JOB SUMMARY
The Assistant Vice President (AVP), Health System Therapy Services, provides strategic and operational leadership for physical therapy, occupational therapy, recreational therapy, and speech-language pathology services across the UT Southwestern Health System. This role is responsible for developing a coordinated therapy services framework that supports high-quality, patient-centered care delivery across inpatient, outpatient, and home care settings. Working in close collaboration with nursing, physician, and administrative leaders, the AVP will lead efforts to standardize practice models, optimize staffing and productivity, and ensure compliance with regulatory and accreditation requirements. The AVP also partners closely with the UT Southwestern School of Health Professions (SHP) Department of Physical Therapy to foster academic-clinical alignment that supports clinical education, research, and workforce development.

BENEFITS
UT Southwestern is proud to offer a competitive and comprehensive benefits package to eligible employees. Our benefits are designed to support your overall wellbeing, and include:

• PPO medical plan, available day one at no cost for full-time employee-only coverage
• 100% coverage for preventive healthcare-no copay
• Paid Time Off, available day one
• Retirement Programs through the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS)
• Paid Parental Leave Benefit
• Wellness programs
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Qualified Employer
• Learn more about these and other UTSW employee benefits!

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Job Duties

• Provides strategic leadership and direction for therapy services across the Health System, aligning operational priorities with organizational goals for quality, access, patient experience, and financial performance.
• Partners with clinical and operational leaders to ensure therapy services are delivered consistently, efficiently, and in accordance with evidence-based standards of care.
• Develops and implements standardized therapy care models, productivity benchmarks, and clinical performance metrics across inpatient and ambulatory settings.
• Collaborates with Human Resources and departmental leaders to recruit, retain, and develop a high-performing therapy workforce that supports patient volume growth and clinical excellence.
• Oversees regulatory compliance, licensure, and accreditation readiness for therapy programs.
• Partners with Nursing, Rehabilitation, and Care Coordination leadership to optimize transitions of care and interdisciplinary coordination for patients requiring therapy services.
• Serves as a key collaborator with the School of Health Professions Department of Physical Therapy to:
  * Strengthen academic-clinical partnerships and student placement opportunities;
  * Support alignment of clinical and academic practice standards;
  * Foster innovation in research, evidence-based practice, and workforce development initiatives;
  * Ensure bidirectional communication between the Health System and SHP to avoid siloed operations and promote a shared vision for therapy excellence.
• Advises Health System leadership on strategic investments, technology needs, and capital planning for therapy services.
• Develops and manages the annual therapy services budget, ensuring responsible financial stewardship and alignment with institutional priorities.
• Represents Therapy Services on system committees, councils, and task forces, and contributes to institutional planning and performance improvement initiatives.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education and Experience

Required

• Education
  Master's or Doctoral degree in Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech-Language Pathology, or a healthcare related field.

• Experience
  8 years of progressive leadership experience in therapy or rehabilitation services within a complex health system or academic medical center.

Preferred

• Experience
  Experience managing multi-site or system-level therapy operations.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Work requires excellent verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills.
• Work requires analytical ability sufficient to evaluate data, make sound judgments and recommendations.
• Work requires strong project management and problem solving skills with the ability to work independently, achieve tight deadlines and take initiative on multiple projects.
• Work requires ability to demonstrate the ability to work well with management, physicians, and other professionals in a direct and positive manner.
• Work requires collaborating with departments to design and document operational procedures to support transactions processing and compliance with established regulations.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS/WORKING CONDITIONS

• Working Conditions
  Office Setting

PACT STATEMENT

The following is the acronym, "PACT", and is fundamental to all non-clinical positions at UT Southwestern Medical Center:

• P-Problem Solving: Employees take ownership in solving problems effectively, efficiently, and to the satisfaction of customers, or managers. They show initiative in addressing areas of concern before they become problems.
• A-Ability, Attitude and Accountability: Employees exhibit ability to perform their job and conduct themselves in a professional and positive manner reflecting a professional environment readily assuming obligations in a dependable and reliable manner.
• C-Communication, Contribution, and Collaboration: Who are our Customers? Anyone who requests our help, needs our work product, or receives our services. Employees focus on customer service with creative solutions while improving the customer experience through clear, courteous, and timely delivery and communication. Sharing ideas with others helps expand our contribution to department goals.
• T-Teamwork: Employees work to contribute to the department's success by supporting co-workers, promoting excellence in work product and customer service, and in maintaining a satisfying, caring environment for each other.

Salary
Salary Negotiable

Security

This position is security-sensitive and subject to Texas Education Code 51.215, which authorizes UT Southwestern to obtain criminal history record information.