About the Role
As Executive Director, you’ll hold full operational accountability for one of Thundermist’s three medical locations — West Warwick Medical. You’ll own day-to-day performance, operational execution, and site-level outcomes, with responsibility spanning staffing, workflow, front office and patient access operations, facilities coordination, and site budget performance. Your work directly shapes access, throughput, patient experience, workforce engagement, and the financial health of the site.
Front office, nursing operations, medical assistant teams, and building operations all report to you. You’ll ensure the site operates within Thundermist’s standard operating and access framework, and you’ll be accountable for consistent adoption of organization-wide standards, workflows, and expectations across your team.
You’re fluent in clinical operations and will partner closely with both the Site Medical Director and Behavioral Health leadership. Together, you share accountability for site outcomes — quality, access, patient experience, workforce engagement, and value-based care — while each owning a distinct lane. You own site operations. The Site Medical Director owns clinical quality, provider performance, and clinical risk for medical care delivery. Behavioral Health leadership owns the same for behavioral health care delivery.
You’ll run two dyads: one with the Site Medical Director for medical operations, and one with Behavioral Health leadership for behavioral health operations. In each, you’ll partner closely with your counterpart and resolve issues together — escalating what a dyad can’t resolve to the Chief Operating & Nursing Officer, while your clinical partner escalates to the Chief Medical Officer or Behavioral Health executive as appropriate.
Reporting to the Chief Operating & Nursing Officer, you’ll lead overall site operations and cultivate the community partnerships that strengthen the site’s connection to the population it serves.
What You’ll Do
Clinical Operations & Nursing Leadership
- Direct nursing and medical assistant operations through nurse managers, ensuring safe, compliant, and evidence-based care delivery
- Lead the design and continuous improvement of care models and serve as an operational and clinical resource to staff
- Partner with medical and behavioral health leadership to optimize workflows, patient flow, and team communication to meet patient needs
- Oversee nursing and MA workforce management, including hiring, onboarding, scheduling, and performance
- Align patient demand and capacity with Patient Access and Medical Directors to ensure timely, efficient access to care
Front Office & Building Operations
- Oversee all front office managers to ensure front office and building administration functions are meeting expected outcomes, including scheduling, registration, insurance verification, intake, and check-out
- Develop and sustain patient flow systems and staff training to deliver outstanding patient experience; proactively resolve flow challenges and lead improvement efforts using data sources such as patient feedback surveys
- Analyze patient visit trends and EOB reports to identify opportunities; collaborate with revenue cycle on documentation and claims integrity; manage site budget, purchasing, and facilities coordination
- Serve as liaison to Facilities to address issues affecting patient flow or staff experience; maintain and communicate clear standard operating procedures to all staff
Quality, Compliance & Regulatory Affairs
- Establish, monitor, and actively manage site-level key performance indicators (KPIs) across patient flow, clinical quality, financial performance, workforce productivity, and patient and employee experience; develop action plans to address performance gaps, regularly report outcomes to senior leadership, and ensure alignment with organizational goals and value-based care metrics
- Partner with quality and medical leadership to improve performance on value-based care measures, preventive care outcomes, risk adjustment initiatives, care gap closure, and population health objectives
- Partner with clinical risk to identify operational incident trends, implement corrective strategies, and provide targeted staff retraining as needed; address incident reports accurately and on time
- Ensure ongoing compliance with regulatory requirements including HRSA, FTCA, and OSHA; participate in regulatory site visits and compliance projects; support annual employee health compliance activities
Community Health Outreach & Partnerships
- Serve as the site’s primary community representative; build and sustain partnerships with social service agencies, schools, public health entities, and community-based organizations
- Identify and address community health needs through outreach programs, health education events, and enrollment initiatives; champion health equity and social determinants of health (SDOH) screening for underserved populations
- Represent Thundermist at community coalitions, advisory groups, and local government forums as appropriate
- Identify opportunities for service growth, community partnerships, grant-supported initiatives, and innovative care delivery models that advance organizational strategy and community health needs
Leadership & Organizational Engagement
- Foster an inclusive, mission-driven culture; lead site meetings and huddles, serve as the escalation point for complex patient and staff issues, and ensure bi-directional communication with the broader organization
- Manage staff performance through regular feedback, formal evaluations, coaching, and disciplinary action in partnership with Human Resources; maintain personal continuing education and broad operational knowledge
- Contribute to organization-wide strategic planning and performance improvement as a member of the senior operations team
- Perform other duties as assigned by the Chief Operating & Nursing Officer
What We’re Looking For
You bring deep operational and clinical leadership experience, sound financial judgment, and a genuine commitment to the communities Thundermist serves — with the presence to lead a matrixed, dyad-based team through complex, fast-moving operational demands.
Required
- Master’s degree in Nursing (MSN), Healthcare Administration (MHA), Business Administration (MBA with healthcare focus), Public Health (MPH), or a closely related field
- 5–10 years of progressive leadership experience in a healthcare setting, with demonstrated advancement into operations or executive-level roles
- Proven experience managing both clinical teams (nursing, MAs) and administrative/front desk operations
- Demonstrated knowledge of FQHC operations, HRSA compliance, and value-based care models
- Experience with community health, patient population management, and health equity principles
- Strong financial acumen with experience in budget management, revenue cycle oversight, and data-driven decision making
- Demonstrated ability to build and lead high-performing, mission-driven teams in a matrixed, dyad leadership environment
- Exceptional oral and written communication skills, with proficiency in applicable medical terminology
- A demonstrated commitment to patient-centered, high-quality care for diverse and underserved populations, with an authentic passion for health equity and community health — approaching every patient interaction with compassion, cultural humility, and genuine investment in their well-being, consistent with Thundermist’s mission
Preferred
- Current licensure as a Registered Nurse (RN) in the State of Rhode Island, or equivalent clinical credential
- Experience working in or leading a Federally Qualified Health Center or FQHC look-alike
- Bilingual or multilingual skills aligned with the community served (Spanish or Portuguese preferred)
- Familiarity with electronic health record systems (eClinicalWorks preferred; Epic or NextGen also considered)
- Certification in healthcare management or nursing leadership (e.g., FACHE, CMPE, NE-BC)
- Experience partnering in a physician/administrator dyad or triad leadership structure
Schedule & Locations
This is a full-time, 40-hour-per-week, benefit-eligible leadership position based on-site at Thundermist’s West Warwick Medical location, with regular presence expected during clinic hours. Additional availability is required for site-level operational needs, including evening, weekend, or after-hours response to building, staffing, patient, or Environment of Care issues. Occasional travel to other Thundermist locations and community meetings is required.
Compensation: $113,508 – $170,262
Benefits at Thundermist Health Center
Full-Time Employees Working 40+ Hours/Week
- Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance
- Life Insurance ($75,000) and Long-Term Disability — at no cost
- Flexible Spending Accounts (Health FSA up to $3,300 / Dependent Care FSA up to $5,000)
- Retirement Plan with 1:1 employer match up to 4%
- Critical Illness, Accident Insurance, and Hospital Indemnity
- Wellness Reimbursement up to $200/year
- PTO starting at 22 days, increasing with tenure, plus 6 paid holidays
Work Environment
- Onsite at Thundermist’s West Warwick Medical location
- Moderate physical activity: walking, standing, stooping, and occasional lifting
- Potential exposure to blood-borne pathogens, respiratory disease, infectious diseases, and other biohazardous materials requiring universal standard precautions
- Manual dexterity required for certain medical procedures
- Clinical environment across ambulatory-based and home-based care settings
Our Values
Everything we do at Thundermist is guided by five core values: Integrity, Innovation, Excellence, Community, and Caring. If those resonate with you, you’ll feel at home here.
Ready to join a team that truly cares?
Apply today.
Thundermist Health Center is an equal opportunity employer.
We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.
