compassionate people are united in bringing the most advanced care to our neighbors throughout the region. Organization: HealthIT Clinical Informatics Group Job Summary: The Principal Operations Informaticist is a senior individual contributor who bridges the gap between operational leaders and HealthIT teams, serving as a trusted advisor and subject matter expert on complex clinical and operational technology initiatives. This role translates clinical and operational needs into technology and guides initiatives across the technology lifecycle, including evaluation, planning, governance, implementation, adoption, optimization, and outcome measurement. The Principal Operations Informaticist partners with executive and operational leaders, HealthIT teams, clinicians, and vendors to evaluate and implement emerging technologies and technology-enabled workflow improvements. Working independently, this role resolves highly complex problems, builds consensus across diverse stakeholder groups, and develops clear, data-informed recommendations that support patient care, safety, quality, operational efficiency, and organizational priorities. . Key Responsibilities Operational Partnership - Serve as a liaison among executive and operational leaders, clinicians, HealthIT teams, and vendors. - Translate complex clinical and operational needs into actionable technology and requirements. - Provide clinical and operational perspective to technical teams and guidance to leadership. - Build consensus across stakeholder groups and facilitate resolution of complex issues and escalations. Technology Implementation - Lead the evaluation, planning, implementation, and optimization of emerging technologies and complex HealthIT initiatives. - Assess workflow fit, operational readiness, resource requirements, risks, dependencies, and anticipated value. - Guide initiatives through applicable governance, intake, security, compliance, contracting, validation, and operational processes. - Coordinate multidisciplinary teams through build, testing, piloting, implementation, and post-go-live optimization. Clinical & Operational Informatics - Serve as a subject matter expert (SME) on clinical workflows, operational processes, end-user needs, and technology impacts. - Conduct workflow and gap analyses and translate current-state challenges into future-state solutions. - Identify workflow variation, unintended consequences, and opportunities to improve patient care, safety, quality, efficiency, and user experience. - Ensure technology solutions align with clinical best practices and operational requirements. Change Management & Adoption - Develop strategies to support organizational readiness, technology adoption, and sustained workflow change. - Partner with operational, informatics, education, and communication teams to develop training, communications, and implementation resources. - Support users and leaders through pilots, implementation, stabilization, and optimization. - Monitor utilization and user feedback to identify opportunities for additional education, workflow redesign, or technology optimization. Measurement & Value Realization - Define success measures for technology initiatives and evaluate adoption, utilization, workflow impact, operational outcomes, and end-user experience. - Analyze quantitative and qualitative data and translate findings into clear, actionable recommendations for leadership. - Evaluate pilot and post-implementation outcomes to inform optimization, expansion, continued investment, or discontinuation. - Present complex clinical, operational, and technology information through concise, compelling narratives and executive-level recommendations. REQUIREMENTS - Bachelor's degree - Required - Clinical or Healthcare experience - strongly preferred - Comfortable with working with healtcare technology solutions Technical Capabilities BUSINESS ACUMEN (Expert): Demonstrates expert understanding of complex academic medical center operations, systems, priorities, and challenges. Connects technology initiatives to clinical operations, organizational strategy, and operational outcomes. CLINICAL & OPERATIONAL INFORMATICS (Advanced): Translates complex clinical workflows and operational requirements into actionable technology, workflow designs, and recommendations. CRITICAL EVALUATION (Advanced): Analyzes complex clinical, operational, and technology issues using quantitative and qualitative information to identify risks, opportunities, solutions, and recommendations. PROJECT & PROGRAM LEADERSHIP (Expert): Leads complex, cross-functional initiatives involving multiple stakeholders, dependencies, risks, decisions, and organizational priorities. RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (Advanced): Establishes trusted relationships with clinical, operational, technical, executive, and vendor stakeholders. Effectively navigates complex conversations and competing priorities. COMMUNICATION (Expert): Translates highly complex information into clear, concise, audience-appropriate communications and recommendations. Demonstrates executive-level persuasion, diplomacy, facilitation, and presentation skills. LEADERSHIP & CHANGE MANAGEMENT (Expert): Builds consensus, influences without direct authority, and leads organizations through complex technology and workflow change. OUTCOME MEASUREMENT (Advanced): Develops success measures and evaluates technology adoption, utilization, workflow impact, operational outcomes, and value to inform leadership decisions. About the Department: Health IT HealthIT provides the best health information technology tools that support Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s mission of: · Delivering distinctively personalized care · Improving the health care of individuals and communities regionally, nationally and internationally · Providing transformative learning programs · Supporting compelling discoveries Our tools, which form the digital arteries of VUMC, are either developed in-house by our innovative product teams or selected from the most cutting-edge solutions available in today’s ever-changing marketplace. Our 500 colleagues provide ongoing support over each product’s entire lifespan, ensuring that the tools are meeting the evolving needs of the Medical Center’s 24,000 colleagues. Our solutions are driven by the incredible work and research of our colleagues throughout Vanderbilt and supported through a close partnership with VUMC Information Technology (VUMC IT). The strong collaboration among our teams means that VUMC can respond to clinical and operational issues with agility and innovation. Together, we ensure VUMC remains a leader in its pioneering use of healthcare information technology. Underscoring our entire department are our core values of accountability, transparency and execution, delivered with a strong Partner Promise. Our professional administrative functions include critical supporting roles in information technology and informatics, finance, administration, legal and community affairs, human resources, communications and marketing, development, facilities, and many more. At our growing health system, we support each other and encourage excellence among all who are part of our workforce. High-achieving employees stay at Vanderbilt Health for professional growth, appreciation of benefits, and a sense of community and purpose. Core Accountabilities: Organizational Impact: Delivers projects/assignments that have a direct impact on goals/objectives of the unit/department that the job is in. Problem Solving/ Complexity of work: Conducts extensive analysis of situations or data to resolve numerous, complex issues; may involve the input/work of others. Breadth of Knowledge: Has in-depth level of knowledge within a professional area and working knowledge of other areas. Team Interaction: May lead mid-sized projects; coaches and guides team members. Core Capabilities : Supporting Colleagues: - Develops Self and Others: Invests time, energy, and enthusiasm in developing self/others to help improve performance e and gain knowledge in new areas. - Builds and Maintains Relationships: Maintains regular contact with key colleagues and stakeholders using formal and informal opportunities to expand and strengthen relationships. - Communicates Effectively: Recognizes group interactions and modifies one's own communication style to suit different situations and audiences. Delivering Excellent Service: - Serves Others with Compassion: Seeks to understand current and future needs of relevant stakeholders and customizes services to better address them. - Solves Complex Problems: Approaches problems from different angles; Identifies new possibilities to interpret opportunities and develop concrete solutions. - Offers Meaningful Advice and Support: Provides ongoing support and coaching in a constructive manner to increase employees' effectiveness. Ensuring High Quality: - Performs Excellent Work: Engages regularly in formal and informal dialogue about quality; directly addresses quality issues promptly. - Ensures Continuous Improvement: Applies various learning experiences by looking beyond symptoms to uncover underlying causes of problems and identifies ways to resolve them. - Fulfills Safety and Regulatory Requirements: Understands all aspects of providing a safe environment and performs routine safety checks to prevent safety hazards from occurring. Managing Resources Effectively: - Demonstrates Accountability: Demonstrates a sense of ownership, focusing on and driving critical issues to closure. - Stewards Organizational Resources: Applies understanding of the departmental work to effectively manage resources for a department/area. - Makes Data Driven Decisions: Demonstrates strong understanding of the information or data to identify and elevate opportunities. Fostering Innovation: - Generates New Ideas: Proactively identifies new ideas/opportunities from multiple sources or methods to improve processes beyond conventional approaches. - Applies Technology: Demonstrates an enthusiasm for learning new technologies, tools, and procedures to address short-term challenges. - Adapts to Change: Views difficult situations and/or problems as opportunities for improvement; actively embraces change instead of emphasizing negative elements. Position Qualifications: Responsibilities: Certifications: Work Experience: Relevant Work Experience Experience Level: 5 years Education: Bachelor's (Required) This role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact within Vanderbilt Health, supported by a comprehensive benefits package which may include health, disability, retirement and/or wellness offerings to enhance your well-being and professional growth. Vanderbilt Health is committed to fostering an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and is committed to the principles of equal opportunity. EOE/Vets/Disabled.