Co-Senior Medical Director, Vancouver Community

Vancouver Coastal Health•Vancouver, BC

83d•Hybrid

About The Position

Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) is seeking a Senior Medical Director (SMD) to provide senior medical leadership for the Vancouver Community of Care (CoC). This role operates under a co-Senior Medical Director (co-SMD) model, with two individuals jointly sharing accountabilities at 0.7 FTE each. The SMD partners with the VP of Operations, Vancouver Community, to set strategic direction, ensure operational excellence, and advance safe, high-quality, patient-centered care. The role provides overall medical leadership for quality and patient safety, medical practice, and medical workforce planning, acting as a bridge between medical staff and executive leadership. The co-SMDs share joint accountability with the VCH President & CEO and Board of Directors for clinical services and operations in Vancouver Community. The role involves collaboration with various VCH leaders to ensure alignment of clinical standards, service delivery priorities, and system transformation initiatives. The SMD guides the Medical Affairs department and fosters a productive, respectful culture, aligning with VCH’s commitments to Indigenous Cultural Safety, Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and Planetary Health.

Requirements

A Doctor of Medicine Degree or Nurse Practitioner Degree and certification or licensure in good standing with the appropriate regulatory College.
Minimum ten years’ recent experience in progressive senior medical leadership roles.
For a holder of a Doctor of Medicine Degree, eligibility for a faculty appointment with the University of British Columbia, Faculty of Medicine; for holder of a Nurse Practitioner Degree, eligibility for a faculty appointment with a School of Nursing at a post-secondary institution in British Columbia.
Maintenance of professional memberships and associations.

Nice To Haves

Master’s Degree in Health Administration, Business Administration, or Public Health considered an asset.
Formal training or experience in quality improvement, patient safety, or change leadership considered an asset.

Responsibilities

Leads and champions a culture of safety, quality, respectful professional practice, and continuous improvement across Vancouver Community.
Provides oversight into the investigation, review, and learning related to safety events, critical incidents, and quality concerns, ensuring timely escalation and sustainable improvement actions.
Develops effective processes to implement and evaluate the quality and safety goals of the organization in collaboration with the VP Medicine and Academic Affairs, dyad partnership, and executive leadership.
Partners with regional and local Quality & Safety leadership to implement evidence-informed Accreditation standards, quality improvement priorities, and to support VCH Board-level assurance on quality of care.
Within a co-SMD structure, both SMDs jointly partner with the VP Operations, Vancouver Community, and are collectively accountable for operational and clinical leadership across the CoC.
Leads service planning and operational decision-making with the VP Operations, Vancouver Community, balancing clinical quality, access, patient flow, resource stewardship, and workforce sustainability.
Uses performance data and clinical insights to identify risks, address operational bottlenecks, and strengthen integrated care pathways across the local continuum.
Ensures delivery of effective medical services for the CoC in accordance with the established VCH Service Delivery Plan and in compliance with budget, patient volumes, and quality targets.
Manages issues related to professional conduct and oversees investigation/resolution of complaints, concerns, and disruptive behaviours regarding medical care in collaboration with relevant regional and local medical leaders and in accordance with the VCH Bylaws, Rules, and Policies.
Provides oversight and decision-making authority for escalated behavioural or professional conduct issues involving credentialed medical providers, where matters require intervention beyond the CMP’s direct supervising medical leader.
Ensures effective medical governance processes are in place to support the assessment, monitoring, and ongoing competence of medical staff and credentialed medical providers.
Leads all medical activities within the CoC in accordance with the Standards and Codes of Ethics of the organization and the relevant regulatory colleges, such as the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia and the BC College of Nurses and Midwives.
Provides senior medical leadership for credentialing, privileging, appointment, reappointment, and contracting of medical staff, credentialed medical providers, and medical leaders within Vancouver Community.
Ensures consistent, fair, and timely credentialing, privileging, and reappointment processes for medical staff in accordance with VCH Rules, Bylaws, and Policies and legislative requirements.
Partners with the Office of the VP Medicine and Academic Affairs to support well‑governed contract lifecycle management, including term oversight, renewal decision‑making, and performance‑informed recommendations.
Leads medical workforce planning for Vancouver Community in alignment with the VCH Health Service Delivery Plan, including recruitment, retention, succession planning, and leadership development.
Collaborates with Regional and Site Department Heads to optimize and expedite recruitment of medical staff and credentialed medical providers.
Participates in the development of the VCH Health Human Resources plan in collaboration with the VP Medicine and Academic Affairs and the Health Authority Medical Advisory Committee (HAMAC).
Contributes to health authority‑wide strategy and system transformation, ensuring local implementation aligns with enterprise clinical standards and integrated models of care.
Supports innovation and creative system reimagining at a local and regional level.
Builds effective relationships with professional associations, external partners, academic institutions, and other health organizations to influence medical practice and support quality care and workforce sustainability.
Provides senior medical leadership to support the integration of learners (e.g., medical students, residents, etc.) in Vancouver Community, promoting safe and effective teaching environments through mentorship and positive learning opportunities.
Leads engagement with medical staff, medical leaders, and local operational leaders to build trust and alignment, maintain a visible leadership presence, and foster open communication.
Serves as a key contributing member of the Vancouver Community Senior Leadership Team, the Vancouver Medical Advisory Committee, the HAMAC, and the Executive Medical and Academic Leadership Team (EMALT).
Provides medical leadership input into planning, prioritization, and stewardship of financial resources to meet quality, service, and workforce objectives within the Vancouver Community.
Co-develops financial and workforce plans with the Office of the VP Medicine and Academic Affairs, setting priorities, allocating funding, and approving variances in response to operational demands.
Works closely with VCH Finance to manage assigned budget and administer financial resources.
Advances equity‑oriented and culturally safe care by embedding inclusive practices into planning, quality improvement, and medical workforce leadership.
Guides, supports and enables local medical leadership to ensure that complaints, quality concerns, and negative culture is addressed and resolved in constructive ways with sustainable outcomes.