Director Standards Development & Program Mana

Job Description

Join Our Mission to Elevate Ambulatory Health Care

At AAAHC, we are more than just a team; we are at the forefront of improving health care quality through accreditation. Our employees are the heartbeat of our mission-based culture, dedicated to applying their diverse skill sets—technical, research, clinical, analytical, and data-driven—to improve health care quality through accreditation. As we celebrate over four decades of excellence, we invite you to become part of our story. Here, your work is not just a job; it’s a journey filled with opportunities to learn, grow, and contribute to a higher purpose. Embrace the chance to be part of a community that values quality every day and strives for excellence in ambulatory health care.

What do we offer?

We prioritize our employees’ wellbeing by providing a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

Compensation: Receive annual merit increase consideration and an annual discretionary bonus

Work-Life Balance: Enjoy generous paid holidays, increasing paid time off with tenure, and potential hybrid schedule eligibility

Health & Wellness: Take advantage of our medical, dental, and vision plans including company contributions to HSA as well as our wellness reimbursement benefit

Retirement Plan: Invest in your future with our robust 401(k) plan that includes a company contribution and match

Professional Development: Advance your career with ongoing training and educational opportunities along with a tuition reimbursement program

Life & Disability Insurance: Experience peace of mind with company-paid short/long-term disability, life, & AD&D insurance

Employee Assistance Program: Access support services for personal needs

Position Description Reporting to the Senior Director, Standards Compliance & Development, the Director, Standards Development & Program Management manages all aspects of the AAAHC Standards development and improvement process. This role is integral to realizing our strategic theme to “measurably drive quality improvement in patient care” specifically by designing standards and accreditation/certification processes that are relevant, evidence-based, practitioner-informed, consensus-driven, and patient-centric. The Director manages the design, development and improvement of existing and new AAAHC accreditation and certification programs including research, competitor and regulatory crosswalks, Standards development, and Subject Matter Expert contributions to FAQs, tools and resources, stakeholder (i.e., staff, client and surveyor) education, articles, press releases, and other resources that contribute to program marketing launch, stakeholder learning, and client participation. Success in this role requires a clinical research background, knowledge and utilization of accreditation standards in a clinical setting, effective workflow and workload management, attention to detail, and a focus on timeliness, thoroughness, and accuracy.

Apply industry-accepted project management and standards development practices to lead, research, design, develop, pilot, package, and launch new and improve existing AAAHC accreditation and certification programs. Collaborate with both internal teams and external stakeholders for standards development that ensures harmony across AAAHC programs and packaged comprehensively to include the tools and resources necessary to support marketing and program participation to specific target audiences

Develop and maintain plan and methodology for both the development of new and revision of existing standards, consistent with best practices in standards development; includes definition and ongoing refinement of the standards architecture and hierarchy (e.g., standards taxonomy, weighting and scoring methodology(ies), interpretative comments, applicability algorithms, level of evidence, references) to ensure AAAHC program consistency and harmonization

Develop and maintain standards development policies and procedures; includes policies that trigger standards and architecture element development or revision, and style guides for writing standards and other related guidance documents

Conduct literature reviews and quantitative and/or qualitative research as needed to support evidence-based standards development; includes medical industry research and crosswalks against competitor programs, state/federal regulatory requirements, and deeming authorities

Develop new, leverage existing, and propose revisions to standards in new program design

Develop, manage and continuously improve the public comment process for new programs and proposed substantive standards revisions including target distribution selection, feedback aggregation, committee review and decision documentation, response development where appropriate, and integration into final program deliverables

Structure and coordinate program pilot(s) including client and surveyor selection, committee feedback review and program refinement where appropriate

Collaborate with other national and international standards development organizations that can bring value to the AAAHC standards

Set up and maintain the electronic systems and tools used to develop and maintain AAAHC standards; collaborate with stakeholders on the integration of standards into 1095 Engage accreditation management system

Define standards via the Standards Builder including requirements for category assignment, standards allocation (universal; selective indicator triggers), surveyor badges (including credentials/practice experience), scoping, and POC triggers

Collaborate with stakeholders on the integration of standards into the Client, Surveyor, Staff, and Committee 1095 Engage system modules including Application requirements to ensure client participation eligibility, selective indicator triggers, and supporting documentation, and POC, Decision Letter, and Certificate requirements

Develop detailed system Change Order specifications for System Developer and actively participate in UAT; includes test case development that addresses the entire program process for new programs

Contribute to the development and measurement of quality assurance and performance management indicators for the ongoing development of new and revision of existing standards; collaborate cross organizationally to gather information regarding client, staff and surveyor standard interpretation variability and standards improvement opportunities.Collaborate with Business Intelligence to establish standards performance dashboard/metrics and monitor program performance during initial and ongoing standards release; recommend and implement refinements as necessary

Committee and Technical Panel Support

Determine and recruit external expertise leveraging AAAHC governance processes necessary for new program/standards development including leveraging medical/professional specialty association support/partnerships, surveyors, and other expertise willing to contribute to program development

Serve as the Primary Staff Liaison for the Standards Development Committee (SDC), and provide backup and oversight of liaison support to the Expert Content Committee (ECC) and Technical Panel volunteer groups appointed to contribute to program design and development; onboard new members, schedule and facilitate conference calls, webinars, and both virtual and in-person meetings; draft committee and technical panel meeting agendas, supporting materials, and minutes, as specified by the organization; maintain BoardEffect portal information for committee communication and minutes approval

Client and Surveyor Support

Serve as the primary Subject Matter Expert (SME) for stakeholder (i.e., staff, client, surveyor) supporting/collateral development and communication that contribute to program marketing launch, stakeholder learning, and Client participation. (MBD and Finance teams are responsible for program pricing and SKU system setup; MBD manages final value proposition/messaging)

Take the lead role in drafting standards-related FAQs and other tools (e.g., Selective Indicator grid)

Support MBD as SME in drafting Triangle Times Today articles, press releases, and other communications/program promotion materials

In collaboration with other SME stakeholders and EDU team, determine survey process and surveyor training requirements to drive effective consistent standards interpretation and application, and survey delivery; serve as new program EDU faculty, as appropriate

General Management

Provide leadership and direction to a high performing team to drive productivity, information sharing and client service excellence that aligns with AAAHC’s overall business objectives; provide hiring, onboarding, training, coaching, leadership, performance reviews, and employee development. Direct development of individual and team goals; develop action plans and monitor progress toward approved goals. Identify goal shortfalls and develop corresponding strategies to remedy

Minimum Qualifications and Job-specific Competencies Required

Bachelor’s degree in a related field (e.g., Nursing, Business, Healthcare Administration, Management, Public Affairs and Policy Management)

Minimum 8 years experience in health care standards development including at least 5 years direct people management

Demonstrated experience in quality improvement and performance measurement methodology and implementation, research survey and other study design and administration, and research literature review and synthesis

Experience with facilitating consensus-seeking processes in a multi-stakeholder setting, specifically with facilitating virtual consensus-seeking content creation processes

Demonstrated project management experience and skills requiring minimal supervision and direction; experience indirectly managing cross-functional project teams and building consensus

Strong analytical skills; independent thinker with proven technical acumen in problem-solving and analyzing datasets; intense attention to detail

Advanced reasoning, critical thinking, and language abilities with strong communication, technical writing and editing, and presentation skills

Advanced proficiency with MS Office products (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and online survey tools (e.g., Qualtrics, Verint)

Preferred Qualifications

Master’s degree in a related field (e.g., Nursing, Business Administration, Healthcare Administration, Public Policy,)

Experience working with volunteer Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)

Active involvement with organization compliance to health care accreditation standards and third-party onsite survey participation

Knowledge of CMS Conditions for Coverage

Certified Professional in Health Care Quality (CPHQ) or other demonstrated knowledge of process improvement

Current clinical certification/licensure (e.g., clinical nurse leader, nurse manager, quality improvement specialist, nurse educator, or occupational safety and health specialist)

Working Conditions & Travel Expectations

Occasional evening conference calls and weekend meetings (e.g., association, client, and committee meetings); average not to exceed 2 calls per month and 1 meeting/quarter

Estimated travel: <10% includes weekends

Physical Requirements

Sedentary work: Exerting up to 10 lbs of force occasionally, and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally, and all other sedentary criteria are met.

Salary varies based on experience, location, and qualifications

Full-time