Chief Academic Officer

Job Description:

The Chief Academic Officer (CAO) serves as the senior physician leader responsible for advancing and integrating undergraduate and graduate medical education (UME and GME) within the hospital. The role embeds medical education into clinical operations, quality and safety efforts, and hospital strategy while maintaining alignment with enterprise standards and regulatory requirements.

Reporting Relationship
• Solid-line reporting relationship to hospital medical leadership / hospital CMO.
• Matrixed, tight partnership with the Enterprise Designated Institutional Official to maintain enterprise alignment and regulatory consistency.
• Program Directors report through the academic leadership structure at the hospital level

Essential Functions

Medical Education Leadership

• Provide overall site leadership for Graduate Medical Education and Undergraduate Medical Education programs.
• Oversee recruitment for Program Directors, Associate Program Directors, academic faculty, and program administrators.
• Conduct annual review of program leadership and ensure infrastructure and resources are available to support learner success.
• Chair the hospital GMEC, where applicable.

Faculty, Scholarship, and Research Infrastructure

• Advise and mentor academic faculty in academic appointment and promotion processes.
• Participate in enterprise academic/research initiatives and collaborate with hospital and enterprise research leaders on scholarly activity infrastructure.
• Support quality improvement, education scholarship, and clinical research.
• Enable trainee and faculty access to resources, mentorship, and local processes.

Hospital Operations and Clinical Integration

• Embed education into clinical operations and hospital strategy.
• Partner with hospital leadership on clinical learning environment issues, including learner access to call rooms, transportation, lactation rooms, and food services.
• Ensure learners are represented in quality and safety initiatives and have opportunities to participate in QI projects.
• Ensure learner impact is considered when responding to quality and safety concerns.
• Maintain budgetary oversight of GME programs including both revenue and appropriate expense management.

Leadership Engagement

• Serve on the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) of the hospital, as appropriate for role scope.
• Participate in Quality, Medical Executive Committee, and other key hospital committees.
• Represent medical education at the hospital level.

Accreditation, Compliance, Growth, and Liaison

• Ensure ACGME/CMS compliance in coordination with the ACMO – Med Ed, support accreditation readiness, and implement enterprise policies.
• Lead program expansion assessments, efforts, and development, including Program Director support for new and growing programs.
• Represent medical education for medical students and non-Intermountain rotating residents/fellows.
• Serve as liaison to enterprise partners, Sponsoring Institutions, and Medical Schools.
• Coordinate with enterprise leadership on resident compensation, CMS funding, and cap implications.

Skills

• Medical education leadership across UME and GME
• ACGME/CMS compliance and accreditation readiness
• Hospital operations, quality, safety, and clinical learning environment leadership
• Program development, strategic growth assessment, and academic infrastructure planning
• Faculty mentorship, scholarship support, and academic appointment/promotion advising
• Stakeholder liaison work with medical schools, sponsoring institutions, enterprise partners, Program Directors, faculty, and hospital leaders
• Committee leadership, communication, collaboration, and change management

Minimum Qualifications

• MD or DO with ABMS or equivalent AOA Board Certification in a relevant specialty.
• Active Medical Licensure
• Minimum three years of clinical experience in relevant specialty and experience in leading successful quality improvement projects within the clinical setting.
• Effective verbal, written, and interpersonal communications skills.

Physical Requirements

• Ongoing need for employee to see and read information, documents, monitors, identify equipment and supplies, and be able to assess customer needs.
• Frequent interactions with providers, colleagues, customers, patients/clients, and visitors that require employee to verbally communicate as well as hear and understand spoken information, needs, and issues quickly and accurately.
• Manual dexterity of hands and fingers to manipulate complex and delicate equipment with precision and accuracy. This includes frequent computer use for typing, accessing needed information, etc.

This is an exempt, part-time position with a compensation range of $220/hour or $228,800, annually. With this position, you are eligible to participate in the Annual Pay for Performance (AP4P) Plan. This plan enables Intermountain Health to provide leaders with an additional performance compensation opportunity. The AP4P award opportunities are calculated as a percentage of your base salary. Awards are paid out based on attainment of selected Board-approved goals.

Location:

Saint Joseph Hospital

Work City:

Denver

Work State:

Colorado

Scheduled Weekly Hours:

20

The hourly range for this position is listed below. Actual hourly rate dependent upon experience. 

$70.00 - $450.00

We care about your well-being – mind, body, and spirit – which is why we provide our caregivers a generous benefits package that covers a wide range of programs to foster a sustainable culture of wellness that encompasses living healthy, happy, secure, connected, and engaged.

Learn more about our comprehensive benefits package here.

By applying for a position with Intermountain, I acknowledge that I will comply with all applicable Intermountain policies and expectations. If applying for a remote or hybrid role, this includes remote work expectations related to confidentiality, information security, work schedules, conflicts of interest, and use of company equipment. I further acknowledge that outside employment or activities may not interfere with job responsibilities or create a conflict of interest with Intermountain. Actual or reasonably perceived conflicts may be grounds for disqualification from consideration or, if hired, corrective action up to and including termination of employment.

Intermountain Health is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

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All positions subject to close without notice.