Chief Laboratory Officer

Position Summary

The Chief Laboratory Officer will be responsible for overseeing and advancing all inpatient and outpatient laboratory operations, strategies, and budget for the enterprise. This role requires close collaboration with hospital, medical group, and senior leaders to drive performance, ensure compliance, enhance efficiency, and support patient-centered outcomes.

About Orlando Health

Founded more than 100 years ago, Orlando Health is a private, not-for-profit healthcare organization with a long tradition of serving its many and varied communities across Florida, Puerto Rico and now into Alabama. With physicians in more than 105 specialties, the healthcare system attracts patients from across the state, region and nation.

The healthcare system encompasses award-winning hospitals, stand-alone emergency departments, behavioral health care, skilled nursing facilities, rehabilitation services and urgent care locations. Our network of primary care physicians and specialists extends from Florida to Alabama and Puerto Rico. Orlando Health is nationally recognized for its pediatric and adult trauma programs as well as its high-performing community hospitals and specialty hospitals. Each year, we welcome more than 20,000 babies across the system and care for the most fragile in one of the nation’s largest neonatal intensive care units.

The most-advanced care is offered through our specialty institutes that connect clinical excellence, education and research programs in our core services. With a robust graduate medical education program that hosts more than 350 residents and fellows each academic year, Orlando Health continues its pioneering research that includes therapies for end-stage breast cancer, identifying biomarkers to detect traumatic brain injury and offering first-in-the-world expanded access for an experimental advanced melanoma treatment.

Responsibilities

Leadership & Strategy

• Develop and implement strategic goals for laboratory operations across the enterprise to align with organizational objectives.
• Serve as a subject matter expert for best practices and benchmarking, fostering innovation, efficiency, and quality.
• Gives laboratory input into financial planning and management, including capital project review.
• Supports business unit initiatives to develop business in a way that is beneficial to both the site and the system.

Operational Management

• Oversee day-to-day laboratory operations across multiple facilities, ensuring that services are reliable, efficient, and compliant.
• Develops business unit laboratory leaders to best support patients, laboratory team members, and the enterprise.
• Recommends allocation of resources with input from business unit leadership to ensure the accomplishment of strategic and operational goals. Works with the sites to optimize the utilization of resources regarding special projects.
• Establish and enforce protocols, quality control standards, and laboratory procedures to ensure accurate and timely results.
• Drive operational improvements through performance metrics (including turnaround times and productivity), process enhancement, and effective utilization of technology.
• Develop a consistent framework for evaluating and implementing new practices.

Financial Oversight & Budgeting

• Develop and manage budgets for laboratory operations, including forecasting, cost control, and resource allocation.
• Analyze financial performance, identify areas for cost savings, and implement strategies for maximizing operational efficiency while maintaining quality.
• Collaborate with supply chain to negotiate with vendors and manage contracts to optimize effectiveness.

Collaboration & Communication

• Foster productive working relationships with hospital leadership, medical group representatives, and cross-functional teams to promote integrated care and streamlined services.
• Partner with clinical staff to ensure that laboratory services support and enhance patient care.
• Communicate effectively with stakeholders, providing regular updates on lab operations, metrics, and key initiatives.

Regulatory Compliance & Quality Assurance

• Ensure compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations, as well as industry standards.
• Initiates action and provides leadership for performance improvement initiatives (quality, cost, and service improvement) within the laboratories.
• Oversee laboratory accreditation processes and implement any necessary corrective actions to address deficiencies.
• Initiates, develops, and implements educational programs to improve the technical and service performance of all laboratory staff in conjunction with business unit leadership.
• Promote a culture of quality and safety within the laboratory environment, continually assessing and enhancing quality management programs.

Qualifications

Education

• Master’s degree in laboratory science, Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, or relevant field required.

Licensure/Certification

• Certification by the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) or equivalent preferred.

Experience

• At least ten (10) years of laboratory experience required. 
• At least five (5) of laboratory leadership experience required.