Job Description:JOB SUMMARY:The Clinical Project & Quality Improvement Lead is responsible for managing a variety of clinical projects, quality improvement initiatives, and safety programs across departments. Acting as a critical thinker who makes sound decisions independently, this role provides structured leadership and oversight to optimize front-line clinical operations, improve workflow processes, ensure regulatory compliance, and elevate patient care and safety.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:- Project Leadership & Implementation: Acts as a lead for clinical project and quality initiative teams, driving the design, development, execution, and implementation phases of multiple sustainable outcome improvement projects simultaneously.
- Team Facilitation & Coaching: Establishes team membership, motivates members, facilitates meetings, and provides hands-on coaching, mentoring, and direction to diverse project teams and unit councils.
- Strategic Planning & Mapping: Develops comprehensive project plans that identify key issues, approaches, resource requirements, key driver diagrams, and performance metrics using process/system mapping and reliability science strategies.
- Workflow & Process Optimization: Collaborates across departments with leadership and initiative-focused groups to identify opportunities to improve workflow processes, deliver successful results, and build a strong culture of quality and safety.
- Data-Driven Evaluation: Reviews, analyzes, and trends performance data against internal and external benchmarks; creates run charts, PDSA testing documentation, and timely progress reports to drive scorecard improvements.
- Regulatory Compliance: Identifies improvement priorities based on evidence-based practice while ensuring strict compliance with internal standards and external regulatory/accrediting agencies (e.g., The Joint Commission, OSHA, Department of Health, and Federal/State codes).
- Risk & Event Management: Analyzes and investigates clinical event reports, brings concerns to local safety huddles, encourages transparent reporting, and ensures appropriate referral, escalation, and follow-up (including RCA-2 processes as needed).
- Stakeholder Liaison & Communication: Acts as the primary point of contact, liaison, and problem solver for project teams; provides timely, actionable feedback and reports to clinical, administrative, and support staff across all levels of the organization.
- Workforce & Knowledge Dissemination: Assesses project impacts on the workforce, collaborates on training programs for various audiences, and advances clinical science by sharing project outcomes, lessons learned, and best practices internally and at professional forums.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES:- Strong organizational, analytical, and critical thinking skills are essential.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills with the ability to present complex data and project outcomes to various levels within the organization.
- Proficiency in the use of computer applications and software including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
- Expert knowledge of clinical operations, patient safety programs, ahd high-reliability science.
EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:- Bachelor's degree in Nursing, Healthcare, or Health Science required (Bachelor of Science in Nursing strongly preferred).
- Minimum of 5 years of experience in healthcare required, with at least 2 years of dedicated project planning or performance improvement experience.
- Experience as a clinician in an outpatient ambulatory setting strongly preferred.
- Experience in statistics or clinical research is a plus.
LICENSES & CERTIFICATIONS:- CPPS (Certified Professional in Patient Safety), PMP (Project Management Professional), Oncology Nursing, or equivalent professional certification required at the time of hire or within 1-2 years of hire.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:- Must be willing and able to travel between Astera/Solara regional sites or facilities as required by project scope.
