Director Cost Accounting - Financial Planning

Description

Become part of an inclusive organization with over 40,000 teammates, whose mission is to improve the health and well-being of the unique communities we serve.

Summary:

This position leads the system-wide cost accounting and decision support function for an integrated healthcare system encompassing acute, ambulatory, and postacute settings. This role owns the Strata (StrataJazz) cost accounting model and related workflows-ensuring accurate, timely, and actionable cost, margin, and service line insights that inform pricing, growth strategy, labor and nonlabor optimization, and valuebased care performance. The director serves as a strategic partner to clinical, operational, and finance leaders, embedding unit cost and margin analytics into daily decision-making.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of cost accounting methodologies and systems (e.g., activity-based costing, RVU-based models).
• Ensure alignment with industry best practices, regulatory requirements, and organizational goals.
• Develop and maintain accurate cost models for departments, service lines, procedures, and payers.
• Provide actionable insights to support pricing strategies, contract negotiations, and margin improvement initiatives.
• Partner with FP&A, Revenue Cycle, and Operational leaders to deliver integrated financial performance reporting.
• Collaborate with clinical and operational leaders to evaluate cost efficiency, resource utilization, and ROI on strategic initiatives.
• Support capital planning, budgeting, and forecasting processes with cost-based insights.
• Manage and mentor a team of cost accountants and analysts.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, data integrity, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Oversee the implementation and optimization of cost accounting tools (e.g., EPSi, Strata Decision, Oracle, or similar platforms). Ensure data integration from EMR, ERP, and other financial systems.

Other information:
Education Requirements:
* Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics, Health Administration, or related field required.
* Master's (MBA, MHA, MS Accounting/Finance) preferred.
Licensure/Certification Requirements:
* CPA, CMA, CHFP (HFMA), FHFMA, or equivalent.
Professional Experience Requirements:
* 8-10+ years progressive finance/accounting experience in healthcare; 5+ years dedicated to cost accounting/decision support; including at least five years in a management role.
* Direct experience administering Strata (StrataJazz) cost accounting-model builds, allocation methods, monthly refreshes, governance-required.
* Proven track record partnering with clinical and operational leaders on performance improvement and margin optimization.
* Proficiency with Strata (StrataJazz) modules (Cost Accounting/Margin; familiarity with Performance, Advanced Analytics, or Productivity a plus).
* Working knowledge of EHR (e.g., Epic or Cerner), GL/ERP (e.g., Oracle, Workday, PeopleSoft), Supply Chain, and Payroll/Labor systems.
* Strong Excel and data skills; SQL/BI (Power BI/Tableau) preferred.
* Understanding of DRG/APC/CPT/HCPCS, RVUs, CCRs, case mix, utilization, and service line constructs.
Knowledge/Skills/and Abilities Requirements:

Legal Employer: NCHEALTH

Entity: Shared Services

Organization Unit: Financial Planning

Work Type: Full Time

Standard Hours Per Week: 40.00

Work Assignment Type: Hybrid

Work Schedule: Day Job

Location of Job: US:NC:Morrisville

Exempt From Overtime: Exempt: Yes

This position is employed by NC Health (Rex Healthcare, Inc., d/b/a NC Health), a private, fully-owned subsidiary of UNC Health Care System, in a department that provides shared services to operations across UNC Health Care; except that, if you are currently a UNCHCS State employee already working in a designated shared services department, you may remain a UNCHCS State employee if selected for this job.

Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, status as a protected veteran or political affiliation.

UNC Health makes reasonable accommodations for applicants' and employees' religious practices and beliefs, as well as applicants and employees with disabilities. All interested applicants are invited to apply for career opportunities. Please email applicant.accommodations@unchealth.unc.edu if you need a reasonable accommodation to search and/or to apply for a career opportunity.