Overview
SHR Talent is partnering with a healthcare client in the Houston, Texas area in its search for a Director of Surgical Services. This leadership opportunity is responsible for the strategic, operational, financial, and clinical oversight of Surgical Services within one of the nation’s premier women’s and children’s hospitals. The Director will ensure the delivery of high-quality, patient-centered care while driving operational excellence, physician engagement, employee development, service line growth, and exceptional patient experiences across perioperative services.
The Director of Surgical Services will oversee a diverse and highly specialized surgical platform serving both women’s and pediatric populations. This leader will collaborate closely with executive leadership, physicians, nursing teams, and interdisciplinary departments to optimize patient throughput, support quality initiatives, enhance patient satisfaction, and ensure operational and financial performance. The ideal candidate will possess strong perioperative leadership experience within an acute care hospital environment and a proven ability to lead complex surgical programs while fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and clinical excellence.
This role offers the opportunity to lead a growing surgical division that includes women’s health, pediatric surgery, neonatal surgery, oncology, breast reconstruction, GI, colorectal, and general surgery programs. The organization is also expanding its pediatric cardiovascular capabilities through the development of a congenital heart surgery program and dedicated CVOR. The Director will play a key role in supporting growth initiatives, robotics programs, physician partnerships, and long-term strategic planning for Surgical Services.
Responsibilities:
- Provide strategic and operational leadership for Surgical Services, including Operating Rooms, Pre-Op, PACU, and perioperative support functions
- Ensure the delivery of high-quality, patient-centered care through implementation of evidence-based clinical practices, quality initiatives, and operational excellence programs
- Lead staffing, workforce planning, employee engagement, succession planning, coaching, mentoring, and performance management efforts across Surgical Services
- Collaborate with physicians, executive leadership, and interdisciplinary teams to optimize surgical throughput, patient flow, quality outcomes, and patient satisfaction
- Oversee departmental budgeting, labor management, productivity initiatives, capital planning, supply utilization, and expense management to achieve financial goals
- Develop and implement policies, procedures, and clinical standards that support regulatory compliance, accreditation readiness, and patient safety
- Drive service line growth initiatives through strategic planning, physician partnerships, program development, and implementation of advanced technologies
- Lead patient experience initiatives and utilize performance metrics, feedback mechanisms, and quality indicators to drive continuous improvement efforts
- Support development of emerging service lines, including pediatric cardiovascular surgery and future CVOR expansion initiatives
- Foster a culture of accountability, transparency, teamwork, and continuous improvement throughout the perioperative division
Qualifications:
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) required
Master’s degree in Nursing, Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, or related field preferred
- License(s) or Certification(s)
Current Registered Nurse (RN) license required
Additional perioperative, pediatric, or nursing leadership certifications preferred
- Job Experience and/or Industry Experience
Minimum of 1+ year of recent Surgical Services leadership experience at the Director level or equivalent high-level management experience required
Minimum of 3+ years of Surgical Services experience required
Acute care hospital experience required
Pediatric, NICU, Mother-Baby, Labor & Delivery, or Women's Services experience strongly preferred
Experience leading perioperative teams, physician relationships, quality initiatives, operational performance, and patient satisfaction efforts required
Experience supporting robotics programs, specialty surgical services, and high-volume surgical environments preferred
Experience utilizing Electronic Medical Records (EMR/EHR), perioperative documentation systems, surgical scheduling software, workforce management platforms, and Microsoft Office Suite required
Strong leadership, physician collaboration, operational management, financial acumen, strategic planning, patient experience leadership, and team development skills
Ability to lead large multidisciplinary teams while maintaining exceptional standards for patient safety, quality care, and operational performance
Strong communication, change management, problem-solving, and organizational capabilities
Experience utilizing operational, quality, and financial metrics to drive performance improvement and achieve departmental goals preferred
Candidate Profile Highlights:
- Progressive Surgical Services leadership experience within an acute care hospital environment
- Strong preference for candidates with pediatric, women’s services, NICU, Mother-Baby, Labor & Delivery, or children’s hospital experience
- Experience managing high-volume surgical departments with multiple service lines and physician stakeholders
- Demonstrated accomplishments improving patient satisfaction, surgical throughput, staffing efficiency, quality outcomes, and financial performance through measurable metrics
- Experience supporting robotics programs, service line growth initiatives, and complex surgical specialties preferred
- Ability to clearly articulate operational achievements, leadership impact, and performance improvements through data-driven examples during the interview process
#IND123
