Director, Patient Experience

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Department

Job Summary

The Director of Patient Experience provides strategic and operational leadership for Denver Health's enterprise-wide patient experience program. This role is responsible for shaping and executing strategies that improve how patients and families experience care across the organization.

The Director leads system-wide efforts related to patient advocacy, service excellence, experience education and coaching, data analytics and reporting, and the execution of patient experience improvement initiatives. In close partnership with executive, clinical, and operational leaders, the Director aligns patient experience priorities with organizational goals and advances Denver Health's commitment to trust, equity, and human-centered care by embedding patient voice, accountability, and continuous improvement across the care continuum.

The Director manages key patient experience resources, including vendor partnerships, budgets, and measurement approaches, and is accountable for experience performance, regulatory compliance related to grievances, and the sustainability and impact of patient experience initiatives. The Director directly supervises the Service Excellence Manager and the Patient Advocate team and serves as a trusted advisor on patient experience strategy, performance, and improvement.

Essential Functions:

• Contribute to the development of the enterprise patient experience vision and strategy in partnership with the Chief Patient Experience Officer and organizational leaders, and lead execution of the shared strategy across the system. (15%)
• Lead the system-wide patient experience program, including experience education, coaching, fac15ilitation, and consultation for leaders, managers, and frontline teams to strengthen patient-centered behaviors and service excellence. (15%)
• Oversee patient experience data analytics and reporting, integrating patient experience surveys/metrics, grievances, patient portal feedback, executive complaints, and other feedback sources to identify trends, benchmark performance, prioritize improvement, and inform organizational decision-making. (15%)
• Provide operational oversight of Patient Advocacy and Service Excellence, ensuring timely, consistent, and compliant management of complaints, grievances, and service recovery in accordance with CMS, CDPHE, and Joint Commission standards. (15%)
• Partner with clinical and operational leaders across the organization, anticipating emerging issues, strengthening interdepartmental collaboration, and embedding patient experience improvement into care delivery, performance improvement initiatives, and daily workflows. (15%)
• Champion a culture of service excellence, accountability, teamwork, and respectful communication, reinforcing shared responsibility for empathy, responsiveness, and patient-centered behaviors across the organization. (10%)
• Lead and develop teams and resources, including direct supervision of the Service Excellence Manager and Patient Advocate staff, stewardship of departmental budgets and financial strategies, and effective allocation of resources to support patient experience priorities. (10%)
• Serve as a trusted advisor and steward of the patient voice, including leadership of patient- and family-centered councils, participation in professional learning and benchmarking activities, and ensuring patient feedback meaningfully informs policies, improvement initiatives, and care design. (5%)

Education:

• Bachelor's Degree Health Administration, Public Health, Business, Nursing, or a related field required.
• Master's Degree Health Administration, Public Health, Business, Nursing, or a related field required (or equivalent combination of education and experience).

Work Experience:

• 10+ years progressive healthcare leadership experience, including significant responsibility in patient experience, patient relations, service excellence, or related fields required.
• 1-3 years formal people leadership or supervisory experience required.
• 1-3 years experience working in a complex, multi-site healthcare delivery system required.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Expert knowledge of patient experience principles and practices, including patient advocacy, service excellence, experience education, and integration of patient voice across diverse care settings.
• Strong working knowledge of healthcare regulatory and grievance standards, with the ability to interpret requirements, assess risk, and guide compliant management of complaints, grievances, and service recovery.
• Advanced leadership judgment and systems thinking, including the ability to translate shared strategy into coordinated, enterprise-wide execution and sustained improvement.
• Demonstrated ability to influence and collaborate across disciplines, building trust and alignment with executive leaders, clinicians, operational partners, and frontline teams.
• Analytical and interpretive skills, with the ability to synthesize patient experience data, qualitative feedback, and operational insights into clear priorities and actionable improvement strategies.
• Exceptional communication, facilitation, and relationship-building skills, including the ability to coach leaders, lead difficult conversations, and represent patient experience 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.