Vice President, Operations

The Vice President, Operations is responsible for the delivery of EORLA’s operations mandate guided by EORLA’s mission, vision and values. The Vice President, Operations leads operational activities in accordance with the strategic plan, corporate directions, and policies.

Reporting to the CEO, the Vice President, Operations is responsible for providing overall leadership, direction and management for the timely and high-quality laboratory service delivery at 16 member hospitals. Working in collaboration with the senior management team, medical staff, on site lab leaders and key hospital partners, the VP is accountable for aligning the strategic goals of the organization into practices, processes and policies that result in the highest quality and delivery of hospital-based laboratory medicine services. Through the direct management of two directors overseeing all lab operations, and the corporate performance manager, the VP sets the operational tone and provides leadership and management to some 800 dedicated lab professionals throughout Eastern Ontario. In addition, the VP owns the stakeholder engagement and client relationship management with contract executives at member hospitals to ensure the needs of the region’s patients are met.

Key responsibilities include:

• Ensuring organizational accountability and successful delivery on quality and service level commitments to all member hospitals.
• Directing and providing leadership in management and strategic planning for all laboratory operations within EORLA.
• Driving collaboration and innovation in establishing new approaches in the delivery of high quality, cost-effective and patient-focused regional laboratory diagnostic services.
• Identifying and implementing strategies to maximize the efficient and effective use of EORLA’s human, financial and technological resources in the provision of the highest quality laboratory services for patients across the region.
• Establishing a safe, healthy and productive work environment in partnership with a multidisciplinary team of laboratory technologists, technicians, scientists and physicians.
• Fostering an engaged and productive workforce in which inclusion and collaboration is valued and excellence in patient care and professional development is promoted and achieved.
• Work in close collaboration with the EORLA Medical team: Chief Medical Officer, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Quality Lead and Regional Clinical Discipline Leads to establish an effective laboratory operation, guided by the EORLA strategic plan to achieve a positive work environment, cost effective service delivery and quality services for the Hospital.
• Fostering regional collaboration and innovation in service delivery, education and research, focused on providing excellence in patient care through the delivery of over 15 million laboratory tests annually.
• Leading and inspiring a diverse team of laboratory professionals in the achievement of organizational goals.
• Cultivating strategic relationships and partnerships with a broad range of external stakeholders, including health system partners, government, regulatory bodies, academic partners, community, and others to facilitate health care system change and/or to address organizational challenges.
• Ensuring structures and systems are in place to ensure compliance with the regulatory requirements of The Corporations Act of Ontario, The Public Hospitals Act, The Laboratory Licensing Act, and others.
• Ensuring structures and systems are in place to meet the requirements of the Excellent Care for All Act, French Language Services Act and the Broader Public Service Accountability Act.
• Ensuring structures and systems are in place to satisfy Accreditation Canada and Accreditation Canada Diagnostics Quality Management System requirements for each laboratory license.

About EORLA:

The Eastern Ontario Regional Laboratory Association (EORLA) is a member-based, not-for-profit organization providing the laboratory services for the acute care hospitals of the Champlain Region. EORLA oversees the operations of 18 licensed hospital-based clinical laboratories that serve the clinical programs of the 16 member hospitals. EORLA is governed by a Board of Directors made up of independent and member representatives.

With a unique and innovative laboratory model, EORLA represents the largest voluntary laboratory integration in Ontario. Commencing operations in April 2012, the organization has been pursuing a mandate to deliver patient-focused, consistent, high-quality, and cost-effective, hospital-based laboratory services to meet the needs of the region’s patients.

Through our mission of, “one team, achieving trusted results, through responsible, patient-focused laboratory medicine, services and academics”, EORLA laboratories provide diagnostic tests for hospital inpatients and registered outpatients. Comprehensive testing is provided by a team of 800 technical employees and 80 medical staff, providing services in the disciplines of Diagnostic and Molecular Pathology (including Molecular Oncology), Biochemistry, Hematopathology (including Transfusion Medicine, Tissue Typing and Hematology) and Microbiology.

With a solid foundation in place, our organization is looking for a leader who will work collaboratively with all stakeholders to take EORLA to the next level of clinical, operational, academic and service excellence.

The EORLA team delivers over 15 million diagnostic tests in their laboratories annually – using the latest technology, offering exemplary service and turnaround times, and providing ongoing innovation and continuous improvement initiatives.

Our laboratories are accredited by Accreditation Canada Diagnostics (ACD) and licensed through the Ministry of Health & Long-Term Care.

Vision – The leading provider of laboratory medicine, contributing to excellence in patient care.
Mission – Providing the best patient outcomes through modern laboratory medicine, innovation and academics.
Core Values – I-CARE: Innovation, Compassion, Accountability, Respect, Excellence.

What we offer:

• Competitive salary
• Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP)
• Health/Dental/Vision Plans
• Travel Assistance
• Life and AD&D Insurance
• Short and Long Term Disability
• Employee & Family Assistance Plan
• Relocation Assistance

Rotation/Shifts

Days, 8 hour shifts. For information purposes only – EORLA reserves the right to change.

Basic Requirements

*Applications are encouraged immediately and should be submitted to the attention of Ligi Varghese, EORLA Recruitment Specialist, via email to eorla.recruitment@eorla.ca. We thank all those who express an interest, however only those chosen for further consideration will be contacted.*

The ideal candidate will be an established, dynamic and solutions focused leader of service delivery teams and be intimately familiar with the complexities of hospital/healthcare settings and needs and will be supportive of the vision, goals, mission and values of EORLA and its member hospitals.

They will be an excellent communicator that invests deeply in establishing relationships with stakeholders that are rooted in trust and transparency and will be someone that genuinely embraces the client, service provider relationship with a commitment to customer services demonstrated through an engaging, visible, and present approach to both stakeholder and team management across all 18 sites. The VP, Operations will bring significant political and business acumen to the role, working closely with external and internal stakeholders to ensure the highest quality and efficiency of the services provided. The incumbent will bring substantial experience with large scale change and project management and LEAN process evolution, they will be innovative and look to continually streamline processes and look to improve service delivery to the member hospitals. The incumbent will bring a coaching and developmental, team-focused leadership style and truly embrace the dyad model, working with medical leadership. The right candidate understands that the engagement of people through thoughtful leadership is vital to success.

Education Requirements

• Master’s degree in health sciences, business administration or equivalent experience.

Required Experience and Competencies

• 10+ years of progressive operational management experience.
• Extraordinary communication skills alongside well-grounded diplomacy and political astuteness.
• A significant depth and breadth of senior leadership within the context of a complex, integrated health care setting is required along with a passion for patient safety and quality of care. Lab experience is a strong value add.
• Strong evidence of successful management and accountability for data-driven operational and financial planning.
• Knowledge of Board governance in the health care setting and demonstrated ability to contribute to Board relations.
• Proven track record leading large scale change guided by lean principles and thinking.
• Proficiency in both English and French is highly desirable.
• A sharp business acumen and an entrepreneurial mindset along with openness to and comfort with a high degree of change.
• A leadership style that is focused on fostering collaboration, transparency, professional development and accountability, and an inter-professional approach to care.
• The ability to establish good working relationships with physicians and scientists, hospital partners, academic partners and other program or service providers by demonstrating exemplary partnership, consensus-building, conflict resolution and negotiation skills.

As a pre-condition of employment, all new EORLA employees will be required to obtain and provide a satisfactory Criminal Records Check dated within six (6) months from the date of issue.

*Mandatory Vaccination Policy*

Per EORLA’s COVID-19 Vaccination Policy, if you are successful in the selection process, an offer of employment is conditional upon presentation of government issued documentation confirming that you have been fully vaccinated with a vaccine that has been approved in Canada. Any individual who cannot be vaccinated on medical grounds or other grounds recognized by the Human Rights Code can request an accommodation.

Please note that with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s (OHRC) position has been that a singular belief or personal preference against vaccinations and/or masks is not protected on the ground of creed under the Code.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The Eastern Ontario Regional Laboratory Association (EORLA) is an equal opportunity employer. Upon request, accommodations due to a disability are available throughout the selection process.

Application Information

Please submit your online application by 11:59 p.m. EST the day the job posting closes. It is mandatory that you provide a thoroughly completed application with all the necessary information to help us determine whether you meet the qualifications as outlined on the job posting. Failure to do so will result in your being screened out of the competition. We thank all those who apply but only those selected for further consideration will be contacted. Thank you for your cooperation and assistance.