1. IDENTIFICATION Position No. Job Title Supervisor s Position 10-11452 Territorial Manager, Medical Affairs Territorial Director, Medical Affairs Department Division/Region Community Location Health Nunavut Iqaluit, Nunavut Headquarters Freebalance Coding: 10630/2/235/1064000/01 2. PURPOSE Main reason why the position exists, within what context and what the overall end result is. Reporting to the Territorial Director, Medical Affairs, the Territorial Manager, Medical Affairs is responsible for the development and implementation of a structure to manage the day-to-day operations of the physician services program for the Territory of Nunavut. The Territorial Manager ensures adequate physician services for the Territory, and manages the administrative, financial, and contractual aspects of the physician services program. The incumbent is responsible to develop and implement a program to train and supervise the Physician Services staff and is responsible to develop an evaluation and monitoring process to evaluate the effectiveness of recruitment and retention of physicians within legislative and policy guidelines. The overall result of these activities is a stable physician services program across the Territory. This program is critical to the effective delivery of physician services in all three regions in Nunavut. 3. SCOPE Describe the impact the position has on the area in which it works, or if it impacts other departments, the government as a whole, or the public directly or indirectly. How does the position impact those groups/individuals, the organization and/or budgets? What is the magnitude of that impact? Provision of adequate physician services is critical to the health of Nunavummiut and is a critical mandate of the Department of Health and Social Services. The legislative framework for this area of responsibility is provided primarily through the Public Health Act. The responsibility for these services is vested in the Director of Medical Affairs position. The Manager is responsible for the implementation, management, and evaluation, of the program to ensure that these services are provided. The Manager collaborates with staff physicians and with providers of specialist services in Ottawa, Winnipeg and Yellowknife in initiatives that impact the provision of physician services in the Territory. Key to the success of this position is the ability to work collaboratively with all stakeholders, and to develop cross-sectoral partnerships with schools of medicine across Canada to provide continuing medical education opportunities and support resident programs. The Manager participates in the budgetary process with the Director, Medical Affairs, has spending authority for physician fee invoices and expense vouchers, and manages program expenditures across the Territory. The incumbent must also track best practices nationally and internationally to identify creative strategies and provide justification for enhanced Page 1
compensation, staff development or support programs. The position is the key management position for the physician services program, and is a vital support to the Director, Medical Affairs and the 29 physician positions in the Territory by monitoring the capacity and performance of the physician services program. 4. RESPONSIBILITIES Describe major responsibilities and target accomplishments expected of the position. List the responsibilities that have the greatest impact on the organization first and describe them in a way that answers why the duties of the position are being performed. For a supervisory or management position, indicate the subordinate position(s) through which objectives are accomplished. The Manager will, through the administrative coordination of a team of regional coordinators, and in consultation with the Director of Medical Affairs and Regional Chiefs of Staff: Plans, develops, implements, and maintains physician recruitment strategies and initiatives, and initiates, executes, and monitors recruitment plans and activities. Participates in regional service management meetings with out-of-territory service providers, preparing reports on physician services and advising the chair on the demand and provision of physician services in each region. Identifies matters for consideration by the Territorial Medical Advisory Committee, develops and manages the Committee s agenda, disseminates information to stakeholders, and ensures implementation of recommendations by the Committee. Participates in strategic planning for the physician services program and the appropriate use of physician resources. Participates in territorial and F/P/T working groups and committees regarding physician planning, payment, recruiting and other physician management issues. Reports regularly to the Department and the Minister regarding the status of physician staffing and strategies to support physicians in the field and ongoing recruitment and retention activities. Participates on Advisory Steering committees. Program Management, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation: Develops and maintains an operational procedures and policies manual. Trains, supports, and directs the medical support staff in the development of physicians contracts, and ensures that physician travel, accommodation, and payment mechanisms are in place. Ensures that adequate records of attendance, leave and medical education for physicians are maintained by the regional secretarial staff. Provides leadership and supervises the Physician Services Administrative Assistant and the Regional Coordinators positions. Identifies, presents and manages the physician services budget. Deals directly with physicians across the territory regarding their services, support needs and leave. Develops and maintains a database of physician specialists and family practice physicians. Ensures tools are developed and implemented to promote efforts in recruiting physicians, i.e. dedicated telephone service, web site development, advertisement, and marketing strategies. Performs long-term forecasting processes to identify gaps, needs and trends that will be used to develop long-term physician resource goals and strategies. Develops and implements monitoring mechanisms to validate the effectiveness of the recruitment and retention initiatives. Page 2
Keeps accurate statistics for monitoring and reporting that will be used by management to aid in decision-making and to provide direction on physician services strategies and related activities. Consolidates and analyzes documentation outlining the effectiveness of the medical services program for short-term and strategic planning purposes. Other Duties: Documents process, reports and studies. Undertakes special projects and research. 5. KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES Describe the level of knowledge, experience and abilities that are required for satisfactory job performance. Knowledge identifies the acquired information or concepts that relate to a specific discipline. Skills describe acquired measurable behaviours and may cover manual aspects required to do a job. Abilities describe natural talents or developed proficiencies required to do the job. These requirements are in reference to the job, not the incumbent performing the job. Knowledge: General knowledge of health and financial policy and legislation related to physician services in Nunavut. Knowledge of the demands placed upon physician specialists and family practice physicians, considering unique circumstances surrounding the delivery of primary care in the NU. Knowledge of recruitment and retention techniques and practices. Knowledge of promotional/marketing techniques. Knowledge of the northern health care systems, structures, and communities. Knowledge of the Canadian medical school system and professional licensing requirements. Batchelor s degree or equivalent combination of education and work experience. Skills: Excellent listening and verbal communications. Excellent written communications. Relationship building. Strategic thinking. Analytical and conceptual thinking. Planning and problem solving. Evaluation and assessment. Facilitation and presentation. Influence/persuasion. Financial planning and budgeting including spreadsheets. Project management. Ability: Provide leadership and guidance to team members. Work as a member of a team. Act independently in most day to day work situations. Progress reporting and program monitoring. Strategic planning. Show initiative to develop solutions to management and recruitment problems on a regular basis. Page 3
6. WORKING CONDITIONS List the unavoidable, externally imposed conditions under which the work must be performed and which create hardship for the incumbent. Express frequency, duration and intensity of each occurrence in measurable time (e.g. every day, two or three times a week, 5 hours a day). Physical Demands Indicate the nature of physical demands and the frequency and duration of occurrences leading to physical fatigue or physical stress. Occasional requirement to remain at desk and telephone for extended periods of time. Normal office requirements. Long periods of computer work e-mails, conducting research, preparing reports and briefing notes. Travel attendance at recruitment fairs, trade shows, universities, etc. Travel to regional centres as well as other travel required for recruitment and planning physician services, management of staff. To ensure and maintain physician services, evening and/or weekend work may be required to communicate with physicians in other time zones and to meet their personal schedules. Environmental Conditions Indicate the nature of adverse environmental conditions to which the jobholder is exposed, and the frequency and duration of exposures. Include conditions that increase the risk of accident, ill health, or physical discomfort. The incumbent is subject to long-term exposure to high levels of stress due to pressures to ensure critical adequate and appropriate provision of physician services for Nunavut. Information and data must be sought from numerous sources. Incumbent must be versatile and flexible, and is subject to stringent deadlines. Sensory Demands Indicate the nature of demands on the jobholder s senses. These demands can be in the form of making judgements to discern something through touch, smell, sight, and/or hearing. It may include concentrated levels of attention to details though one or more of the incumbents senses. As typically associated with an office position. Need for concentration during telephone interviews (listening, taking notes, etc.). Ability to focus in the face of constant disruptions and to prioritize responses. Ability to quickly identify issues and concerns in oral or written communications. Regular work schedules may be disrupted within a work environment that is open and distracts attention. Page 4
Mental Demands Indicate conditions within the job that may lead to mental or emotional fatigue that would increase the risk of such things as tension or anxiety. Considerable mental stress is incurred with the Retention and Recruitment of physicians and the critical nature of provision services. Some elements of work are subject to outside scrutiny and decisions made are beyond employee s control. Effect of employees personalizing recommended decisions. Increasingly significant demands from managers, stakeholders and the public (often expressed in the media) to quickly solve northern recruitment and retention difficulties in the face of a limited labour supply is stressful. The incumbent s focus is physicians with the acute national shortages this position is constantly bombarded with the pressure to meet extreme deadlines. 7. CERTIFICATION Employee Signature Supervisor Title Printed Name Supervisor Signature Date: I certify that I have read and understand the responsibilities assigned to this position. Date I certify that this job description is an accurate description of the responsibilities assigned to the position. Deputy Head Signature Date I approve the delegation of the responsibilities outlined herein within the context of the attached organizational structure. 8. ORGANIZATION CHART Please attach Organizational Chart indicating incumbent s position, peer positions, subordinate positions (if any) and supervisor position. Page 5
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by the incumbent of this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and activities required of this position. Page 6