Vice Dean for Administration and Finance/Chief Operating Officer

Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process. Job Category: Limited Employment Type: Regular Job Profile: Assoc Dean Job Summary: The University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) seeks an exceptional and strategic leader to serve as its Vice Dean for Administration and Finance/Chief Operating Officer (COO). The COO reports directly to the Dean and Vice Chancellor for Medical Affairs and works in close partnership with faculty, staff, and colleagues across SMPH, UW-Madison, and the broader state and local community. The COO will provide world-class executive leadership for the school's administrative enterprise, including finance, human resources, operations, facilities, information technology, analytics, and organizational effectiveness, with a focus on how these areas can synergize efforts to reach bold, shared goals. As a key advisor to the Dean, the COO will play a central role in advancing the school’s strategic priorities through operational excellence, long-range financial planning, and the thoughtful stewardship and deployment of institutional resources. This is a rare opportunity to shape the next era of growth, impact, and excellence at one of the nation’s leading public medical schools throughout a newly created leadership role. The creation of this COO role reflects SMPH’s commitment to strengthening the administrative, financial, and operational capabilities needed to support its next phase of growth and impact. The COO will join SMPH at a transformative moment, helping to strengthen operational excellence, modernize administrative systems, and align resources with the school’s strategic direction. Ultimately, this leader will play a pivotal role in shaping how SMPH evolves, grows, and delivers on its mission of advancing health and health equity in the years ahead. The University of Wisconsin–Madison is one of the world's leading public research universities and among the most comprehensive institutions of higher education in the nation. As Wisconsin's flagship land-grant university, UW–Madison combines exceptional academic breadth with a longstanding commitment to research, innovation, and public service. The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health is an internationally recognized leader in academic medicine and the nation's first school to integrate the fields of medicine and public health, which is central to its identity and impact. Consistently ranked among the country's top medical schools, SMPH advances a distinctive mission that integrates education, research, clinical care, and public health to improve the health and well-being of communities across Wisconsin and beyond. The school houses 28 academic departments, numerous research centers and institutes, and a broad portfolio of degree programs spanning the health professions and biomedical sciences. Key Job Responsibilities:

• Provide executive leadership for the school’s administrative operations, establishing strategic priorities that align with the Dean's vision and advance the school's academic, research, clinical, and public health and service missions.
• Lead the School's administrative divisions, including finance, human resources, workforce planning, facilities, information technology, project management, and business analytics, ensuring operational excellence, fiscal stewardship, and outstanding service across the organization.
• Serve as a strategic leader within the university and across the University of Wisconsin system to advance long-term financial sustainability and institutional priorities.
• Help lead implementation of the strategic plan including the release of effective use of resources for the key initiatives identified in the 2026 Strategic Plan.
• Develop long-range administrative and financial strategies that strengthen organizational effectiveness, improve operational performance, and ensure the school remains financially sustainable.
• Be able to roll out effective business analytics that can work across the different units of the school as well as the university and the UW Health System including use of leading best practices of artificial intelligence. This would work across all of the key domains of finance, research, and clinical practices such that SMPH has a single source of truth.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement by establishing performance metrics, evaluating outcomes, and implementing innovative approaches that enhance efficiency, service, and organizational effectiveness.
• Partner closely with the Dean, senior school leadership, UW Health, the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association (WFAA), university leaders, and external healthcare partners to address strategic operational issues, align priorities, and advance institutional initiatives in support of the school’s academic, research, clinical, and public health missions.
• Serve as a strategic change leader, helping the school navigate a period of significant organizational transformation while advancing operational excellence across a complex network of university, health system, and external healthcare relationships. This includes leading through evolving administrative models, technology modernization efforts, enterprise process improvements, and increasingly integrated approaches to supporting the school’s academic, research, clinical, and public health missions.
• Work in partnership with the UW Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration to foster collaboration across a wide range of financial, administrative, and operational goals.
• Lead major initiatives requiring executive-level coordination, including implementation of the school’s strategic plan and other high-priority cross-functional projects, while effectively navigating complex governance structures, competing stakeholder interests, and significant organizational change.
• Advance the use of technology, analytics, automation, and AI-enabled solutions to improve decision making, operational performance, workforce planning, and resource allocation.
• Ensure effective enterprise risk management in collaboration with university and health system leadership, maintaining compliance with applicable laws, regulations, university policies, and contractual obligations.
• Build strong, collaborative relationships with faculty, staff, department chairs, clinical leaders, and campus partners, fostering trust, transparency, and shared accountability.
• Recruit, develop, mentor, and evaluate senior administrative leaders while building a high-performing, inclusive, and mission-driven administrative organization.
• Have a systematic approach to leadership development and career ladders. Department: School of Medicine and Public Health, Dean's office Compensation: Negotiable, 12 month Required Qualifications:
• Master's degree in relevant field required, terminal degree preferred.
• At least 5-10 years of experience working within higher education.
• 10 or more years of significant senior operational leadership experience in an academic medical center, integrated health system, research-intensive university, or similarly complex organization.
• A strong understanding of human resources processes and the workings of a university.
• Demonstrated success leading large administrative organizations with responsibility for finance, operations, human resources, and organizational effectiveness.
• Experience creating economies of scale and improving operational efficiency across complex organizations.
• Proven record of improving operational performance, financial stewardship, and organizational effectiveness within complex, highly regulated environments.
• Experience working successfully within large, distributed, matrixed organizations serving multiple missions, with demonstrated success navigating complex governance environments an