Senior Director, Indigenous Health
BC Emergency Health Services
BC (Remote) – Hybrid Optional
Regular, Full Time

 

BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) is hiring for two newly created positions, Senior Director, Indigenous Health.

 

Pursuant to section 42 of the British Columbia Human Rights Code, preference will be given to applicants of Indigenous Ancestry. We invite applicants to self-identify within their cover letter and/or resume.

 

Role Summary

 

In accordance with the Purpose, Vision, Values, Coast Salish Teachings and strategic directions of PHSA, eliminating Indigenous-specific racism and discrimination, diversity, equity, inclusion and safety, including both patient and employee safety, are priorities and a responsibility shared by everyone at PHSA. As such, the requirement to continuously improve quality and safety, including Indigenous Cultural Safety, is inherent in all aspects of this position.

 

Reporting to the Executive Director, Indigenous Health, BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS), the Senior Director, Indigenous Health provides leadership and strategic direction to improve access and quality of the health services for Indigenous peoples in B.C., thereby improving health status, by advancing the overall Indigenous Health Strategy for the BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) and its Programs and Services. Supporting a visionary, innovative, and creative approach to Indigenous Health and cultural safety, the Senior Director ensures and maintains productive and respectful long-term relationships with Indigenous partners including organizations, businesses, and communities and their leadership. This includes working towards eradicating Indigenous Specific Racism within BCEHS by supporting other senior leaders with upholding the Indigenous cultural safety strategy across the organization. In addition, the Senior Director will advise executive leadership, management and staff on matters of Indigenous-specific racism, Indigenous cultural safety & Humility, protocol and cultural sensitivities with respect to interacting with various Indigenous organizations, businesses and communities. This position drives the development, implementation, and evaluation of appropriate policies and procedures for the portfolio; identifies and assesses needs, customizes implementation of cultural safety initiatives and programs; and builds tools and resources to create a culturally safe and equitable environment for Indigenous clients and BCEHS staff.

 

The Senior Director oversees Indigenous Health strategic initiatives at BCEHS and supports effective partnership with program leaders within BCEHS in order to build organizational relationships and knowledge-sharing capacity about Indigenous health. The Senior Director provides strategic consultation and guidance within BCEHS, and they support key partnerships both internally and externally which provide critical linkages with leaders within, across and beyond BCEHS, Provincial Health Services Agency (PHSA), regional health authorities, First Nations Health Authority (FNHA), and external relevant organizations from provincial, national, and global levels. The Senior Director is accountable for the development and implementation of project goals and works collaboratively with provincial Indigenous leaders and teams in the attainment of these goals.

 

The Senior Director provides strategic leadership to a core Indigenous Health team who provide frameworks to assess individual, team, program and organizational capacity and measures of the current state of cultural safety. In addition, they provides guidance on best practices and knowledge integration, web resources and guidelines, and make recommendations for policy development. The Senior Director identifies and provides sound decision making, advice on best and wise practices, action plans, implementation strategies, and evaluation supports including metrics for the organization that support the Programs and Services to improve Indigenous-specific anti-racism and cultural safety for patients, families and staff. The Senior Director identifies gaps and opportunities for improvement activities and development projects, including the mobilization of internal and external funding sources to support these initiatives.

 

The Senior Director works horizontally and vertically within the organization and is responsible for cultivating partnerships within PHSA’s middle leadership and Indigenous health teams to advance anti-racist and culturally safe care. They are responsible to provide leadership, set direction and ensure effective service delivery for Indigenous people. The Senior Director develops and implements a spectrum of engagement opportunities including consultation, collaboration, and empowerment with BCEHS Program and Service leaders to advance the transformation of organization culture in order to ensure safe and equitable service delivery for Indigenous patients/families and staff. The Senior Director provides mentorship to selected Indigenous leaders at within BCEHS Programs.

 

What you’ll do

• Informs the direction of BCEHS 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 expert advice and consultation to Executive leadership with respect to identifying ongoing and emerging health needs and systemic health service barriers that the Indigenous people experience, and develops strategies to address these issues.
• Provides strategic leadership and accountability for the planning, alignment, actions, and evaluation of services within the portfolio to advance Indigenous cultural safety of patients/families and staff. Ensures consistency with PHSA’s overall strategic plan, Truth and Reconciliation recommendations, BCEHS Indigenous Health strategy, the First Nations Health Plan, the Tri-partite Health plan, and provincial mandates regarding cultural safety and humility training.
• Provides an Indigenous lens to BCEHS strategic planning processes to ensure priority setting and program/policy design and scope are fully inclusive of and culturally safe for Indigenous peoples. Implements effective processes to assess project risks, identify risk mitigation strategies, and monitor risk throughout the project lifecycle. Compiles, analyzes, summarizes, and communicates data to support program initiatives. Evaluates whether program objectives/milestones are met.
• Leads portfolio service development and planning activities through working groups and projects, and monitors the progress and outcomes achieved. Creates, implements, and evaluates objectives, policies and procedures, and standards of cultural safety practice related to patient care in partnership with key stakeholders across BCEHS.
• Promotes Indigenous-specific anti-racism and Indigenous Cultural Safety and Humility education and training. Works towards organizational change to constructively disrupt white supremacy, to eradicate Indigenous-specific racism and discrimination in BCEHS. Navigates barriers and resistance to change.
• Establishes strong working relationships and partners internally with BCEHS-wide Programs and Services to develop and operationalize strategies and plans in order to improve local and organizational systems and service delivery for Indigenous clients. Takes a leadership role in developing, implementing, and evaluating the strategies such as policy, quality and human resources that support cultural safety by promoting evidence-based best practice.
• Provides leadership and representation for BCEHS Indigenous Health and cultural safety issues, strategies and needs at health planning and policy development boards/committees for BCEHS, PHSA, the Ministry of Health and other bodies, as required. Collaborates with the PHSA Indigenous and Executive leadership, First Nations Health Authority and the Indigenous Health leaders at each Health Authority to improve access to health programs serving Indigenous populations throughout British Columbia.
• Oversees and provides leadership to develop a master transformational plan and timetable to advance the organization’s transformational goal of creating culturally safe and equitable, person and family-centric services for Indigenous clients and staff. Utilizes an organizational Indigenous Cultural Safety framework that includes assessment, best and wise practices, measurement, implementation and evaluation. Establishes partnerships and mechanisms to support Program and Service accountabilities for the plan.
• Assesses the impact of transformational initiatives using a systems approach and manages the impacts and interdependencies of cross-divisional and cross-Program and Service projects.
• Oversees the development of the operating budget as required, as well as cost pressure and business case submissions. Responsibilities include identification of service and budget priorities, allocation of resources, program development, planning of goals and objectives, coordination of service delivery systems, and establishing and monitoring of targets and indicators.
• Oversees all aspects of human resource management within the portfolio and looks for opportunities to develop individuals with lived experience as an Indigenous person. Ensures Indigenous staff receives culturally safe support.
• Represents PHSA at national, provincial, and inter-authority levels in various capacities including participating on committees, providing secretarial support or policy/guideline development and implementation advice. Influences, informs, and contributes to policy for upstream issues affecting Indigenous people through partnerships, facilitating dialogue and consensus, maintaining awareness of emerging issues and ensuring that processes and mechanisms are in place to get the deliverables and outcomes that PHSA, Ministry of Health and others have requested.

What you bring

 

Qualifications

 

A level of education, training, and experience equivalent to ten (10) years of recent related progressive leadership experience, including five to seven (5-7) years of organizational change management experience and at least two (2) years in a managerial/leadership role; and if applicable, current registration / membership with a professional college.

 

Skills & Knowledge

 

Working knowledge of change and project management principles coupled with a strong understanding of the healthcare system and the clinical program that is being supported. Knowledge of other health care disciplines and their role in health care. Ability to motivate and influence leaders, physicians and staff at all levels to embrace and take action on transformation initiatives. Diplomatic negotiation and interpersonal skills and ability to influence without formal authority. Ability to provide leadership to a variety of project teams in an environment in which issues are constantly surfacing and priorities fluctuate routinely as new initiatives enter portfolio. Ability to work independently and as a member of multi-disciplinary teams. Ability to plan, organize and prioritize work.

 

Demonstrated analytical and creative problem-solving skills. Demonstrated oral, written and presentation skills. Proven ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with others both internal and external to the organization. Demonstrated ability to facilitate and negotiate. Demonstrated ability to respond to the needs of stakeholders supported by an acute awareness of the impact of action. Demonstrated leadership skills with proven ability to bring about change in a proactive manner. Demonstrated ability to work effectively under pressure with changing priorities and deadlines. Proficiency in the use of a personal computer (PC) and applicable software applications including Microsoft project, excel, power point, access and word software

 

Indigenous Cultural Safety and Diversity

• Knowledge of Canadian colonial impacts on Indigenous people in social and health contexts, supported by significant knowledge of Canadian and Indigenous ideologies, including knowledge, and understanding of Indigenous cultural safety, cultural humility, Indigenous-specific racism and anti-racism.
• Awareness of and commitment to learning and understanding the Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action (2015), In Plain Site Report (2020), BC's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (2019), and Reclaiming Power and Place Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls calls for justice, and how they intersect across the health care system.
• Supports team members on their learning journey, ensuring education strategy for team/department to implement Indigenous Cultural Safety at a practical level.
• Works collaboratively with appropriate Indigenous teams/departments to ensure ICS lens applied holistically.
• 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).
• Knowledge of social, economic, political and historical realities impacting indigenous communities and familiarity with Indigenous Cultural Safety and anti-racism and accompanying reports (BC DRIPA, TRC, etc.)

While BCEHS would consider a foundation in Indigenous cultural safety to be a strong asset for consideration, our commitment to enhancing Indigenous cultural safety includes providing all employees with access to resources and training programs in partnership with San'yas Core Health Indigenous Cultural Safety Training and Anti-Indigenous Racism Response Training. 

 

Core Competencies

• Demonstrates Character: Models personal and organizational values, and communicates in an honest and transparent manner.
• Assesses & Evaluates: Measures and evaluates outcomes. Holds self and others accountable for results, and course corrects as appropriate.
• Communicates Effectively: Adjusts style based on audiences and situations, using respectful and open communication.
• Demonstrates Critical Thinking: Using a process-focused approach, identifies root causes rather than focusing on the symptoms.
• Self-Awareness: Understands the impact your attributes and emotions have on performance of self, others, and organization
• Builds Teams: Fosters environment of cooperation, support and knowledge sharing

What we do

 

BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) provides provincial emergency medical care and patient transfer services, as a part of the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA). BCEHS brings compassionate, equitable, and professional emergency care, interfacility transfers, and community health-care services to people in communities across British Columbia. 

 

BCEHS is committed to employment equity, encouraging all qualified individuals to apply. We recognize that our ability to provide the best care for our diverse patient populations relies on a rich diversity of skills, knowledge, background and experience, and value a safe, inclusive and welcoming environment.

 

Reconciliation is an ongoing process and a shared responsibility for all of us. The BC Governments’ unanimous passage of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act was a significant step forward in this journey—one that all health authorities are expected to support as we work in cooperation with Indigenous Peoples to establish a clear and sustainable path to lasting reconciliation. True reconciliation will take time and ongoing commitment to work with Indigenous Peoples as they move toward self-determination. Guiding these efforts Crown agencies must remain focused on creating opportunities that implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Mandate.

 

What we bring

 

Every PHSA employee enables the best possible patient care for our patients and their families. Whether you are providing direct care, conducting research, or making it possible for others to do their work, you impact the lives of British Columbians today and in the future. That’s why we’re focused on your care too – offering health, wellness and development programs to support you – at work and at home.

• Join one of BC’s largest employers with province-wide programs, services and operations – offering vast opportunities for growth, development, and recognition programs that honour the commitment and contribution of all employees.
• Access to professional development opportunities through our in-house training programs, including +2,000 courses, such as our San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training course, or Core Linx for Leadership roles.
• Enjoy a comprehensive benefits package, including municipal pension plan, and psychological health & safety programs and holistic wellness resources.
• Annual statutory holidays (13) with generous vacation entitlement and accruement.
• PHSA is a remote work friendly employer, welcoming flexible work options to support our people (eligibility may vary, depending on position).
• Access to WorkPerks, a premium discount program offering a wide range of local and national discounts on electronics, entertainment, dining, travel, wellness, apparel, and more.

Job Type: Regular, Full-Time, Permanent, Non-Contract
Salary Range: $124,561 - $179,056
The starting salary for this position would be determined with consideration of the successful candidate’s relevant education and experience and would be in alignment with the provincial compensation reference plan.
Location: BC (Remote) – Hybrid Optional 
Closing date: May 16, 2024
Requisition # 164453/164456

 

As per the current Public Health Order, full vaccination against COVID-19 is a condition of employment with PHSA as of October 26, 2021.