Senior Improvement Advisor Radiation Oncology

Penn Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Health System; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Penn Medicine in Philadelphia seeks a Senior Improvement Advisor in the Radiation Oncology department to lead quality, patient safety, and operational performance initiatives across service lines. You will apply current PI methods, facilitate kaizen events, and mentor local improvement teams to drive reliable, patient-centered care.

You will partner with leadership and frontline staff, manage data trends, and communicate findings to stakeholders while advancing survey readiness and safety

Qualifications

• Experience leading performance improvement initiatives in healthcare.
• Ability to mentor and coach cross-functional teams.
• Proficiency with data analysis and PI tools; strong project management.
• Familiarity with Kaizen events and continuous improvement.
• Understanding of patient safety and quality standards in healthcare.

Responsibilities

• Mentor, teach, and coach teams to improve PI outcomes.
• Provide departments with current PI methods and project facilitation.
• Evaluate quality, patient safety, and overall performance of service lines.
• Facilitate improvement activities to ensure safe, effective patient services.
• Collaborate with leadership to prioritize problem solving and plan PI strategies.
• Coach and mentor entry-level Improvement Advisors; train front-line staff in PI methods.
• Manage data trends and communicate insights to leadership and staff.

Skills

Process improvement

Change management

Mentoring

Data analysis

Project management

Kaizen events

Education

Bachelor's degree in healthcare or related field

Six Sigma Green Belt Certification

Job description

Description

Penn Medicine is dedicated to our tripartite mission of providing the highest level of care to patients, conducting innovative research, and educating future leaders in the field of medicine. Working for this leading academic medical center means collaboration with top clinical, technical and business professionals across all disciplines.

Description

Penn Medicine is dedicated to our tripartite mission of providing the highest level of care to patients, conducting innovative research, and educating future leaders in the field of medicine. Working for this leading academic medical center means collaboration with top clinical, technical and business professionals across all disciplines.
Today at Penn Medicine, someone will make a breakthrough. Someone will heal a heart, deliver hopeful news, and give comfort and reassurance. Our employees shape our future each day. Are you living your life's work?
Job Title: Senior Improvement Advisor
Department: Radiation Oncology
Entity: Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania (CPUP)
Location: Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania - 3400 Spruce St
Hours: M-F, 8-4:30 with flexibility in hours based on operational need

Summary

• The Senior Improvement Advisor is responsible for planning, implementing and evaluating the quality, patient safety, and operational performance program of service lines and departments. The Senior Improvement Advisor serves as a change-agent for entity-wide service lines and departments, and supports teams connected to those areas. The Senior Improvement Advisor provides partners with the most current PI methods and tools, including project management support. The Senior Improvement Advisor mentors and coaches local team Improvement Advisors, providing support and experience for local process improvement when needed. This work includes, but is not limited to, facilitation of PI projects and kaizen events; management and surveillance of data for PI opportunities; messaging trends in the data to leadership, departments and staff; training and mentorship to entry-level Improvement Advisors; education of front line staff in the latest PI methods; and responding to serious safety events. This position is accountable for facilitating improvement in the areas of patient satisfaction, clinical quality, and patient safety, operations, and continuous survey readiness.
  

Responsibilities:

• Key Areas of Responsibility:
• Mentoring, teaching, and coaching teams, providing feedback, support, and direction as needed.
• Provide departments, service lines, and partners with the most current PI methods, assisting in seeking areas for improvement and the facilitation of projects.
• Able to competently evaluate the quality, patient safety, and overall performance of selected departments and service lines.
• Facilitates improvement activities to insure safe, effective, and compliant patient services.
• Maintains and models organization’s Core Values.
• Planning & Facilitation:
• Helps teams plan and stay organized Sets pace for team projects.
• Keeps teams on track in PI cycle and project timelines.
• Actively assists with planning and implementing PI strategies for the entity.
• Collaborates with leadership & frontlines to effectively prioritize problem solving.
• Problem Solving:
• Keeps focus on processes, not people.
• Promptly investigates serious safety events and quality concerns.
• Provides PI support for process redesign after a serious event.
• Applies PI methods and tools appropriately.
• Provides PI support for continuous survey readiness as needed.
• Coaching, Mentoring & Teaching: Is a PI teacher for multiple levels of the entity.
• Asks insightful questions.
• Challenges teams and leaders to improve their PI work.
• Is clear & concise, makes learning points understood.
• Gives useful feedback.
• Influence & Relationships:
• Strong ability to network.
• Can build and support a team.
• Has a positive internal customer focus.
• Can persuade effectively.
• Engages stakeholders Is a voice people listen to Is viewed as a PI resource for the entity.
• Data Management:
• Helps teams and leadership access useful data.
• Helps the organization understand trends, the meaning of data, and how it compares to benchmarks.
• Brings tools to teams and leadership that are useful for data analysis and dissemination Is effective in disseminating information.
• Maintains data integrity & validity.
• Patient/Customer:
• Seeks out opportunities to improve the patient experience.
• Can motivate teams and create customer loyalty and satisfaction.
• Inspires, leads, and builds high-energy and productive work teams.
  

Credentials:

• Six Sigma Green Belt Certification (Required)

Education or Equivalent Experience:

• Bachelor of Arts or Science in medicine, nursing, patient safety and quality, other healthcare related field, business or health policy (Required)
• And 3+ years Experience in planning, implementation, and evaluation of a performance improvement plan, preferably in a health care field.
• Process Improvement Experience: Six Sigma Black Belt/Lean Certification/IHI Improvement
• Advisor training [e.g. Six Sigma PDSA (Plan Do Study Act) or PDCA (Plan Do Check Act)] or equivalent experience (e.g. leading or facilitating large scale projects across multiple areas and familiarity in process improvement methodology).
• Clinical Experience: Candidates will be considered if there is commensurate work experience in healthcare performance improvement (e.g. healthcare quality, patient safety, or consulting within organizations that provide clinical treatment or preventative care services).
• Quality & Safety Standards in Healthcare: Knowledge of national standards and outcomes for quality, safety and healthcare such as CMS Core Measures & Value Based Purchasing, AHRQ PSI’s, Leapfrog, US News and World Report rankings is preferred; experience preferred, but classroom learning or Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ), Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS), etc. accepted.
• Root cause analysis experience is desired.

We believe that the best care for our patients starts with the best care for our employees. Our employee benefits programs help our employees get healthy and stay healthy. We offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits program that includes one of the finest prepaid tuition assistance programs in the region. Penn Medicine employees are actively engaged and committed to our mission. Together we will continue to make medical advances that help people live longer, healthier lives.

Live Your Life's Work

We are an Equal Opportunity employer. Candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, familial status, genetic information, domestic or sexual violence victim status, citizenship status, military status, status as a protected veteran or any other status protected by applicable law.