Medical Director

About the role

Habitat Health empowers older adults to experience more good days in their homes and communities. Through the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), we provide comprehensive medical care along with support for daily needs such as meals, transportation, and in-home assistance.

We deliver coordinated clinical and social care in our centers and directly in participants' homes, creating a fully integrated experience that brings peace of mind and a true sense of belonging. As we expand our scalable, affordable PACE model to meet the growing and complex needs of aging populations, our mission-driven care teams continue to help participants live well on their own terms.

Habitat Health is supported by leading healthcare organizations and investors including New Enterprise Associates, Kaiser Permanente, and Town Hall Ventures. We are entering a period of significant growth and are looking for exceptional teammates to help us scale a better model of care for older adults.

Estimated Start Date: Feb 2027

Location: 4659 S Cottage Grove Ave, Chicago, IL 60653

Role Scope

The Medical Director is the senior clinical leader for a Habitat Health PACE center and is accountable for the quality, safety, experience, and outcomes of care delivered to participants at the assigned site. In partnership with the Executive Director, this role serves as a dyad leader for center performance, balancing direct clinical care, clinical leadership, team development, participant experience, operational reliability, and fiscal stewardship in alignment with Habitat Health's mission and care model.

Core Responsibilities & Expectations for the Role

Direct Clinical Care & Panel Management

• Provides evidence-based person-centered direct clinical care as primary care provider (at approximately 50% clinical panel, subject to census and operational need) and supervising physician, collaborating with the IDT on person-centered care planning across medical, behavioral, and functional domains. Applies strong clinical judgment in evaluation, diagnosis, and management; consistently applies geriatric principles including preventive care and harm reduction, produces high-quality documentation supporting continuity, coding integrity, and coordination; leads safe medication management including deprescribing and polypharmacy reduction.
• Oversees and monitors care across all care settings, including clinic, home, inpatient, and SNF. Recognizes early functional and cognitive decline and evolving needs; leads goals-of-care conversations and uses complex cases as IDT teaching opportunities.

Clinical Program Leadership

• Accountable for clinical quality, safety, outcomes, and participant experience; chairs the Quality Improvement Committee and uses utilization and safety data (ED rate, hospitalizations, readmissions, satisfaction, disenrollment) to drive measurable improvement.
• Leads root cause analyses, implements corrective actions, and maintains working knowledge of CMS PACE regulations; oversees grievances, appeals, CLIA-waived onsite lab compliance, and pre-enrollment clinical evaluations.
• Oversees chart audits for documentation and coding integrity; monitors contractor performance and leads medication-related and other process improvement at the program level.

Teaching, Coaching & Staff Development

• Oversees all physicians and advanced practice providers within the PACE operation.
• Serves as a clinical educator and subject matter expert for IDT members on geriatrics, PACE model, behavioral health, medication safety, and the What Matters Most framework; provides regular case-based teaching across settings.
• Provides direct coaching, mentorship, and timely feedback to clinicians; sets clear expectations for clinical quality, documentation, communication and follow-through and addresses gaps constructively.
• Partners with the Executive Director to foster high staff engagement, inclusive culture, and shared accountability for team member development and employee experience.

Organizational Leadership & External Partnerships

• Serves as dyad partner to the Executive Director, jointly accountable for center performance across quality, operations, culture, and financial sustainability; applies a value-based care mindset and partners on annual panel growth planning.
• Serves as primary clinical liaison with hospitals, SNFs, home health agencies, specialists, and community providers; represents the center on enterprise committees and communicates performance trends and risks to senior leadership.
• Provides input to operational leadership on clinical service delivery model improvement and refinement as determined by the CMO.

Required Qualifications

• MD or DO with active, unrestricted state licensure, DEA license and current board certification in Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Geriatrics, or a relevant specialty.
• 3+ years of clinical experience caring for older adults and/or medically complex populations in PACE, geriatrics, SNF, hospice, home-based care, managed care, or comparable integrated care setting.
• Demonstrated strength in direct clinical care for complex seniors.
• Experience leading clinicians and interdisciplinary teams through coaching, mentorship, and case-based teaching; with examples of building capability across multiple disciplines.
• Experience in value-based or capitated care models; comfort using clinical, utilization, and quality data to improve outcomes and reduce avoidable utilization.
• Strong communication, collaboration, and change-management skills; ability to influence across disciplines, partner effectively with operational leaders in a dyad model.
• Commitment to participant-centered care, centering care on What Matters Most framework, and comfort with palliative and end-of-life discussions; high professional integrity and ability to foster psychologically safe, inclusive team cultures.
• Travel: Some travel locally and regionally may be required.

Nice to Have

• Prior experience as a Medical Director, Associate Medical Director, or comparable physician leader in PACE, integrated senior care, or value-based care environments.
• Experience with HCC coding, documentation improvement, chart review, and audit readiness; familiarity with how clinical documentation affects quality reporting and risk adjustment.
• Experience chairing or leading QAPI, quality, utilization, or safety work including root cause analysis and corrective action implementation.
• Experience as a physician liaison with health system partners or referral networks; familiarity with CMS PACE regulations and the 11-discipline IDT model.

Team members in this role may be expected to

• Work in healthcare, administrative, community, or remote environments, depending on role needs.
• Communicate effectively with participants, caregivers, team members, and other stakeholders in person, by phone, and through electronic systems.
• Remain stationary and/or move about for extended periods, consistent with job duties.
• Operate standard office equipment and/or clinical tools (e.g., computers, phones, medical devices, documentation systems).
• Travel between work sites or community locations as needed.
• Follow safety procedures, infection control protocols, and use personal protective equipment (PPE) when required.
• Perform tasks that may involve bending, reaching, lifting, or assisting participants, depending on role responsibilities.

Compensation

The anticipated base salary range for this position is $290,000-$350,000.00. This position is also eligible for a target annual bonus of 20% and may be eligible for additional incentive compensation, as applicable.

The final compensation offered will be determined based on factors including, but not limited to, the candidate's qualifications, skills, experience, education, certifications, geographical location, and business needs.

In addition, this position is eligible for a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision insurance; paid parental leave, short- and long-term disability coverage; life insurance; flexible spending accounts; a 401(k) savings plan that includes a match; paid time off; and company paid holidays.

At-Will Employment

Employment with Habitat Health is at-will. This means that either the employee or the employer may terminate the employment relationship at any time, with or without cause, and with or without notice, subject to applicable law. Nothing in this job posting or any other company document is intended to create a contract of employment, express or implied, or to alter the at-will nature of employment.

Any written or oral statements to the contrary are not authorized unless made in writing and signed by an authorized representative of the Company.

Vaccination Policy, including COVID-19

To help maintain a safe environment for our participants and team members, Habitat Health maintains vaccination and infection control policies applicable to certain roles and work locations. For COVID-19 and influenza, team members who are working in a participant care setting are required to provide either proof of vaccination or a signed declination form and comply with applicable masking requirements while in a care setting to the extent permitted by law in the applicable jurisdiction.

As a condition of employment, team members are expected to comply with all applicable infection control protocols, personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements, and vaccination requirements associated with their role and work location, and to the extent required by law and as permitted in the applicable jurisdiction.