Administrative Director - Graduate Medical Education

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About Duke University Hospital

Pursue your passion for caring with Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, which is consistently ranked among the best in the United States. The largest of the four Duke Healthhospitals with 1062 patient beds, it features comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic facilities, including a regional emergency/trauma center, an endo-surgery center, and more.

Job Description

The Administrative Director, Graduate Medical Education (GME) provides senior administrative and operational leadership for Duke University Health System’s GME enterprise. Reporting to the Director of Graduate Medical Education / Designated Institutional Official (DIO), this role is responsible for leading the administrative infrastructure, business operations, personnel management, financial processes, communications, and institutional support functions required to sustain more than 160 residency and fellowship programs and approximately 1,200 physician trainees across Duke.

The Administrative Director serves as a key operational partner to the DIO and senior GME leadership, translating institutional priorities into reliable systems, workflows, policies, and services that support program directors, associate program directors, program coordinators, residents, fellows, departments, and health system leaders. This position strengthens the capacity of the Office of Graduate Medical Education (OGME) to operate as a coordinated, service-oriented, and strategically aligned administrative unit within Duke University Health System.

Position Scope and Institutional Context

Duke’s GME enterprise operates across a large and complex academic health system, with responsibilities that span accreditation support, trainee employment and onboarding, budget oversight, policy administration, institutional reporting, communications, and coordination with departments, hospitals, the School of Medicine, Human Resources, Finance, Compliance, Legal, and other institutional partners.

The Administrative Director provides day-to-day administrative leadership for OGME operations and helps ensure that the office has the staffing, processes, data, and infrastructure needed to meet institutional obligations and support high-quality graduate medical education. This includes oversight of administrative team performance, office workflows, internal service standards, documentation practices, and cross-functional initiatives that affect GME programs and trainees.

The position also plays a central role in the continuing work of a new funding model for GME programs, aligning GME operations with Duke University Health System priorities, including enterprise-level planning, budgeting, policy implementation, program support, and operational transitions that affect GME staff, trainees, and program leaders and administrators.

A major responsibility of this role is to lead and develop the GME administrative team, including managers and staff responsible for accreditation support, operations, finance, communications, human resources coordination, records management, trainee services, and office administration. The Administrative Director is expected to promote a culture of accountability, collaboration, responsiveness, professional development, and continuous improvement.

Essential Responsibilities and Proposed Effort Allocation

The proposed effort distribution below reflects the anticipated steady-state responsibilities of the Administrative Director, with recognition that effort may shift during major institutional initiatives, annual budget cycles, accreditation activities, onboarding periods, and operational transitions.

Responsibility Area

Effort

Key Responsibilities

Administrative Leadership and Office Operations

25%

Lead day-to-day administrative operations of the Office of Graduate Medical Education; establish clear workflows, service standards, internal controls, documentation practices, and accountability structures; ensure timely completion of recurring operational responsibilities and effective coordination across OGME functional areas.

Team Leadership, Staff Development, and Performance Management

20%

Supervise, mentor, and develop OGME administrative staff; clarify roles and expectations; support recruitment, onboarding, evaluation, retention, and professional development; foster a collaborative and service-oriented team culture aligned with Duke University Health System expectations.

Financial Operations, Budget Oversight, and Resource Stewardship

30%

Partner with GME Finance, departments, and health system leaders to support budget development, expense oversight, funding processes, financial reporting including external reimbursement reports (CMS), and stewardship of institutional resources; help ensure consistent application of GME expense guidance and financial decision-making processes, particularly as DUHS assumes more responsibility for GME programs (e.g., faculty fellowships) and Program Coordinator transition.

Institutional Policy, Compliance, and Operational Risk Management

5%

Support implementation and administration of GME policies, procedures, records retention practices, trainee employment processes, and institutional reporting requirements; collaborate with Compliance, Legal, Human Resources, Finance, and other partners to identify operational risks and standardize processes.

Program Support, Communications, and Stakeholder Engagement

5%

Coordinate administrative support for program directors, associate program directors, program coordinators, trainees, departments, and institutional committees; oversee communication strategies, guidance documents, templates, meeting materials, and stakeholder-facing resources that improve consistency and reduce administrative burden, in partnership with OGME physician leaders.

Strategic Initiatives and Enterprise Alignment

15%

Execute delegated strategic initiatives on behalf of the DIO; support enterprise-level planning, organizational change, process improvement, and alignment of GME operations with Duke University Health System, Duke University Hospital, School of Medicine, departmental, and accreditor-facing priorities.

Core Competencies and Qualifications

The successful candidate will bring substantial experience in academic health system administration, graduate medical education operations, personnel management, budget oversight, project management, policy implementation, and cross-functional leadership. Experience in GME administration, health system operations, accreditation support, finance, human resources processes, and institutional reporting is strongly preferred.

Required competencies include the ability to lead complex administrative teams; translate institutional priorities into practical operational workflows; manage competing priorities across multiple stakeholders; build trusted relationships with faculty leaders, administrative staff, trainees, department leaders, Human Resources, Finance, Compliance, Legal, and executive leadership; use data to inform decisions and monitor operational performance; and communicate clearly with executive, faculty, and administrative audiences.

The Administrative Director must demonstrate sound judgment, discretion, professionalism, emotional intelligence, and the ability to manage confidential and sensitive information. The role requires strong organizational skills, attention to detail, follow-through, and the ability to lead change in a complex environment while maintaining a high level of service to programs and trainees.

Expected Outcomes

- Strengthened administrative infrastructure and operational reliability across the Office of Graduate Medical Education.
- Improved coordination of GME office functions, including operations, finance, communications, records management, trainee services, and program support.
- Clearer roles, expectations, accountability structures, and professional development pathways for OGME administrative staff.
- More consistent budgeting, expense oversight, financial reporting, and resource stewardship for GME-related activities.
- Improved implementation of GME policies, procedures, documentation practices, and operational risk management processes.
- Reduced administrative burden on program directors, associate program directors, program coordinators, departmental leaders, and trainees through standardized tools, workflows, and communication practices.
- Enhanced institutional ability to execute GME strategic initiatives, support health system priorities, and sustain high-quality graduate medical education across Duke.

Minimum Qualifications

Education

Bachelor's degree required.

Experience

Work requires seven years of progressive administrative experience, generally in a hospital, health care or similar service industry to become proficient in managing quality of care and financial performance over assigned hospital service line. A Master's degree in Hospital Administration, Business Administration or a related field may be substituted for experience on a 1:1 basis.

Duke is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions), sexual orientation or military status.

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

Essential Physical Job Functions:
Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essential job functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.