Director, Projects and Planning, Acute Clinical Operations

Fraser Health (FH) is responsible for the delivery of hospital and community-based health services to over 1.9 million people in 20 diverse communities from Burnaby to Fraser Canyon on the traditional territories of the Coast Salish and Nlaka’pamux Nations. The Fraser region is home to 32 First Nations communities and 6 Métis Chartered communities. Our team of nearly 48,000 staff, medical staff and volunteers is dedicated to serving our patients, families and communities to deliver on our vision: better health, best in health care.

We are seeking an innovative and strategy-driven Director, Projects and Planning, Acute Clinical Operations to provide clear leadership and direction toward transformational project initiatives across Fraser Health, including clinical operational readiness and the adoption of technological advancements in clinical information systems. With expertise in project delivery and methodology, the Director will actively promote and apply a system-wide approach to leading, implementing, and evaluating all stages of acute clinical operation projects within key clinical programs and sites.

Driven by knowledge, and motivated by the power and possibility of change, the Director will build strong partnerships within FH and across the region to identify and champion opportunities essential to incorporating and actualizing a more digitized health system, including the monitoring, implementation, and integration of improvement processes that ensure and improve clinical care delivery. As a clear, caring, and courageous leader, the Director will apply an in-depth understanding of the acute, clinical, and health care system at both strategic and operational levels to achieve and actualize established goals and objectives.

The Director, Projects and Planning, Acute Clinical Operations is accountable for:

• Developing and supporting clinical program strategies, roadmaps and the implementation of clinical service/program models;
• Supporting clinical programs in the use of standardized approaches to large scale change projects/initiatives and innovations including technologies and service delivery models;
• Leading clinical care management strategies in partnership with Clinical Programs to enable a culture that promotes evidence-informed and quality practices;
• Providing broad oversight to ensure clinical readiness for key milestones, and leading the resolution and analysis of significant project issues from a clinical perspective;
• Supporting the planning and oversight of temporary or permanent changes in patient pathways as a result of changes in clinical information systems, in partnership with clinical operations directors;
• Providing oversight in the development and overall site readiness in the implementation of and integration of technological initiatives.

The successful candidate will require high capacity in the following skill areas:

• Demonstrated knowledge of clinical operations (i.e. what it takes to build a unit around a population of patients, workflow analysis and supporting operational performance).
• Solid project management skills. The candidate will need to be able to pay attention and follow through on details, risk assessment, issues management, status reporting and milestone development.
• A technology/innovation mindset. A creative ‘what will it take’ approach to lead othe way to a new frontier of health delivery.

The successful candidate will have:

• Master's degree in Health, Business Administration or related discipline, supplemented by PMP, PROSCI and/or CHE certification/designation;
• Seven to ten (10) years of experience in a complex health care environment, including five (5) years of progressive project or change management leadership experience within a large scale system project environment; or
• An equivalent combination of education, training and experience.

If you have any questions, or are interested in learning more about this rewarding opportunity with Fraser Health, please email the Executive and Senior Leadership Acquisition team at executive.recruitment@fraserhealth.ca.

Fraser Health values diversity in the work force and strives to maintain an environment of Respect, Caring & Trust. Fraser Health’s hiring practices aspire to ensure all individuals are treated in an inclusive, equitable, and culturally safe manner.

Supporting the Vision, Values, Purpose and Commitments of Fraser Health including service delivery that is centered around patients/clients/residents and families:

In alignment with Fraser Health's (FH) strategy and priorities, and working in partnership with FH leadership and a large diverse group of stakeholders, the Director, Projects & Planning, is accountable to provide strategic and operational leadership and consultation in the design, planning, implementation, integration and evaluation of targeted improvement and/or change initiatives across Fraser Health.

Provides project leadership and management to project teams utilizing and promoting a system-wide approach to realizing improvement initiatives . Deploys resources among leaders and initiatives; manages work flow/priorities across the project team and others in the organization; develops strategies to ensure deliverables meet key stakeholder needs. Provides strategic oversight regarding evaluation planning and reporting, as well as to information systems planning.

Establishes and maintains strong connections to operational and content experts across Fraser Health functional areas and contracted service providers to ensure that improvement, systems and evaluation projects are aligned to Fraser Health strategy and priorities, and are within the overall initiative goals.

1. Working in partnership with FH Senior Leadership, accountable to define, lead and oversee an overall project delivery approach and methodology to implement change initiatives in sites/clinical programs across Fraser Health.
2. Utilizes and promotes a system-wide approach to realizing improvement initiatives throughout project initiation, planning, execution, monitoring & control and closure. Identifies and manages risks, barriers, issues and scope changes.
3. Defines, leads and oversees an overall project delivery approach and methodology throughout the project, including identifying resource needs and gaps, acquiring/hiring staffing resources, formulating plans and activities to support project delivery and the identifications and initiation of appropriate actions incorporating the project management approach.
4. Oversees the development and maintenance of standardized processes, procedures, template documents, presentations and reporting related to project planning, communications and evaluation.
5. Provides project leadership including making timely business decisions regarding site or program initiatives, budgets, use of resources, variance projection/correction according to the processes/expectations established by Executive Sponsors and Key Stakeholders. Develops and maintains project milestones and reports on project progress and status; ensures alignment of corporate resources to achieve milestones.
6. Provides leadership to the Project Teams responsible for the design, planning, and implementation of transformation initiatives, targeted initiatives and/or projects as determined by FH Leadership.
7. Leads the selection, development and supervision of the project teams responsible for systems planning, and ensures team members have the knowledge, skills, abilities, and tools to support the identified initiative.
8. Provides overall leadership, direction, oversight and supervision to team members using effective management and leadership techniques including coaching, mentoring, skill and leadership development, performance management and team building.
9. Liaises with leadership across functional areas, across clinical programs/sites, Professional Practice and corporate supports such as Finance, Communications, Employee Experience, and others as appropriate, within Fraser Health to ensure resources are available and committed to the project and to working groups as needed.
10. Works closely with both contracted service providers and Fraser Health staff to identify and realize improvement opportunities, including the monitoring of improvement processes to ensure and improve delivery.
11. Oversees the collection, review and evaluation of improvement proposals and change requests to enable a quality focused, efficient, and consistent approach.
12. Supports the development of effective communications, presentations related to strategic and other initiatives, by collaborating with leadership, site and program stakeholders and others as required/appropriate.
13. Develops and maintains partnerships with key internal and external stakeholders (e.g. VP sponsors; Ministry of Health leaders, Fraser Health Executive, Service Providers); establishes and manages contracts with external resources as appropriate.
14. Guides and provides insight through leadership to sponsors and project team members. Provides day-to-day support to other senior leaders in all aspects of improvement initiatives.
15. Oversees the project team to assure the effectiveness of the approach being used, monitor for roadblocks, and advise or intervene as necessary.
16. Develops an annual plan for the project team including service and human resource development components.
17. Assesses and reports on the status of initiatives to senior leadership; advises on status and the impact of the initiative across Fraser Health from a system perspective.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Master's degree in Health, Business Administration or related discipline, supplemented by PMP, PROSCI and/or CHE certification/designation, and seven to ten (10) years' experience in a complex health care environment, including five (5) years progressive project or change management leadership experience within a large scale system project environment, or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.

Valid B.C. driver's licence and access to a personal vehicle for business-related purposes.

COMPETENCIES:

Demonstrates the leadership practices of the Fraser Health Leadership Framework of Clear, Caring and Courageous and creates the conditions for people to succeed.

Professional/Technical Capabilities

• Expert knowledge of strategic planning, contract management and project management principles coupled with an in-depth understanding of the acute clinical system and the health care system at both the strategic and operational levels.
• Knowledge of other health care disciplines and their role in health care.
• Strong ability to lead and manage diverse project teams.
• Sound working knowledge of planning concepts related to service delivery, budget, contract management and staffing.
• Ability to effectively utilize a variety of software applications to support the initiative management activities.
• Strong communication skills and ability to influence others.
• Strong evaluation skills.