Executive Director, Quality, Safety & Patient Experience

Come work as an Executive Director Quality Safety & Patient Experience with Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH)!

Vancouver Coastal Health is looking for an Executive Director Quality Safety & Patient Experience to join the team.

Reporting to the dyad leadership of the Vice President Professional Practice and the Vice President Medicine and Academic Affairs the Executive Director provides senior executive leadership for Vancouver Coastal Healths (VCH) enterprise-wide quality patient safety infection prevention and control (IPAC) and patient experience portfolio.

This role leads the strategic planning development integration and transformation of quality and safety initiatives across VCH including oversight of:

• Patient Quality and Safety programs
• Patient Experience
• Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC)
• The central quality program and implementation across all Communities of Care

Working within VCHs dyad leadership framework the Executive Director collaborates closely with medical quality leadership to integrate clinical and medical standards of care surgical quality change management accreditation epidemiology engagement data analytics and performance measurement into a cohesive system-wide approach.

The Executive Director champions a culture of continuous quality improvement and patient safety ensuring measurable reductions in adverse events and meaningful improvements in care experiences for patients and families.

Strategic Mandate

The Executive Director is accountable for leading the development implementation and stewardship of a refreshed organizational Quality Plan that drives measurable transformation in quality patient safety and patient experience across VCH.

This includes:

• Leading enterprise-wide quality and clinical transformation initiatives
• Ensuring alignment with evidence-based best practices
• Establishing clear performance measures and accountability frameworks
• Embedding continuous improvement across clinical and operational environments

This work is grounded in VCHs commitments to Indigenous Cultural Safety Indigenous-specific Anti-Racism Equity Diversity and Inclusion and Planetary Health.

The Executive Director partners closely with executive and senior leaders across Risk Management Professional Practice Nursing Nurse Practitioners and Inter-professional Medical Providers Allied Health Clinical Informatics Decision Support and Analytics and VCH Research Institute leadership.

Externally the role collaborates with provincial and national partners including:

• Health Quality BC
• Providence Health Care
• Accreditation Canada
• Ministry of Health
• Canadian Institute for Health Information

Key Accountabilities

1. Enterprise Quality Safety & Patient Experience Strategy

• Sets the strategic direction and oversees the development implementation and delivery of medical clinical quality patient safety and patient experience programs across VCH.
• Translates research and emerging evidence into policy and practice.
• Leads the development integration and measurement of quality and safety strategies frameworks and action plans.
• Establishes and monitors key performance indicators (KPIs) dashboards and outcome measures to drive system-wide improvement.

1. Patient Safety & Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC)

• Establishes and integrates region-wide programs and strategies for patient safety and IPAC aligned with VCHs vision values and strategic priorities.
• Leads and oversees the Patient Safety Learning System and proactive initiatives to mitigate future events.
• Oversees a rigorous patient safety event review process including presentation of system-level recommendations to the Senior Executive Team and relevant Board Committees.
• Promotes a culture of safety accountability transparency and learning across the organization.

1. Accreditation Regulatory & Quality Assurance

• Oversees the quality assurance program ensuring VCH services and programs meet or exceed standards set by Accreditation Canada.
• Ensures compliance with provincial legislation health statutes and regulatory standards.
• Identifies system gaps related to safety quality and regulatory performance and ensures corrective actions are implemented and sustained.

1. Indigenous Cultural Safety & Equity Integration

• Works in close partnership with Indigenous Health leadership medical quality leadership and operational partners to advance Indigenous Cultural Safety (ICS) and Indigenous-specific Anti-Racism (ISAR).
• Identifies and addresses systemic barriers impacting Indigenous Peoples and equity-deserving groups.
• Integrates equity and anti-racism principles into quality improvement strategies accountability frameworks and outcomes.
  

1. Data Analytics & Continuous Improvement

• Leads data collection analytics strategies reporting and performance improvement activities across the portfolio.
• Identifies trends and uses evidence to inform clinical initiatives and system-level transformation.
• Evaluates service effectiveness cost-effectiveness and integration within a complex health system environment.

1. Education & Subject Matter Expertise (Explicitly Preserved)

• Provides subject matter expertise and education to clinical leadership medical staff and other partners regarding quality patient safety IPAC accreditation standards statutes regulations and emerging best practices.
• Advises executive and operational leaders on evolving legislative and regulatory requirements affecting quality and patient safety.
• Supports capability-building across the organization to strengthen clinical governance and safety culture.

1. Financial & Operational Stewardship

• Develops and manages short- and long-term capital and operating budgets aligned with strategic priorities.
• Oversees allocation of fiscal technological physical and human resources.
• Ensures responsible stewardship within existing fiscal constraints.

1. Leadership & Organizational Development

• Designs and evolves portfolio organizational structures.
• Provides executive leadership direction and supervision to designated teams.
• Fosters a respectful motivating and high-performance environment.
• Represents VCH on relevant organizational provincial and national committees and chairs quality and patient safety councils as required.

Education & Experience

• Masters degree in a relevant health profession.
• Recognized business acumen.
• Minimum of fifteen (15) years of recent related clinical and senior leadership experience within a complex healthcare organization.
• Demonstrated experience in research methodology evaluation of complex systems program planning implementation and evaluation.

Leadership Profile & Expertise

The successful candidate brings:

• Comprehensive expertise in quality and patient safety theory and its application to enterprise strategy.
• Strong knowledge of provincial legislation health statutes and regulations pertaining to patient safety and quality.
• Deep understanding of patient-centred frameworks and clinical governance structures.
• Exceptional relationship-building negotiation and consensus-building capabilities.
• Political acumen and sound judgment in navigating complex multi-partner environments.
• Strong analytical ability to synthesize complex information into strategy and action.
• Proven fiscal management expertise.
• Demonstrated leadership that promotes inclusion respect empowerment and innovation.
• Knowledge and application of change theory in leading system transformation.

Work Location:

Primary Location: Lower Mainland British Columbia

• This role is site-based and requires regular in-person presence across Vancouver Coastal Health facilities.
• Given the executive scope system-wide partnerships and leadership accountabilities of this portfolio consistent on-site engagement with clinical medical and operational leaders is essential.
• The successful candidate must reside within the Vancouver Coastal Health region (Lower Mainland BC).
• Remote or out-of-region arrangements are not available for this position.

Shared Values:

You care for everyone:

• You are compassionate empathetic and sensitive to the needs of others.
• You are respectful treating people as equals and valuing others perspectives and differences.
• You are appreciative of others efforts and give them praise when its due.

You are always learning:

• You are open minded always receptive to different perspectives and ways of doing things.
• You are curious and ask questions to find a deeper understanding.
• You share your expertise and mentor others by sharing your knowledge and experience.

You strive for better results:

• You are accountable and take responsibility for what you say what you do and who you engage in achieving better results.
• You are a solution finder empowered to solve the challenges we face in healthcare.
• You take ownership for growth and development and personal development always seek feedback and opportunities to improve how we do things.

As per Ministry of Health policy all health care workers working in publicly-funded health care facilities are required to report their past receipt of certain vaccines or history of certain infections. Collecting these records will allow for offering of any missing vaccines and for appropriate actions to be taken in the event of any future exposure to a communicable disease or during outbreaks. For all new hires and appointments to Vancouver Coastal Health you will be asked to provide this information as part of the onboarding process.

If you have any questions please reach out to Harleen Dastur-Randhawa Manager Executive Talent Acquisition at .

WHY JOIN VANCOUVER COASTAL HEALTH

VCH is a world class innovator in medical care research and teaching delivering service to more than one million BC residents. At VCH we embrace thinking boldly taking smart risks and going first when we believe it will lead to the best possible outcomes for patients and their families. We invite you to join us in creating healthy lives in healthy communities by showcasing our passion for care connection to the communities we serve and our culture of teamwork that makes VCH a great place to work.

• Comprehensive health benefits package including MSP extended health and dental and municipal pension plan.
• Grow your career with employer-paid training and leadership development opportunities.
• Wellness supports including counselling critical incident and innovative wellness services are available to employees and their immediate families.
• Award-winning recognition programs to honour staff medical staff and volunteers.
• Access to exclusive discount offers and deals for VCH staff.

At Vancouver Coastal Health our vision of healthy lives in healthy communities inspires us and our values and pillars guide us. We support equitable practices diverse teams and inclusive environments which are integral to creating welcoming spaces where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and feel supported. We encourage applications from equity-deserving communities including Indigenous Peoples and members of racialized groups people with disabilities and people of all gender identities and expressions and sexual orientation.

Vancouver Coastal Health is proud to be recognized as one of BCs Top Employers Canadas Best Diversity Employers and Canadas Top Employers for Young People in 2025.

Only short-listed applicants will be contacted for this posting.

***Employees of VCH must apply online via the Internal Career Portal on CareerHub you are currently viewing the External Career Portal. Refer to the site for instructions on how to view internal job postings and how to apply as an employee. Current VCH employees who apply to this posting using this external site will be considered as an external candidate. Seniority will not apply.***

Thank you for your interest in Vancouver Coastal Health.