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AAPA: Regional Director (3 positions)

The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) is currently recruiting for three (3) Regional Director positions – one for each of the following regions of the United States: Southeast, North Central and Western. AAPA’s office is located in Alexandria, Virginia. The Southeast Regional Director will work from the national office or from a home office in the region. The North Central Regional Director and Western Regional Director will work from home offices in their regions.

The AAPA, established in April 1968, is the one unified voice for physician assistants (PAs) in all medical and surgical specialties. Today there are 76,000 practicing PAs in the United States. Approximately 43,600 PAs are members of AAPA.

Each Regional Director will act as a staff liaison between the national office and constituent chapters within the region s/he serves. The Regional Director will provide coordination of services and activities; management and support in the areas of organizational and leadership development to chapter leaders, their paid (or volunteer) staff as well as their members. This individual will also support an assigned group of specialty organizations. The Regional Directors report to the Senior Vice President, Constituent Organization Development.

Each Regional Director will be responsible for the following:

• Ensures the continual development of chapters within an assigned region and select specialty organizations
  • Develops chapters and specialty organization to ensure they become strong and effective components of the national organization.
    • Advises and supports the chapter/specialty organization leaders, staff and members in areas such as governance, volunteer management, membership development, communications, fiduciary responsibility and business practice.
    • Creates a comprehensive profile of each organization to assess challenges which may exist. Profiles will provide a historical reference for each chapter/specialty organization and will record recent activities.
    • Develops and executes customized work plans for each chapter/specialty organization; will work with chapter/specialty organization leaders and staffs to fulfill the plans. Plans will outline agreed upon annual metrics for chapter growth and development.
    • Monitors overall activity (operational, government relations, programming) of the chapters/specialty organizations and provides and/or coordinates assistance.
    • Manages the Regional Team – comprised of an administrator as well as staff specialists from other departments within the Academy (i.e., state government affairs, federal government affairs, reimbursement, educations, communications/PR, meetings, marketing/business development/membership, data operations and research) – to provide technical assistance to chapters and specialty organizations.
    • Acts as a central resource and conduit of information for chapters, specialty organizations and AAPA staff.
  • Collaborates with the Senior Vice President, other directors within the division and other AAPA staff to continually evaluate the development program. Will implement and manage a system to evaluate the growth and development of chapters and specialty organizations.
    
    
• General constituent organization-related responsibilities
  • Contributes to the overall development and management of the constituent organization resources provided by the division.
  • Develops and implements a best practices program for constituent organization management.
    
    
• The Regions (each regional director will also be responsible for the development of 3-5 specialty organizations, to be determined):
  • Western: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
  • Southeast: Alabama, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia
  • North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin
    
    
• The successful candidate will have the following qualifications:
  • Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Public Administration or Marketing required
  • Certified Association Executive (CAE) Professional Certification desirable
  • 6-8 years component/chapter relations experience within a national organization, preferably health care related
  • 6-8 years association management experience related to governance, board relations, membership, marketing and executive/administrative management required
  • Independent thinker/creative problem solver with strong analytical skills
  • Excellent persuasive interpersonal skills
  • Able to prioritize and manage projects concurrently
  • Self starter and able to work independently and within a team-environment
  • Detail-oriented; well-organized
  • Dedicated worker with high energy level
  • Excellent communication (both written and verbal) skills
  • Supervisory experience desired
  • Willingness to learn new software programs as required
  • Willingness to travel frequently, including weekends
  • Flexibility with workload and hours

About Physician Assistants:
A PA is a graduate of an accredited PA educational program who is authorized by the state to practice medicine with the supervision of a licensed physician. PAs are invaluable members of the health care team, working in concert with physicians to ensure the highest quality of care for their patients.

Physicians may delegate to PAs those medical duties that are within the physician’s scope of practice and the PA’s training and experience and are allowed by law.

Such duties include performing physical examinations, diagnosing and treating illnesses, ordering and interpreting lab tests, suturing wounds, assisting in surgery, providing patient education and counseling, and making rounds in nursing homes and hospitals. All states, the District of Columbia, and Guam authorize physicians to delegate prescriptive privileges to the PAs they supervise.

AAPA’s Benefits:
Our benefits include medical, dental, and vision coverage; life and disability insurance; flexible spending accounts; a generous 401(k) plan; generous vacation days beginning your first year of employment, 11 annual holidays; an extra 4 days off during Christmas and New Year; tuition assistance; staff development courses; free parking or Metro tickets; direct deposit; credit union; gym membership; annual performance and salary reviews; and fun staff social events such as the "PA Scrubs" softball team, chili cook-off, Black History Celebration, summer picnic, holiday luncheon, and more!

To apply, send your resume and a detailed cover letter along with your salary requirements to HR@aapa.org. Your cover letter should explain why you are interested in the position, and it should help us get to know you. You must live in the region of the position you are applying for.

November 30, 2008