Quality Improvement Team Leader

Suburban Hospital; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 66,000 - 106,000; Full time

Job summary

Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, MD seeks a Quality Improvement Team Leader (QITL) to drive patient safety, performance improvement, and regulatory readiness across clinical and operational areas.

You will lead cross-functional teams, analyze performance data, develop corrective actions, and partner with leaders to advance high-reliability care. Requires advanced degree and Maryland licensure; quality certification preferred.

Qualifications

• Master's degree preferred in nursing, public health, health administration, or related field.
• Maryland clinical licensure or certification required for licensed disciplines.
• Quality improvement, patient safety, or project management certification preferred.
• Plan to obtain relevant quality certification within one year of hire.

Responsibilities

• Lead and support quality, patient safety, risk management, and regulatory programs.
• Manage quality improvement initiatives driven by performance trends and events.
• Develop and monitor corrective action plans and improvement strategies.
• Collaborate with leaders to improve policies and workflows using evidence-based methods.
• Serve as a resource on quality, patient safety, accreditation, and compliance.
• Lead regulatory readiness activities for TJC, CMS, OSHA, and state/federal bodies.
• Conduct root cause analyses, risk assessments, and data analyses to identify trends.
• Facilitate multidisciplinary teams and communicate with clinical/operational leaders.

Skills

Quality improvement

Patient safety

Data analysis

Project management

Cross-functional leadership

Education

Master's degree

Maryland licensure/certification required

Tools

Root Cause Analysis

FMEA

Lean

Six Sigma

PDSA/PDCA

Job description

Requisition #:673041 Location:Suburban Hospital, Bethesda, MD 20814 Category:Healthcare Operations Schedule:Day Shift Employment Type:Full Time

The Quality Improvement Team Leader (QITL) leads quality, patient safety, and performance improvement initiatives that support the hospital's strategic priorities and commitment to high-reliability care. This role partners with clinical, operational, and physician leaders to improve patient outcomes, enhance the patient experience, ensure regulatory compliance, and drive continuous process improvement. The QITL serves as a quality improvement expert, leading cross-functional initiatives, analyzing performance data, facilitating change, and supporting accreditation and regulatory readiness. The incumbent collaborates across the organization, contributes to organizational quality goals, and provides cross-coverage and leadership for special projects as needed.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and support the hospital's Quality, Patient Safety, Risk Management, and Regulatory Compliance programs.
• Manage and facilitate quality improvement initiatives driven by performance trends, patient safety events, complaints, grievances, and regulatory findings.
• Develop, implement, and monitor corrective action plans and process improvement strategies to enhance clinical and operational performance.
• Partner with hospital leaders to improve policies, workflows, and processes using evidence-based practices and quality improvement methodologies.
• Serve as a resource and consultant on quality, patient safety, accreditation, and regulatory compliance.
• Lead or support regulatory readiness and compliance activities for agencies including The Joint Commission (TJC), CMS, OSHA, and state and federal regulatory bodies.
• Conduct root cause analyses, risk assessments, and data analysis to identify trends, measure outcomes, and recommend improvements.
• Facilitate multidisciplinary teams and communicate effectively with clinical and operational leaders to achieve organizational quality and patient safety goals.

Education

Requirements

• Master's degree preferred in Nursing, Public Health, Health Administration, Business Administration, Health Policy, Physical Sciences, Engineering, or a related field.
• Current Maryland clinical licensure or certification required for candidates in licensed clinical disciplines (e.g., RN, NP, PA, Pharmacist).
• Quality improvement, healthcare quality, patient safety, or project management certification preferred.
• Required to obtain a relevant healthcare quality certification within one year of hire and maintain certification thereafter (e.g., CPHQ, CPPS, or CJCP).

Experience

• Minimum of five (5) years of experience in quality improvement, patient safety, performance improvement, or related healthcare operations, with at least three (3) years applying quality improvement methodologies.
• Experience leading improvement projects using tools such as Root Cause Analysis, FMEA, Lean, Six Sigma, and PDSA/PDCA.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze data, facilitate multidisciplinary teams, implement sustainable process changes, and influence organizational improvement.
• Minimum of two (2) years of project management experience preferred.

Salary Range: Minimum 48.21/hour - Maximum 77.14/hour. Compensation will be commensurate with equity and experience for roles of similar scope and responsibility. In cases where the range is displayed as a $0 amount, salary discussions will occur during candidate screening calls, before any subsequent compensation discussion is held between the candidate and any hiring authority.

The Hospital reserves the right to modify employee schedules as needed.

We are committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment, where we embrace and celebrate our differences, where all employees feel valued, contribute to our mission of serving the community, and engage in equitable healthcare delivery and workforce practices.

Johns Hopkins Health System and its affiliates are drug-free workplace employers.

Johns Hopkins Health System and its affiliates are an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, national origin, mental or physical disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law.