Medical Director

Full Job Description

Public Health — Seattle & King County is seeking interested applicants to fill a Medical Director (Medical Officer) position within our Community Health Services Division. The most competitive candidates will be action-oriented leaders, skilled in motivating and directing others, who are familiar with healthcare provision in an unionized environment and understands the unique challenges of such an environment and will possess a strong commitment to and background in working with vulnerable populations.

This recruitment will be open until the position is filled, with first consideration given to those applicants who apply before 11:59pm PST on January 19th, 2026.

This posting will create a list of qualified candidates that may be considered for selection of additional vacancies of the same position type over the next 6 months.

In addition to our generous King County benefits package, this position may be eligible for up to $15,000 in relocation funds for the successful candidate. Details of requests for the reimbursement of moving expenses are evaluated based on the eligibility criteria outlined in King County Code and are subject to approval.

Background

Community Health Services (CHS) is the largest of 7 divisions in Public Health – Seattle & King County with over 600 employees and an annual budget of $190 million for 2026-27. Approximately 70,000 clients receive health services annually through the programs, partnerships, and Public Health Centers we operate. The purpose of CHS is to assure that basic health and human services are available to the most vulnerable people in King County. We also assure access to quality services through partnerships and regional programs. We are a Healthcare for the Homeless (HCHN) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grantee and a federally qualified health center, providing services to people experiencing homelessness, recent immigrants and refugees, people with medical and behaviorally complex conditions, and people with limited English proficiency. Our direct services include an array of parent child health programs, family health, refugee screening, travel immunizations, dental, and family planning. Our Title X Family Planning provides the full range of family planning services, including pregnancy options counseling and referrals for prenatal care, pregnancy termination or adoption services. Our direct services are located throughout King County and offered at eleven public health centers, in centers where we are co-located with other providers, school-based health centers, and through our mobile medical vans.

Public Health – Seattle & King County ("PHSKC", "Public Health", or "the department") is the Public Health Department for King County, Washington which includes 39 cities, including the City of Seattle, and unincorporated areas. Public Health is one of the largest metropolitan health departments in the United States with over 1,600 employees. With a biennial budget of nearly $1 billion, the department serves approximately 2.3 million people of King County who reside in urban, rural, shoreline, foothill, and mountain communities with distinct environments and unique public health needs. We operate primary care, dental, sexual and reproductive health, parent child health, and other health care-related services throughout King County across 40 sites and mobile clinics. King County is an international port of entry, welcoming nearly 40 million visitors annually. Over 100 languages are spoken by King County residents.

Commitment To Equity and Social Justice
Named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the most influential civil rights leaders in our nation's history, King County is a vibrant international community with residents that represent countries from around the world. It is a region with increasing diversity that cherishes the traditions of many cultures.

The county government has a deep commitment to equity and social justice and advancing practices, strategies, and policies that promote fairness, justice, and opportunity for all – in our workplaces and our communities. With this commitment, King County has adopted a pro-equity agenda to advance regional change and ensure that residents from all communities are incorporated into our emergency planning and public outreach efforts.

We recognize that structural racism consists of principles and practices that cause and justify an inequitable distribution of rights, opportunities, and experiences across racial groups. Since declaring Racism is a Public Health Crisis in June 2020, King County and Public Health committed to being intentionally anti-racist and accountable to Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities.

To learn more, please visit: http://www.kingcounty.gov/elected/executive/equity-social-justice.aspx.

Work Schedule
The typical work week is Monday through Friday, 8:00am–5:00pm, 40 hours per week. This position is exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and is not overtime-eligible.

Work Location
Chinook Building – 401 5th Avenue, Suite 1000, Seattle, WA 98104. The need to travel to Public Health sites throughout King County may be required.

Remote and Onsite Work

The CHS Division Leadership team works in a hybrid model, with days in the office as well as telecommuting. The ratio of remote to onsite work will be dependent on business needs and is subject to change.

Employees must reside in Washington state and within a reasonable distance to their King County worksite to respond to workplace reporting requirements.

King County has a robust collection of tools and resources to support working remotely.

The individual selected for this opportunity will join an innovative and progressive team that is redefining how we work as we transition to the department's hybrid environment.

Employees will be provided with a County-issued laptop and must maintain a home workspace with an internet connection where they can reliably perform work and remain available and responsive during scheduled work hours.

Requirements

The CHS Medical Director is a member of our Division’s leadership team, providing policy and clinical guidance for all clinical and public health services provided at our public health centers, healthcare for the homeless program, and mobile medical teams. This includes medical oversight and management of clinical providers, partnership with two prestigious residency programs located in two of our primary care clinics, overseeing quality assurance and quality improvement efforts, and providing clinical policy and clinical operations oversight of our electronic health records. The Medical Director is pivotal in building a work environment.

Clinical Leadership and Support:

• Provide clinical oversight and direction ensuring quality primary care, maternal and child health programs, refugee screening, healthcare for the homeless/street medicine, and mobile medical vans.
  
• Consult on complex cases, workflows, and changes in clinical practice.
• Recruit, hire, supervise and assure ongoing review and development of clinical providers.
• Supervise lead providers, including performance evaluations and professional development.
• Conduct quarterly chart review of lead providers.
• Provide clinical leadership for quality improvement (QI) initiatives focused on patient outcomes and productivity.
• Serve as medical lead for monthly provider meetings and communicate public health alerts as needed.
• Identify and coordinate external speakers for clinical education (ex: STI trends).

Maintain a limited clinical practice (approximately 10% FTE, or one half-day per week). Depending on operational needs and candidate preference, this may expand up to 20% FTE.

The role is not intended to provide routine backfill for provider absences but may offer occasional clinical support as part of the CHS clinical leadership team.

• Participate in the CHS opioid task force and other department-level clinical initiatives as needed.

Regulatory Compliance:

• Ensures all medical services meet Federally Qualified Health Center clinical requirements and standards.
• Serve as Principal Investigator (PI) for the HRSA grant.
• Lead and oversee HRSA clinical audit preparation and compliance.
• Lead clinical components of patient centered medical home certification and maintenance.
• Monitor Health Care Authority (HCA) policy updates and new legislation impacting clinical care.
• Review quarterly HCA billing updates and ensure required implementation.
• Work with the Compliance Office on investigations, documentation, and risk mitigation.
• Systems & Operations
• Serve as the Epic support lead/clinical information officer and collaborate with the agencies Health Information Technology Team and the CHS Epic team to assure clinician’s needs are represented related to the electronic health record (EHR) system.
• Ensure that providers receive adequate EHR training.
• Participate in after-hours call pool and provide clinic coverage as needed.
• Review and sign standing orders and standing operating procedures.
• Oversee credentialing for all CHS medical providers.
• Review and negotiate residency and fellowship contracts.
• Participate in clinical contract development and review for CHS programs.
• Meet with pharmacy leadership to review formulary and medication management.
• Evaluate billing fee structures; set minimum visit fees and pricing for new clinical codes.
• Review and update clinical guidelines in alignment with evidence-based standards.

Grants, Policy, & Strategic Collaboration:

• Lead or contribute to grants that impact CHS clinical services.
• Collaborate with partner divisions (e.g., Prevention, Jail Health Services) on clinical alignment.
• Represent CHS on the Health Care for the Homeless Network (HCHN) Board.
• Attend CHS Leadership Team (LT) and Provider Leadership/Clinical Team (PLCT) meetings.
• Help develop agendas and actively participate in PLCT and provider meetings.
• Serve as CHS representative in residency contract negotiations.
• Participate in QI efforts to strengthen outcomes, compliance, and care delivery.

Qualifications

Our ideal candidate will demonstrate the following (Required Qualifications):

• Skilled in Family Medicine, including Reproductive Health Services.
• Familiar with the FQHC status, Medicaid, Title X, and Medicare regulations.
• Familiar with quality improvement methodologies in a healthcare setting and the ability to foster continuous quality improvement.
• Familiar with the patient-centered medical home and patient-centered specialty practice models, as well as trauma-informed care.
• Demonstrated effective leadership, with the ability to assess situations quickly and view conflict as an opportunity to find common ground and generate cooperation.
• Demonstrated ability to develop others by building strong teams that view challenging tasks and assignments as opportunities to gain new skills; creates and fosters a sense of belonging within the team; encourages open dialogue; and builds strong morale and team spirit by supporting shared successes and ownership.
• Demonstrated ability to create a work environment where people can thrive; seeks input from those closest to the work; understands how to bring out the best in others; and ensures individuals feel their contributions are valued and essential to organizational success.
• Knowledge of public health concepts and their application in community-based health settings, including the ability to evaluate community health needs.
• Demonstrates honesty and integrity in actions and is comfortable providing corrective feedback or taking difficult actions when necessary.
• Demonstrated ability to respect, communicate, and relate effectively with people of all backgrounds, roles, and positions; skilled at building strong, trusting relationships.
• Experience working in a unionized environment.

Additional Information

To ApplyIf you are interested in pursuing this position, please follow the application instructions carefully.

If you need this announcement in an alternate language or format, would like to request accommodation or assistance in the application or assessment process or if you have questions, please contact the recruiter listed on this job announcement.

Who May Apply

We welcome applications from all qualified applicants. We value diversity, diverse perspectives, life experience, and encourage people of all backgrounds to apply.

Application Process

The following items are required to be considered for this vacancy:

• NEOGOV Job Application (The responses on your job application should be thorough and complete and will be used in the screening process)
• Supplemental Questions (The responses to the supplemental questions should be thorough and complete and will be used in the screening process)
• Resume (Your resume should be thorough and complete and will be used in the screening process)
• Letter of Interest – Please share why you are interested in this position and any aspects of your education, training, and/or experience that you feel make you a highly qualified candidate for this position.

(Please note: Cover letters, resumes, and additional attachments will not be reviewed as part of the evaluation process if not outlined as a required application material as outlined above).

Your application may be rejected as incomplete if you do not include the relevant information in your application. Cover letters and/or resumes are not accepted in lieu of a completed application.

Applications and/or Supplemental Questionnaires that state "see my resume" or "see my personnel file" are considered incomplete and will not be accepted.

ContactIf you have questions or would like more information about the application process, please contact Falisha Forgash, HR Analyst at fforgash@kingcounty.gov.

Union Membership This position is not represented by a labor union. Necessary Special Requirements

• The selection process may include evaluation of application materials and supplemental questions, interviewing, and testing. You must completely fill out the application with your relevant education and work experience.
• The selected candidate must be able to provide proof of Basic Life Support (BLS)/CPR. (if applicable)
• The selected candidate must be able to pass a thorough background investigation and Pre-employment Physical, but findings may not necessarily disqualify an applicant for employment. (if applicable)
• For more information on our selection process, please refer to www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health/jobs/hiring. For tips on interviewing, please visit https://www.kingcounty.gov/~/media/audience/employees/learning-and-development/Interview_Tips.ashx?la=en.
• Employees are required to protect the privacy and security of protected health information as defined in State and Federal Law.
• Public Health – Seattle & King County relies on office automation (Microsoft Office) and web-based enabled tools, therefore candidates must be proficient and comfortable with computer use to perform functions associated with on-going work.
• Employees are required to adhere to OSHA/WISHA guidelines including but not limited to completing their mandatory trainings on time and obtaining required immunizations.
• Regular and reliable attendance, effective communication skills, and development of effective working relationships are requirements of all Public Health – Seattle & King County positions.

When Public Health responds to an emergency, and in accordance with relevant CBA language and/or KC policy and procedures, we may assign duties outside your regular job description.

This may involve responding at any time, including nights and weekends, with possible deployment to locations other than the department.

• If you need a disability accommodation in the application or testing process, please call the contact number listed on the job announcement.

Forbes recently named King County as one of Washington State's best employers.

Together, with leadership and our employees, we're changing the way government delivers service and winning national recognition as a model of excellence. Are you ready to make a difference? Come join the team dedicated to serving one of the nation's best places to live, work and play.

Guided by our "True North", we are making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive. We value diversity, inclusion and belonging in our workplace and workforce.

To reach this goal we are committed to workforce equity.

Equitable recruiting, support, and retention is how we will obtain the highest quality workforce in our region; a workforce that shares and will help advance our guiding principles--we are one team; we solve problems; we focus on the customer; we drive for results; we are racially just; we respect all people; we lead the way; and we are responsible stewards.

We encourage people of all backgrounds and identities to apply, including Native American and people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ+, people living with disabilities, and veterans.

King County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) EmployerNo person is unlawfully excluded from employment opportunities based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or other protected class.

Our EEO policy applies to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, selection for training, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation.