Director, Patient Services

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Department

Job Summary

The Director of Patient Services provides strategic and operational leadership for two critical patient-facing programs at Denver Health: Spiritual Care and Language Services. This role ensures that patients, families, and staff receive timely, compassionate, and equitable support during moments of care, crisis, and communication need.

In partnership with the Chief Patient Experience Officer and organizational leaders, the Director contributes to the development of the enterprise vision for patient services and is responsible for executing the shared strategy across Spiritual Care and Language Services. The Director leads enterprise-wide operations, workforce development, and program modernization for frontline chaplains and medical interpreters, advancing Denver Health's commitment to trust, equity, and human-centered care.

The Director directly supervises the Manager/Senior Manager of Spiritual Care and the Manager/Senior Manager of Language Services and is accountable for service quality, regulatory compliance, innovation, sustainability, and the end-to-end management of internal and external service delivery resources, including high-impact vendor contracts and partnerships, across both programs.

Essential Functions:

• Contribute to the development of the enterprise vision and strategy for patient services in partnership with the Chief Patient Experience Officer and organizational leaders, and lead execution of the shared strategy across Spiritual Care and Language Services. (15%)
• Set and operationalize system-wide service models for Spiritual Care and Language Services, ensuring reliable, equitable, and patient-centered access across inpatient, outpatient, emergency, behavioral health, and public health settings. (15%)
• Provide enterprise operational oversight for Spiritual Care and Language Services, ensuring consistent 24/7 service delivery, high-quality frontline support, and alignment with clinical and operational needs. (20%)
• Lead and develop people leaders, directly supervising program managers and supporting workforce planning, succession, performance management, and a culture rooted in compassion, accountability, and inclusion. (15%)
• Ensure regulatory and legal compliance across both programs, including Title VI, ADA, Joint Commission standards, and applicable professional practice guidelines; overseeing audit readiness, grievance response, and corrective action planning. (10%)
• Provide strategic and tactical leadership for vendor relationships, including vendor selection, contract negotiation, performance management, issue resolution, and ongoing optimization of high-impact interpretation, translation, and related service contracts (15%)
• Advance innovation and modernization, leveraging data, digital tools, EMR integration (Epic), remote services, and emerging technologies to improve access, efficiency, and patient outcomes. (5%)
• Serve as a trusted advisor and collaborator to executive leadership, clinical teams, and hospital committees on matters related to spiritual support, communication equity, and patient-centered care. (5%)

Education:

• Bachelor's Degree required.
• Master's Degree Health Administration, Public Health, Divinity, Social Work, Linguistics, or a related field strongly preferred.

Work Experience:

• 10+ years progressive leadership experience in healthcare operations, patient services, language access, spiritual care, or related fields, including senior-level management of multidisciplinary teams and system-wide programs required.

Licenses:

• ACC-Board Certified Associate Chaplain - ACCC - Association of Certified Christian Chaplains required,

-OR-

• BCC-Board Certified Chaplain - APC, SCA, NAJC, NACC, or equivalent required,

-OR-

• CHI-Certified Healthcare Interpreter - CCHI - Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters required,

-OR-

• CMI-Certified Medical Interpreter - NBCMI - National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters required.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Expert knowledge of patient-facing healthcare services and equity-focused support models, including spiritual care and language access, within complex, multi-site health systems.
• Strong working knowledge of healthcare regulatory and accreditation standards, with the ability to interpret requirements, assess risk, and guide leaders through compliance and audit readiness.
• Advanced leadership and judgment, including the ability to navigate ambiguity, set priorities, and make sound decisions that balance patient needs, operational realities, and organizational strategy.
• Demonstrated capability to influence and collaborate across disciplines, building trust and alignment with executive leaders, clinicians, managers, frontline teams, and external partners.
• Analytical and systems-thinking skills, with the ability to synthesize data, operational insights, and qualitative input to inform decisions and drive improvement.
• Exceptional communication and relationship-building skills, including the ability to convey complex issues clearly, lead difficult conversations, and represent patient services effectively at the enterprise level.

Shift

Work Type

Salary

Benefits

• Outstanding benefits including up to 27 paid days off per year, immediate retirement plan employer contribution up to 9.5%, and generous medical plans

• Free RTD EcoPass (public transportation)

• On-site employee fitness center and wellness classes

• Childcare discount programs & exclusive perks on large brands, travel, and more

• Tuition reimbursement & assistance

• Education & development opportunities including career pathways and coaching

• Professional clinical advancement program & shared governance

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) eligible employer+ free student loan coaching and assistance navigating the PSLF program

• National Health Service Corps (NHCS) and Colorado Health Service Corps (CHSC) eligible employer

Our Values

• Respect

• Belonging

• Accountability

• Transparency

All job applicants for safety-sensitive positions must pass a pre-employment drug test, once a conditional offer of employment has been made.

Denver Health is an integrated, high-quality academic health care system considered a model for the nation that includes a Level I Trauma Center, a 555-bed acute care medical center, Denver's 911 emergency medical response system, 10 family health centers, 19 school-based health centers, Rocky Mountain Poison & Drug Safety, a Public Health Institute, an HMO and The Denver Health Foundation.

As Colorado's primary, and essential, safety-net institution, Denver Health is a mission-driven organization that has provided billions in uncompensated care for the uninsured. Denver Health is viewed as an Anchor Institution for the community, focusing on hiring and purchasing locally as applicable, serving as a pillar for community needs, and caring for more than 185,000 individuals and 67,000 children a year.

Located near downtown Denver, Denver Health is just minutes away from many of the cultural and recreational activities Denver has to offer.

Denver Health is an equal opportunity employer (EOE). We value the unique ideas, talents and contributions reflective of the needs of our community.

Applicants will be considered until the position is filled.