The Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Washington announces an exciting opportunity to join its leadership team. The VCFA is one of a small group of leaders that work directly with the Department Chair to ensure its growth and strategic goals are met. 

POSITION PURPOSE
The Department has worked successfully to grow its presence within the Fred Hutch Cancer Center, who is the adult oncology program for UW Medicine.  This alliance has afforded the department the ability to grow its faculty roster, increase patient volume and expand its research foot print.  The Department is consistently ranked as a top Radiation Oncology program in the country, and is one of 32 departments in the School of Medicine. With 84 core faculty members, the Department is one of the largest Radiation Oncology programs in the country. The Department provides professional services at nine (9) core sites of practice, throughout Fred Hutch Cancer Center, UW Medicine and partnering entity systems (VA Health System, Seattle Children’s Hospital)

The department consists of 84 faculty members including MDs, PhD Medical Physicists and Advanced Practice Providers.  There are approximately 70 staff reporting to the VCFA that ranges from finance, IT, education, research and general administration. The Department of Radiation Oncology leadership in partnership with FHCC leadership launched a new Radiation Oncology Research Division within the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in July of 2022. This Division has both FHCC-employed as well as UW employed faculty. At present, there are 45 faculty members in this new Division. The FHCC Division of Radiation Oncology has space, resources, and grants management to support the research mission of Division Faculty. The VCFA will partner with administrative leadership of the FHCC Division to ensure alignment with faculty appointments; grants funds flow; and resource support of Division faculty.

Training programs include 10 radiation oncology residents, 4 medical physics residents, and several postdoctoral scholars. The department hosts multiple medical students and learners form outside the UW community.  Graduate students also may participate in various research projects in radiation biology, molecular medicine, medical physics, and radiation chemistry.  Clinically, the UW Department of Radiation Oncology is a state-of-the art program, the only one in the county that provides a complete compliment of care including advanced X-ray treatment delivery, including IMRT and SBRT, gamma knife, proton therapy and the only operating clinical neutron facility in the world. The Department treats nearly 4,000 patients annually and patient volume has grown 25% over the past three years. In addition, the Department has a robust clinical and translational (bench-to-bedside) research program with a large investigator-initiated clinical trial portfolio.

The Department’s  clinical funds flow budget exceeds $30 million and is managed across a wide variety of fund sources and professional service agreements, including the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center (FHCC), UW Medical Center (UWMC-ML and UWMC-NW), Harborview Medical Center (HMC), Seattle Children’s Hospital (SCH) and the Puget Sound Veteran’s Administration (PS-VA).  The Department also has a significant research/academic relationship with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center (FHCC) and most faculty hold joint appointments within the newly created FHCC Division of Radiation Oncology. The Department works closely with the physician practice plan (UWP- University of Washington Physicians) to orchestrate clinical funds flow and physician incentives.  The total annual budget for Radiation Oncology within the School of Medicine is over $40 million.

One unique aspect of the UW Department of Radiation Oncology is the faculty cFTE for any individual faculty member is distributed across multiple sites of practice- each with separate funds flow mechanisms to support clinical effort. The reason for this is that each of our sites have unique treatment capabilities (Gamma Knife at HMC, Proton beam at FHCC-Northwest; Neutron beam therapy at UWMC-ML) and the faculty are organized as “disease site specialists” and not “modality specialists” in keeping with other elite-tier Radiation Oncology programs. This required the VCFA to partner closely with the Medical Directors to develop an efficient faculty deployment model from both an operation and financial perspective with ongoing adjustments to accommodate faculty cFTE reductions, transitions, etc.

In addition, the Department of Radiation Oncology is a substantial contributor to clinical margin. Inf FY24, Radiation Oncology accounted for over $200MM in clinical revenue across all sites in the clinical enterprise. As such, the VCFA must also partner closely with FHCC, UWMC, HMC and other entity operational leaders to ensure Department functions align with clinical operations.

The Department of Radiation Oncology is committed to three core missions: 1) to improve cancer care everywhere 2) to train the future leaders in the field by providing trainees with access to the leaders of today and 3) to pioneer the treatments of tomorrow through innovative research programs while delivering state-of-the-art cancer care to our patients today. The Department is an integral component of the only NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center in the Pacific Northwest. This NCI designate cancer center is one of the top-funded cancer centers in the country and is ranked ninth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for 2020.

The Department is also committed to a diverse, inclusive community, and places this commitment at a central place of the department’s mission.

General Description
The Vice Chair reports to the Department Chair and School’s Associate Dean of Administration and Operations and serves as the business manager and senior administrative support representative for the Department.  As such, the Vice Chair has a comprehensive range of responsibilities, including: financial planning/management, budget development, supervision of the Department’s classified and exempt staff, personnel, payroll, purchasing, special project support, and other administrative functions for the School of Medicine.

As a UW SoM Department Vice Chair of Finance and Administration, the incumbent carries out duties prescribed by the directing, overseeing, or partnering institutions and organizations.  The critical knowledge and skills are organized into the areas of:  Financial Management and Development Activities, Operations Management, Practice Plan Management, Compliance and Risk Management, Research Management, Information Management, Human Resource Management, Facilities Management and Educational Program(s) Management.  He/she/they acts in an advisory capacity to the Chair and various Department committees, providing financial guidance, background information, and management advice.  In addition, the Vice Chair is the Department's primary working-level interface with the Dean's Office, the Practice Plans, and other departments in the University regarding administrative issues.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Financial Management and Development Activities – 20%
Manages the financial resources of the department to include budgets and funds from federal, state, practice plan, private, University, and foundation sources to ensure ethical and fiduciary practices.  Key financial management responsibilities:

• Financial performance of clinical, scientific, and educational goals
• Compliance (federal government, state, and other research project sponsors)
• Management of clinical practice funds, State-derived budgets, indirect cost recovery funds, federal grants, gift and endowed accounts, industry and other sponsored contracts and agreements
• Financial forecasting for short-term and/or long-term planning
• Internal controls and audits
• Development and Advancement support;
• Ensure alignment with the FHCC Division of Radiation Oncology

Human Resource Management – 15%
Manages the human resources of the department, to include the faculty and the department staff, in accordance with University of Washington and School of Medicine policy and procedures.
Key human resource (HR) management responsibilities:

• Department policies regarding Federal, state, UW, SOM, FHCC, and other local laws/agreements
• HR measurement/monitoring systems
• Pay policies that are in line with trends/benchmarks or SOM policies/directives
• Strategic planning in recruitment/retention of faculty and staff
• Academic HR including medical staff privileges and appointments
• Academic HR interface and alignment with FHCC Division of Radiation Oncology including all joint appointments
• Overall Departmental staffing needs and requirements

Operations Management – 10%
Manages department operations to ensure the day-to-day and cyclic requirements are met; plans, resources, and monitors programmatic activities; prepares reports, terminates, or continues programs; plans or coordinates marketing documents or activities. Key operations management responsibilities:

• School of Medicine Practice Plans
• FHCC Practice Plans
• Change management
• Relationship building and partner negotiations
• Records management
• Residency, fellowship, clerkship, undergraduate, and graduate student programs;

Practice Plan Management – 10%
Manages the practice plans(s) of the department to include the member appointment process, budget process, revenue cycle, funds flow projections, pro forma accounting, the incentive plan, and compliance requirements.  Key practice plan management responsibilities:

• Forecasting/Planning/Reporting
• Revenue Cycle Management
• Education and Compliance

Information Management – 10%
Manages the information requirements of the department, to include academic, business, educational and research information needs; incorporating and utilizing the existing Information Technology architecture. Key information management responsibilities:

• Department website and on-line presence
• Department newsletter, CME brochures and mailings, scientific presentations and other public relations communications
• University and department external fundraising in collaboration with UW Medicine Advancement
• Align fundraising through FHCC for Radiation Oncology and work with FHCC Advancement Office
• Information Technology architecture and software
• Information security and reliability

Research Management – 10%
Manages the research resources of the department, to include grant and contract staff and processes, research staff support, capital equipment, physical plant, IRB, and Protected Health Information (PHI) compliance issues. Key research management responsibilities are:

• Grant and contract administration
• Research sponsorship, pre-submission activities, IRB and animal research compliance
• Principal Investigator research program transfers
• Research Facility Management
• Database Management
• Partnership with FHCC Division of Radiation Oncology Grants Management to ensure compliance

Facilities Management – 10%
Manages facilities to ensure effective, efficient, and safe operations and preservation of resources. The department is decentralized with its space, occupying clinical and administrative space at UW Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Harborview Medical Center, UWMC-Montlake, UWMC-Northwest, UWMC Stadium Clinic, Roosevelt 1, Roosevelt Commons, and Northgate Thornton Place.  Key facilities management responsibilities:

• Space planning, policies and assignments for staff and faculty
• Long-range space planning and renovation projects
• Compliance with fire and safety codes and laboratory requirements
• Equipment inventory systems and capital planning
• Off-campus lease arrangements

Educational Program(s) Management – 10%
Supports program director(s) and faculty in management of educational program(s).
Key educational program management responsibilities:

• Supporting Program Directors (Residency, Medical Student, Fellowship, Graduate, Undergraduate, etc.) and faculty leaders in the management of educational programs
• Department policies in alignment with ACGME, ECFMG, RRC, and professional societies
• Periodic program reviews for accreditation/certification and training grant renewals
• Accredited and non-accredited Continuing Medical Education community
• Academic appointments of visiting scholars and visiting scientists

Compliance and Risk Management – 5%
Promotes compliance and manages risk in accordance with policies of the University, UW Medicine, FHCC, and other oversight bodies, to ensure operations and resources are in alignment with mission and requirements. Key compliance and risk responsibilities:

• Compliance with federal, state, and industry laws or policies on corporate compliance;
• HIPAA training and policy implementation
• Investigations and coordination with oversight bodies
• Operational risk assessment and mitigation
• Internal audit plans

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

• This position requires a minimum of 5 years of experience and a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA), Health Care Administration, Public Health, or related field.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS 

• Management-level administrative experience, preferably in a research institution environment or academic medical center.
• Demonstrated competence in financial operations, business planning, financial analysis, and strategic planning.
• Demonstrated experience working with large, highly structured personnel systems.
• Proven leadership, communication, team building, and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated ability to address complex and sensitive administrative issues with diplomacy and effectiveness.
• Strong employee relations skills and experience working with diverse faculty and staff.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, with a high level of initiative, and as part of a team.