Chief Operations Officer - Core Operations Director

Working Title: Chief Operations Officer

Job Class: Core Operations Director

Agency: Health Department

• Job ID : 97491

• Location : St. Paul

• Telework Eligible : Yes / Hybrid

• Full/Part Time : Full-Time

• Regular/Temporary : Unlimited

• Who May Apply : This vacancy is open to all qualified job seekers.

• Date Posted : 10/21/2026

• Closing Date : 11/10/2026

• Hiring Agency: Minnesota Department of Health (MDH)

• Division: Executive Office

• Work Shift/Work Hours : Day Shift / 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

• Days of Work : Monday - Friday

• Travel Required : Yes - Up to 25% of the time

• Salary Range: $59.86 - $85.63 / hourly; $124,987 - $178,795 / annually

• Classified Status: Classified

• Bargaining Unit/Union: 220 - Managerial Plan

• Designated in Connect 700 Program for Applicants with Disabilities (https://mn.gov/mmb/careers/diverse-workforce/people-with-disabilities/connect700/) : Yes

The work you'll do is more than just a job.

At the State of Minnesota, employees play a critical role in developing policies, providing essential services, and working to improve the well-being and quality of life for all Minnesotans. The State of Minnesota is committed to equity and inclusion, and invests in employees by providing benefits, support resources, and training and development opportunities.

Join a mission-driven executive team at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) where your expertise will contribute to protecting, maintaining, and improving the health of all Minnesotans!

The Chief Operations Officer (COO) acts to strengthen and develop organizational capacity in agency operations through strategic vision and efficient operational management. This position translates the goals of the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner into actionable strategies by ensuring efficiency, driving effectiveness and compliance, and creating pathways for implementing best practices.

The COO oversees agency operations, including human resources, financial management, facilities management, emergency preparedness and response, public health strategy and partnership, and organizational wellbeing and employee experience. The position fosters collaboration with all program areas across the agency to ensure a positive relationship between optimal performance and operational excellence is present while also maintaining a focus on compliance and efficiency of resources.

Working as the Chief Operations Officer, you will:

• Provide both internal and external executive leadership through setting priorities and focusing resources.

• Architect strategic priorities and optimizing resource allocation to advance business objectives.

• Provide executive stewardship, visionary leadership, and strategic command of the Health Operations Bureau.

• Architect proactive, forward-looking strategies to ensure agency operations remain agile, resilient, and responsive to shifting socio-political landscapes and public health priorities, while institutionalizing best-in-class industry standards.

• Establish and maintain effective relationships and partnerships.

• Lead the Bureau in efforts to protect, maintain, and improve public health.

In accordance with HR/LR Policy #1422 Telework, this position is eligible for up to 50% telework for applicants who live in Minnesota or in a bordering state within 50 miles of the assigned work location. The telework policy may exempt employees who live more than 50 miles from their primary work location from the 50% in-office requirement, depending on job requirements, helping the State of Minnesota access top talent across the state.

Minimum Qualifications

To facilitate proper crediting, please ensure that your resume clearly describes your experience in the areas listed and indicates the beginning and ending month and year of each job held.

Five (5) years of senior management experience sufficient to plan, organize, and direct operational resources, including human resources, financial management, facilities management, emergency preparedness and response, public health strategy and partnership, and organizational wellbeing and employee experience, to achieve full productivity under changing circumstances including experience in the following areas:

• Leading or directing programs within a large state agency or other large organizations with significant statutory, fiscal, and compliance obligations.

• Leading multidisciplinary teams, including responsibility for performance management, workforce direction, and cultivating an inclusive, high-performing organizational culture.

• Serving as a trusted strategic advisor and partner, delivering high-level counsel and direction to executive leaders and senior management.

• Overseeing business operations, driving policy integration and legislative alignment to maximize the mission of the organization.

• Employing persuasive executive communication to cultivate an agile, empowered bureau culture that proactively identifies and responds to organizational demands.

• Experience leading one or more of the following functions:

• Human resources

• Financial management

• Facilities management

• Crisis preparedness and national emergency response

• Organizational wellbeing

• Government-to-government partnerships

• Large public health program

A degree in Public Administration, Health Care Administration, Business Administration, Finance, Human Resources or closely related public health field may substitute for experience as follows:

Doctorate = twenty-four (24) months

Master’s degree = eighteen (18) months

Bachelor’s degree = twelve (12) months

Associate’s degree - six (6) months.

Qualifications to be further assessed during the interview process:

• Ability to operationalize executive vision into actionable agency objectives.

• Ability to mobilize agency workforce to accelerate key operational priorities established by executive leadership.

• Ability to direct and optimize the agency’s enterprise operational architecture and core functions which include:

• Fiscal stewardship and federal compliance

• Long-range capital planning, acquisition strategies, and lifecycle asset management for MDH physical infrastructure

• Advancing an end-to-end human capital management framework

• Crisis preparedness protocols and national emergency response

• Cultivating high-impact, government-to government partnerships

• Synchronizing agency-wide project management frameworks application portfolios

• Elevating workforce culture, optimizing employee engagement, and institutionalizing holistic well-being initiatives.

• Ability to establish robust internal control frameworks to ensure absolute alignment with state and federal compliance mandates, optimizing funding utilization while strictly mitigating state and federal audit exposure.

• Ability to collaborate with the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner to execute horizon scanning and predictive analysis, formulating mitigation strategies for emerging operational vulnerabilities while positioning the bureau to capitalize on strategic opportunities.

• Ability to employe persuasive executive communication to cultivate an agile, empowered bureau culture that proactively identifies and responds to agency demands.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in public health or public health administration in a government setting, including policy development, financial management, regulatory activities, and program delivery.

• Previous executive experience managing core operational functions, including strategic planning and directing the work of managers, professionals, and technical staff in a state agency or other large public sector organization.

• Experience in evaluating new legislation, policies, procedures, and rules and interpreting them to analyze organizational fiscal and policy impact.

• Experience responding to media requests, public meetings, orally or in writing, with skill in at risk communication, with the ability to respond nimbly during interviews, public meetings, and other spontaneous settings.

• Degree in Public Administration, Health Care Administration, Business Administration, Finance, Human Resources or another closely related public health field.

Additional Requirements

• This position requires successful completion of a background check and employment reference check.

• This employment does not require a valid driver’s license, but it does require travel, which the candidate will be responsible for meeting.

• MDH does not participate in the federal E-Verify program and is unable to sponsor applicants for work visas, including F-1 STEM OPT extensions, and cannot complete Form I-9 or any other documentation requiring employer participation in E-Verify. All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of application.

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities is an Equal Opportunity employer/educator committed to the principles of diversity. We prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their race, sex, color, creed, religion, age, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or membership in a local commission as defined by law. As an affirmative action employer, we actively seek and encourage applications from women, minorities, persons with disabilities, and individuals with protected veteran status.

Reasonable accommodations will be made to all qualified applicants with disabilities. If you are an individual with a disability who needs assistance or cannot access the online job application system, please contact the job information line at 651-259-3637 or email [email protected] . Please indicate what assistance is needed.