Director, Health Systems

UBC Health

UBC Health enables and enhances interprofessional and collaborative health education and interdisciplinary research to train people, develop knowledge, and shape policy — seeking to address inequities and improve the systems that produce health. UBC Health facilitates cross-sectoral collaborations fundamental to translational research and the application of knowledge, supports the development and delivery of collaborative health education, and convenes university and health sector partners to build connections and capacity for collaborations that address the complex and intersecting health challenges facing society.

UBC Health reports to the Office of the Vice-President, Health and serves as a resource to all health disciplines at UBC. It is responsible for driving the vision of the Vice-President, Health portfolio by promoting an integrated approach to collaboration among all health programs at UBC and with external partners in the health sector, including patients and community organizations. UBC Health is committed to better coordination with UBC health communities – across both the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses – while encouraging creativity and remaining true to the disciplines it encompasses.

By facilitating closer linkages and collaborations across disciplines and with health sector partners, UBC Health aims to strengthen the university’s impact and capacity for excellence in health education and research and its ability to contribute to health systems transformation.

Job Summary

The Director, Health Systems, alongside the Associate Vice-President, Health and the UBC Health Senior Leadership Team, develops strategies and initiatives to bridge the university and the health sector. Responsibilities include formalizing operational relationships with health system leaders, such as government and Health Authorities, and establishing strategic connections to align university education, research, and health sector priorities across UBC campuses. This role also serves as UBC’s advocate for healthcare innovation at provincial, national, and global scales.

This position reports to the Associate Vice-President, Health and is part of the Senior Leadership Team of UBC Health. The Director, Health Systems will work closely and collaboratively with the Directors, Collaborative Health Education and Interdisciplinary Research, and be supported by the Assistant Director, Health Systems. The expected time commitment is 0.3 FTE, for an appointment term of three years.

All UBC Health team members are required to exercise professional judgment and initiative while undertaking all responsibilities and developing relationships. The work involves building and maintaining equitable relationships with internal and external partners, including actively seeking and valuing collaboration with Indigenous partners, and patient and community organizations. It requires attention to real and perceived barriers to meaningful participation, including tokenism, power dynamics, stereotyping, systemic racism, exploitation, and other inequities. The incumbent must understand and exercise the principles of confidentiality and best practices for Indigenous, patient and community engagement, including continuous learning and adapting these practices to ensure they are respectful, inclusive, and equitable.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the implementation of the UBC Health Strategic Plan and strategize ways to enhance the impact of the unit
• Contribute to the development of the next strategic plan, ensuring continued alignment with evolving health research, education, and systems priorities
• Build and maintain relationships that enhance the interface between the university and the health sector
• Strategize approaches and conceptualize initiatives that contribute to cross-sectoral collaborations
• Initiate efforts that help identify priority areas that benefit from better collaboration between the university and the health sector
• Strengthen alignment of health system activities within and across UBC campuses
• Contribute to the development of a team-based teaching clinic on the UBC Point Grey campus that will act as a hub for innovations in clinical practice and collaborative health education
• Initiate and maintain partnerships that will ensure that outputs from the campus clinic for education, practice innovation, and research can be scaled across the province
• Build connections with other team-based teaching sites and potential collaborator sites that will extend the impact of a team-based campus clinic
• Identify ways the university can provide services and resources to advance team-based care in BC
• Support health system leaders in the vision, strategy, and direction for implementing and sustaining health systems transformation
• Work collaboratively with other UBC partners to formalize strategic connections with health system leaders to advance a UBC health systems strategy, with appropriate metrics and evaluation processes to assess its effectiveness and impact
• Chair the Health Systems Partnership that works with partners across BC to help shape sector dialogue and activate assets to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of the provincial health system
• Work collaboratively with the Director, Interdisciplinary Research to support implementation science and learning health system efforts
• Work collaboratively with the Director, Collaborative Health Education to support innovations in practice-based education that respond to health sector needs
• Provide leadership and functional direction to staff within the health systems portfolio
• Perform other duties as requested by the Associate Vice-President, Health

Qualifications

• Current UBC academic or clinical faculty member with experience in providing leadership and management in an academic environment
• Demonstrated evidence of understanding health systems provincially and nationally
• Demonstrated ability to influence and/or realize innovation in health systems an asset
• Experience working in a health environment
• A keen understanding of community engagement and partnership building
• Proven ability to synthesize and structure ideas and information and translate strategic concepts into actionable plans
• Demonstrated skill in consensus-building, negotiation, conflict management, and change management
• Experience in strategic planning, implementation and evaluation
• Highly effective communication skills and ability to build effective working relationships with a wide variety of stakeholder groups
• Experience with and understanding of undergraduate, professional, graduate, and post-graduate education, and health research
• Respect for others; ability to inspire trust; capacity to build and work with teams in a collegial environment; ability to listen, especially to those whose experience or point of view is different
• Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own
• Demonstrated commitment to enhancing one’s awareness, knowledge, and skills related to Truth and Reconciliation and equity, diversity, and inclusion

Application Process

This position will remain open until filled. However, the UBC Health Search Committee will be meeting in July 2024 to begin shortlisting the applications that have been received. Applications must be submitted by June 21, 2024 to be considered for this initial assessment.

Applications must contain:

• A cover letter that includes:
  • A statement of health systems interest and accomplishments, and how they align with UBC Health’s strategic priorities
  • A statement of accomplishments, commitments and/or interests related to equity, diversity, and inclusion
• A curriculum vitae

Please submit applications directly to avphealth.execassist@ubc.ca. Any inquiries about this search may also be sent to this email address.