Regional Director, Public Health Surveillance Unit at Vancouver Coastal Health in Vancouver, BC

JOB SUMMARY:

The Regional Director is accountable to the Vice President (Public Health) and Chief Medical Health Officer for all matters relating to the operations of the Public Health Surveillance Unit (PHSU) with direct reporting to the Executive Director, Population Health. The PHSU is a source of health intelligence knowledge and capacity, to support the needs of regional, HSDA and LHA public health practitioners.

The Regional Director oversees the development, implementation and evaluation of the PHSU’s core functions of health assessment, disease surveillance, epidemiological investigations and knowledge transfer. As a member of the Office of the Chief Medical Health Officer’s senior leadership team, the Regional Director provides expertise, guidance and decision-making in relation to these functions.

In collaboration and consultation with Medical Health Officers and other program Directors, the Regional Director works to establish best practice for monitoring disease trends and health indicators for the purpose of implementing effective prevention strategies for Vancouver Coastal Health communities.

In consultation with Medical Health Officers, the Regional Director also provides epidemiological guidance for public health investigations. For communicable disease outbreaks the PHSU provides a central co-ordination role, with the Regional Director being an integral part of the regional outbreak management team.

Key internal partnerships are with VCH Medical Health Officers, Public Health Nurses, Environmental Health Officers, Infection Control Practitioners, Population Health, Emergency Management, Health Planners, Population Continuums, Decision Support Services and others involved with public health delivery. Key external partnerships include colleagues involved with public health matters at other health authorities; municipal and NGO organizations; provincial, federal and international agencies; as well as academic institutions.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• PhD in Epidemiology or related discipline.
• Preference will be given to candidates with at least five years of recent professional experience in applied public health practice in the areas of health assessment, disease surveillance, outbreak investigations and knowledge transfer activities within a large community-based healthcare organization.
• Additional preference will be given to candidates eligible for a faculty appointment with UBC or SFU to support local training, research and public health capacity development.

ROLE SPECIFIC EXPERTISE:

• Advanced knowledge of a range of statistical and analytical epidemiological methods
• Proven experience in the analysis, interpretation and application of a variety of health data
• Maintains current knowledge of new developments, trends and research in public health surveillance and recommends best practices accordingly.
• Identifies new disease control issues and initiates projects to evaluate and control diseases of public health interest.
• Applies superior communication skills to collaborate and influence internal and external stakeholders, providing advice, guidance and education and ensuring compliance with standards, criteria and regulations.
• Demonstrates effective leadership skills and inspires a shared vision for the strategic development of health assessment and disease surveillance as a core public health function
• Fosters collaborative and effective working relationships that promote cooperative goal achievement and contribute to an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect.
• Facilitates and negotiates for consensus and effective resolution of public health issues.
• A high level of tact and diplomacy is required and an ability to understand other cultures to enable effective working across organisational boundaries and influencing without authority
• Familiar with performance monitoring and reporting for core public health functions
• Uses a variety of software applications at an advanced level to develop databases, conduct analyses, prepare presentations and reports.
• Develop and implement an effective workforce plan in context of operational demands and environmental constraints.
• Provides knowledgeable input into the planning and development of the budget and monitors expenditures and makes recommendations for corrective remedial action as required.
• Ability to secure external funds for specific projects and collaborative work.