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Old Dominion University

Director of Clinical Risk Management

Posting Details

Job Title

Department

OFFICE OF RISK MANAGEMENT SS‑VHS

Position Number

FP723A

Location

Norfolk, VA

Job Summary

The Director of Clinical Risk Management provides leadership and oversight of all clinical and operational risk management functions for the Elmer and Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at ODU (VHS), the EVMS Medical Group, and affiliated healthcare entities. Reporting to the Executive Director of Risk Management, this position assists in implementing and managing a comprehensive enterprise risk management (ERM) framework that integrates clinical, operational, financial, and reputational risk strategies across academic and clinical environments. The Director ensures healthcare-related risks are proactively identified, assessed, and mitigated; maintains compliance with accreditation and regulatory standards; and promotes a culture of patient safety and institutional accountability.

This position is required to complete a Statement of Personal Economic Interest upon hire in accordance with the Code of Virginia.

Position Type

FullTime

Type of Recruitment

General Public

Minimum Qualifications

Clinical Risk & Patient Safety Leadership

Expert-level understanding of clinical care processes, standards of care, patient safety science (human factors, high-reliability principles, just culture), diagnostic error, communication failures, transitions of care, medication safety, informed consent, documentation standards, and event prevention.
Ability to provide authoritative, real-time clinical risk guidance to physicians, APPs, nursing, and leadership during active events—balancing patient safety, ethical obligations, and liability exposure across diverse ambulatory and procedural settings.

Specialty-Specific Clinical Risk (Medical Group Practice)

Demonstrated knowledge of specialty-driven risk patterns and controls for:
OB/GYN: fetal monitoring, shoulder dystocia, postpartum hemorrhage, surgical consent, obstetric emergencies, high-risk pregnancy coordination.
Surgery & Procedural Practices (including ENT, Ophthalmology, Dermatology): wrong-site/wrong-procedure prevention, time-outs, specimen management, perioperative communications, sedation/airway considerations, post-op follow-up.
Radiation Oncology: treatment planning verification, dosing/field verification, safety time-outs, documentation of intent and consent, incident reporting pathways.
Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences: suicide/self-harm risk assessment, involuntary holds, capacity/consent, duty to warn, documentation and continuity of care, boundary concerns.
Family & Community Medicine / PM&R: chronic disease management, diagnostic delay, care coordination, opioid/controlled substances risk, functional assessments, therapy/referral management.
Ability to translate these risks into standardized clinic protocols, training, and auditing.

Legal & Regulatory Compliance (Healthcare)

Advanced working knowledge of federal and state healthcare requirements and risk implications (HIPAA/privacy, documentation and record integrity, professional practice standards, scope-of-practice, mandated reporting, informed consent, telehealth considerations, EMTALA awareness when applicable, and patient rights).
Ability to partner with counsel to interpret requirements, set defensible clinical risk positions, and embed compliance into operational workflows.

Claims, Litigation, and Liability Exposure

Strong knowledge of professional liability/medical malpractice concepts: standard of care, causation, damages, documentation defensibility, disclosure and apology frameworks, privilege/peer review protections, claim lifecycle management, deposition preparation coordination, and insurer/TPA engagement.
Ability to oversee investigations with a “claims-ready” approach while prioritizing patient safety improvements.

Healthcare Operations & Systems

Deep familiarity with ambulatory and academic medical group operations, quality structures, credentialing/privileging concepts, interdepartmental workflows, emergency response pathways, patient grievances, and risk controls across clinical sites.
High proficiency with RMIS platforms (e.g., OrigamiRisk) and comfort leveraging EMR data for clinical event review, trend analysis, and corrective action monitoring.

Contracting, Risk Transfer, and Affiliation Governance

Advanced understanding of healthcare contracting risk (insurance requirements, indemnification, limitations of liability, clinical affiliation agreements, GME agreements, coverage for trainees, and third-party clinical services).
Ability to lead risk review and recommend contract language aligned with institutional risk tolerance and clinical realities.

Advanced Clinical and Risk Analysis

Ability to lead analysis of complex adverse events, near misses, patient complaints, and clinical claims; identify deviations from standards of care; evaluate documentation and communication quality; and determine priority mitigations.
Ability to produce clear, defensible executive summaries and recommendations tailored to clinical leaders.

Real-Time Consultative Leadership (High-Risk Events)

Ability to serve as the primary on-call/consultative risk leader for physicians, clinic administrators, nursing, and leadership during sentinel events and high-severity situations.
Ability to directs immediate response actions (care stabilization, escalation pathways, documentation guidance, preservation of evidence, and communication management) while coordinating with Patient Safety, Legal, Compliance, and insurers as needed.

Incident Investigation, RCA, and Corrective Action Governance

Ability to lead or chair RCAs and structured investigations; ensure consistent methodology; manages sensitive interviews; identifies system-level contributors; and drive sustainable corrective actions with defined owners, deadlines, metrics, and follow-up verification.

Disclosure, Communication, and Patient Relations Support

Ability to guide clinically appropriate disclosure processes and communication strategies with patients/families following adverse events, partnering with clinicians, patient relations, and counsel. Ability to ensure coordination of messaging, documentation standards, and follow-up planning.

Education, Training, and Culture of Safety Leadership

Ability to design and deliver targeted education to faculty, residents, fellows, and staff on patient safety, documentation, informed consent, escalation/reporting, and specialty-specific risk controls.
Ability to build a non-punitive learning environment that reinforces accountability, psychological safety, and continuous improvement.

Leadership, Influence, and Stakeholder Management

Demonstrated ability to lead across physician enterprise stakeholders (department chairs, clinic directors, practice administrators) and collaborate with senior executives.
Skilled in aligning diverse groups around risk priorities, establishing standards, and gaining adoption of practice changes.

Program and Project Management

Ability to set annual clinical risk management plans, priorities, and performance goals; manage multiple concurrent initiatives; oversee dashboards and reporting; and ensure timely execution across clinical departments and sites.

Enterprise Clinical Risk Strategy and Program Oversight

Ability to develop and execute a comprehensive clinical risk management program for a medical school and faculty medical group, including governance structures, standardized protocols, and performance monitoring across all clinical specialties and sites.

Prospective Risk Assessment & High-Reliability Methods

Ability to lead FMEA and other prospective risk assessments; identify high-risk clinical workflows; implement controls (standard work, checklists, time-outs, escalation triggers); and measure effectiveness over time.

Claims Prevention and Insurance/TPA Coordination

Ability partner with insurers/TPAs to manage claims exposure, support investigation strategy, improve documentation defensibility, and integrate claims learnings into safety improvements. Ability to ensure effective coordination with counsel and leadership while maintaining appropriate confidentiality and privilege.

Policy Development, Standardization, and Audit/Assurance

Ability to lead development/revision of clinical risk policies (event reporting, informed consent, documentation, chaperone policies, controlled substances practices, test result management, follow-up standards, procedural time-outs, radiation safety verification). Ability to establish audit mechanisms to verify adherence and reduce variation across clinics.

GME Oversight and Trainee Risk Controls

Ability to provide leadership for GME-related risk controls: resident supervision standards, escalation expectations, documentation practices, trainee onboarding/training, rotation agreements, and clear delineation of clinical responsibilities and coverage. Ability to coordinate with GME leadership on complex events and corrective actions.

Data-Driven Risk Trend Analytics and Reporting

Ability to build dashboards and executive reporting for trends in incidents, claims, patient complaints, specialty-specific events, and near misses. Ability to use data to set priorities, allocate resources, and target education and process improvements.

Regulatory Readiness and External Interface

Ability to support readiness for audits, reviews, and inquiries involving clinical risk issues; coordinates responses and documentation; and partner with compliance and counsel on regulatory reporting thresholds and institutional response.

Crisis Response and Sentinel Event Management

Ability to lead risk management response for high-severity events (wrong-site procedure, serious medication error, severe radiation dosing deviation, suicide attempt/self-harm event, severe OB outcomes). Ability to coordinate rapid mitigation, internal notifications, documentation expectations, and follow-up actions.

Clinical Contractual Risk Review and Risk Transfer

Ability to lead contract/affiliation review for clinical services and training arrangements; evaluates insurance and indemnification; recommend risk transfer strategies; and ensure agreements support clinical operations while protecting the institution.

Professional Judgment and Ethical Decision-Making

Ability to navigate ethically complex situations, competing priorities, and high-stakes decisions while maintaining integrity, confidentiality, and alignment with patient safety and organizational risk tolerance.

Relationship Management with Physician Leadership

Ability to partner effectively with department chairs and specialty leaders to implement standards, address practice variation, and resolve sensitive issues without undermining clinical autonomy.

Budget and Resource Planning

Ability to propose resource needs, justify investments (training, RMIS enhancements, audits), and manage program resources to achieve measurable safety and risk outcomes.
MBA, MPH, or other master’s degree in a related field; or a Bachelor’s degree in a related field with related experience equivalent to a master’s degree.
Considerable progressively responsible experience in clinical risk management, including leadership roles.
Demonstrated expertise in clinical risk management, patient safety, and healthcare liability
Considerable knowledge of insurance management, risk financing principles, and regulatory compliance.
Strong leadership, analytical, and communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

Registered Nurse (RN) licensure preferred.
JD or advanced degree in Nursing, Healthcare Administration, or related field strongly preferred.
Certified Professional in Healthcare Risk Management (CPHRM) preferred.

Conditions of Employment

Job Open Date

05/07/2026

Open Until Filled

Yes

Application Review Date

05/25/2026

Job Close Date

Special Instructions to Applicants / Additional Materials Required

Criminal Background Check

The final candidate is required to complete a criminal history check.

Department Information

University Risk Management is serves as a trusted partner to the University community by overseeing the University’s traditional risk management functions, including those supporting the Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University. The department resides within the Office of Audit, Compliance, and Risk Management, and works collaboratively with University partners to advance loss prevention initiatives and manage claims and incidents.

Equity Statement

It is the policy of Old Dominion University to provide equal employment, educational and social opportunities for all persons, without regard to race (or traits historically associated with race including hair texture, hair type, and protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists), color, religion, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), national origin, gender identity or expression, age, veteran status, disability, political affiliation, sexual orientation or genetic information. Individuals from minoritized communities, women, veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Reasonable Accommodation Request

If you are an individual with a disability and require reasonable accommodation, please contact the Division of Talent Management and Culture at (757)683-3141.

Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or © consistent with contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.

ODU Statement

Old Dominion University, located in Norfolk, is Virginia’s forward-focused public doctoral research university with more than 23,000 students, a top R1 research ranking, rigorous academics, an energetic residential community and initiatives that contribute $2.6 billion annually to Virginia’s economy.

Applicant Documents

Required Documents

Resume

Cover Letter/Letter of Application

Optional Documents

Curriculum Vitae

Other Document

Recommendation/Reference Letter 1

Recommendation/Reference Letter 2

Recommendation/Reference Letter 3

Supplemental Questions

Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).

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