Program Director, Cancer Quality and Accreditations

Are you a highly motivated, self-directed individual with a propensity towards action and results?  Join our world-class academic healthcare system in a newly created role as the Program Director, Cancer Quality and Accreditations.  

We are seeking a strategic cancer services leader with a proven track record in cancer quality and accreditations to move in the direction of One UChicago Medicine.  The Program Director provides strategic and operational leadership for oncology quality programs across the cancer service line. Working in partnership with the Cancer Service Line Chief Quality Officer (Medical Director), the Program Director serves as a key partner to clinical, operational, and executive leadership to ensure delivery of high-quality, data-driven, patient-centered cancer care aligned with national standards, network expectations, organizational goals, and performance benchmarks to include U.S. News & World Report rankings and quality metrics. 

Reporting to the Executive Director of Cancer Services, this role is responsible for oversight of cancer registry operations, oncology-related accreditations and regulatory compliance, value-based oncology initiatives, and quality improvement programs.  This role will also serve as a consultant to the UChicago Medicine cancer affiliate network and service line joint ventures. This role also functions as the cancer service line’s primary point of integration with the UCM Clinical Performance Excellence, specifically, Quality, Patient Safety, and Regulatory Compliance functions, ensuring oncology-specific quality initiatives are designed in alignment with system-wide measurement standards, regulatory governance, and benchmarking strategy is informed by the office of External Assessments.

Who you are: 

• Bachelor’s degree in nursing, healthcare administration, public health, or related field required.

• Master's degree preferred in healthcare related field, such as MSN, MHA, or MBA.

• Current clinical licensure (RN or allied health discipline), along with Oncology certification (OCN), and ODS-Certified Oncology Data Specialist credentials preferred.

• Ideal candidate will be a cancer services leader with 8+ years of progressive experience in oncology quality, cancer program administration, registry operations, or healthcare, preferably from a cancer services role held in a large academic hospital setting or affiliated cancer network.

• Experience with oncology accreditation programs, regulatory standards, and oncology quality reporting required.

• Proven track record with national benchmarking initiatives, including U.S. News & World Report methodologies and publicly reported quality metrics.

• Experience with oncology data analytics, quality improvement methodologies, and value-based care initiatives.

• Ability to analyze information, present data, and draw conclusions by applying analysis techniques, using data to drive positive performance.

• Engaging communication and collaboration skills that support effective relationships, including physician relationships and alignment in a highly matrixed environment.

• Experience using LEAN for performance improvement is highly desirable, including quality certification.

• Strong knowledge of oncology quality standards, cancer registry operations, accreditation requirements, and national benchmarking methodologies.

• Understanding of oncology care delivery models and value-based reimbursement structures.

• Ability to interpret and present complex clinical, operational, and quality performance data.

• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams and organizational change initiatives.

• Proficiency with oncology analytics, EMR systems, registry software, and quality reporting tools.

What you’ll gain as the Program Director, Cancer Quality and Accreditations:

• Opportunity to work at a world-class organization, engaging numerous stakeholders, with the mission of providing a strong vision for the future of the UChicago Medicine Cancer Service Line.
• Be a key stakeholder as our Cancer Service division prepares for the launch of our standalone cancer center - the first of its kind in the greater Chicagoland area. 
• Join a leadership team of dedicated and passionate individuals committed to transformational change and the highest echelon of patient care.

What you’ll do as the Program Director, Cancer Quality and Accreditations:

• Supports the Cancer Service Line Chief Quality Officer (Medical Director) by leading development, implementation, and evaluation of oncology quality initiatives across inpatient and outpatient settings. 
• Leads accreditation readiness and ongoing compliance activities for a host of oncology-related accrediting bodies. 

• Establishes and monitors cancer quality metrics (i.e. mortality, readmissions, length of stay, discharge home, etc.), dashboards, and performance improvement plans in collaboration with operational excellence/quality support.

• Utilizing benchmarking data, analyzes clinical outcomes and operational performance to identify opportunities for improvement. Proactively identifies negative quality trends and develops/executes a plan for improvement.

• Collaborates with physicians (hematology oncology, radiation oncology, and oncology surgical specialties), nursing leadership, pharmacy, and ancillary departments to improve quality and care coordination.
• Partners with the Clinical Performance Excellence (CPE) and site CQOs team to ensure oncology quality metrics, dashboards, and improvement methodologies are consistent with system-wide measurement standards and reporting cadence.

• Provides administrative and operational oversight for the cancer registry program and ensures compliance with national reporting requirements and registry standards.

• Coordinates with system Regulatory and Accreditation Compliance to ensure oncology-specific survey readiness, documentation standards, and corrective action processes are integrated with organizational accreditation governance and survey calendar.

• Supports development and execution of oncology value-based care strategies and alternative payment models in collaboration with oncology, quality, and finance/managed care leadership.

• Facilitates communication, reporting, and collaboration between organizational leadership and UCM cancer network leadership. Serves as a liaison to the UChicago Cancer Center cancer network and affiliated oncology partners.

• Provide leadership, mentoring, and oversight for oncology quality and registry staff.

• Foster efforts to positively impact the organization’s visibility, image, and relationship with its surrounding community.

E4 Leadership (Equity, Engage, Evolve, Excel) is a patient centered management system that empowers teams to improve on a daily basis. This is done through daily readiness huddles, real time process monitoring, performance review huddles and structured problem solving. E4 Leadership is an evolving system where leaders work together to cultivate a culture of equity and continuous improvement that enables:

1. Each person to realize their full potential for contribution 
2. The organization to achieve high performance outcomes
3. System-wide integration, coordination, and seamless execution

4. Clear focus on exceptional, equitable patient care and experiences.

    

As part of the leadership team, this position will be instrumental in reinforcing and sustaining UCM’s E4 Leadership Culture.