Role Summary

In accordance with the Purpose, Vision, Values, Coast Salish Teachings and strategic directions of PHSA, safety, including patient, employee and Indigenous Cultural Safety, are priorities and responsibilities shared by everyone at PHSA. As such, the requirement to continuously improve quality and safety is inherent in all aspects of this position.

The Executive Director, Sanya’k̓ula, is responsible for the Sanya’k̓ula program and reports directly to the Vice President (VP), People & Culture (P&C) with matrix reporting to the Vice-President, Indigenous Health and Cultural Safety (IH&CS) and is a member of the P&C senior leadership team (SLT). The Executive Director (ED) is accountable for leading Sanya’k̓ula and for providing executive-level leadership to further the overall enhancement, implementation, evaluation and monitoring of the designated Program and overall PHSA IH&CS strategic direction. The position provides strategic Indigenous thought leadership to planning by practicing ‘Speak Up culture’ and supporting work to eradicate Indigenous-specific racism and discrimination at systemic, structural and interpersonal levels to make impactful change and to enhance cultural safety for prospective and current Indigenous staff. It also provides leadership and management expertise in senior Indigenous specific anti-racism and cultural safety practice and programming, and in developing leading-edge strategies that effectively support the delivery of the highest quality services to the Indigenous peoples of British Columbia, utilizing a distinctions-based approach.

Key Accountabilities

• Informs the direction of the portfolio with a critical Indigenous-specific anti-racism approach encompassing an understanding of the harms experienced by Indigenous people in settler colonial institutions, the structure of whiteness embedded in health care, and lived experience as an Indigenous person to contextualize the impacts.
• Provides Indigenous thought leadership, strategic leadership, and expertise to advance Indigenous Health (IH) strategies across People & Culture, while maintaining a dotted-line relationship to the Vice President, Indigenous Health and Cultural Safety. In partnership with the PHSA Indigenous Health team, People & Culture senior leadership, and corporate partners, leads the planning, development, implementation, administration, management, and evaluation of Indigenous Health programs, services, strategies, goals, and objectives, ensuring alignment with PHSA's strategic plan, Ministry of Health priorities, government legislation, provincial standards, agreements, and broader organizational priorities. Develops and aligns short and long-term plans, establishes portfolio priorities, forecasts emerging issues and risks, and recommends strategies to address complex challenges.
• Promotes Indigenous-specific anti-racism, Indigenous Cultural Safety and Humility education, and systems transformation initiatives that constructively disrupt white supremacy and eliminate Indigenous-specific racism and discrimination within healthcare. Provides strategic consultation, leadership development, and coaching, navigates barriers and resistance to change, and makes decisions with broad organizational impact to support sustainable transformation and improved outcomes for Indigenous Peoples.
• Holds the portfolio ecosystem accountable for clear measurable priorities to demonstrate progress against the In Plain Sight: Addressing Indigenous-specific Racism and Discrimination in B.C. Health Care report recommendations and recommendations from other foundational documents. Advances Indigenous Health and wellness from a rights-based perspective consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as affirmed by the provincial Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and Action Plan.
• Leads staff in growing partnerships with internal and external partners and facilitates consensus to plan and deliver on specific programs and services. Develops, builds and maintains mutually beneficial working partnerships, and represents the portfolio, PHSA and their interests across various audiences and interest holder groups. Collaborates and liaises within the Program or Service, PHSA and various external groups including Elders, Knowledge Keepers, regional health organizations and health authorities, Ministry personnel, the First Nations Health Authority, provincial/national associations, and across provincial networks. Ensures shared decision making and uplifts Indigenous voices to ensure inclusion.
• Negotiates both internally and externally to the Program or Service and PHSA on a formal basis, enters into contracts and letters of understanding on behalf of PHSA, and makes decisions involving complex and diverse issues. Compiles, analyzes, summarizes, and communicates data to support program initiatives. Evaluates whether program objectives/milestones are met. Ensures organization, Board, Ministry, and other reporting requirements are maintained such as identifying and tracking metrics. Implements Wise Practices, practice-based and western evidence-based interventions.
• Collaborates with People and Culture to provide lived employee experience perspectives. Provides advocacy and support for higher-level Indigenous leadership positions and hiring of Indigenous staff. Support Indigenous staff and leadership with safety, wellness, and professional development.
• Oversees the portfolio team to successfully deliver IH programs, and to embody and support PHSA purpose, vision, values and Coast Salish Teachings. Provides leadership to staff through coaching, guiding and modeling key behaviours/strategies, encouraging dialogue and providing guidance and advice to facilitate resolutions to work issues. Builds and mentors the portfolio leadership team and assists team members to define shared and individual goals, meet target dates, and ensure alignment of team goals with client needs. Fosters team spirit, trust and mutual respect. Recruits, develops and recognizes staff; outlines expectations, determines training requirements; and evaluates individual and team performance in collaboration with appropriate internal stakeholders and leaders. Defines a vision and guides individuals and groups towards the vision; motivates teams towards attaining their maximum potential and encourages professional development.
• Develops and monitors an annual budget including operating, project/temporary funding, and budgets related to any delegated initiatives. Monitors overall portfolio budget performance, plans and adjusts operations and/or staffing to meet projections and annual targets, and approves expenditures and prepares summaries for fiscal reporting in collaboration with the portfolio’s program leaders.

Qualifications

• A level of education, training and experience equivalent to a master's degree in human resources, health administration or a related discipline supplemented by a minimum of ten (10) years of progressively more senior experience with a minimum of five (5) years at a leadership level.
• Ability to inform the direction of the portfolio with a critical Indigenous-specific anti-racism approach encompassing an understanding of the harms experienced by Indigenous people in settler colonial institutions, the structure of Whiteness embedded in health care and lived experience as an Indigenous person to contextualize the impacts. Demonstrated knowledge of Canadian colonial impacts on Indigenous Peoples in social and health contexts, supported by significant knowledge of Indigenous ways of knowing and being.
• Understanding of various reports including Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action (2015), In Plain Sight Report (2020), BC's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (2019), Reclaiming Power and Place Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls calls for justice, and how they intersect across the health care system.
• Commitment to upholding the shared responsibility of creating lasting and meaningful reconciliation in Canada as per TRC (2015) and BC's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (2019).
• Demonstrated strong, ethical, and authentic leadership, with a people-centered leadership practice.
• Proven ability to create and execute strategic People and Culture plans, and influence change and decision-making at senior levels of an organization.
• Seasoned senior leadership skills focused on coaching and inspiring a diverse team through change while maintaining unity, motivation, commitment and effectiveness.
• Demonstrated ability to build positive and productive internal and external partnerships and respond to needs while supported by an acute awareness of the impact of actions.
• Proven experience in the development, implementation and evaluation of operational and strategic plans including experience preparing and managing budgets.
• Ability to manage risk effectively and efficiently in a complex operating environment with numerous partners, high work volumes and rapidly changing priorities.
• Demonstrated expertise in problem solving, decision-making, negotiation skills, and critical, strategic thinking.
• Exceptional communication skills with expert ability to tactfully and confidently interact with a wide variety of internal and external partners and expertly facilitate resolution of issues.