Vice President, Laboratory Operations - Southwest Region

The Vice President, Lab Operations is responsible for executing the operations strategy within the Southwest region, working closely with regional commercial team, customer solutions team and other internal stakeholders. Quest Diagnostics' Southwest Region includes Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The role reports directly to the Southwest region President and is based in Irving, TX.

The Vice President of Lab Operations is responsible for leading Quest Diagnostics' Laboratory Operations in the Southwest region. The Vice President is responsible for laboratory volume of up to 70,000 reqs per day and 700employees across two main laboratories and 6smaller regional laboratories. The VP will have 6 direct reports and be responsible for strategy and execution driving improved operational excellence, customer experience and employee experience while upholding the region's history of superior medical quality. The ideal candidate will have successfully demonstrated experience driving transformational change in a services business by building and motivating teams, leveraging technology and automation as well as bringing to life lean, six sigma, and problem-solving methodology. As a member of the senior leadership team, the VP will drive a strong partnership with the VP of Commercial to drive profitable growth and stellar customer experience.

The individual in this role will work closely with the Region President to cross-functionally lead and influence successful business outcomes relative to lab systems standardization, laboratory footprint changes, capacity building, and automation. As such, strong program management and influencing skills are critical.

• Provides industry leading diagnostic insights delivered in a reliable, timely, accurate, cost effective, and hassle-free manner, to enable better physician care, and provide patients with greater insight and understanding, through innovative operations from order entry to results delivery.

• Partner with the commercial Vice President and business line leadership to deliver Commercial and business line goals.

• Owner of key business pillars such as: Engagement / Quality / Delivery / Costs / Innovation.

• Execute on service delivery commitments - testing, reporting and support.

• Develop the strategic plan for the business, including a value proposition that will support revenue growth and increased customer loyalty; emphasis should be on service portfolio prioritization and optimization, determining where to invest, based on customer feedback, to maximize the profitable growth of the business.

• Work closely with cross-functional leaders on critical business issues such as competitive positioning and competitive strategy; merger and acquisition activity; new business development; and other initiatives to drive increased revenue growth.

• Increase operational effectiveness, discipline, productivity and bottom-line results, by implementing best-in-class processes and metrics while at the same time driving a culture of strong medical quality and service metrics.

• Analyze operating results and their principal components relative to established objectives.

• Ensure the soundness of the business' financial structure; take appropriate steps for corrective action as required; and communicate these steps and results to the executive team as appropriate.

• Establish and communicate a clear vision for the business to customers, external partners, and employees, enhancing the company's credibility.

• Drive a high-performing team culture, and foster an environment which stimulates open communication, creativity and imagination, and a team spirit to solving problems and identifying/capturing new business opportunities.

Scope

• 700 employees, 6 direct reports

• Annual budget: $200M

• Laboratory volume: Approximately 70,000 reqs per day

• A bachelor's degree in a related field of study is required. An advanced degree/MBA is preferred.
• Multi-Site Operations Leadership: Proven success overseeing complex, distributed operations at scale, with responsibility for delivering against quality, turnaround time (TAT), and efficiency metrics.
• OperationalExcellenceandLeanTransformation:Demonstratedexpertiseinleadingprocessoptimization,waste reduction, and efficiency improvement using Lean, Six Sigma, or similar methodologies across end-to-end value streams.
• P&LandFinancialOwnership:Fullaccountabilityforlarge-scaleoperationalbudgets,includingcostmanagement, strategic investment decisions, and financial performance improvement.
• Organizational Transition & Change Leadership: Led major site transitions, including consolidations, facility closures, greenfield/brownfield launches, or network reorganization, ensuring continuity and employee engagement.
• Mergers,Acquisitions,andStrategicIntegration:InvolvementinM&Aduediligence,integrationplanning,and/or strategic partnerships with experience balancing technical, operational, and commercial considerations.
• KPI-Driven Performance Management: Track record of delivering on key operational KPIs (e.g., TAT, accuracy, throughput, cost per test) with accountability mechanisms and continuous improvement frameworks.

Critical Capabilities for Success

• Drives engagement - Creating a climate where people are motivated to do their best to help the organization achieve its objectives
• Strategic mindset - Seeing ahead to future possibilities and translating them into breakthrough strategies
• Cultivate innovation - Creating new and better ways for the organization to be successful
• Drives vision and purpose - Painting a compelling picture of the vision and strategy that motivates others to action
• Manages complexity - Making sense of complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems
• Drives results - Achieves results, even under tough circumstances
• Nimble learning - Actively learning through experimentation when tackling new problems, using both successes and failures as learning
• Manages ambiguity - Operating effectively, even when things are not certain, or the way forward is not clear
• Resilience - Rebounding from setbacks and adversity in difficult situations