Role and Facility Information

Role Summary
In accordance with the Mission, Vision and Values, and strategic directions of Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA), patient safety is a priority and a responsibility shared by everyone at PHSA, and as such, the requirement to continuously improve quality and safety is inherent in all aspects of this position. PHSA is committed to cultural safety and humility in health services delivery for First Nations and Indigenous people in BC.

Reporting to the Vice President, Public Health and Wellness and Deputy Provincial Health Officer, the BC Centre for Disease Control Public Health Laboratory (BCCDC PHL) Medical Director provides medical, clinical, scientific, and academic leadership to plan, implement, and evaluate strategic microbiology services for British Columbia. The role Medical Director works in collaboration with the Senior Director of Operations for the Provincial Laboratory Medicine Services to ensure that the BCCDC PHL has the technical and operational capacity to fulfill its provincial public health laboratory mandate as a Tier Three (3) reference and support role to the network of provincial microbiology laboratories to ensure equitable and comprehensive access to public health microbiology services for all British Columbians. The Medical Director leads a team to inspire a shared vision and promote evidence-based best practices across diagnostics, monitoring, and surveillance, including providing cutting edge microbial genomics to anticipate and respond to outbreaks and novel pathogens in order to fulfill the BCCDC PHL function as a Centre of Excellence for advanced technology assessment and translational microbiology research to inform and advance medical microbiology and microbial genomic surveillance in British Columbia.

Key Accountabilities
• Provides medical and scientific leadership to coordinate the delivery of public health diagnostic services to meet the requirements of the Public Health Act, and to support the strategic goals of the BCCDC, the Ministry of Health, Provincial Laboratory Medicine Services and the Provincial Heath Officer.
• Leads and coordinates delivery of public health microbial diagnostic, monitoring, and surveillance services during outbreaks or emergency events, ensuring timely response through planning, monitoring, and implementing response plans.
• Is responsible for defining the scope of service for the BCCDC PHL.
• Leads and supports research strategies for the BCCDC PHL to advance knowledge and promote the development of public health and environmental research and innovation. This includes providing oversight for the provincial microbial water testing program (EQWA) and the use of wastewater for microbial agent and illicit drug surveillance.
• Leads and participates in the development of quality improvement and quality assurance initiatives/programs and risk management approaches, and will ensure outcomes are effectively benchmarked, measured, acted upon, and communicated to internal and external stakeholders.
• Participates in, supports, and where appropriate, leads the collaboration, integration and alignment of microbiology services across the province, and in accordance to the strategies of the BC Ministry of Health.
• Supports the specialized programs and integrated public health laboratory core functions, using a continuous quality improvement approach to provide province-wide communicable disease response with a focus on threat anticipation, timely detection, outbreak investigation, and emergency response.
• Is responsible for overseeing the medical personnel within the BCCDC PHL.
• Ensures that the BCCDC PHL functions as the centre of excellence for advanced technology assessment and translational microbiology research to inform and advance medical microbiology best practices in BC, Canada and globally.
• Works with the Provincial Laboratory Medicine Service to provide tier three microbiology reference public health services, including provincial toxicology, as part of a comprehensive provincial microbiology laboratory network.
• Supports and promotes research and education with the University of British Columbia and/or other universities and research centres. Collaborates with the National Microbiology Laboratory and the Canadian Public Health Laboratory Network.
• Participates in academic teaching activities at undergraduate, graduate, post graduate levels including the medical residency training programs. Assists with the coordination of public health laboratory educational initiatives including symposia, workshops, and test-specific training. Provides opportunities for public health clinical microbiology training.
• Ensures that the clinical, surveillance, education, and research services respond to the clinical, public health, environmental health, drinking water, and food safety requirements.
• Through integrated data management processes, ensures access to, and distribution of, quality information to inform public health and reference microbiology practices, disease prevention and control.
• Assures appropriate and adequate medical representation/appropriate membership on local, provincial and national committees, microbiology networks, and working groups, as required.
• Provides professional consultation, leadership, and evidence-based advice to provincial committees, the Ministry of Health, Provincial Health Services Authority agencies, health regions, including the Yukon, and other stakeholders as appropriate to support the development of evidence-based public health policy.
• Embraces organizational change, improvement initiatives, and resource allocations focused on business and process excellence. Supports the development of strategies, guidelines, and policies to ensure cost effective and appropriate test utilization.


Qualifications
A Doctor of Medicine and license or be eligible for licensure with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of the Province of British Columbia, certification in Medical Microbiology as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in Canada or equivalent, extensive clinical experience in Microbiology and previous academic leadership experience within an existing Clinical Microbiology program, and at least ten (10) years of experience in a senior leadership role.
The Medical Director should demonstrate:
• Exceptional leadership, organizational, interpersonal and public speaking skills.
• Well-developed skills in issue identification and conflict management along with superior strategic and clinical planning abilities to be a key contributor to the BCCDC Senior Leadership Team.
• Evidence of innovative, creative, and critical thinking
• An ability to manage and lead in a complex environment.
• An ability to analyze complex issues, develop and implement plans to resolve issues using facilitation, consensus building and leadership skills.
• Exceptional communication abilities with people at all levels of the organization as well as the ability to work effectively with multi-disciplinary teams.

Working knowledge of budgeting, financial and management processes related to clinical administration including working with physician agreements and medical practice requirements is considered an asset.

Terms