Knight Access Supervisor (Supervisor, Clinic Support)

Department Overview

The Supervisor of Oncology Access provides operational leadership and direct supervision for the Knight Cancer Access program, overseeing day-to-day access operations and frontline staff supporting patient entry into oncology services across OHSU Health and affiliated community sites.

This role is responsible for coordinating centralized oncology access functions across Hematology and Medical Oncology, Community Hematology Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Surgical Oncology programs, Hillsboro Medical Center, Adventist Health, and other oncology service lines. The Supervisor ensures efficient, patient-centered referral intake, scheduling, registration, and access coordination processes that support timely entry into cancer care.

The Supervisor directly manages the Access Liaison team and is accountable for daily operational oversight, workforce coordination, escalation management, referral workflows, provider scheduling support, and administrative patient navigation functions. Responsibilities include maintaining standardized workflows and operational consistency across multiple disease groups, departments, and locations while balancing specialty-specific clinical needs.

In partnership with operational leaders, nurse navigation, providers, and multidisciplinary teams, the Supervisor supports strategic initiatives focused on improving access, reducing scheduling delays, optimizing referral conversion, and enhancing the patient experience. This includes supporting programs such as the Knight Cancer Network, Cancer Early Detection initiatives, and embedded intake models within specialty clinics.

Function/Duties of Position

Customer Service Excellence

• Provide exceptional customer service to patients, referring providers, insurance carriers, and internal OHSU customers while promoting a patient-centered access experience across oncology services.
• Demonstrate professional, timely, and compassionate communication in both written and verbal interactions while effectively addressing patient, provider, and operational concerns.
• Utilize available systems, technology, and organizational resources to support efficient access coordination, service recovery, and issue resolution.
• Foster a culture of accountability, professionalism, collaboration, and service excellence within the Knight Cancer Institute.
• Monitor patient satisfaction, operational feedback, and service metrics to identify trends and support improvements in the patient and family experience.
• Collaborate with faculty, nurse navigation, clinic leadership, and operational teams to improve patient access, communication, and care coordination.
• Apply continuous process improvement principles to support operational efficiency, service delivery, and organizational access goals.

Operational and Program Oversight

• Independently oversee day-to-day operations of the oncology access program, ensuring timely, efficient, and patient-centered access to care across multiple oncology service lines and locations.
• Monitor departmental work queues, phone volumes, operational benchmarks, and access metrics while identifying barriers to access and holding staff accountable to operational standards.
• Oversee Epic work queues, referral workflows, scheduling activities, and access management functions in accordance with OHSU policies and operational expectations.
• Monitor and audit staff work product to ensure compliance with ambulatory practice standards, operational expectations, and quality benchmarks.
• Provide leadership in the development, implementation, and refinement of workflows, policies, procedures, and standard work supporting oncology access operations.
• Support operational throughput and patient access by balancing staffing resources, workflow priorities, scheduling capacity, and patient demand.
• Utilize operational metrics, reporting tools, and daily management systems to monitor performance, drive accountability, and identify opportunities for operational improvement.
• Coordinate operational workflows between access, nursing, clinic operations, providers, and ancillary departments to support continuity of care and operational efficiency.
• Facilitate regular staff meetings, huddles, and operational communications to support alignment, engagement, and continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with oncology and ambulatory leadership teams on operational initiatives, workflow optimization, and organizational priorities.
• Provide timely resolution to patient, provider, physician, personnel, and operational concerns while exercising sound judgment in response to changing operational needs and patient demand.
• Identify and escalate operational risks, compliance concerns, and quality-related issues in accordance with organizational policies and patient safety standards.

Human Resources and Team Leadership

• Provide direct supervision, leadership, and operational oversight for oncology access staff while fostering a collaborative, accountable, and high-performing work environment.
• Support recruitment, onboarding, training, coaching, performance management, and retention activities in accordance with OHSU Human Resources policies and applicable labor agreements.
• Develop and maintain staffing plans and coverage models that align operational needs, patient demand, and service expectations.
• Manage staff scheduling, assignments, attendance, leave approvals, and staffing adjustments utilizing workforce management systems and operational staffing practices.
• Ensure completion of mandatory education, competencies, and compliance requirements while supporting staff development and ongoing learning opportunities.
• Conduct staff meetings, in-services, coaching sessions, and performance evaluations to support operational alignment, staff engagement, and professional development.
• Collaborate with Human Resources and Labor Relations to address employee concerns, interpret labor agreements, support grievance processes, and ensure compliance with organizational policies and union contracts.
• Promote employee engagement, professionalism, accountability, and respectful workplace standards consistent with OHSU values and the organizational code of conduct.
• Continuously evaluate staffing structures, workflows, and role optimization opportunities to support operational efficiency and organizational goals.

Financial:

• Maintain an understanding of departmental financial goals, operational budgets, and organizational performance expectations related to oncology access operations.
• Monitor staffing levels, overtime utilization, productivity, and operational resource allocation to support departmental budgets and patient access needs.
• Participate in annual budgeting and operational planning processes by providing recommendations related to staffing models, workflow optimization, and operational growth initiatives.
• Ensure accurate labor distribution and timekeeping oversight for supervised staff in accordance with organizational policies and procedures.
• Support operational resource planning to align staffing, productivity, workflow efficiency, and patient access objectives.
• Utilize operational and staffing data to support decision-making, identify improvement opportunities, and promote operational efficiency and fiscal responsibility.

Required Qualifications

• AA or equivalent education/experience, plus 2 yrs clinical experience with previous lead/supervisory experience
• Two years PASR experience in a high-volume medical practice clinical setting with direct contact with a culturally diverse patient population.
• One of the years of experience should include lead work experience, or demonstrate the ability to lead teams.
• Demonstrated excellent written and verbal communication skills, excellent organizational skills and strong time management skills; demonstrated exemplary customer service orientation and ability to work as a team member.
• Must possess the ability to work independently, to prioritize and manage own workload as well as ability to appropriately delegate to and coordinate workload of PAS staff
• Proven interpersonal problem-solving and conflict resolution skills; possess leadership skills demonstrated by positive and professional role-modeling and an encouraging motivational attitude.
• Flexible, calm and non-judgmental; professional demeanor, strong patient, peer and physician communication skills;
• Demonstrated skill in giving and receiving feedback possess patience and ability to teach/train staff at various levels of the learning curve and with various learning style.
• Proficiency in OHSU computer applications.
• Working knowledge of medical terminology.
• Knowledge of managed care, commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid programs.
• Strong relationship building skills with patients, providers, staff, management, and outside collaborators.
• Current HIPAA training

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in business administration or related field
• Ambulatory Care experience
• Experience with an oncology patient population
• Knowledge of OHSU's business policies and procedures.
• Training and direct experience in implementing LEAN, Change Acceleration Process (CAPS) and Six Sigma
• Project management experience specific to ambulatory or outpatient care.

Additional Details

• Typical schedule: M-F, occasional nights and weekends.
• Work schedule may vary depending on job/study requirements. Ability to adjust schedule based on department needs (early or late meetings, etc.)
• Travel between meeting locations including using the Portland Aerial Tram.
• May have exposure to human tissues, fluids, radiation.
• May have regular exposure to noise and interruptions.
• Standing/sitting numerous hours a day; numerous hours of computer use.

Why apply to OHSU?

We are Oregon''s only public academic health center. In addition to caring for patients, we lead groundbreaking research. We also train the next generation of health care professionals. As Portland''s largest employer, we give you opportunities to learn and advance in a system of hospitals and clinics across Oregon and Southwest Washington. All are welcome. OHSU welcomes people of all ages, ethnicities, genders, national origins, religions and sexual orientations. We are striving to build an anti-racist, multicultural institution and encourage people with diverse backgrounds to apply. To request reasonable accommodation, contact askhr@ohsu.edu