Thank you for your interest in careers at AAFP!

The American Academy of Family Physicians and its chapters proudly represent more than 124,500 family physician, resident, and medical student members. Family physicians play a critical role in improving the health of patients, families, and communities across the United States. 

The AAFP is committed to helping family physicians improve the health of Americans by advancing the specialty of family medicine, saving members time, and maximizing the value of membership. Our focus every day is to help family physicians spend more time doing what they do best: providing quality and cost-effective patient care. The AAFP delivers value to its members through each of its strategic priorities.

Summary

HOURS: 60-80% Part-Time
Additional Hours as needed
TRAVEL: Estimated 15-20 days annually

Job Description

When you join the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), you join a team at the center of transforming health care. You are on the leading edge of ensuring family physicians have what they need to adapt and excel as leaders in that transformation. You are part of a legacy that has been instrumental in improving and advocating for family medicine since 1947. Make an impact that matters and join Team AAFP.

Summary of responsibilities

The Senior Medical Director is a physician leadership role designed for an experienced family physician with strong clinical judgment, evidence-based medicine skills, and emerging physician executive potential. Reporting to the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), this role provides senior clinical leadership across AAFP science, evidence-based medicine, clinical guidance, public health and external partner relationships. The role has no direct reports but will collaborate extensively across AAFP divisions, member leader structures, commissions, external partners, and national organizations.  

The successful candidate will help strengthen AAFP’s ability to translate evidence into practical guidance for family physicians, support organizational clinical strategy, represent AAFP independently in selected national relationships and meetings, and maintain ongoing clinical practice to ensure work remains grounded in real-world family medicine.

• Provide senior physician leadership for science, evidence-based medicine, clinical guidance, and selected public health priorities.  

• Review and interpret clinical evidence, guidelines, recommendations, data, and scientific materials to support AAFP guidance, member resources, clinical communications, policy input, and strategic decision-making.  

• Support the AAFP Chief Medical Officer by preparing clinical briefings, advising on cross-divisional clinical questions and participating in selected internal meetings and projects.  

• Serve as an AAFP physician representative in selected external relationships, meetings, coalitions, scientific exchanges, and strategic partnerships, including independent representation. 

• Partner with teams across the AAFP, including Health of the Public/Science, Education, Practice Advancement, Government Relations, Strategic Engagements, Communications, Journal Media, and others to ensure clinical work is evidence-based, practical, member-centered, and aligned with AAFP priorities.  

• Maintain ongoing clinical practice, anticipated at one day per week and up to two days per week, to preserve current family medicine practice perspective and inform practical implementation of AAFP work.  

Required Qualifications

• MD or DO degree required.
• Board certification in family medicine by the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) required; must remain board-certified throughout employment.
• Current unrestricted medical license required; must remain licensed throughout employment.
• Seven to ten years of family medicine practice experience after residency training preferred; experienced clinicians with equivalent leadership and practice grounding may be considered.
• Maintain active clinical practice 1 day (up to 2) per week, with willingness and ability to maintain ongoing clinical practice while employed by AAFP.
• Demonstrated ability to interpret scientific literature, clinical guidelines, evidence reviews, and public health recommendations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including ability to translate clinical evidence into clear, practical guidance for family physicians and AAFP staff.
• Ability to represent AAFP professionally and independently in national meetings, external partnerships, coalitions, and stakeholder relationships.
• Strong collaboration skills and ability to work across complex, matrixed organizational environments.
• Sound judgment, professionalism, discretion, and ability to operate effectively with senior leaders, member leaders, staff, and external partners.
• Travel: Estimated 15–20 days annually; exact travel needs may vary.

This position requires the successful candidate to reside within the Kansas City metropolitan area.  

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with evidence-based medicine, guideline development, systematic evidence review, public health, population health, clinical policy, or evidence-to-practice translation.
• Experience in AAFP governance, commissions, committees, state chapter leadership, national family medicine leadership, or other professional society leadership is a plus.
• Experience representing an organization with federal agencies, professional societies, coalitions, health systems, academic institutions, or strategic partners.
• Additional training or degree such as MPH, MBA, MHA, MEd, health policy, public health, implementation science, or related field is welcome but not required.
• Experience working with member leaders, physician volunteers, faculty educators, external liaisons, or subject matter experts.
• Demonstrated potential to grow into broader physician executive leadership over the next five to seven years.

#LI-Hybrid

At the AAFP we are committed to diversity and creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, age, ethnic or national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, pregnancy, marital status, religion, physical or mental disability, military/veteran status, or any other protected status.

EEO Employer/Vets/Disabled

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We thank all respondents for their interest in AAFP.

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