Director of Applications (Salaried, Full-time)

The Director of Applications provides strategic, operational, and technical leadership for enterprise application services across the healthcare system, including the Epic electronic health record and supporting clinical, financial, administrative, and business applications. Reporting to the Vice President of Information Services, the Director is responsible for application governance, implementation, optimization, support, reliability, lifecycle management, and alignment of application capabilities with organizational priorities. This position leads application teams and partners closely with clinical, operational, revenue cycle, financial, and administrative leaders to translate business needs into effective, standardized, secure, and sustainable technology solutions.

The Director collaborates directly with the Director of Technology, including infrastructure and network teams, to ensure application environments are scalable, integrated, resilient, and reliable. The Director also partners with the Director of Information Security and security team members to ensure applications meet privacy, security, regulatory, and compliance requirements. This position is accountable for application performance, stakeholder engagement, vendor management, project execution, change control, budget stewardship, team development, and continuous improvement in support of safe, efficient, high-quality patient care and health system operations.

Essential Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for enterprise application services, including Epic EHR and related clinical, revenue cycle, financial, administrative, integration, reporting, and business applications.
• Lead, coach, and develop application managers, analysts, informaticists, and support team members; establish clear expectations, goals, service standards, and performance indicators.
• Oversee application governance, prioritization, change control, release management, enhancement requests, upgrades, testing, downtime planning, and ongoing support to ensure reliable and effective system performance.
• Partner with clinical, operational, financial, revenue cycle, quality, patient safety, and administrative leaders to align application strategy, workflows, and optimization efforts with health system goals.
• Serve as a senior leader for Epic-related planning, implementation, optimization, application support, workflow standardization, user adoption, and system enhancement initiatives.
• Collaborate directly with the Director of Technology and infrastructure and network teams to ensure applications are supported by scalable, integrated, resilient, and reliable technical environments.
• Partner with the Director of Information Security and security team members to ensure applications meet organizational security standards, access controls, privacy requirements, cybersecurity expectations, and regulatory compliance obligations.
• Establish and monitor application service levels, incident response processes, problem management, escalation pathways, root cause analysis, and communication practices to support operational continuity.
• Lead application portfolio management, lifecycle planning, system rationalization, vendor relationship management, contract input, software maintenance planning, and technology roadmap development.
• Ensure application build, configuration, testing, access, documentation, training coordination, reporting, and support practices promote patient safety, data integrity, regulatory readiness, and operational effectiveness.
• Oversee departmental budgets, staffing plans, productivity, professional development, succession planning, project resourcing, and vendor or consulting resources related to application services.
• Maintain current knowledge of healthcare technology trends, Epic capabilities, interoperability, regulatory requirements, cybersecurity considerations, and application management best practices; represent Information Services on committees and initiatives as assigned.

• Education: Bachelor's degree in information technology, computer science, healthcare informatics, business administration, healthcare administration, or a related field, required. Master's degree in a relevant technology, informatics, business, or healthcare leadership field, preferred.
• Licensure / Certifications: Epic certification, accreditation, or proficiency in one or more Epic applications, preferred. Relevant certifications such as ITIL, PMP, CHCIO, CPHIMS, CISSP, or other application, project management, informatics, security, or healthcare technology certifications, preferred.
• Experience & Skills: Minimum of seven (7) years of progressive experience in healthcare information technology, application services, clinical systems, informatics, or enterprise systems leadership, required. Prior leadership experience in a hospital or health system environment using Epic as the EHR is strongly preferred. Demonstrated success leading application teams, managing enterprise application portfolios, supporting implementations and upgrades, partnering with clinical and operational stakeholders, and ensuring reliable application support. Strong knowledge of healthcare workflows, Epic application governance, system integration, project management, change management, vendor management, data integrity, privacy, security, and regulatory requirements. Ability to lead through influence, communicate effectively with executive and operational stakeholders, develop teams, manage competing priorities, and use data to drive decisions and continuous improvement.

Work Environment: This position will spend time working in standard office, information services, clinical, administrative, and operational environments, including participation in meetings, project activities, application support discussions, and leadership rounding with stakeholders. Work involves extended periods of sitting, computer use, virtual and in-person collaboration, and occasional walking in hospital or clinic areas. Evening, weekend, or on-call availability may be required to support implementations, upgrades, downtime events, urgent application issues, cybersecurity or compliance needs, and critical health system operations.

Our mission is to improve the health of people in the communities we serve through compassionate, high-quality care, prevention, and wellness education. Washington Regional Medical System is a community-owned, locally governed, non-profit health care system located in Northwest Arkansas in the heart of Fayetteville, which is consistently ranked among the Best Places to live in the country. Our 425-bed medical center has been named the #1 hospital in Arkansas for five consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report. We employ 3,200+ team members and serve the region with over 40 clinic locations, the region's only Level II trauma center, and five Centers of Excellence - the Washington Regional J.B. Hunt Transport Services Neuroscience Institute; Washington Regional Walker Heart Institute; Washington Regional Women and Infants Center; Washington Regional Total Joint Center; and Washington Regional Pat Walker Center for Seniors.