Vice President of Medical Affairs (VPMA) Recruiters
Healthcare Headhunters recruits healthcare professionals for employers. No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
This is what we do all day: recruit healthcare professionals.
Hire a VPMA who can lead medical staff decisions without turning bylaws, peer review, or physician contracts into recurring disputes.
No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You interview a short list.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
Need someone now? Call 305-306-4829.
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What happens next
- We review your role, responsibilities and location.
- Ivan or a senior team member will reach out soon.
- You meet a focused shortlist when qualified candidates fit the agreed search.
- Fees.
- No upfront fee. Pay only if you hire, under the signed agreement.
- Exclusivity.
- Set out in the signed client agreement.
- Confidentiality.
- We agree the brief before outreach. This is not a promise of absolute anonymity.
- No hire.
- No hire means no fee on standard searches.
- Vice President Medical Affairs
- Chief of Staff (employed)
What does an open seat cost you every week?
An open role costs you more than the recruiting fee. Someone covers the work, waits for care, or stops a service. We ask what is falling behind and who is carrying it. Use your own figures to compare the cost of waiting with the cost of hiring.
The seat is costing you every week.
Overtime, diverted patients, a stretched team and a schedule held together by favors.
The posting brought the wrong people.
Applicants arrive, but the person who has done this exact work is employed and not looking.
You are the one chasing.
Screening calls, no-shows and follow-ups land on the desk of someone with a facility to run.
What does this hire really come down to?
A VPMA may review a credentialing concern in the morning, meet a department chair about a peer review matter at midday, and brief executives on a quality trend later. You need a physician leader who knows which decision belongs with the medical staff, board, legal counsel, finance, or department leadership.
This role calls for measured authority. The VPMA applies adopted bylaws and addresses conduct or quality concerns without treating independent physician leaders as employees who simply take direction. We ask how candidates handled a disputed bylaw interpretation, who held decision authority, what they documented, and how they communicated the outcome.
Physician alignment creates real tradeoffs. A chair may request coverage support while finance questions cost, or a physician group may object to an incentive revision. We look for candidates who can name the clinical concern, business effect, decision owner, and committee path. Committee attendance alone does not show sound judgment.
What do we check before you see anyone?
Medical staff governance and bylaws. We ask about committee structure, voting authority, amendment work, and objections raised by physicians. Candidates should explain what they reviewed before recommending a change, how the board received the recommendation, and how they separated a policy disagreement from a personal conflict.
- Credentialing and privileging. We screen for appointment, reappointment, privilege review, and files with incomplete or conflicting information. We ask when candidates involved the medical staff office, legal counsel, compliance staff, or specialty reviewers rather than acting alone.
- Peer review. We request a de-identified example involving a quality, conduct, or documentation concern. Candidates should distinguish an allegation from the evidence, describe the review path, explain record handling, and identify who received the result. We also ask what they would do if a department chair challenged a committee conclusion.
- Physician contracting and alignment. We discuss fair market value, productivity-linked incentives, coverage obligations, and physician concerns about contract changes. A credible VPMA knows when to provide clinical context and when finance, legal, or contracting leaders own the final business decision.
- Quality oversight. We ask about mortality review, a sepsis protocol, or another clinical improvement effort. The candidate should describe the data reviewed, the action requested from chairs, resistance encountered, and how findings reached medical staff or board leadership.
- Licensure and executive communication. We verify current physician licensure and work history relevant to the position. We also ask candidates to explain a clinical quality concern to a board member or finance leader without clinical shorthand, naming the decision needed and the likely effect of delay.
Where do we find them, and why would they move?
We commonly reach medical directors, department chairs, and associate chief medical officers. These physicians may seek responsibility across governance, quality oversight, and physician relationships rather than remain within one specialty department. Their current title matters less than the decisions they have owned.
Some want greater involvement in financial and organizational decisions.
Which mistakes stall the search?
A common mistake is selecting a respected clinician who has never led a contested credentialing, privilege, or peer review matter through formal medical staff governance. Another is treating physician contracting as a finance-only task and failing to test the candidate’s response to incentive, coverage, or alignment concerns.
Interviewing only with senior executives before department chairs and medical staff leaders assess the finalist’s judgment and communication.
How would we run the search for this opening?
Tell us whether the immediate need involves bylaws, credentialing, peer review, contracting, quality oversight, or a leadership transition. Use a hypothetical disputed privilege review or contract revision with finalists. Include physician leaders, executives, and board stakeholders in final interviews. We ask what changed, what authority they seek, and whether their current role prepared them for VPMA accountability.
Set the decision agenda
We screen for comparable decisions and reporting relationships, not broad executive titles.
Test the judgment
Ask what they would do first, who should review the matter, what they would document, and when board or legal input is appropriate.
Complete your review
You conduct credentialing, references, licensure review, and clinical assessment under your own policies before making an offer.
Where this search connects
Physician Executives & Medical Directors
SpecialtyHospitals & Health Systems
SettingAcademic Medical Centers
SettingChildren's Hospitals
SettingRural & Critical Access Hospitals
SettingChief Medical Officer (CMO)
Related roleMedical Director (Practice, Clinic, Region)
Related roleHospice Medical Director
Related roleHealth Plan Medical Director (Utilization Management)
Related roleNational median annual wage. SOC 11-9111, Medical and Health Services Managers.
BLS publishes Medical and Health Services Managers as a wider occupation. This administrative or professional function proxy does not isolate Vice President of Medical Affairs (VPMA), its clinical credentials, seniority or setting. It is not a pay estimate for the exact title.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025-05, released 2026-05-15. View source. See the full guide.
Open roles
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How should we handle a counteroffer?
A counteroffer may show that the current employer values the candidate’s local knowledge or leadership role. We ask why the search began, what would make a move worthwhile, and whether the candidate has considered departure timing realistically. A candidate may consider a move after a leadership restructure, limited advancement room, or a wish for more board exposure.
Should our VPMA maintain a clinical practice?
That depends on your medical staff structure and the time the position demands. We ask how much practice a candidate maintains, how conflicts are addressed, and whether committee and board duties receive adequate attention.
How do we assess peer review experience?
Ask for a de-identified disputed quality or conduct example. Listen for a defined review process, appropriate records, consultation with relevant parties, and respect for medical staff governance boundaries.
What if a finalist has strong quality experience but little contracting exposure?
That can work if finance, legal, and contracting leaders have clear ownership and the VPMA can explain physician concerns. It presents more risk if this leader will regularly discuss incentives, coverage terms, or physician group alignment.
Can you help with interim or contract coverage?
We arrange locum tenens, travel and contract coverage on request. Credentialing, licensing and malpractice coverage are confirmed per engagement before anyone starts.
What should you send us about this role?
Send us the role, where the person will work and what needs to change with this hire. We will ask about the work, not just the title. Share any license or schedule limits that could rule someone out before we begin the search.
For a permanent VPMA search, Healthcare Headhunters can help you test governance judgment, physician alignment experience, and executive communication. No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What happens next
- We review your role, responsibilities and location.
- Ivan or a senior team member will reach out soon.
- You meet a focused shortlist when qualified candidates fit the agreed search.
- Fees.
- No upfront fee. Pay only if you hire, under the signed agreement.
- Exclusivity.
- Set out in the signed client agreement.
- Confidentiality.
- We agree the brief before outreach. This is not a promise of absolute anonymity.
- No hire.
- No hire means no fee on standard searches.
Which other positions in this family should you consider?
Chief Medical Officer (CMO) · Chief Physician Executive / President, Medical Group
What do you get at each step of the search?
Our process for every search: calibrate the seat with you, map the market, research the real people, reach out to each one personally, qualify them in live conversation, then hand you a short list with a written brief on each person and support through the offer.
Search Calibration
You get an agreed brief: the work, reporting line, credentials, schedule, and offer you can make.
Market Mapping
You get a search aimed at relevant backgrounds, including people working now who have not applied.
Professional Contact Intelligence
We check appropriate ways to reach the people identified for your search. You do not have to chase them yourself.
Persistent Personalized Outreach
We explain your actual job and follow up with people who may consider a conversation.
Live Candidate Qualification
You see people we have spoken with about the work, interest, and practical fit, not an unread resume pile.
Candidate Intelligence and Process Support
You get a written brief and support through interviews and offer discussions. You make the hiring decision.
How long will it take to see a short list?
That depends on the job, schedule, available people, and what your employer can offer. We discuss those constraints before outreach and update you as candidates respond. We do not promise a fixed shortlist date. We check the job brief before arranging interviews. Tell us which parts of the role you can change.
What are the replacement terms?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement. Ask us to walk through those terms before you sign, so you know how a replacement would work for your opening and who would start it.
What do we not do in a standard permanent search?
We do not bill standard contingency search by the hour or simply repost your job. Temporary coverage is a separate arrangement. Any retainer or different engagement must be agreed, not assumed. Tell us early if you need coverage while the permanent search runs.