The Chair of Surgical Specialties is the medical group physician leader responsible for the clinical vision, service line performance, and physician leadership across surgical specialties. This role establishes how surgical services are organized, resourced, and optimized to deliver safe, timely, and high?quality procedural care while advancing access, operational efficiency, and financial sustainability.
The Chair partners in a dyad leadership model to drive perioperative performance, surgical access, quality and safety outcomes, workforce strategy, and growth, while ensuring consistent standards, strong physician engagement, and alignment with enterprise strategy.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic & Operational Leadership
Define and operationalize the Surgical Specialties service line strategy, including ambulatory surgery, inpatient surgical services, and procedural care delivered in hospital and ASC settings.
Establish and oversee service segmentation (e.g., elective vs. urgent surgery, ambulatory vs. inpatient procedures, high?acuity and tertiary care services).
Ensure surgical care models are aligned with case mix, patient acuity, site?of?care optimization, and perioperative capacity.
Set clinical expectations for staffing models, block utilization, call coverage, procedural templates, and team?based perioperative workflows.
Lead long?range planning for OR and ASC capacity, workforce needs, service mix, and market growth.
Ensure integration of Surgical Specialties with Primary Care, Medical Specialties, anesthesia, hospital operations, and perioperative services.
Quality, Safety & Perioperative Excellence
Ensure the highest standards of evidence?based surgical care, patient safety, and regulatory compliance.
Champion surgical quality improvement initiatives, including outcomes, complications, readmissions, and length of stay.
Lead standardization of perioperative pathways, enhanced recovery protocols, and best practices.
Promote a strong culture of safety, reliability, and accountability across surgical teams.
Access, Throughput & Utilization Management
Establish standards for timely surgical access, referral?to?procedure timelines, and case scheduling.
Optimize OR and ASC utilization, block management, turnover times, and throughput.
Partner with anesthesia and perioperative leadership to align staffing, scheduling, and capacity.
Reduce variation, delays, and inefficiencies across the surgical continuum.
Value?Based Care & Financial Stewardship
Champion the role of Surgical Specialties in value?based and bundled payment models, including quality, utilization, and cost management.
Partner with payer strategy, finance, and population health leaders to support performance in bundled, episode?based, and risk?based arrangements.
Define physician leadership expectations related to appropriate case selection, site of care, and resource utilization.
Ensure alignment between physician compensation, incentives, and quality, efficiency, and financial performance goals.
Experience with perioperative operations, quality improvement, and service line performance.
Familiarity with value?based care, bundled payments, and utilization management.
Experience working in dyad leadership models.
Strong strategic, communication, and change management skills.
Leadership Competencies
Systems Thinking: Designs integrated surgical care across sites and services.
Operational Excellence: Drives efficiency, throughput, and reliability.
Physician Influence: Builds trust and alignment among surgeons.
Strategic Vision: Translates enterprise goals into clear surgical strategy.
Operational Partnership: Effectively partners with administrative and perioperative leaders.
Change Leadership: Leads transformation with clarity and respect for surgical culture.
Accountability & Results: Drives measurable clinical and financial outcomes.
Performance Expectations & KPIs
Quality & Safety: Strong performance on surgical quality and safety metrics.
Access & Throughput: Timely surgical access and efficient case flow.
Utilization & Efficiency: Optimized OR/ASC utilization and reduced variation.
Financial Performance: Achievement of budget, productivity, and contribution margin targets.
Physician Engagement & Retention: High engagement and low voluntary turnover.
Growth & Innovation: Successful expansion of specialty services and access models.
Role Fit Within Leadership Structure
Chair: Service line vision, strategic alignment, and physician leadership
Chief: Specialty?level execution, performance accountability, and operational leadership
Medical Director: Clinic?level execution, provider leadership, and day?to?day oversight of care delivery
Organization Details
Sutter West Bay Medical Group (SWBMG) is a fast-growing, premier, physician led, multispecialty medical group with nearly 500 physicians and advanced practice clinicians serving patients in San Francisco, Northern California and beyond. SWBMG delivers integrated, patient centered care across primary through quaternary care, grounded in clinical excellence, collaboration, and innovation, and is a key partner within Sutter Health?s regional care delivery network.
Community Information
San Francisco offers a unique combination of professional opportunity, intellectual energy, and quality of life for physician leaders drawn to innovation and impact.
As a global hub for healthcare innovation, life sciences, and research, the city attracts forward-thinking clinicians and collaborators shaping the future of medicine. Its strong academic environment and commitment to equity and access create a compelling setting for advancing cancer care.
Outside of work, San Francisco offers an exceptional lifestyle, with world-class dining, arts, and culture alongside easy access to Northern California?s natural beauty, from coastal trails to wine country. The region?s diverse communities support both personal fulfillment and professional growth.
Equal Opportunity Statement
* It is the policy of the Sutter West Bay Medical Group (SWBMG) to provide equal employment for all qualified individuals; to prohibit discrimination in employment because of race, color, creed, religion, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, ancestry, national origin, age, medical condition, disability or status as a veteran or a disabled veteran. We promote the full realization of equal employment opportunities through a positive continuing program within our service area. Equal employment opportunities apply to every aspect of SWBMG?s employment policies and practices.
Sutter Health is one of the nation’s leading community-based, not-for-profit healthcare networks, providing care through hospitals, physician organizations, home health and hospice agencies, and other healthcare services. With a mission-driven focus, we share our expertise and resources to elevate the quality of care in the communities we serve while offering our employees an environment that fosters professional growth and collaboration. Our care network spans diverse regions—from large urban centers to small rural towns—stretching from the Oregon border to the San Joaquin Valley, the Pacific Coast to the Sierra Foothills, and now Santa Barbara. These locations place our teams near some of California’s most iconic destinations, including San Francisco, Sacramento, Napa Valley, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, the coastal redwoods, and the scenic beaches of Santa Barbara.
In 2025, Sutter Health was recognized by Forbes as one of California’s Best-in-State Employers and by Becker’s Hospital Review as one of the nation’s Top Places to Work in Healthcare. These honors highlight our commitment to creating a workplace culture that values innovation, teamwork, and balance for our clinicians and ...staff.
Our medical groups include Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group, Sutter East Bay Medical Group, Sutter Medical Group of the Redwoods, Sutter West Bay Medical Group, Sutter Medical Group, Sutter North Medical Group, and Sansum Clinic
