Come work as a Regional Medical Director, Addictions with Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH)!

Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) is seeking an engaging and collaborative medical staff leader for the role of Regional Medical Director, Addictions.  Reporting directly to the Vice President of Medicine and Academic Affairs, this role receives program direction from the Vice President of Public Health, the Regional Executive Sponsor to the Senior Executive Team.

Working in co-leadership with the Regional Addictions Program Executive Director, the Regional Medical Director provides strategic senior medical leadership for planning, evaluating, and advancing the designated regional program and associated services. In partnership with the Regional Executive Director, this role is responsible for coordinating a regional approach to addiction prevention and care, developing quality improvement and evaluation programs, and supporting care providers in implementing best practices for addiction management.

This position also plays a key role in developing strategic partnerships and advancing innovation and research to enhance the capacity, quality, and effectiveness of addictions programming. Through close collaboration with operational and medical leaders across the region, the role supports regional service alignment, policy implementation, resource optimization, and standardized protocols to ensure high-quality, evidence-based care.

The Regional Medical Director co-chairs the Regional Program Committee alongside the Regional Executive Director, ensuring consultation, engagement, and collaboration with Communities of Care (CoC) leadership and other partners responsible for service delivery, quality, and performance metrics.  This role also works with academic leadership to support research and innovation within the program.

Guided by a population health approach, regional program leadership designs and evaluates services to meet the diverse needs of the VCH/PHC population across life stages, securing a high-quality, safe, and integrated continuum of care. This work aligns with the vision, mission, values, and goals of other partners delivering care, as well as VCH and PHC Strategic Plans, Ministry of Health (MoH) mandates, PHSA directives, and best practice quality standards.

With direction from the Executive Sponsor and in partnership with the Regional Program Executive Director and Executive Sponsor for the Regional Program, this role is accountable for the following:

Ensure Equitable and Timely Access to Culturally Safe Care Across VCH and PHC

• Identify, prioritize, and implement opportunities to improve efficiency, coordination, access and integration of services along the continuum of care across the region.
• Engage communities, populations, patients/clients/residents, and the public to reflect their needs in the development of Regional Program plans, particularly where significant change is anticipated.
• Create an overview of the services provided by the regional program, summarizing key patient/client/resident services, physical infrastructure, and provider resources for all sites.
• Build and enhance culturally safe and trauma-informed care across the continuum of care in close collaboration with the Indigenous Health teams and other key partners such as FNHA.

Ensure Consistent, Low-Carbon, and High-Quality Standards of Care

• Co-lead key strategic projects and initiatives including:
• Inter-regional capacity management in partnership with -the Ministry of Health.
• Leading cross-regional quality improvement initiatives.
• Facilitating regional safety event reviews.
• Facilitating equity through team-based models of care, outreach, and virtual care across the region, including rural and remote communities.
• Consistently identify opportunities to improve health outcomes and quality standards, matching services against needs.
• Work closely with Academic Leadership to facilitate discussions on developing innovative strategies for teaching, learning, and research opportunities.
• Link with the BC Centre on Substance Use in order to advance the inclusion of evidence-based treatments and disseminate clinical best practices. 

Coordinate and Align Local, Regional, and Provincial Strategies and Policies

• Collaborate strategically with Regional Department Heads, VCH & PHC, relevant site medical leaders, Senior Medical Directors, and others to ensure their perspectives are represented within the Regional Program Committee. As applicable, conduct onsite visits across Communities of Care.
• Co-lead regional strategic planning for the Regional Program within the context of the MoH, VCH, and PHC strategic plans, ensuring recognition and alignment with these and the CoC strategies, including all clinical and academic components.
• Influence and persuade partners to align efforts and achieve regional goals through communication and engagement.
• Oversee strategic investments in consultation with the Executive Sponsor.
• Establish regional program processes and outcome targets, developing key indicators for monitoring and reporting to support meeting strategic goals and objectives, while providing status updates to the CoCs and senior leadership.
• Direct and monitor the activities of working groups and subcommittees.
• Coordinate and co-chair the Regional Program Committee meetings to discuss relevant regional issues and ensure communication among the parties participating in the delivery of services within the Regional Program.

Provide a Single Point of Contact for Each Service Within the Health Authority

• Represent VCH interests to inter-regional, provincial, and national interest groups.
• Act as a spokesperson for VCH as required and participate in relevant committees and boards.
• In collaboration with the Executive Sponsor, respond to requests from the Ministry of Health.
• Perform all other related responsibilities as required.

Note:  This role works closely with other Medical and Operational Leaders, often working through influence, relationship building, and consensus to align staff and resources outside of their direct supervision in delivering high quality programming that support CoC priorities(capabilities) and a regional strategy.  We will continue to review, learn and develop these accountabilities over the life of the contract.

Qualifications and Experience:

• A Medical Degree and certification or licensure with the appropriate regulatory colleges as required for medical staff appointment, with recognized clinical expertise in the field of the regional program.
• As a requirement of the role, the candidate must be a practicing member of medical staff with clinical responsibility and expertise in the area of focus.
• A minimum of 5 years recent medical leadership experience in leadership roles in a health authority or comparable setting, preferably in an academic health science center.
• Advanced degree in medical education, healthcare administration or a related field is favored.
• A track record of leading development of multi-partner, system level projects and initiatives highly desirable.
• Eligibility for a faculty appointment with the University of British Columbia, Faculty of Medicine, or SFU medical school is required.

Interested in applying? Feel free to reach out to one of the members of our team, Olivia Todd, Talent Acquisition Advisor: medstaffcareers@vch.ca or click “Apply Now.”

Please note that a resume and cover letter are required to apply for this position.

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.

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.

• 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 vital 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 Canada's Top 100 Employers in 2024.