THIS IS A HYBRID POSITION REQUIRING 2 DAYS PER WEEK (TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY) EACH WEEK IN-PERSON AT OUR OFFICE LOCATED IN THE STREETERVILLE/MAG MILE AREA OF DOWNTOWN CHICAGO, IL.

JOB SUMMARY:

The Associate Vice President (AVP), Certification Quality & Experiences is an integral member of the American Osteopathic Association’s Certifying Board Services (CBS) leadership team. Reporting to the Vice President, Certifying Board Services, this role provides leadership, oversight, and continuous improvement for the end-to-end candidate and diplomate experience across all AOA certifying boards. The AVP is responsible for establishing and advancing a comprehensive quality framework that ensures certification and continuous certification processes are transparent, consistent, equitable, efficient, and candidate-centered while maintaining the rigor, integrity, and defensibility of AOA board certification.

The AVP serves as an organizational steward for candidate and diplomate experience design, service quality, feedback mechanisms, and experience-related metrics. Working in close partnership with the AVP, Operations; AVP, Psychometrics & Assessments; Certification Directors; and AOA colleagues, the AVP, Certification Quality & Experiences ensures that operational, assessment, and policy decisions are informed by data, stakeholder feedback, and best practices in credentialing, customer experience, and quality management.

This position requires the ability to navigate a complex, highly regulated environment; interact seamlessly with physician leaders and volunteers; handle sensitive and confidential matters with discretion; and lead cross-functional initiatives that i

CORE RESPONSIBILTIES AND ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

Quality Strategy and Continuous Improvement

• Lead the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of an enterprise wide quality and experience framework across all AOA certifying boards, ensuring transparency, consistency, equity, efficiency, and defensibility throughout the certification and continuous certification lifecycle.
• Establish, monitor, and report on experience related quality benchmarks, performance indicators, and service standards aligned with CBS strategic goals, accreditation expectations, and regulatory requirements.
• Direct continuous quality improvement initiatives that optimize workflows, systems, staffing models, and vendor performance to support scalability, sustainability, and innovation.

Candidate and Diplomate Experience Leadership

• Provide strategic oversight of the end-to-end candidate and diplomate experience—from application through certification, continuous certification, and recertification—ensuring a cohesive, candidate centered experience across boards, systems, and services.
• Lead the assessment and improvement of service delivery models, communications, touchpoints, and support processes to enhance satisfaction, trust, and engagement.
• Serve as the senior escalation point for complex or sensitive candidate and diplomate concerns, ensuring timely, fair, consistent, and well documented resolution in alignment with policy, precedent, governance expectations, and candidate rights.

Data, Metrics, and Insights

• Develop and oversee experience related data strategies, including surveys, feedback mechanisms, service metrics, and trend analysis, to inform evidence based decision making.
• Analyze and communicate experience, satisfaction, volume, and outcome data to CBS leadership, certifying boards, and other stakeholders to drive accountability and improvement.

Board Governance and Stakeholder Engagement

• Serve as staff leadership and primary liaison to assigned AOA specialty certifying board(s), providing strategic guidance, supporting governance and policy development, and ensuring alignment with organizational priorities.
• Communicate and collaborate effectively within a complex, volunteer driven environment, engaging physician leaders, board members, executive leadership, vendors, and internal stakeholders with professionalism and discretion.

Cross Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with the AVP, Operations; AVP, Psychometrics & Assessments; certification directors; and AOA colleagues to integrate operational efficiency, assessment rigor, policy compliance, and experience design.
• Embed quality and experience considerations into CBS and AOA strategic initiatives, planning, and implementation activities.

Talent Leadership and Professional Standards

• Develop and support high performing teams focused on quality management, continuous improvement, governance best practices, and service excellence.
• Model honesty, impartiality, compassion, and high professional standards while handling sensitive and confidential matters.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Special Skills:

• Expert knowledge and demonstrated success in quality management, candidate and diplomate experience design, and continuous improvement within complex, regulated, or credentialing-based environments.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to collect, interpret, and synthesize qualitative and quantitative experience and service-related data to inform strategic and operational decision-making.
• Solid understanding of certification and credentialing programs, including candidate lifecycle management, continuous certification, accreditation expectations, and the importance of fairness, transparency, legal defensibility, and their alignment with AERA/APA/NCME, NCCA, and ANSI/ISO 17024 guidelines and standards.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to translate complex issues and data into clear, actionable insights for physician leaders, board members, executives, and staff.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams, integrate competing perspectives, and build consensus within a matrixed, volunteer-driven organization.
• High level of emotional intelligence, professionalism, and discretion, with the ability to handle highly sensitive, confidential, and escalated candidate and diplomate matters tactfully and diplomatically.
• Self-starter who is organized, adaptable, and capable of managing multiple, competing priorities independently while maintaining accountability for quality and outcomes.

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree required (B.A. or B.S.); Master’s degree preferred (M.A., M.B.A., or M.S.).

Licensure or Certification:

• ICE Certified Credentialing Professional (ICE-CCP) or ASAE Certified Association Executive (CAE) preferred.

Experience:

• A minimum of twelve (12) years of progressive experience in association management, certification systems, quality management, or related environments.
• Demonstrated experience leading quality management initiatives, continuous improvement activities, customer or stakeholder experience initiatives, and cross-functional teams.
• Experience working within complex, regulated, or volunteer-driven organizations (preferably within a medical board or licensure context).
• High proficiency with computer programs and applications including MS Office, association management databases, CRM tools/platforms, ticketing tools/platforms, project management tools/platforms, survey tools/platforms and auditing/quality management/continuous improvement tools/platforms.
• Ability to prioritize conflicting goals while negotiating in a persuasive manner during group decision making.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills are required with a demonstrated ability to simplify complex information and craft messages for a wide range of audiences.

WORKING ENVIRONMENT:

Physical:

• Extended Workday hours, including occasional evening and weekends may be necessary around major meetings, volunteer engagements and other high-volume work periods.
• Position requires the ability to remain in a stationary position for longer periods of time.
• Requires the ability to move or lift up to 25 pounds.
• Requires the ability to operate office equipment.

ENVIRONMENT:

• This a hybrid position requiring 2 days per week (Tuesday and Wednesday) in person at our office located in the Streeterville/Mag Mile area of downtown Chicago, IL.
• Normal office environment during in-office days.

Salary Range: $125,000.00 - $130,000.00 Annually

The AOA offers the following benefits:

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Life and AD&D
• Long and Short-term Disability
• FSA/HSA
• Commuter Benefits
• 401(k) with match

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

American Osteopathic Association is unable to sponsor work visas at this time.