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This position has closed. Northwestern Medicine removed this listing from their careers page on Oct 5, 2026. The interview prep below is still useful, and there are similar open roles at the bottom of this page.

Operations Coordinator - Dental Services Full time Days

Northwestern Medicine · Chicago, IL · Full time · Health Care Provider

Posted Sep 25, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 5, 2026

Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

Tell me about a time you supervised front desk or financial staff. How did you set expectations?

What they are checking: Whether they have real supervisory experience leading clerical teams day to day.

Tell me about a time you turned around an unhappy patient's experience.

What they are checking: Whether they can lead service recovery, which the posting names as a duty.

How would you run a practice staff meeting that people find useful?

What they are checking: Whether they can communicate updates and gather input from the team.

What would you do

Your end-of-day cash count is short. What do you do?

What they are checking: Whether they follow a clear process to investigate and report without jumping to blame.

An employee keeps coming in late and patients are waiting. How do you handle it?

What they are checking: Whether they can address performance fairly and use progressive discipline when needed.

Two staff call out on a busy morning. How do you keep the clinic running?

What they are checking: Whether they can reallocate staff quickly to protect patient access.

About the work

Walk me through how you would build provider schedule templates to get the most patient care hours out of a dental clinic.

What they are checking: Whether they understand template design that balances access, provider productivity and procedure length.

How do you handle daily cash management, from co-pays to the bank deposit?

What they are checking: Whether they have tight controls over cash, which protects staff and the organization.

How do you make sure registration and data entry by your staff is accurate?

What they are checking: Whether they use training and audits to prevent billing and record errors.

How do you keep supplies and office costs within budget?

What they are checking: Whether they manage spending carefully and track usage.

Practice this interview out loud.

Offer builds a real interview for this exact role at Northwestern Medicine from your resume and this job description, asks the questions one at a time, and tells you what landed. The first one is free.

Practice this out loud

The full job description

As published by Northwestern Medicine.

The Operations Coordinator reflects the mission, vision, and values of NM, adheres to the organization’s Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with all relevant policies, procedures, guidelines and all other regulatory and accreditation standards. Responsibilities: • Supervise and direct the offices front-line clerical, and financial staff. • Participate in interviewing, hiring, training, progressive discipline, dismissals, and performance appraisals. • Oversee and direct day to day office operations within budget guidelines. • Manage providers schedules with templates and optimize patient care hours to enhance productivity. • Schedule staff and allocate resources across hours of operation to maximize patient access and satisfaction, provider productivity and efficiency, and staff productivity. • Conduct timely and accurate cash management duties, including overseeing the collection of co-pays and patient balances, in-house cash balances, and bank deposits. • Ensure that service excellence is delivered and perform service recovery whenever necessary. • Manage office supplies within budget. • Ensure accuracy of all data collection and data entry by site staff through training and compliance monitoring and facilitate and oversee flow of information to and from central administrative offices. • Participate in leading practice staff meetings on a regular basis. • Attend and actively participate in manager/supervisor meetings. • Ensure that patient dignity and confidentiality are maintained at all times. • Review and approve automated time reports for accuracy. • Develop tools to support staff and enhance efficiency. • Provide input into staff performance reviews. May participate with manager in conducting staff performance reviews. • Provide one to one coaching and mentoring. • Plan, execute and resolve all routine technical needs of the practice (phone, copiers, fax machines, PCs, etc.). • Monitor daily transaction activity to ensure compliance with procedures. • Resolve complex or critical situations involving patients, staff and customers: consults with manager for guidance as needed (e.g., complaints, discipline, etc.). • Schedule staff and allocate resources across hours of operation to maximize patient access and satisfaction, provider productivity and efficiency, staff productivity, cost-savings, and operational efficiencies. • Develop and implement policies and procedures as needed to support the practice. • Complete other duties as assigned. Required: • Bachelor's degree or, in lieu of degree, at least 5 years of work experience in an outpatient center. • Minimum of three years of work experience in a medical or related business. • Comprehension of insurance plans including HMO, PPO, POS, commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid. • Solid understanding of patient flow in a provider office. • Leadership experience. • Working knowledge of medical software, Word and Excel. Preferred: • Knowledge of CPT and ICD-10 coding. • Supervisory experience. • Experience managing/supervising daily cash activity and reconciling income reports with daily payments. Northwestern Medicine is an equal opportunity employer (disability, VETS) and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of age, sex, race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation or any other protected status. Background Check Northwestern Medicine conducts a background check that includes criminal history on newly hired team members and, at times, internal transfers. If you are offered a position with us, you will be required to complete an authorization and disclosure form that gives Northwestern Medicine permission to run the background check. Results are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and we follow all local, state, and federal laws, including the Illinois Health Care Worker Background Check Act. Artificial Intelligence Disclosure Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools may be used in some portions of the candidate review process for this position, however, all employment decisions will be made by a person. Benefits We offer a wide range of benefits that provide employees with tools and resources to improve their physical, emotional, and financial well-being while providing protection for unexpected life events. Click on or copy and paste URL to your browser to view detailed benefits information NorthwesternMedicine Career Page https://jobs.nm.org/benefits Please refer to the Benefits Eligibility by Employment Classification to determine benefits eligibility for job postings. If sign-on bonus is included in a job posting eligibility is as followed: Internal employees and rehires who left Northwestern Medicine within 1 year are not eligible for the sign-on bonus. Exception : New graduate internal employees seeking their first licensed clinical position as a Registered Nurse at NM may be eligible.