LifeFlight Emergency Communications Manager

Discover Vanderbilt University Medical Center:  Located in Nashville, Tennessee, and operating at a global crossroads of teaching, discovery, and patient care, VUMC is a community of individuals who come to work each day with the simple aim of changing the world. It is a place where your expertise will be valued, your knowledge expanded, and your abilities challenged. Vanderbilt Health is committed to an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and where your uniqueness is sought and celebrated. It is a place where employees know they are part of something that is bigger than themselves, take exceptional pride in their work and never settle for what was good enough yesterday. Vanderbilt’s mission is to advance health and wellness through preeminent programs in patient care, education, and research.

Organization:

LifeFlight Communications

Job Summary:

The Manager of Emergency, Flight & Transportation Communications leads the operations of Vanderbilt’s Emergency Communications Center, Transport Coordination Center or FlightCom Communications Center. This role ensures the delivery of safe, efficient, and compliant communication services supporting air medical transport, ground medical transport or emergency response coordination and regional healthcare partnerships. The Manager is responsible for strategic planning, operational oversight, staff development, and financial stewardship, fostering a culture of excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement aligned with institutional goals.

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KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Monitor quality assurance standards and ensure compliance with regulatory and institutional requirements.
• Define and achieve financial targets; monitor budgets, expenditures, and prepare financial reports.
• Promote a safe, enriching work environment and support staff development through training and performance feedback.
• Lead departmental planning, performance improvement, and cross-functional coordination.
• Recruit, train, and evaluate staff; ensure qualifications and competencies align with job responsibilities.
• Ensure service standards are met or exceeded; use customer satisfaction data to improve systems and outcomes.
   

Emergency Communications

• Coordinate emergency notifications and support disaster response and mass casualty incident communications.
• Facilitate real-time communications between EMS agencies, hospitals, and emergency services.
• Lead departmental planning, performance improvement, and cross-functional coordination.
• Manage high-volume emergency communication systems, including multi-line phones and radio networks.
• Responsible for monitoring and triaging the VUMC and MCJCHV helipads.

Flight Communications

• Monitor aircraft movements, weather conditions, and flight routes to support safe operations.
• Maintain working knowledge of FAA Part 135 regulations and ensure adherence to aviation policies.
• Facilitate real-time communications between flight crews, hospitals, and other essential personnel.
• Ensure accurate documentation of flight transport activities and communications in dispatch systems.
• Provide clinical and operational leadership to flight communication specialists, ensuring alignment with protocols.
• Coordinate with other flight programs when aircraft are unavailable and manage incoming/outgoing air transport requests.

Transportation Communications

• Oversee coordination of ground medical transport logistics across multiple facilities, ensuring safety, efficiency, and compliance.
• Facilitate communications between ground transport teams and healthcare providers.
• Supervise and guide transportation communication staff, ensuring effective operations and adherence to standards.

TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES

• Leadership (Novice): Demonstrates adaptable leadership styles, communicates goals clearly, and models initiative.
• Operations Planning (Novice): Anticipates resource needs, organizes tasks, and manages multiple priorities effectively.
• Emergency Management (Novice to Intermediate): Applies structured methodologies and practical expertise in emergency response coordination.
• Decision Making (Novice): Makes timely, effective decisions in high-pressure environments with broad consideration of alternatives.
• Change Management (Novice): Supports organizational adaptation through structured problem-solving and solution testing.
• Listening (Intermediate): Engages actively in communication, ensuring clarity and understanding across diverse stakeholders.
• Compliance (Novice): Applies regulatory knowledge and escalates issues appropriately.
• Quality Management (Novice): Continuously evaluates and improves operational processes and service delivery.
• Financial Acumen (Fundamental Awareness): Supports budget planning, monitors expenditures, and prepares financial documentation.

Allied health is among the fastest growing occupations in healthcare today. This area can be defined as credentialed professionals who perform supportive, diagnostic, and therapeutic health care services to promote health and prevent disease in a variety of settings.

These areas are crucial to Vanderbilt Health’s reputation for excellence in these areas that has made us a major center for patient referrals from throughout the Mid-South.

Each year, people throughout Tennessee and the southeast choose Vanderbilt Health for their health care because of our leadership in medical science and our dedication to treating patients with dignity and compassion.

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Core Accountabilities:

* Organizational Impact: Directs activities to achieve operational plans with some near term effect on results of the department/area.* Problem Solving/ Complexity of work: Identifies issues, gathers facts to resolve technical and operational problems. * Breadth of Knowledge: Applies in-depth knowledge and skills of a professional/technical area and basic management knowledge to manage the work of the team.* Team Interaction: Leads a complex department with a focus on implementation. Typically executes on a short to medium term strategies.

Core Capabilities :

Supporting Colleagues: - Develops Self and Others: Invests time, energy, and enthusiasm in developing self/others to help improve performance e and gain knowledge in new areas. - Builds and Maintains Relationships: Maintains regular contact with key colleagues and stakeholders using formal and informal opportunities to expand and strengthen relationships. - Communicates Effectively: Recognizes group interactions and modifies one's own communication style to suit different situations and audiences .Delivering Excellent Services : - Serves Others with Compassion: Seeks to understand current and future needs of relevant stakeholders and customizes services to better address them. - Solves Complex Problems: Approaches problems from different angles; Identifies new possibilities to interpret opportunities and develop concrete solutions. - Offers Meaningful Advice and Support: Provides ongoing support and coaching in a constructive manner to increase employees' effectiveness. Ensuring High Quality - Performs Excellent Work: Engages regularly in formal and informal dialogue about quality; directly addresses quality issues promptly. - Ensures Continuous Improvement: Applies various learning experiences by looking beyond symptoms to uncover underlying causes of problems and identifies ways to resolve them. - Fulfills Safety and Regulatory Requirements: Understands all aspects of providing a safe environment and performs routine safety checks to prevent safety hazards from occurring. Managing Resources Effectively: - Demonstrates Accountability: Demonstrates a sense of ownership, focusing on and driving critical issues to closure. - Stewards Organizational Resources: Applies understanding of the departmental work to effectively manage resources for a department/area. - Makes Data Driven Decisions: Demonstrates strong understanding of the information or data to identify and elevate opportunities. Fostering Innovation: - Generates New Ideas: Proactively identifies new ideas/opportunities from multiple sources or methods to improve processes beyond conventional approaches. - Applies Technology: Demonstrates an enthusiasm for learning new technologies, tools, and procedures to address short-term challenges. - Adapts to Change: Views difficult situations and/or problems as opportunities for improvement; actively embraces change instead of emphasizing negative elements.

Position Qualifications:

Responsibilities:

Certifications:

Certified Flight Communicator - IAMTCS, LIC-Emergency Medical Technician Advanced - Licensure-Others, LIC-Emergency Medical Technician - Paramedic - Licensure-Others, LIC-Emergency Medical Technicians Basic - Licensure-Others

Work Experience:

Relevant Work Experience

Experience Level :

3 years

Education:

Bachelor's

This role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact within Vanderbilt Health, supported by a comprehensive benefits package which may include health, disability, retirement and/or wellness offerings to enhance your well-being and professional growth.

Vanderbilt Health is committed to fostering an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and is committed to the principles of equal opportunity.  EOE/Vets/Disabled.