OPT Chief People Officer Jobs
Chief People Officer jobs on OPT are rare but not impossible. Most CPO roles require 15-plus years of HR leadership experience, which makes them a realistic target only for students on STEM OPT extensions. Employers filing H-1B visa or O-1 visa petitions for executive HR roles do exist, particularly at high-growth startups and mid-size tech companies.
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Emory Healthcare (EHC) is seeking a board-certified physician leader to serve as Associate Chief Quality Officer (ACQO) at Emory Hospital Warner Robins (EHWR). This physician executive will lead quality and patient safety initiatives while maintaining a small clinical practice.
The Associate Chief Quality Officer provides leadership for quality management, regulatory compliance, and performance improvement initiatives across EHWR, comprised of 2 hospitals with 237 staffed beds.
Working closely with the EHC Chief Quality Officer and the EHWR Chief Medical Officer, the ACQO will lead initiatives to improve clinical outcomes, patient safety, infection prevention, and publicly reported quality metrics. This position will be structured with a ~0.8 Leadership / ~0.2 Clinical FTE split.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Lead hospital-based quality improvement and patient safety programs
- Implement Emory Healthcare’s Quality and Patient Safety (QPS) strategic initiatives
- Partner with clinical departments and hospital leadership to drive improvement initiatives
- Monitor performance metrics tied to CMS programs, value-based purchasing, and public reporting
- Ensure readiness for Joint Commission and regulatory surveys
- Investigate adverse events, including Root Cause Analyses and Failure Mode and Effects Analyses
- Participate in hospital and health system committees related to quality and safety
QUALIFICATIONS
Required:
- MD or DO with an active board certification in any medical specialty
- Minimum 3 years of progressive leadership experience in healthcare quality
- Experience implementing quality improvement or patient safety initiatives
Preferred:
- Experience within a complex health system
- Knowledge of regulatory and accreditation standards
- Leadership experience in physician executive, medical director, or hospital leadership roles
- Strong analytical, communication, and change management skills
ABOUT EMORY HEALTHCARE & EMORY HOSPITAL WARNER ROBINS
Emory Healthcare is the largest and most comprehensive academic health system in Georgia and is nationally recognized for its commitment to clinical excellence, patient safety, and quality improvement, ranking among the top 10% of academic medical centers for quality according to Press Ganey.
EHWR joined EHC in 2025 and represents a key expansion of the health system’s regional presence.
The catchment area spans Houston County and surrounding communities, supporting a regional population of nearly 300,000 residents.
ABOUT HOUSTON COUNTY, GEORGIA
Provides a family-friendly atmosphere with modern amenities and a strong sense of community.
Conveniently located along the I-75 corridor, Houston is well-positioned between major metro markets and coastal destinations, making weekend get-aways easily accessible.
The area offers a low cost of living with high quality of life, allowing physicians and their families to enjoy spacious homes, safe neighborhoods, and financial flexibility.
Families benefit from the top-performing Houston County School District, along with respected private schools.
Interested candidates are encouraged to inquire to learn more about this physician leadership opportunity with Emory Healthcare.
JOB DESCRIPTION: Provides leadership and support in the oversight for all aspects of quality and patient safety for their assigned facility. Provides oversight and administration of OU entity quality management, performance improvement, and regulatory compliance activities, to achieve Emory Healthcare (EHC) goal of clinical excellence.
REPORTING: Reports to the OU entity Chief Medical Officer (CMO) or Chief Quality Officer (CQO), in supporting the EHC Chief Quality Officer with development and implementation of quality improvement activities.
PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Collaborates with the EHC CQO, EHI, Inc., Office of Quality to execute the EHC QPS plan and EHC strategic priorities by using methodologies of improvement to drive improvements of clinical and process outcomes related to patient safety, infection prevention, and other key quality performance metrics that are used to determine incentive and potential penalties as measured by CMS, private payers, and public benchmarking of EHC performance.
Helps develop, plan, coordinate, and implement strategic and day-to-day quality (clinical improvement) programs across Emory Healthcare.
Collaborates with local hospital operating unit leaders and EU academic departments to ensure integration of clinical quality management, regulatory compliance, patient safety, and risk management efforts across EHC.
Manages the Quality & Patient Safety staff in adherence with EHC policies and standards with the responsibility for hiring, development, coaching, mentoring and performance management of staff.
Participate in organizational committees at both the hospital and system committees as assigned or needed.
QUALITY: Anticipate national trends and initiatives in performance improvement, clinical quality, health care informatics, and the use of clinical technology for improvement efforts.
Ensures OU entity implements and are well positioned for local, state and national clinical regulatory programs, value-based purchasing methodologies, and comparison ratings.
- Metrics/Data
- The ACQO shall be knowledgeable of their relevant campus metrics including but not limited to, QPS goals, drive/watch metrics, other relevant operational metrics that are utilized by relevant raters and ranking systems. He/she shall
- Proactively reviews key metrics and identifies trends
- Review them with hospital leaders
- Identify opportunities for improvement and drive improvement
REGULATORY ACCREDITATION AND CERTIFICATION: Helps provide direction regarding regulatory standards and compliance: regulatory body hospital-wide review/surveys (the Joint Commission, DCH, etc.) as well as surveys for disease-specific certifications.
Promote actions to achieve compliance with all relevant city, state and federal laws, government regulations, accrediting agency standards, and health system policies.
POLICY MANAGEMENT: Facilitate the dissemination, communication, and implementation EHC policies and procedures.
INFECTION PREVENTION: Partners with IPC leaders to implement EHC IPC strategy and provide leadership of the Infection Prevention program and efforts at OU entity.
PATIENT SAFETY: Leads and facilitates the patient safety efforts at OU entity in partnership with the Director, Quality & Patient Safety and OU entity leadership. Lead or facilitate cause, apparent, or common cause analysis, and FMEA. Investigate all major adverse events.
- Participate and/or lead patient safety debriefs
- Apprise OU CMO or OU CQO of all major significant events
- Facilitate the investigation of all significant adverse patient events, including complaints/grievances in partnership with patient advocates in a timely (per regulatory requirements)
- Root Cause Analysis
- Lead, participate and/or facilitate the RCA meeting
- Monitor plans of correction overseen and directed by the responsible party of the plans of correction
RISK MANAGEMENT: Partners with the risk management team to help facilitate risk management strategies to promote patient safety.
QUALITY DATA STRATEGY AND PROGRAM REPORTING: Provides leadership and input of clinical quality data strategy for improvements in collaboration with data analytics team and information technology team.
ONGOING PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS AND PEER REVIEW ANALYSIS: Maintain physician credentialing, recredentialing, and to meet regulatory performance evaluations.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATION:
- Medical degree from an accredited institution; board certification in medical specialty
- Three (3) years of progressive leadership in healthcare quality related position
- Experience with the design and implementation of quality, performance improvement and patient safety efforts in a complex health system
- Change management skills
- Strong team building ability: effectively able to motivate, engage and encourage team participation
- Knowledge of patient safety field and/or hospital flow and efficiency
- Strong analytical/problem-solving, critical thinking, and idea-generating ability
- Experience in working collaboratively with clinical leadership
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Self-directed and motivated
Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by state or federal law.
ACCOMMODATIONS: EHC will provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. To request this document in an alternate format or to request a reasonable accommodation, please contact the Office of Leave and Accommodations.
Physical Requirements: (Medium-Heavy) 36-75 lbs., 0-33% of the work day (occasionally); 20-35 lbs., 34-66% of the workday; (frequently); 10-20 lbs., 67-100% of the workday (constantly); Lifting 75 lbs. max; Carrying of objects up to 35 lbs.; Occasional to frequent standing & walking; Occasional sitting; Close eye work (computers, typing, reading, writing); Physical demands may vary depending on assigned work area and work tasks.
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS: Factors affecting environmental conditions may vary depending on the assigned work area and tasks. Environmental exposures include, but are not limited to: Blood-borne pathogen exposure; Bio-hazardous waste; Chemicals/gases/fumes/vapors; Communicable diseases; Electrical shock; Floor Surfaces; Hot/Cold Temperatures; Indoor/Outdoor conditions; Latex; Lighting; Patient care/handling injuries; Radiation; Shift work; Travel may be required; Use of personal protective equipment, including respirators; environmental conditions may vary depending on assigned work area and work tasks.
Overview:
Emory Healthcare (EHC) is seeking a board-certified physician leader to serve as Associate Chief Quality Officer (ACQO) at Emory Hospital Warner Robins (EHWR). This physician executive will lead quality and patient safety initiatives while maintaining a small clinical practice.
The Associate Chief Quality Officer provides leadership for quality management, regulatory compliance, and performance improvement initiatives across EHWR, comprised of 2 hospitals with 237 staffed beds.
Working closely with the EHC Chief Quality Officer and the EHWR Chief Medical Officer, the ACQO will lead initiatives to improve clinical outcomes, patient safety, infection prevention, and publicly reported quality metrics. This position will be structured with a ~0.8 Leadership / ~0.2 Clinical FTE split.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Lead hospital-based quality improvement and patient safety programs
- Implement Emory Healthcare’s Quality and Patient Safety (QPS) strategic initiatives
- Partner with clinical departments and hospital leadership to drive improvement initiatives
- Monitor performance metrics tied to CMS programs, value-based purchasing, and public reporting
- Ensure readiness for Joint Commission and regulatory surveys
- Investigate adverse events, including Root Cause Analyses and Failure Mode and Effects Analyses
- Participate in hospital and health system committees related to quality and safety
QUALIFICATIONS
Required:
- MD or DO with an active board certification in any medical specialty
- Minimum 3 years of progressive leadership experience in healthcare quality
- Experience implementing quality improvement or patient safety initiatives
Preferred:
- Experience within a complex health system
- Knowledge of regulatory and accreditation standards
- Leadership experience in physician executive, medical director, or hospital leadership roles
- Strong analytical, communication, and change management skills
ABOUT EMORY HEALTHCARE & EMORY HOSPITAL WARNER ROBINS
Emory Healthcare is the largest and most comprehensive academic health system in Georgia and is nationally recognized for its commitment to clinical excellence, patient safety, and quality improvement, ranking among the top 10% of academic medical centers for quality according to Press Ganey.
EHWR joined EHC in 2025 and represents a key expansion of the health system’s regional presence.
The catchment area spans Houston County and surrounding communities, supporting a regional population of nearly 300,000 residents.
ABOUT HOUSTON COUNTY, GEORGIA
Provides a family-friendly atmosphere with modern amenities and a strong sense of community.
Conveniently located along the I-75 corridor, Houston is well-positioned between major metro markets and coastal destinations, making weekend get-aways easily accessible.
The area offers a low cost of living with high quality of life, allowing physicians and their families to enjoy spacious homes, safe neighborhoods, and financial flexibility.
Families benefit from the top-performing Houston County School District, along with respected private schools.
Interested candidates are encouraged to inquire to learn more about this physician leadership opportunity with Emory Healthcare.
JOB DESCRIPTION: Provides leadership and support in the oversight for all aspects of quality and patient safety for their assigned facility. Provides oversight and administration of OU entity quality management, performance improvement, and regulatory compliance activities, to achieve Emory Healthcare (EHC) goal of clinical excellence.
REPORTING: Reports to the OU entity Chief Medical Officer (CMO) or Chief Quality Officer (CQO), in supporting the EHC Chief Quality Officer with development and implementation of quality improvement activities.
PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Collaborates with the EHC CQO, EHI, Inc., Office of Quality to execute the EHC QPS plan and EHC strategic priorities by using methodologies of improvement to drive improvements of clinical and process outcomes related to patient safety, infection prevention, and other key quality performance metrics that are used to determine incentive and potential penalties as measured by CMS, private payers, and public benchmarking of EHC performance.
Helps develop, plan, coordinate, and implement strategic and day-to-day quality (clinical improvement) programs across Emory Healthcare.
Collaborates with local hospital operating unit leaders and EU academic departments to ensure integration of clinical quality management, regulatory compliance, patient safety, and risk management efforts across EHC.
Manages the Quality & Patient Safety staff in adherence with EHC policies and standards with the responsibility for hiring, development, coaching, mentoring and performance management of staff.
Participate in organizational committees at both the hospital and system committees as assigned or needed.
QUALITY: Anticipate national trends and initiatives in performance improvement, clinical quality, health care informatics, and the use of clinical technology for improvement efforts.
Ensures OU entity implements and are well positioned for local, state and national clinical regulatory programs, value-based purchasing methodologies, and comparison ratings.
- Metrics/Data
- The ACQO shall be knowledgeable of their relevant campus metrics including but not limited to, QPS goals, drive/watch metrics, other relevant operational metrics that are utilized by relevant raters and ranking systems. He/she shall
- Proactively reviews key metrics and identifies trends
- Review them with hospital leaders
- Identify opportunities for improvement and drive improvement
REGULATORY ACCREDITATION AND CERTIFICATION: Helps provide direction regarding regulatory standards and compliance: regulatory body hospital-wide review/surveys (the Joint Commission, DCH, etc.) as well as surveys for disease-specific certifications.
Promote actions to achieve compliance with all relevant city, state and federal laws, government regulations, accrediting agency standards, and health system policies.
POLICY MANAGEMENT: Facilitate the dissemination, communication, and implementation EHC policies and procedures.
INFECTION PREVENTION: Partners with IPC leaders to implement EHC IPC strategy and provide leadership of the Infection Prevention program and efforts at OU entity.
PATIENT SAFETY: Leads and facilitates the patient safety efforts at OU entity in partnership with the Director, Quality & Patient Safety and OU entity leadership. Lead or facilitate cause, apparent, or common cause analysis, and FMEA. Investigate all major adverse events.
- Participate and/or lead patient safety debriefs
- Apprise OU CMO or OU CQO of all major significant events
- Facilitate the investigation of all significant adverse patient events, including complaints/grievances in partnership with patient advocates in a timely (per regulatory requirements)
- Root Cause Analysis
- Lead, participate and/or facilitate the RCA meeting
- Monitor plans of correction overseen and directed by the responsible party of the plans of correction
RISK MANAGEMENT: Partners with the risk management team to help facilitate risk management strategies to promote patient safety.
QUALITY DATA STRATEGY AND PROGRAM REPORTING: Provides leadership and input of clinical quality data strategy for improvements in collaboration with data analytics team and information technology team.
ONGOING PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS AND PEER REVIEW ANALYSIS: Maintain physician credentialing, recredentialing, and to meet regulatory performance evaluations.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATION:
- Medical degree from an accredited institution; board certification in medical specialty
- Three (3) years of progressive leadership in healthcare quality related position
- Experience with the design and implementation of quality, performance improvement and patient safety efforts in a complex health system
- Change management skills
- Strong team building ability: effectively able to motivate, engage and encourage team participation
- Knowledge of patient safety field and/or hospital flow and efficiency
- Strong analytical/problem-solving, critical thinking, and idea-generating ability
- Experience in working collaboratively with clinical leadership
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Self-directed and motivated
Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by state or federal law.
ACCOMMODATIONS: EHC will provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. To request this document in an alternate format or to request a reasonable accommodation, please contact the Office of Leave and Accommodations.
Physical Requirements: (Medium-Heavy) 36-75 lbs., 0-33% of the work day (occasionally); 20-35 lbs., 34-66% of the workday; (frequently); 10-20 lbs., 67-100% of the workday (constantly); Lifting 75 lbs. max; Carrying of objects up to 35 lbs.; Occasional to frequent standing & walking; Occasional sitting; Close eye work (computers, typing, reading, writing); Physical demands may vary depending on assigned work area and work tasks.
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS: Factors affecting environmental conditions may vary depending on the assigned work area and tasks. Environmental exposures include, but are not limited to: Blood-borne pathogen exposure; Bio-hazardous waste; Chemicals/gases/fumes/vapors; Communicable diseases; Electrical shock; Floor Surfaces; Hot/Cold Temperatures; Indoor/Outdoor conditions; Latex; Lighting; Patient care/handling injuries; Radiation; Shift work; Travel may be required; Use of personal protective equipment, including respirators; environmental conditions may vary depending on assigned work area and work tasks.
See all 472+ OPT Chief People Officer Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new OPT Chief People Officer Jobs.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding OPT Sponsorship in Chief People Officer
Target companies in active growth phases
Startups scaling from 50 to 500 employees often need to build their people function from scratch. These companies are more open to sponsoring a CPO who brings immediate strategic value and can own talent architecture end to end.
Position yourself as a revenue-adjacent executive
Sponsoring executives is easier to justify when the role ties directly to business outcomes. Frame your people strategy work around retention metrics, hiring velocity, and organizational design that reduced costs or accelerated growth in measurable ways.
Pursue O-1A as your primary visa path
CPOs with industry recognition, published work, or board-level advisory roles may qualify for O-1A status. This visa has no lottery and no annual cap, making it a more reliable sponsorship target for senior HR executives than H-1B visa.
Build board-level and investor network visibility
Many CPO roles are filled through board referrals and VC networks, not job postings. Engaging with investors and founders who are actively scaling companies increases your chances of being considered before a role is ever publicly listed.
Document your STEM OPT extension eligibility early
A 24-month STEM extension gives employers three full years of OPT-authorized work, which reduces urgency around H-1B lottery timing. Confirm your degree qualifies under the STEM designated degree program list and file the extension before your initial OPT expires.
Engage HR executive search firms that work with international talent
Retained executive search consultants often know which clients are willing to sponsor visas. Building relationships with CHRO-focused recruiters who have placed international executives before puts you in front of the right decision-makers at the right time.
Chief People Officer OPT: Frequently Asked Questions
Can an F-1 OPT student realistically get hired as a Chief People Officer?
Yes, but it requires substantial prior HR leadership experience and the right employer profile. Most CPO hires come from candidates with over a decade of progressive HR experience. OPT students who have held VP or Director-level HR roles before or during their degree program are the most competitive. High-growth startups are the most common path, as they prioritize capability over visa status more than large enterprises do.
Which visa does an employer typically sponsor for a CPO role after OPT ends?
H-1B is the most common post-OPT sponsorship path, but CPOs with a strong profile should also explore O-1A. The O-1A is designed for individuals with extraordinary ability, and senior HR executives who have led large organizations, received industry recognition, or contributed significantly to their field often meet the criteria. O-1A has no lottery, making it a more predictable option than H-1B.
Does a Chief People Officer role qualify as a specialty occupation for H-1B purposes?
Generally yes, provided the role requires a bachelor's degree or higher in a specific field such as human resources, organizational psychology, or business administration. USCIS evaluates each petition individually. CPO roles at larger organizations with complex people strategy functions are stronger candidates for specialty occupation classification than generalist HR roles at smaller firms.
How can I find Chief People Officer jobs that are open to OPT sponsorship?
Migrate Mate is built specifically for international students and filters for employers willing to sponsor work visas, including for senior roles. Searching there focuses your effort on companies that have already demonstrated openness to sponsorship rather than cold-applying to roles where visa status may disqualify you early in the process.
Does my academic background affect my eligibility for a CPO role on OPT?
Yes. Your OPT must be directly related to your degree program. A CPO role is most defensible on OPT if your degree is in human resources, industrial-organizational psychology, organizational behavior, or business administration. If your degree is in an unrelated field, your DSO may flag the connection as insufficient, and H-1B specialty occupation arguments become harder to make later.