Deputy Director, Quality Management: AccessMatters

AccessMatters, a non-profit, public health organization located in Center City Philadelphia, envisions a future where every person has the health care and information they need to thrive. In service to that vision, AccessMatters’ mission is to protect, expand, and enhance equitable access to sexual and reproductive health care and information for all people. Our team strives to advance our mission in accordance with these guiding principles: (1) sexual health is an essential component of health and wellbeing across the life span; (2) access to quality, affordable health care – including sexual and reproductive health care – is a fundamental human right; (3) every person, family, and community deserves to be treated with dignity and respect; (4) programs and services should be evidence-based, prevention-focused, and person-centered; (5) organizational excellence is best achieved through a culture of inclusion, diversity, innovation, professionalism, and accountability; (6) clients, volunteers, staff, partners, and supporters should be treated with kindness, dignity, and respect in a trauma-informed and culturally responsible environment; and (7) everyone deserves a caring workplace environment that fosters trust, teamwork, creativity, and work-life balance where work is enjoyable and where staff are supported in their professional development and their pursuit of excellence.

Job Summary

Reporting to the Director, Quality Management (QM), the Deputy serves as the Director’s “right hand” in providing operational leadership, oversight, and management of the Quality Management team function and initiatives. The Deputy Director works closely with the Director in the effort to advance best practices at AccessMatters and across its broad network of health care providers through continuous quality control, quality management and quality improvement, while serving as a positive, professional “ambassador” for AccessMatters in all assigned duties. The Deputy Director must understand the public health resource landscape and the value of building and maintaining strong relationships with partner organizations. This position ensures that QM departmental goals and objectives are met through support for QM teambuilding and supervision, fiscal oversight, continual monitoring of program performance data, and effective communication and collaboration with other departments and agencies. The Deputy has access to highly confidential and sensitive information, including PHI, and is expected to handle and safeguard such information with great care and integrity, consistent with HIPAA and other standards. The Deputy represents AccessMatters and its programs and services in a positive and professional manner.

The Deputy Director also assists the Director in the daily operations for designated QM projects, programs, and activities, including planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting on program audits, data gathering, quality management documentation, and other quality management activities. The Deputy Director will take accountable responsibility for assisting the Director with QM infrastructure development, project management, and process improvement, including the development and implementation of policies and procedures relevant to managing the QM team and function. Additionally, this position will be instrumental to the larger Health Access & Service Delivery team by assisting with daily tasks, including but not limited to: preparation and dissemination of communications, drafting of reports, contracts management data monitoring, and training and capacity building activities.

As part of the HASD management team, the Deputy embraces and advances the mission and core values of AccessMatters, setting a positive example for staff by uniting colleagues and supervisees in support of the strategic vision adopted by the Board and Chief Executive. The Deputy helps to provide leadership, direction, and resource stewardship to the organization, while fostering a culture of accountability, professional development, high performance, and ethical behavior. The Deputy works closely with AccessMatters’ internal team members and external stakeholders, including auditors, consultants, community-based partners, government representatives, and the general community. This position will be expected to participate in all departmental and agency projects, meetings, and activities as needed and other duties as assigned. This position is full time and exempt.

Essential Functions

Reporting to the Director, Quality Management, the Deputy will:

Lead Program Operations, Stakeholder Relations, and Goal Attainment to Ensure High Quality Services

1. Align with the Director of QM to provide accountable leadership for assigned programs within the portfolio of QM services, including oversight and monitoring of continuous quality control, quality management and quality improvement functions across a dozen diverse HASD programs.
2. Assist the Director with the hiring, training, coordination, coaching, and evaluation of staff, and provide interim supervision and team leadership as assigned.
3. In collaboration with the Vice President, HASD, Director of Quality Management, and Fiscal Department, actively participate in budgeting and financial processes for QM and other programs as needed; manage relevant budgets and contract requirements in areas of deliverables, compliance, expenditures, reconciliation, invoices, contracting, and reporting.
4. Proactively gain and maintain knowledge of all active program grants and contracts that AccessMatters receives and fulfills, especially those from the Centers for Disease Control, the Office of Population Affairs, the Health Resources and Services Administrations, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.
5. Proactively gain and maintain knowledge of all active program grants and contracts that AccessMatters awards to sub-grantees, i.e., Provider Networks, especially Title X Family Planning partners, breast and cervical cancer providers, Health Resource Centers in high-schools and community agency facilities, Ryan White Part D HIV/AIDS providers, substance use treatment facilities, and HIV/STI testing partners.
6. Proactively gain and maintain knowledge of current developments in sexual and reproductive health, health care service delivery and quality management, HIPAA, nonprofit administration and technology, public/funder policy, and other areas pertinent to QM functions at AccessMatters.

Lead, Support, and Sustain a Culture of Quality Management and Best Practices

1. Work closely with the Director to ensure program adherence to federal, state, and programmatic policies and requirements, and assure the delivery of high-quality sexual and reproductive health services within AccessMatters’ Provider Networks.
2. Evaluate program network needs and activities, including the assessment and monitoring of all Provider Networks (both clinical and social service), and the establishment of shared measurement practices.
3. Work closely with staff across the agency to ensure timely and efficient processes for delivering QM services to network partners and HASD programs, including: audits (self and onsite); data collection, management, and verification; document creation, completion, security, processing, verification, filing and destruction; and federal, state, local, contract and grant compliance.
4. Communicate audit findings to program leaders, Senior Management, and Provider Networks; assist with and/or lead development and delivery of remedial training and technical assistance.
5. Monitor HASD program activities and data to assess program performance and provide quality assurances to management and staff, and to identify areas of deficiency that require attention and improvement.
6. Work with the team to ensure that QM processes are fully documented, analyzed, and ready for inclusion in reports, research publications, applications, presentations and other uses; improve existing QM procedures and manuals by identifying areas of need and designing standard protocols as warranted.
7. Provide project management and writing leadership for the timely completion of regular QM internal, external, and funder reports.
8. Develop, document, and implement “best practice” resources and protocols for program staff and network partners to use in diverse functional areas, including administrative and health care functions.

Initiate and Coordinate Cross-Team and Interdepartmental Activities to Strengthen Program Quality

1. Partner with the Research, Evaluation, and Data (RED) team, Fiscal and HASD program teams to provide accurate, timely data for program reports and proposals.
2. Work collaboratively with HASD, Fiscal and RED teams to actively participate in preparation of program reports and funding proposals.
3. Assist the Director in leading cross-team and intradepartmental initiatives to produce network-wide data synthesis and analysis for all HASD program networks.
4. Work closely with the Director to ensure effective communication and high-quality, efficient shared processes between HASD programs and the RED team to improve other functions and deliverables.
5. Collaborate closely with the Director to identify and implement opportunities for HASD programs to improve service delivery and team integration through cross-program and interdepartmental collaboration, joint projects, shared processes, and unified practices.

Advance the Mission of AccessMatters and Fulfill Organizational Duties

1. As a member of the HASD leadership team, exemplify our Core Values and dedication to a culture of excellent leadership, in which leaders foster an environment where staff feel valued and appreciated, where all staff hold themselves accountable in service to our community and stakeholders, and all staff eagerly pursue excellence.
2. Demonstrate commitment to the principles and values of the AccessMatters Strategic Plan, including support for the organization’s efforts toward equity and commitment to social justice and public health.
3. Consistently exercise discretion and sound judgment to analyze, interpret and act, evaluating possible courses of conduct and making decisions for the best outcomes for the client, team and the organization.
4. Maintain high ethical standards and conduct regarding confidentiality, integrity, dual-relationships, and professional behavior overall, representing AccessMatters effectively and positively to all internal and external constituents.
5. Create and maintain an inclusive and equitable work environment that is respectful of all, embraces diversity and equity, and includes diverse perspectives and talents in problem-solving.
6. Complete other projects and perform other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

1. Broad knowledge of public health and/or sexual and reproductive health programs and issues, including those related to adolescent health, family planning, sexually transmitted diseases, breast and cervical health, HIV/AIDS, health disparities and social determinants of health, throughout the lifespan, across impacted communities.
2. Proven knowledge and experience with the execution of quality management methodologies and regulatory/contract compliance practices, preferably in a public health or clinical setting.
3. Strong understanding of the concepts and practices associated with effective program management, service delivery, network management and non-profit functions.
4. Experience in writing, publishing, and implementing written policies, procedures, and other documents to assure delivery of high quality and compliant clinical care and related services.
5. Ability to review and analyze programmatic and service data to assess and monitor provider performance and quality of care, produce core reports, and identify trends.
6. Demonstrated knowledge and experience in applying HIPAA and other federal, state, and local regulations governing client confidentiality.
7. Experience working as a trusted partner in the “need to know” confidentiality circle handling highly sensitive information and assignments where sound professional judgment and discretion are required.
8. Excellent supervisory and staff development and counseling skills, and team leadership abilities for multi-dimensional program activities.
9. Demonstrated ability to lead teams, projects, and initiatives that require cross-team collaboration at all levels of staff within AccessMatters and our network organizations, to build and strengthen programs and agencies.
10. Ability to travel regularly for the implementation of Quality Management activities in Southeastern Pennsylvania as well as across the State of Pennsylvania as needed.
11. Ability and desire to work within a multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary team environment, serving diverse populations and institutions across a broad spectrum of community and clinical providers within the field of sexual and reproductive health and maternal and child health.
12. Knowledge and experience working with diverse communities with cultural humility and responsibility.
13. Superior written and verbal communication skills, coupled with strong interpersonal skills and capacity to counsel others and facilitate meetings in diverse settings.
14. Strong ability to produce excellent written work promptly and independently, with some direction or correction required.
15. Ability to manage business partner relations, monitor budgets and expenditures, and follow fiscal procedures.
16. Experience with web-based collaboration platforms and information management systems, portals, and intranets.
17. Ability to self-manage, independently prioritize, assess and solve problems, negotiate solutions, and effectively handle multiple tasks and projects simultaneously, while taking direction as needed.
18. Demonstrated ability to manage multiple details accurately, on time, and under pressure required; project management experience strongly preferred.
19. Flexibility and openness to changing priorities and managing multiple tasks effectively within a compressed timeframe.
20. Excellent assessment, problem-solving, and negotiation skills.
21. Demonstrated proficiency in Microsoft Office Applications (Word, Outlook, Excel and PowerPoint).
22. Ability to work outside normal business hours, as needed (e.g., scheduled nights and weekends).
23. Eligibility for all city and state mandatory clearances, e.g., criminal and child abuse.

Education and Experience:

1. Bachelor’s Degree required, graduate degree in pertinent field of study preferred (e.g., public health administration, data analysis/research, quality management, project management). Relevant industry specific experience may be considered in lieu of degree where possible.
2. Experience performing Quality Management activities required, with minimum three (3) years of proven experience in a QM role strongly desired; supervisory experience preferred.
3. Experience utilizing QI tools (PDSA Cycle, root cause analysis, fishbone diagrams, etc.) in a health-related setting.
4. Experience in clinical settings, patient care, and/or non-profit programming preferred.
5. Experience in program development, implementation, management, and evaluation preferred.
6. Experience leading and participating in the preparation and submission of deadline-driven proposals, reports, materials, and other written updates needed to secure and maintain funding opportunities for new and existing public health services that align with AccessMatters’ strategic vision.

HOW TO APPLY: Submit cover letter and resume to the Deputy Director, Quality Management position posted at our online career site, by going to this link: https://bit.ly/343YwKD Address cover letter to Elaine Petrossian, Vice President, and Human Resources & Operations. Please include salary requirement and potential start date. **NOTE: While AccessMatters is currently operating remotely, candidates are expected to reside within commuting distance of our headquarters in Center City, Philadelphia.**No calls, please.Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, with priority given to those received by July 15, 2021. AccessMatters is an equal opportunity employer.