Vice President, Medicine, Quality and Safety
About the role
The Opportunity
To help lead transformative change and advance clinical excellence across the health system, IWK Health is seeking a Vice President, Medicine, Quality and Safety to provide strategic leadership in medical governance, physician engagement, and quality care delivery.
As a member of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) and reporting directly to the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), you will help shape the future of IWK Health by aligning medical strategy with broader provincial and national priorities. With executive oversight for a portfolio of approximately 400 staff (311 FTEs) and a $28.5 million operating budget, and indirect leadership to a community of nearly 700 physicians and affiliated medical staff, you will also support the organization’s mandate to deliver specialized care for women, children, youth, and genderdiverse individuals across Nova Scotia and the Maritime provinces while championing a culture of clinical excellence, safety, equity, and continuous improvement, ensuring alignment with the organization’s mission to provide world‑class, patient‑ and family‑centred care.
Working closely with the ELT, you will help shape and implement IWK’s strategic and operational plans. As a key ambassador of the IWK, you will represent the organization on local and national platforms and collaborate with provincial partners to co‑lead clinical services, quality and safety initiatives, and physician workforce planning. Additionally, you will oversee medical governance, enterprise risk, and health information services, ensuring system reliability and sustainability.
This is an opportunity to have a high‑impact leadership role that blends clinical insight, strategic vision, and academic excellence to drive meaningful, long‑term health system transformation.
Key Areas of Responsibility
As Vice President, you will have oversight and accountability for:
- Strategic leadership
- Physician engagement and resource planning
- Quality and patient safety
- Health system sustainability
- Health system, academic and community leadership and relationship management
- Operations and financial management
The Ideal Candidate
You are a respected, forward‑thinking physician leader with a strong track record of progressive leadership experience in complex academic health sciences settings. Ideally, you bring clinical, research, and administrative expertise in a discipline aligned with IWK Health’s mission, along with academic appointments or strong ties to academic or university communities. Additionally, you are licensed to practice medicine in Nova Scotia or are eligible for licensure. Additional qualifications such as a Master’s degree in Health Administration or a related field would be considered an asset.
You are a strategic leader with proven experience overseeing clinical and non‑clinical portfolios, including medicine, academic affairs, patient safety, and enterprise risk. Known for your integrity, governance expertise, and system‑level impact, you have contributed meaningfully to strategic planning and served as a trusted voice on provincial and national committees. Politically astute with excellent communication skills and media‑savvy, you navigate complex environments with diplomacy and clarity, aligning diverse partner groups around shared goals. With a solid foundation in financial management and research, you balance clinical quality with fiscal responsibility.
A visionary yet pragmatic champion of change, you have led major quality and system transformation initiatives, championed physician development, and fostered a culture of high performance and continuous improvement. Grounded in emotional intelligence and sound judgment, you lead with compassion, collaboration, and a steadfast commitment to care excellence.
How to Apply
To explore this opportunity, contact Daniella Sam at dsam@kbrs.ca, Andrea Forbes Hurley at aforbeshurley@kbrs.ca, or Erin MacDonald at emacdonald@kbrs.ca, or apply online at: https://www.kbrs.ca/Career/17483530882240000008jce.
Please note that we only contact applicants selected for interview/testing. If we invite you to participate in an assessment process (such as an interview or testing) you have the right to request accommodation. Please discuss your needs when invited to the assessment process.
This is a Management/Non Union bargaining unit position. Preference is given to bargaining unit employees for unionized positions. Successful applicants changing unions, bargaining units or employment status, are advised to seek clarification regarding their seniority, benefits, and vacation entitlement and/or usage, prior to accepting the position.
An offer of employment is conditional upon the completion and satisfactory results of all applicable background checks and confirmation of credentials.
About Nova Scotia Health Authority
We are Nova Scotia Health. We are rural and urban. We are in hospitals, health centres and community. We serve individuals and communities from Yarmouth to Cape Breton, from Amherst to Halifax, and everything in between.
We are researchers and learners, looking for new ways to prevent and treat disease and maintain health. We are partners – with community groups, schools, government, foundations and auxiliaries, community health boards and, most importantly, with you.
Most of all, we are a community of caring, compassionate people who care deeply about health, healing and learning. Together with you, we will create a healthier Nova Scotia.
Mission: Working together to achieve excellence in health, healing and learning
Vision: Healthy people, healthy communities – for generations
Vice President, Medicine, Quality and Safety
About the role
The Opportunity
To help lead transformative change and advance clinical excellence across the health system, IWK Health is seeking a Vice President, Medicine, Quality and Safety to provide strategic leadership in medical governance, physician engagement, and quality care delivery.
As a member of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) and reporting directly to the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), you will help shape the future of IWK Health by aligning medical strategy with broader provincial and national priorities. With executive oversight for a portfolio of approximately 400 staff (311 FTEs) and a $28.5 million operating budget, and indirect leadership to a community of nearly 700 physicians and affiliated medical staff, you will also support the organization’s mandate to deliver specialized care for women, children, youth, and genderdiverse individuals across Nova Scotia and the Maritime provinces while championing a culture of clinical excellence, safety, equity, and continuous improvement, ensuring alignment with the organization’s mission to provide world‑class, patient‑ and family‑centred care.
Working closely with the ELT, you will help shape and implement IWK’s strategic and operational plans. As a key ambassador of the IWK, you will represent the organization on local and national platforms and collaborate with provincial partners to co‑lead clinical services, quality and safety initiatives, and physician workforce planning. Additionally, you will oversee medical governance, enterprise risk, and health information services, ensuring system reliability and sustainability.
This is an opportunity to have a high‑impact leadership role that blends clinical insight, strategic vision, and academic excellence to drive meaningful, long‑term health system transformation.
Key Areas of Responsibility
As Vice President, you will have oversight and accountability for:
- Strategic leadership
- Physician engagement and resource planning
- Quality and patient safety
- Health system sustainability
- Health system, academic and community leadership and relationship management
- Operations and financial management
The Ideal Candidate
You are a respected, forward‑thinking physician leader with a strong track record of progressive leadership experience in complex academic health sciences settings. Ideally, you bring clinical, research, and administrative expertise in a discipline aligned with IWK Health’s mission, along with academic appointments or strong ties to academic or university communities. Additionally, you are licensed to practice medicine in Nova Scotia or are eligible for licensure. Additional qualifications such as a Master’s degree in Health Administration or a related field would be considered an asset.
You are a strategic leader with proven experience overseeing clinical and non‑clinical portfolios, including medicine, academic affairs, patient safety, and enterprise risk. Known for your integrity, governance expertise, and system‑level impact, you have contributed meaningfully to strategic planning and served as a trusted voice on provincial and national committees. Politically astute with excellent communication skills and media‑savvy, you navigate complex environments with diplomacy and clarity, aligning diverse partner groups around shared goals. With a solid foundation in financial management and research, you balance clinical quality with fiscal responsibility.
A visionary yet pragmatic champion of change, you have led major quality and system transformation initiatives, championed physician development, and fostered a culture of high performance and continuous improvement. Grounded in emotional intelligence and sound judgment, you lead with compassion, collaboration, and a steadfast commitment to care excellence.
How to Apply
To explore this opportunity, contact Daniella Sam at dsam@kbrs.ca, Andrea Forbes Hurley at aforbeshurley@kbrs.ca, or Erin MacDonald at emacdonald@kbrs.ca, or apply online at: https://www.kbrs.ca/Career/17483530882240000008jce.
Please note that we only contact applicants selected for interview/testing. If we invite you to participate in an assessment process (such as an interview or testing) you have the right to request accommodation. Please discuss your needs when invited to the assessment process.
This is a Management/Non Union bargaining unit position. Preference is given to bargaining unit employees for unionized positions. Successful applicants changing unions, bargaining units or employment status, are advised to seek clarification regarding their seniority, benefits, and vacation entitlement and/or usage, prior to accepting the position.
An offer of employment is conditional upon the completion and satisfactory results of all applicable background checks and confirmation of credentials.
About Nova Scotia Health Authority
We are Nova Scotia Health. We are rural and urban. We are in hospitals, health centres and community. We serve individuals and communities from Yarmouth to Cape Breton, from Amherst to Halifax, and everything in between.
We are researchers and learners, looking for new ways to prevent and treat disease and maintain health. We are partners – with community groups, schools, government, foundations and auxiliaries, community health boards and, most importantly, with you.
Most of all, we are a community of caring, compassionate people who care deeply about health, healing and learning. Together with you, we will create a healthier Nova Scotia.
Mission: Working together to achieve excellence in health, healing and learning
Vision: Healthy people, healthy communities – for generations