Vice President of Operations (VPO) – Senior Living

Job description

**Spring Oak Senior Living** is seeking an experienced **Vice President of Operations** to lead operational performance across our growing portfolio of 16 senior living communities. This is a highly visible, hands-on leadership role with responsibility for developing strong community leaders and driving results across operations, occupancy, financial performance, resident experience, quality, and team culture. At Spring Oak, we believe strong results start with strong people and strong leadership. We are a family-owned company with a close-knit, entrepreneurial culture. We are not a highly corporate organization, and we do not want to become one. We value leaders who are accessible, supportive, decisive, accountable, and genuinely passionate about the work they do and the people they lead. We are looking for an experienced **senior living or long-term care operator** who can build trust with teams while setting high expectations and driving results. The right person knows how to get into a community, understand what is really happening, develop a plan, rally the team around it, and follow through. This position will work closely with ownership and the Executive Team and will have significant influence over how Spring Oak operates, develops its leaders, and continues to grow. ### Position Overview The Vice President of Operations will oversee performance across Spring Oak's communities and serve as a key leader and resource for Executive Directors and community leadership teams. This is not a role for someone who wants to lead primarily from behind a desk. We are looking for a field-focused operator who enjoys being in the communities, developing leaders, reviewing operations and financial performance, solving problems, and helping teams succeed. The Vice President of Operations must be comfortable balancing **support and accountability**. Our leaders should feel that they have someone in their corner who will help them succeed, while also understanding that expectations are clear and results matter. ### Key Responsibilities - Lead, coach, and support Executive Directors and community leadership teams across a growing multi-state senior living portfolio. - Build strong, engaged leadership teams and foster a positive, supportive culture with clear expectations and accountability. - Drive performance across **occupancy and census growth, revenue, NOI, expenses, labor, resident and family satisfaction, quality, and overall community operations**. - Maintain a strong understanding of each community's performance, challenges, leadership needs, and opportunities. - Partner directly with Executive Directors and community leadership teams to **review P&Ls and financial performance, understand budget variances, identify opportunities, and develop actionable plans to improve results**. - Lead and support the development of **annual community operating budgets and staffing budgets**, including staffing models, labor targets, scheduling assumptions, and appropriate staffing levels based on census and operational needs. - Monitor **labor costs, overtime, agency utilization, revenue, expenses, NOI, and other key financial and operational metrics**, working with community leaders to improve performance while maintaining quality and service standards. - Partner with sales and marketing leadership to strengthen occupancy, census growth, referral development, sales execution, and local market performance. - Work closely with clinical leadership to support high-quality resident care, resident safety, regulatory readiness, compliance, and strong service standards. - Identify underperforming communities and operational challenges early and work directly with local leadership to develop practical turnaround and performance improvement plans. - Develop Executive Directors and other leaders through coaching, feedback, recognition, clear expectations, and consistent follow-through. - Partner with HR and community leadership to strengthen recruitment, team member retention, employee engagement, performance management, and leadership development. - Ensure resident and family concerns are handled with urgency, professionalism, empathy, and appropriate follow-up. - Maintain regular visibility throughout the portfolio through community visits and meaningful engagement with local teams. - Help lead company-wide initiatives, operational improvements, acquisitions, integrations, and growth-related projects. - Serve as a trusted partner to ownership and the Executive Team in evaluating challenges, opportunities, and the future direction of the organization. ### Qualifications - **7+ years of senior living, assisted living, skilled nursing, or long-term care operations experience**, including significant regional or multi-site leadership responsibility. - Experience as a **Regional Director of Operations, Regional Vice President, Vice President of Operations**, or in a comparable senior multi-site operations leadership role. - Experience overseeing **assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing (SNF), nursing home, and/or long-term care operations**. - Demonstrated success leading, developing, and holding Executive Directors, Administrators, and community leadership teams accountable. - Strong financial and operational acumen, with hands-on experience **reviewing community P&Ls with local leadership and translating financial results into operational action plans**. - Demonstrated experience **developing annual operating budgets and staffing budgets/models** for senior living, skilled nursing, or long-term care communities. - Strong understanding of **labor management, staffing models, productivity, overtime, agency utilization, revenue, expenses, budget variances, and NOI**. - Track record of improving community financial and operational performance and successfully addressing underperforming communities or complex operational challenges. - Strong understanding of regulatory compliance, resident care, quality assurance, and risk management within senior living or long-term care. - Demonstrated ability to build positive team cultures while maintaining high standards and accountability. - Strong business judgment with a practical, solutions-oriented approach to operations. - Ability to partner effectively across clinical, sales, finance, HR, and ownership. - Excellent written and verbal communication skills. - Comfortable working in a hands-on, entrepreneurial, family-owned organization. - Ability and willingness to travel regularly throughout the portfolio. ### Travel and Work Location This position is based out of our corporate office in **Wall, New Jersey**. Regular travel to Spring Oak communities is required, including communities throughout New Jersey, Virginia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and additional markets as the company grows. Out-of-state travel is generally expected approximately **twice per month**, with additional travel as needed based on the needs of our communities and teams. Relocation may be considered for the right candidate.