Director of Community Transitions

Description

THE COMPANY

Cogir Senior Living, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, proudly oversees a network of senior living communities spanning 11 states nationwide. As a trusted leader in senior housing, we are dedicated to growth while maintaining our commitment to exceptional care for our residents and a supportive, growth-focused environment for our team members.

At Cogir, our culture is rooted in the core values of human focus, creativity, and excellence, which inspire us to continuously improve and achieve excellence in all we do. Join us in our mission to enrich the lives of our residents while building a meaningful and fulfilling career!

WHAT WE OFFER

Health, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance.

401K with company match.

Paid Vacation, Holidays, and Sick Leave.

Employee Assistance Program,

Generous Employee Referral Program and more.

Position Summary

The Director of Community Transitions is responsible for leading the stabilization, integration, and operational performance of communities undergoing an ownership change, management transition, acquisition, turnaround, or new community opening within the Cogir platform. In addition, this role may be assigned to temporarily fill critical leadership vacancies within existing Cogir communities, providing hands-on operational oversight and support until permanent leadership is established.

This role serves as the primary operational leader during the critical post-transition period, ensuring continuity of resident care, protection of occupancy and revenue, regulatory compliance, and alignment with Cogir’s standards, systems, and culture.

The Director partners closely with executive leadership, regional operators, clinical leadership, and corporate support teams to guide communities from transition status to stable, high-performing operations; always anchored in Cogir’s pillars of Human Focus, Creativity, and Excellence.

The Director leads operational due diligence, transition readiness, and Day One planning, serving as the operational quarterback across Operations, Clinical, HR, IT, Finance, Sales, Facilities, Legal, Marketing, and other support teams to ensure seamless execution from pre-close planning through final community handoff.

This is a hands-on, high-accountability role for a leader who thrives in ambiguity, rapidly diagnoses operational challenges, builds trust during times of change, and delivers measurable results.

Key Responsibilities

• Pre-Transition Planning & Due Diligence
• Participate in operational due diligence for acquisitions, management transitions, and new community openings.
• Conduct comprehensive readiness assessments to identify operational, clinical, financial, regulatory, technology, staffing, and physical plant risks before Day One.
• Develop detailed transition workplans, milestones, and cross-functional accountability matrices.
• Coordinate readiness across Operations, Clinical, HR, IT, Finance, Sales, Marketing, Legal, Facilities, and Procurement.
• Serve as the primary operational lead for Day One readiness and transition execution.

Transition Leadership & Stabilization

• Serve as the primary operational lead during the first 30–120 days of community transitions.
• Serve as the central operational coordinator for all transition workstreams, ensuring accountability across corporate departments, regional leadership, ownership partners, and external vendors.
• Conduct rapid operational assessments to identify risks in:
• Resident care
• Staffing
• Occupancy
• Revenue
• Compliance
• Physical plant operations
• Develop and execute comprehensive 100-day stabilization plans with defined milestones and accountability measures.
• Coordinate transition go-live activities, including:
• System conversions
• Policy implementation
• Vendor transitions
• Community rebranding
• Operational integration

Care & Clinical Oversight

• Partner with Clinical and Nursing leadership to ensure continuity of care plans, medication management, and regulatory compliance.
• Monitor quality indicators, surveys, incident trends, and regulatory readiness throughout the transition period.
• Ensure staffing levels and competencies align with resident care needs and state regulatory requirements.
• Address concerns from residents, families, and staff with empathy, transparency, and professionalism.
• Promote a resident-centered care approach that reflects Cogir’s commitment to meaningful human connection.

Revenue & Occupancy Protection

• Monitor census, occupancy, move-in activity, move-outs, and revenue performance.
• Collaborate with Sales and Marketing teams to maintain lead generation, tours, and move-in conversion during periods of change.
• Review:
• Resident agreements
• Rate structures
• Payer mix
• Billing processes
• Identify and resolve revenue, billing, collection, and accounts receivable discrepancies inherited from previous operators.
• Ensure communities achieve operational and financial excellence—not merely stabilization.

Operations & Systems Integration

• Lead implementation of Cogir operating systems, including EHR/eMAR, Yardi, payroll, timekeeping, CRM, business intelligence, building technology, and reporting platforms.
• Standardize operational policies and procedures while respecting the culture and uniqueness of each community.
• Evaluate organizational structures and staffing models against Cogir benchmarks.
• Identify opportunities to enhance resident experience, dining, activities, and community engagement.
• Ensure compliance with:
• Life safety standards
• Licensing requirements
• Facility maintenance expectations
• Regulatory mandates

People & Culture

• Build trust and engagement with team members during times of uncertainty.
• Reduce turnover risk through visible leadership and effective communication.
• Support recruitment, onboarding, and development of key leadership positions, including:
• Executive Directors
• Health and Wellness Directors
• Business Office Directors
• Department Leaders
• Communicate openly with residents and families regarding operational and organizational changes.
• Champion and model Cogir's culture of Human Focus, Creativity, and Excellence.

Reporting & Community Handoff

• Represent Cogir professionally with owners, investors, consultants, and strategic partners throughout the transition process.
• Provide regular updates to leadership on:
• Transition progress
• Risks and mitigation plans
• Financial performance
• Operational outcomes
• Track and report key performance indicators (KPIs), including:
• Occupancy
• Revenue
• Labor costs
• Care quality metrics
• Resident satisfaction
• Family satisfaction
• Prepare formal transition handoff plans to regional operations teams upon stabilization.
• Capture lessons learned and contribute to ongoing enhancement of Cogir’s transition playbook.
• Continuously refine Cogir's transition playbook, tools, checklists, and standard operating procedures based on lessons learned.

Requirements

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, Nursing, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• Minimum seven (7) years of progressive leadership experience in:
• Senior Living
• Assisted Living
• Skilled Nursing
• Post-Acute Care
• Healthcare Operations
• Previous experience as:
• Executive Director
• Regional Director of Operations
• Multi-site Operational Leader
• Proven success leading:
• Community acquisitions
• Turnarounds
• New openings
• Management transitions
• Strong knowledge of state licensing requirements, survey processes, and regulatory compliance.
• Demonstrated financial management skills, including:
• Budgeting
• P&L oversight
• Revenue cycle management
• Labor management
• Ability and willingness to travel extensively (85%+).

Preferred

• Assisted Living Licensed Administrator or equivalent licensure.
• Experience with senior living technology systems such as:
• Yardi
• August Health
• LifeLoop
• SafelyYou
• Paylocity
• Proven ability to improve occupancy, revenue, and quality outcomes within 90–120 days of a transition.
• Experience managing multiple concurrent community transitions across a regional or national portfolio.

Core Competencies

Human Focus

• Builds trust quickly with residents, families, and team members.
• Demonstrates empathy, compassion, and emotional intelligence.

Creativity

• Resourceful problem solver who balances standardization with local community identity.
• Adapts quickly to changing operational environments.

Excellence

• Maintains high standards for resident care, operational performance, and financial results.
• Demonstrates exceptional attention to detail and follow-through.

Leadership Effectiveness

• Remains calm and decisive during crises and periods of uncertainty.
• Strong analytical and decision-making capabilities.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Collaborative and effective across operations, clinical, finance, HR, sales, and support functions.

Working Conditions

• Frequent travel to communities undergoing transition, often with short notice.
• Combination of on-site operational leadership and remote coordination.
• Evening, weekend, and on-call availability may be required during active transition periods.
• Exposure to healthcare and residential care environments.

Success Metrics – First 12 Months

• Occupancy maintained or improved within established transition targets.
• Revenue and collections stabilized within designated post-transition timelines.
• No unresolved regulatory deficiencies attributable to transition-related gaps.
• Staff turnover maintained within organizational targets.
• Successful completion and handoff of communities within established 100-day stabilization plans.
• Demonstrated integration of Cogir’s pillars, Human Focus, Creativity, and Excellence, into resident experience, team engagement, and operational performance.
• Day One readiness milestones achieved for all assigned transitions.
• No disruption to resident care or medication administration attributable to transition execution.
• Successful onboarding of permanent community leadership and timely transition to regional operations.
• Positive owner and stakeholder feedback regarding transition execution.