Director, Willed Body Program

ABOUT UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center ranks among the top academic medical centers in the world. Its faculty members – who are responsible for a broad array of groundbreaking biomedical research advances – are respected for their dedication to teaching and patient care. The medical center has four degree-granting institutions: UT Southwestern Medical School, UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, UT Southwestern School of Health Professions and the UT Southwestern School of Public Health. The schools train about 3,700 medical, graduate, and allied health students, residents, and postdoctoral fellows each year.
UT Southwestern was named one of the Top 5 Best Organizations for Leadership Development (BOLD) Award winners by the National Center for Healthcare Leadership (NCHL) in 2022. The NCHL conducts a survey of health care organizations across the U.S. every other year to assess all components of organizations’ efforts to prepare and develop leaders.
A great medical center offers outstanding patient care in addition to fine teaching and innovative research. We emphasize compassionate medical treatment. UT Southwestern’s physicians are equipped to bring the latest laboratory findings to each patient. We provide inpatient care to nearly 117,000 people and oversee approximately 3 million outpatient visits annually. UT Southwestern has approximately 21,000 employees and an operating budget of approximately $4.1 billion.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Willed Body Program (WBP) at UT Southwestern is one of the largest in the United States. It has operated almost since the beginning of the medical school in the late 1940’s. The WBP operates within the regulatory framework of the State Anatomical Board and beginning in 2024, the Funeral Services Commission of the State of Texas. The program supplies cadavers and anatomical specimens for students in the School of Medicine and School of Allied Health Sciences at U.T. Southwestern and for other medical schools in Texas as well as in other states. The Director leads the entire staff of embalmers, transport and administrative personnel within the department. Excellent skills in leading and managing a diverse workforce are essential for success in the position. The Director is also responsible for the budgets as well as tracking use of cadavers and anatomical specimens both within and outside UT Southwestern, including proper handling and treatment of the donors through cremation and return to families. Maintaining strict compliance with all applicable regulations is expected. The Director is responsible for managing the staff schedules including 24 hour coverage for some functions. In addition to management responsibilities, the Director interacts with potential donors and their families as well as representatives from nursing homes, hospices and others who provide care for patients at the end of life. The Director must be both professional and humanistic in working with donors, families and other groups to represent the Willed Body Program at UT Southwestern.
EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION
REQUIRED

• Bachelor’s degree in related field.
• Two (2) years in supervisory capacity.
• In addition, incumbent must have a valid Texas Funeral Director license and a Texas Embalmers license. Candidates without the stated licensure must obtain both licenses no more than sixty (60) days from the date of hire.
• Additional years of related experience may be considered in lieu of the stated degree requirement.
• Eight (8) years progressively responsible, related experience

PREFERRED

• Budgeting experience and other business-related skills.

JOB DUTIES

• Responds to calls and inquiries about the Willed Body Program and services provided including hospices, visits from families, chaplains, nursing homes, assisted living centers, mortuary schools and health fairs. Also includes reaching out to those groups and making presentations as necessary.
• Maintains confidentiality as appropriate.
• Ensures compliance with applicable laws, regulations, policies, and procedures.
• Oversees supervisors and/or subordinate managers to include establishing priorities.
• Oversight for the Crematorium program including utilization of internal and external sites. Arranges for donor cremations; outreach to families on disposition of remains; management of Memorial Garden as a site for disposition.
• Coordinates Neuropathology Services with Dallas Brain Bank, Alzheimer's/Dementia/ALS organizations.
• Directs and coordinates activities related to the overall function of the Willed Body Program including overseeing the successful transport removals of willed bodies to campus from affiliated UT Southwestern groups located in a multi-county/multi-state area including county medical examiner offices. Negotiating contracts for services, annual budget preparation/monitoring of cost recovery center, and assisting with transport to the UT Southwestern Transplant Services program. Coordinates applications with departments for anatomical specimen preparation for course teaching needs.
• Arranges shift schedules for employees in five different areas: Willed Body, Prep Room, Cremation, Medical and Administrative. Ensuring schedule coverage 24/7 and on-call for scheduling issues.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• Any qualifications to be considered as equivalents in lieu of stated minimums require prior approval of Vice President for Human Resources or his/her designee.
• Work is performed primarily in general office environment.

To learn more about the benefits UT Southwestern offers, visit https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/employees/hr-resources/
This position is security-sensitive and subject to Texas Education Code §51.215, which authorizes UT Southwestern to obtain criminal history record information. UT Southwestern Medical Center is committed to an educational and working environment that provides equal opportunity to all members of the University community. As an equal opportunity employer, UT Southwestern prohibits unlawful discrimination, including discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability, genetic information, citizenship status, or veteran status. To learn more, please visit: why-work-here/diversity-inclusion