Chief Operating Officer, Ross University School of Medicine

The Chief Operating Officer for Ross University of Medicine (RUSM) will be a seasoned, capable, and inspiring leader who is passionate about the institution's mission, tightly and wisely manages the operations, and contributes to University growth while maintaining the highest student, staff, and faculty services.  The COO will be a highly skilled people leader, who develops a team that embodies the values and culture essential to our student's success, high faculty performance, stronger academic and financial results, and ensures the long term success of RUSM. 

The COO will partner closely with RUSM’s Dean & Chancellor, Dr. William F. Owen, Jr., MD, FACP, to whom managerial accountability will occur. The COO will lead the achievement of the RUSM operating plan, ensure all operational functions are well-executed, and share responsibilities beneficial to students’ academic success and satisfaction with the deans of clinical and basic science programs.  The COO will provide leadership to achieve excellence in strategic execution and management through the establishment and support of robust operating systems and processes that allow for individual accountability while maintaining fiscal health. The COO will also develop and/or maintain operational systems that are necessary for the success of faculty to deliver a high-quality program of medical instruction to students, especially on the Barbados and Miramar campuses. Partnering with other operational leaders across Adtalem, the COO will build, share and leverage best operational and business practices to identify new efficiencies.  The COO will work to continuously innovate and improve processes of student recruitment and enrollment, instructional and learning environments, clinical affiliations and student experiences, and operational and student service functions across students’ medical school experience and learning locales.  Collaborative and effective interactions with colleagues, faculty, students, external partners, students and other stakeholders are expected.

The COO will also work closely and collaboratively with the Chief Academic Officer (CAO), Dr. James Record. With clearly distinguishable roles, responsibilities, and oversight especially in faculty affairs, the CAO will be responsible for the faculty’s academic performance and success against their requirements for scholarly activities, like curricular and course design, classroom instruction, learning assessment, and student counseling and experience; faculty staffing; professional career development, and choice and use of instructional technologies. By contrast, the COO will be responsible for enabling and maintaining critical back office functions for faculty success, like overseeing their physical teaching and learning environments and managing supply chains.

•  Lead the Talent First Agenda within the RUSM operations team.  Ensuring exceptional talent across the organization as well as providing feedback and development input for operational leaders.
• Participate in the development of RUSM’s strategy, objectives and performance measures. Contribute to setting targets for RUSM’s financial, operational, and academic performance; monitor their attainment; prospectively herald challenges to execution; and keep relevant measures visible to drives quality in execution. 
  
• Participate in the assessment of competitive threats, strategic responses and growth opportunities.
  
• Achieve strong student outcomes, meeting financial targets, and cultivating an engaged and motivated workforce. 
  
• Lead University operations to assure best practices and attainment of the highest level of efficiency.
  
• Promote a culture of service and excellence.
  
• Communicate a compelling vision of success and align the operational teams behind that vision. 
  
• Maintain a positive, motivated work force while ensuring accountability for key deliverables. 
  
• Build and implement succession plans for key roles with the Chancellor and HR Director.
  
• Lead day-to-day operations in key functional activities and locales, such as security, transportation, student housing, faculty and student work and study spaces, commercial areas, food services, residential living community, enrollment management, student services, emergency management, IT, clinical affiliations and contracts, finance, and communications. Responsibility and accountability for some of matters may be shared through clear organizational lines.
  
• Drive high value organizational growth through increased student enrollment and retention. Data-driven growth goals and accepted metrics will be used to measure performance against benchmarks. 
  
• With the Chancellor, allocate financial and human resources to drive long-term value. Understands, respects, and can balance the sometimes competing priorities for growth and quality.
  
• Partner with the Chancellor and other RUSM senior team members in setting policies and determine strategies to meet or exceed revenue, profit, and cash flow commitments to Adtalem.
  
• Helps identify sound investments to drive long term financial and academic value and success.
  
• Leverage other resources and experiences in the Vertical. Work with operational counterparts in other Adtalem institutions to optimize the value of investments and resources across the Vertical and Home Office.
  
• Along with the RUSM and Vertical Directors of Finance routinely analyze revenue, profit and cash flow seeking opportunities for the business. Through sound budgeting, accounting, reporting, provide financial counseling to RUSM leadership in terms of costs, budget, operating policies, and market trends to increase profits.
  
• Earn, establish, and maintains excellent peer relationships and earn credibility that develops an effective flow of ideas and information in a collaborative climate .
  
• Uphold, safeguard, model, and promote RUSM and Adtalem values and philosophy relating particularly to ethics, integrity, inclusion, and and social responsibility.
  
• Work effectively and collaboratively with people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Establish rapport and connection with students, colleagues and external stakeholders.  Establish and maintain key relationships within Adtalem Global Education.
• Completes other duties as assigned.

• A Doctorate in a relevant area is preferred, but a Masters degree with extraordinary experience may be considered as a substitute.
  
• At least 15 years of general management experience and familiarity with higher education.
  
• Skilled people leader with a track record of great selection and development of talent.
  
• Ability to analyze and operationalize data from other sectors in higher education.
  
• Proven success managing in a complex operating environments;
  
• Strong budgeting skills.
  
• Substantial experience operating in a highly regulated environment, particularly in education, medicine and/or and healthcare.
  
• Effective, senior level communicator.
  
  

We are proud to be an EEO employer M/F/D/V. At Adtalem, we welcome everyone and have a strong commitment towards diversity and inclusion. We encourage our Colleagues to be their true authentic selves and support laws that prohibit discrimination everywhere we do business. We also maintain a drug-free workplace.

Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM)

Founded in 1978, Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) has more than 11,000 alumni who are practicing in all 50 U.S. states, Canada, and beyond. The mission of Ross University School of Medicine is to prepare highly dedicated students to become effective, successful physicians. We do this by focusing on imparting the knowledge, skills, and values required for our students to establish a successful and satisfying career as a physician.

RUSM students begin their journey to become physicians on the school’s campus in Dominica, located in the West Indies. Students complete a rigorous basic science curriculum, supported by cutting-edge instructional technology, including an anatomy and medical imaging laboratory and a simulation center where students begin to develop clinical skills. Students then complete their medical education by taking core and elective clinical rotations in U.S., Canada, and UK.

In 2013, RUSM achieved a first-time pass rate of 97 percent on USMLE, which is on par with the rate achieved by US and Canadian schools, and above the rate achieved by osteopathic schools (94 percent) and international schools (79 percent).In 2014, RUSM graduates earned more than 800 residency positions; the largest number for any medical school in the world.

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