Job Description

Washington Permanente Medical Group (WPMG) is a clinician-led, self-governed, and independent multi-specialty group practice, providing care to Kaiser Permanente patients in Washington state. We work unencumbered by traditional health care obstacles and without silos; prioritizing people over profits, collaboration over ego, and driven by a singular goal: our patients' health. At WPMG, we take care of the whole person, with a team to address the fundamental, social, and emotional needs that contribute to total health. We are clinicians motivated by the desire to make a purposeful difference in the communities we serve, and in how health care is delivered.

Admin FTE for this role is 0.6. Minimum of 0.2 FTE of clinical practice is required and can be up to 0.4.

Pay range: minimum $331,919 and maximum $454,683 + clinical

Please submit a CV and letter of intent. Deadline for submission 9/11/26

The Senior Medical Director, People & Culture and WPMG Compliance Program reports directly to the Executive Medical Director (EMD) and serves as the senior physician leader responsible for advancing clinician engagement, organizational culture, wellness, inclusion, professional conduct, disciplinary action, performance management program and compliance across WPMG. Working in close partnership with Foundation and Health Plan People & Culture leaders, this role helps implement enterprise workforce and culture strategies within the Medical Group while ensuring alignment with WPMG priorities and organizational objectives.

The Senior Medical Director serves as a trusted advisor to physician, operational, and executive leaders, supporting complex personnel issues. They help drive organizational effectiveness, leadership development, conflict resolution, and change management efforts across the Medical Group. This leader plays a critical role in fostering collaboration, strengthening trust, improving team dynamics, and helping leaders and departments successfully navigate organizational challenges and transformation. They oversee performance management of clinicians, and revisions to HR policies and procedures to ensure consistent interpretation of regulations and procedures.

In addition, the Senior Medical Director leads the WPMG Compliance Program and provides oversight of clinician-related compliance, professional conduct, Medical Group bylaws and policies, and applicable regulatory requirements. Through proactive consultation, education, risk identification, and partnership with compliance and operational leaders, this role promotes a culture of integrity, accountability, inclusion, and continuous improvement in support of exceptional patient care and organizational performance.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Culture, Professional Development & Workforce Wellness:

• As a leader of a team, demonstrates continuous learning and maintains a highly skilled and engaged workforce by aligning resource plans with business objectives; partnering with the Foundation for recruitment, selection, and development of talent; motivating teams; preparing individuals for growth opportunities and advancement; staying current with industry trends, benchmarks, and best practices; providing guidance when difficult decisions need to be made; and ensuring performance management guidelines and expectations drive business needs.
• Provides executive oversight of clinician wellness and professional fulfillment activities within WPMG. Through leadership of the Wellness function, partners with Foundation and enterprise leaders to implement organization-wide wellness strategies, standards, and programs within the medical group. Ensures effective local execution of wellness initiatives; identifies and escalates clinician well-being risks and opportunities; monitors outcomes and engagement; and advises medical group leadership on actions to strengthen clinician resilience, professional satisfaction, retention, and workforce sustainability.
• Provides executive oversight of clinician inclusion and belonging initiatives within WPMG. Through leadership of the, Inclusion function, supports the implementation of Foundation-established inclusion strategies, standards, and priorities within clinician operations. Partners with Foundation, HR, and operational leaders to promote an inclusive culture, support leadership accountability, monitor progress against established goals, and ensure alignment with regulatory requirements, organizational values, and workforce objectives.
• Partners with Market HR Leadership Team to ensure the delivery of high-quality, timely and responsive services aligned to the goals of the enterprise. Evaluates the effectiveness of services and recommends modifications/changes for areas of responsibility based on client feedback.
• Promotes a culture of integrity, inclusion, and ethical practice across clinician services. Acts as a visible role model for Kaiser Permanente’s Code of Ethical Conduct (Principles of Responsibility) and ensures culturally sensitive HR services are delivered at every level.
• Leads the governance and oversight of clinician engagement measurement processes, partnering with organizational leaders to interpret survey data, identify improvement opportunities, and drive sustainable actions that strengthen engagement, retention, and workforce effectiveness.

Clinician Relations and Professional Practice:

• Ensures the development of effective clinician employee relations strategies that align and support a sustainable clinician employee relations program. Develops implementation of action plans and methods for monitoring progress on the strategy. Applies effective interpersonal and formal presentation skills and builds trust with key stakeholders to influence optimal organizational outcomes. Guides problem resolution to issues related to clinician employee relations. Ensure strategies are considered in the context of the changing environment, the workforce and current regional realities.
• Provides consultation, guidance and coaching to executive/senior leaders and managers for complex, sensitive and high-risk clinician employment related matters.
• Directs and/or partners in the oversight of clinician employee relations activities by ensuring team members provide specialized consultation on clinician employee relations (e.g., performance management, employee discipline issues); analyzing and reviewing research and providing recommendations and assistance on employment related regulations both at the State and Federal level; serving as a point of advice, problem resolution, and facilitation for escalated employee relations issues; advising employees and management regarding employee relations policies, procedures, and documentation; managing the research, identification and analysis of employee relations concerns; managing arbitration and negotiation efforts; and defining problem resolution strategies.
• Directs and/or partners on complex HR investigations involving clinicians based on standard KP or negotiated labor practices by overseeing the collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data; conducting interviews on escalated issues; reviewing and evaluating research on key business issues; ensuring the creation of appropriate documentation; and evaluating and recommending corrective action plans for substantiated allegations.
• Responsible for clinician talent review.
• Leads the administration and oversight of the physician advancement-to-shareholder program and serves as a strategic advisor to the PMG Board of Directors on shareholder approval processes, ensuring objective evaluation, succession planning, and alignment with Medical Group standards and priorities.
• Supports clinician development, retention, professionalism, and succession planning initiatives.
• Provides executive oversight of clinician performance management and goal planning systems, establishing standards, monitoring effectiveness, promoting leadership accountability, and ensuring consistent application across the Medical Group.

Compliance Program Leadership:

• Oversees and manages the WPMG Compliance program, providing regular reports to the WPMG Board of Directors ensuring full alignment with internal audit functions and external regulatory requirements.
• Provides regular compliance reporting and recommendations to the EMD, Executive Leadership Team, Compliance Oversight Committee, WPMG Board.
• Promotes a culture of integrity, ethical conduct, accountability, and regulatory compliance throughout the Medical Group.
• Provides counsel to executive/senior leaders, managers regarding the interpretation and application of compliance requirements of various nature that create risk for the Medical Group..
• Directs activities and initiatives to ensure continued regulatory compliance for multiple business functions by staying abreast of, interpreting, and designing strategy around regulatory changes; determining the impact of changes to the business; providing direction on implementation of changes throughout the business; providing regulatory input before and during inspections to minimize the risks of future non-compliance.
• Ensure compliance with all medical group bylaws and policies, liaison with PMG Board on ongoing policy development, improvement and compliance. Serves as HR rep for all medical group policies referencing “HR” or “VP HR”.
• Serves on Compliance Oversight Committee.
• Partners with KFHP and Foundation to ensure compliance with external requirements.
• Directs and oversees monitoring and compliance programs related to clinician conflicts of interest and transparency requirements, including annual conflict-of-interest disclosures, Sunshine Act compliance activities, issue identification, escalation, corrective action oversight, and reporting to appropriate leadership and governance bodies to ensure adherence to organizational policies and regulatory requirements.

Executive Strategic Advising:

• Strategic consultant to care delivery leadership team on matters including clinician and care delivery team change management
• Advises on implementation of organizational change by identifying requirements; assessing information to identify solutions to obstacles and mitigating risks; consulting with and communicating change management strategy to internal and external stakeholders and vendors; providing input in the creation or revision of change management plans; developing communications; communicating regional differences at a national level; and monitoring ongoing impact of organizational changes or efforts on employees.
• Serves as a strategic partner with executive/senior leaders to influence and guide the development and deployment of strategies, programs, policies, and procedures by reviewing organizational data and processes to identify impact of trends, root causes, and potential solutions to HR issues; delivering data driven recommendations on HR efforts; partnering with leaders to ensure solutions are aligned with both HR and business objectives; evaluating HR impact in consideration of changing business strategies; and overseeing relationships between HR Centers of Excellence and business stakeholders.
• Ensures human resources support activities are aligned with the overall business strategy by overseeing the execution of support to internal and external stakeholders on diverse HR specialties; reviewing and approving human resources activities; identifying and leveraging additional resources and expertise; ensuring human resources activities are fully documented.
• Collaborates with the KPMF recruiting team as needed with market specific recruiting activities to ensure effective strategies.
• Partners with KFHPW HR and Foundation People & Culture leaders to align policies, investigations and workforce strategies that support coordinated care delivery operations and organizational objectives.

Policy Workgroup Leadership:

• Oversees the HR Policy Workgroup and directs the drafting, review, revision, interpretation and governance of HR-related policies and procedures as authorized by the PMG Board, ensuring alignment with organizational objectives, regulatory requirements and Medical Group standards while promoting consistent implementation and compliance across the organization.

Other duties as assigned

JOB SPECIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

REQUIRED

PREFERRED

Medical Degree

MD, DO, with experience in a health care business leadership role not including required experience below. Completion of approved residency program.

MBA, MHA, or MPH – health administration or related field.

LICENSES, CERTIFICATIONS OR OTHER ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS

REQUIRED

PREFERRED

Minimum

Unrestricted appropriate Washington State license, e.g., physician license.

Credentialed by KPWA

Board Certified by ABMS or member of ACPE or another appropriate accreditation

Meets WPMG performance standards for quality, service, access, coding and documentation. Maintains Board Certification and seeks to maintain knowledge of major advances in the practice of medicine and within specialty area.

Minimum five (5) years of progressive leadership experience, including at least 2 years formal supervisory experience.

Bachelor's degree in human resources, business, social science, public administration, health services or related field or equivalent work experience in a directly related field (Current or previously held leadership positions can count toward this requirement)

Must take the Society Human Resource Management-Senior Certified Professional exam within two (2) years of start date

Minimum two (2) years leadership experience in care delivery operations

Highly respected and credible clinician and leader

Demonstrated excellent verbal and written communication skills

Minimum eight (8) years of experience of human resources or in health services, business operations with a significant focus on human resources or related discipline

Two (2) years’ experience in medical group and physician HR

Two (2) years organizational development experience.

Society Human Resource Management-Senior Certified Professional eligible (work history of at least three (3) years performing strategic level HR/HR-related duties)

Five (5) years’ experience working cross-functionally across departments, functions, or business lines.

Five (5) years of health care experience.

Four (4) years’ experience managing operational or project budgets.

Master's degree or additional training in Human Resources, Business, Social Science, Public Administration, Operational Excellence, leadership, OD/OE, & culture shaping.

Human Resources Professional Certification (e.g. SHRM-SCP or SPHR-CP).

Professional Coaching Certification

COMPETENCIES

Competencies Skills, Knowledge & Behaviors that are necessary for performing the job

1. Leading as One: Ability and desire to partner with the Foundation, WPMG, and Health Plan to ensure operational alignment, reductions in waste, and efficient/effective work.
2. Leading Change: Guidance and encouragement given to a team to successfully navigate change and remain flexible/adaptable. Helping others let go of outdated ways of thinking/acting. Resetting goals and expectations in response to change.
3. Honesty, Transparency & Courage: Acts in an honest, authentic, and morally responsible way, sharing what they can without sugar-coating. Leans into difficult conversations within and outside of their immediate team
4. Accountability & Ownership: Works to create clarity regarding who is on point for any given task or project and sets clear due dates, deliverables, and goals. Holds self and direct reports accountable for performance. Often asks “what more can I do?” Admits mistakes. Does not blame others or make excuses. Follows through with what they say.
5. Inclusive Leadership: Seeks feedback to improve self and team. Creates an inclusive environment where everyone feels respected and comfortable speaking up, partnering with one another, admitting mistakes, and seeking out different perspectives.
6. Performance Management: Holds others accountable for behavior and performance. Directs and drives difficult physician, clinician, and staff performance management issues. Provides others with positive and constructive performance feedback on a regular basis.
7. Communication: Communicates in an authentic, clear, and timely manner even when it is difficult. Fosters a thoughtful give and take that encourages mutual learning/understanding.
8. Drive for Results: Leverages those doing the work to identify, prioritize, and track performance against the most important metrics. Sets specific and difficult goals with defined incentives for reaching them and celebrates success. Explains the “why” of the work we do and the problems we are trying to solve.
9. Operational Excellence: Encourages problem solving and continuous improvement mindset, uses systems thinking, builds and encourages others to build standard work and standard processes. Leverages tools like visual boards, huddles, leader standard work, and A3 thinking to empower teams to solve their own problems.
10. Enterprise Mindset: thinks holistically about decisions (beyond their individual team, function, and immediate goals). Advocates for KP and KP’s members not just their team.

Disclaimer, Compliance and Service Language

DISCLAIMER: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by incumbents assigned to this job. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all the responsibilities, duties and skills required. The incumbent may be expected to perform other duties as assigned.

COMPLIANCE & INTEGRITY: Consistently supports compliance and the Principles of Responsibility (Kaiser Permanente's Code of Conduct) by maintaining the privacy and confidentiality of information, protecting the assets of the organization, acting with ethics and integrity, reporting non-compliance, and adhering to applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations, accreditation and licensure requirements (if applicable), and Kaiser Permanente's policies and procedures.

Models and reinforces ethical behavior in self and others in accordance to the Principles of Responsibility; adheres to organizational policies and guidelines; supports compliance initiatives; maintains confidences; admits mistakes; conducts business with honesty; shows consistency in words and actions; follows through on commitments.

All Directors, Managers and Supervisors are accountable for communication, implementation, enforcement, monitoring and oversight of compliance policies and practices in their departments.

SERVICE & QUALITY: In addition to defined technical requirements, accountable for consistently demonstrating service behaviors and principles defined by the Kaiser Permanente Service Quality Credo, the KP Mission as well as specific departmental/organizational initiatives. Also accountable for consistently demonstrating the knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors necessary to provide superior and culturally sensitive service to each other, to our members, and to purchasers, contracted providers and vendors.

WORKPLACE SAFETY: In addition to defined working conditions and physical requirements, employees are accountable for working safely; following established policies & procedures; utilizing all designated protective personal equipment (PPE) and/or safety equipment assigned for task; and reporting all injuries and hazards to their supervisor immediately.

Supervisors and Managers are accountable for ensuring the safety performance of employees; applying consistent practices in compliance with federal, state and local regulations; providing guidance to maintain a safe and healthy work environment.