Chief Medical Officer of Health

ABOUT THE MINISTRY OF PRIMARY AND PREVENTATIVE HEALTH SERVICES

Within Canada, Alberta has always been a leader in health care. Recognizing the growing needs of Albertans, the health care system is currently undergoing a transformation to be able to provide a health system that works for Albertans and prioritizes their needs. The system is being unified into four dedicated provincial health agencies that oversee primary care, acute care, assisted living, and mental health and addictions. Public health is critically important to the overall health care system. Refocusing the health system provides a unique opportunity to amplify the importance of public health in communities across Alberta. The Ministry of Primary and Preventative Health Services (formerly Alberta Health) sets the policies, standards, and provides oversight, while Primary Care Alberta, one of the new provincial agencies, will be responsible for delivering core public health services at the community level. Central to this work is the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health (OCMOH) within the Ministry of Primary and Preventative Health Services. The OCMOH provides strategic leadership, guidance, and expertise in the field of public health, and will work with the province's medical officers of health to oversee governance and accountability for public health, ensure better integration of upstream, preventative, health services, and reduce strain on the overall health care system.

ABOUT THE CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH POSITION

Reporting directly to the Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) of Public Health within the Ministry of Primary and Preventative Health Services, the Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) provides strategic leadership of the public health components of Alberta’s health care system and its many public health programs by providing expert advice to the Minister, elected representatives and senior officials. The CMOH monitors the health of Albertans and makes recommendations for activities and measures to protect and promote the health of the public and to prevent disease and injury.

The CMOH leads the development of public health-related policy, key standards as well as processes and surveillance strategies to ensure effective responses to all circumstances and emergencies. The CMOH, an expert in the field of public health, collaborates with internal and external stakeholders to develop public health-related policy and in promoting health public policy in general.

The CMOH provides strategic leadership of approximately 60 team members, organized in four planned public health portfolios: Communicable Disease Control, Health Promotion, Health Protection, and Regional Zone/Corridor Support. The CMOH ensures the development and maintenance of a high-performance culture aligned with the values of the Government of Alberta.

If you are invigorated by complex challenges, have a passion for public health and would like to apply creative and innovative thinking to public health services and their delivery, this is the position for you.

KEY LEADERSHIP ACCOUNTABILITIES

Accountability 1: Planning Strategically

• Contribute to building and advancing a public health research agenda for the province.
• In collaboration with the ADM of Public Health, develop a practical strategies and action plans clearly defining and describing the vision and mandate for public health, strategic directions, and operational priorities for all public health programs and services in Alberta.
• Provide advice and guidance to the Deputy Minister and Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services as required.
• Establish and maintain systems and processes to detect emerging health issues and assist in coordinating action, in collaboration with the provincial health agencies and other stakeholders, in times of existing or anticipated health threats.
• Coordinate surveillance, population health assessments and reports of public health program planning and delivery of public health services delivery across the province.
• Participate in the Health Care System Refocus initiative to ensure public health planning and delivery is effectively integrated and aligned.
• Working closely with executives, develop and approve organization-wide policies and procedures and ensure integration with standards of best practice.
• Provide leadership for the establishment of key performance indicators to continually evaluate the quality and effectiveness of these programs.
• Provide medical expertise, direction and advice on public health areas or approaches.

Accountability 2: Financial, Human Resource and Performance Leadership

• Serve as Clinical Department Health for Public Health physicians working within the government and provincial health agencies.
• In collaboration with the Executive Director, establish tactical and operational goals for each unit, including quality, employee engagement, and service excellence goals.
• Lead the development and management of divisional budgets and finances.
• Make presentations to legislative committees and other government bodies regarding policies, programs or budget.
• Monitor public health activities to determine if responsibilities and programs are carried out in accordance with recognized standards, best practices and in line with supporting regulations and legislation and for the benefit of all Albertans.
• Lead the development of reports on priority issues related to public health.
• Report on the operational performance of service delivery using indicators, metrics, and targets aligned with system and organizational key performance indicators and measuring the effectiveness of the services and achievement of quality and service targets.
• Establish, implement and ensure compliance with all provincial and organizational policies, standards of practice guidelines, protocols, collective agreements, accreditation, and applicable professional requirements.
• Establish effective and efficient financial management practices that ensure an accurate, current understanding of drivers of expense, budgets, revenues, and expenditures and focus on long-term financial sustainability, based on strong forecasting practices.
• Support and directly supervise four Deputy Chief Medical Officers of Health (DCMOH), and an Executive Director.
• Provide supervision and program development to Public Health and Preventive Medicine Residents and other students in the field of public health and related sciences.
• Recommend financial and human resource allocation and facilitate efficient, effective, and fiscally sustainable deployment of resources.
• Develop an organizational structure based on your vision and strategic direction as well as best practice organizational design principles and lead the implementation of restructuring initiatives.
• Gather, interpret, and disseminate information on organization-wide policies, new programs, and other pertinent information to managers and staff.
• Lead the execution of a progressive workforce/talent strategy based on well-defined position requirements and desired competencies, that ensure high-quality staff are recruited and selected, succession is continuously addressed, resources are deployed to meet all operational requirements, performance is enabled and managed and workplace safety is maintained.
• Share on-call duties with the DCMOHs in the OCMOH.

Accountability 3: Stakeholder, Partner and Public Relations.

• Establish and maintain collaborative, ongoing relationships with executives and senior leaders/partners internal and external to the CMOH.
• Strengthen CMOH’s relationships with stakeholders including provincial health agencies, accreditation bodies, diverse communities of interest, and the public.
• Work closely with technical experts and various levels of leadership across the continuum of care including departmental and other government partners, clinical experts within the provincial health agencies and front-line public health.
• Build linkages between educational institutions and other stakeholders to strengthen public health human resources and capacity within Alberta.
• Serve on federal / provincial / territorial committees as lead for province.
• Establish successful partnerships with educational and research partners, integrating research into strategic directions for the organization and respective portfolio areas and ensuring educational and research goals are met.
• Respond to media requests as required.
• Represent OCMOH in the community.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

The Chief Medical Officer of Health requires strong leadership skills and the ability to develop and maintain a high-performance environment.

The successful candidate will bring a medical degree and certification in Community Medicine/Public and Preventive Medicine with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada or equivalent training in public health, a license to practice (or eligibility for a license to practice) as a specialist in Community Medicine/ Public Health and Preventive Medicine complemented by a minimum of 10 years leadership experience related to public health.

The ideal candidate will have a comprehensive knowledge of the broad principles and practices of public health, including a deep understanding of general population health integration strategies, disease prevention and communicable disease control, healthy public policy and health impact assessment. Experience in government and knowledge of the Alberta health system are highly desirable. Knowledge of epidemiology and the ability to provide advice on health information, population health assessments and appropriate reporting methodology is considered a definite asset.

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