Project Manager - Improvement Team

Project Manager - Improvement Team (Job ID: 7213)

Operational Excellence Improvement Project Manager - PM 3

Job Description

The Operational Excellence department works to promote and lead Quality planning and is responsible for setting strategies that contribute to and drive a culture of improvement; including cascading quality improvement (QI) capabilities and quality management systems across Unity Health Toronto. The department includes the Improvement Team and Accreditation.

The Improvement Team provides an integrated and collaborative approach to QI and project management including tools, processes and cross-functional expertise. The team is a corporate resource designed to advise, coach, support and consult with clinical programs and support services; allows for integration and involves other departments such as Finance, Decision Support, Human Resources, Communications, Patient Experience, Safety and Risk to ensure initiatives are executed so that Unity Health delivers the best care experiences.

Reporting to the Manager, Operational Excellence, the Improvement Project Manager will engage in a leadership role to design, plan, coordinate, implement and evaluate improvement initiatives while ensuring both the efficient utilization or resources and processes and a safe environment for patients, providers, learners and staff across Unity Health Toronto. The Improvement Project Manager will expertly apply quality improvement, change management, and project management skills and tools, will manage complex improvement projects, and will lead and support diverse and dynamic teams to deliver integrated and optimized solutions.

The primary responsibilities of the Improvement Project Manager include:

· Project leadership and management for operational excellence & continuous improvement

· Capacity building & organizational effectiveness

· Collaboration & performance improvement within the broader health care system

· Ensuring quality standards are met

· Performing corporate and other responsibilities

Key Activities:

Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement

· Provide leadership for complex improvement initiatives across the Network, including opportunity identification, initiative design, planning, facilitation, management, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

• Facilitate and manage improvement projects leveraging improvement methodologies and tools including Value Stream Mapping, Kaizen, 6S events, FMEA, PDSA, metrics development, and other Lean/Six Sigma tools and methods

· Conduct sophisticated needs assessment to facilitate defining project scope, goals, plans, deliverables, schedules/ timelines, etc., including, researching and analyzing best practices and other relevant initiatives to facilitate large scale project proposals

· Design, develop and manage the execution of large/sophisticated project plan(s), communication(s) plans and other strategies that will advance project goals and objectives; ensuring appropriate mechanisms are in place to effectively monitor and evaluate project activities and facilitate optimal project delivery

· Communicate complex project plans and expectations to team members and stakeholders in a timely and clear fashion to ensure project goals can be optimally achieved;

• Develop and implement appropriate collaboration and engagement opportunities with key stakeholder groups, Directors, Managers, Professional Practice and other relevant parties to roll out project initiatives/ specifics and ensure linkages between different initiatives are appropriately identified and managed
• Determine, evaluate and provide mitigation and contingency plans for risk issues in a timely manner
• Collaborate with teams in the development of evidence-based measurement and metrics to compare performance against industry standards and peer organizations

· Monitor improvement activities; identify and evaluate root causes for performance shortfalls and gaps, and recommend innovative strategies for improved outcomes

• Analyze key performance indicators with a focus on data quality to make recommendations on practice to ensure that programs meet targeted outcomes
• Incorporate patient partnered care philosophy in all improvement work

Capacity Building & Organizational Effectiveness

• Provide expert level improvement knowledge and lead capacity building in improvement methodologies (Lean, Six Sigma, IHI) across the Network to build a culture of continuous, stable improvement
• Advance operational effectiveness through the coaching, education and training of staff in the use of continuous improvement tools and methodologies
• Design and facilitate training and education sessions and workshops

Collaboration & Performance Improvement within the Broader Health Care System

• Profile and represent improvement successes via abstract, poster and manuscript development and submission; attend conferences as required
• Support partners at the local, regional and system level and work on projects to improve quality beyond the hospital
• In collaboration with stakeholders, collect and use data to measure quality of care improvement outcomes related to patient/resident/staff satisfaction and clinical and initiatives

Accreditation:

· Review accreditation standards and support leadership, clinical and non-clinical teams in ensuring necessary processes are in place to meet all standards

General & Relationship Management

• Prepare report, briefing notes and presentations for all levels of the organization, including Board, Executive, Senior Leadership, Management and Staff
• Support the execution of Unity Health Toronto's Strategic & Quality Improvement Plans; cascading corporate goals and supporting programs and departments in the identification of local priorities
• Build trust with staff, providers, patients and peers through excellence, respect, integrity, compassion, honesty, transparency, professionalism and accountability

Promote a teamwork environment where staff from diverse multilingual and multicultural backgrounds can interact productively and efficiently, while providing recognition, feedback and ways to motivate project staff

Qualifications

· Master's degree in related field (Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, Quality, Engineering)

· Current registration with a health professional regulatory body an asset

· Eight (8) to Ten (10) or more years project management experience in a health care environment required; with lean black belt preferred;

· Strong understanding of provincial health care and clinical processes with demonstrated ability to use clinical data for improvement required;

· Expertise in quality improvement including the IHI Model for Improvement, change management and process redesign concepts including Lean/Six Sigma required (minimum Green Belt Certification required)

· Demonstrated ability to manage multiple and complex initiatives and to implement proposals and initiatives within established timeframes and targets

· Demonstrated success in providing leadership in a way that facilitates effective teamwork, highly developed problem solving, communication and negotiation skills

· Knowledge and ability to facilitate meetings, conduct effective briefings and presentations, and to develop consensus, both internally and externally, with people who reflect the full range of diversity in objectives

· Demonstrated skills in developing evaluation frameworks/measurement plans and data analysis including the ability to develop, monitor and utilize performance indicators to support ongoing improvement efforts

· Excellent analytical and critical thinking skills with the ability to analyze complex problems, interpret data in support of process redesign, and navigate situations where information is difficult to obtain, complex, or ambiguous

· Demonstrated ability to drive data related changes (i.e. gather and integrate data from disparate sources to unearth trends and patterns; generate insights; present and explain information; and suggest improvements)

· Demonstrated ability to interact with people from all disciplines; at all levels of experience and at all levels of the organization

· Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to communicate information/ideas, in a manner that is easily understood by others required;

· Demonstrated high level of initiative, self-direction, flexibility and ability to adapt to change

· Proficient in MS Office Suite: Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Visio, Word and the ability to build process maps