Sr. Director, Cinical Operations

Opportunity Overview:

The Sr. Director, GIC India Clinical Operations is a foundational leadership role responsible for establishing, scaling, and managing the clinical RN review function within Cohere Health's Global Innovation Center (GIC) in Hyderabad, India. This leader will build a high-performing team of US NCLEX-certified Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RNs) who perform prospective, concurrent, and retrospective clinical reviews for prior authorization cases on behalf of Cohere Health's US payer clients. The Sr. Director will be accountable for the end-to-end clinical operations delivery from the India GIC, ensuring that RN reviewers assess medical records and clinical documentation for appropriateness and medical necessity in strict alignment with clinical guidelines (including MCG Care Guidelines), Cohere Health internal criteria, National and Local Coverage Determinations (NCD/LCD), and regulatory standards (CMS, NCQA, HIPAA, HITRUST). This role operates within Cohere Health's push-pull delivery framework, where the US retains program ownership, process design, client relationships, and final clinical determination authority, while the India GIC executes clinical review operations per established SOPs and work instructions. This is a highly strategic role requiring a leader who can bridge US healthcare clinical operations with India-based talent delivery, foster a culture of clinical excellence, and drive continuous quality improvement in a fast-paced, technology-driven environment.

What you’ll do:

Clinical Operations Setup & Strategy

• Lead the end-to-end setup and operationalization of the clinical RN review function at the Hyderabad GIC, including infrastructure, workflows, staffing models, and technology enablement via Cohere Unify™

• Design and implement a scalable operating model for clinical prior authorization reviews across multiple delegated specialties (e.g., musculoskeletal, cardiology, radiology, diagnostic imaging) served by Cohere Health's payer clients

• Develop and maintain Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), work instructions, clinical review protocols, and decision-support frameworks aligned with US clinical standards

• Establish a shift operations model to ensure overlap with US business hours based on client requirements for real-time case collaboration with US clinical leads and Medical Directors

• Partner with US Clinical Operations leadership to define scope boundaries — ensuring the India team handles clinical documentation review, medical necessity assessment support, and case preparation, while US-based clinical leads retain final determination authority for regulated states
  
  Talent Acquisition, Development & Management

• Recruit, hire, and onboard a team of US NCLEX-certified RNs in India with strong clinical backgrounds, utilization management experience, and familiarity with US healthcare delivery systems

• Build and sustain a robust talent pipeline for NCLEX-RN professionals in the Hyderabad market, partnering with HR and external agencies as needed

• Implement and oversee a comprehensive 6-week blended training program for newly hired RNs:

• Weeks 1–2: US healthcare system foundations (payer landscape, regulatory environment, medical terminology, clinical documentation standards)

• Weeks 3–4: Cohere Unify™ platform training, UM workflow training, MCG, CMS Care Guidelines, and Cohere Health internal clinical criteria

• Weeks 5–6: Supervised clinical review with US clinical mentor pairing, case simulations, and competency assessments

• Design ongoing continuing education, clinical upskilling, and recertification programs to maintain clinical currency and US licensure compliance

• Mentor an