Chief Operating Officer | North

Position Summary
Are you looking for a new and rewarding executive leadership challenge in healthcare?

Interior Health is excited to announce an exceptional opportunity for a Chief Operating Officer to join our team! The location for this role is flexible within the Interior Health Region of British Columbia. This is a chance to make a meaningful impact in a dynamic healthcare environment while leading a dedicated team. If you're ready to elevate your career and drive innovation in healthcare, we want to hear from you! Relocation allowance may be provided, apply today to join our amazing team.

Some of the benefits of joining Interior Health:

• An attractive remuneration package
• Excellent career prospects
• Employee & Family Assistance Programs
• Employer paid training/education opportunities
• Employer paid vacation
• Employer paid insurance premiums
• Extended Health & Dental coverage
• Municipal Pension Plan
• Work-life balance
• Relocation Allowance may be provided

Salary range for the position is $187,972 to $281,960. Interior Health establishes salaries within the minimum and maximum of the salary range based on consideration of the qualifications, experience of the applicant, and an internal equity review of the salaries of other employees.

Why Interior Health is a Top 100 BC Employer

The Interior region of B.C. offers a four-season playground with a wide range of recreation and outdoor adventure activities including golfing, camping, canoeing, hiking and biking in summer. Winter offers endless snowshoeing, snowmobiling, and both downhill and cross-country skiing.

How will you create an impact:
The Chief Operating Officer (COO) is a key member of the Clinical Operations Leadership Team, reporting to the Vice President, Clinical Operations. The COO provides strategic and operational leadership for the planning, delivery, and evaluation of integrated, patient-centered care across hospital and community settings. Working within a leadership model alongside the physician leaders, the COO ensures high-quality, seamless services that align with Interior Health’s vision, values, and provincial healthcare priorities. This role is responsible for optimizing clinical operations, advancing quality improvement, fostering staff and physician engagement, and ensuring fiscal sustainability while strengthening partnerships with First Nations, municipalities, and community organizations.

As a regional and provincial leader, the COO drives system transformation, workforce planning, and capital investments to enhance patient and population health outcomes. This position champions culturally safe, anti-racist care and works closely with the Ministry of Health and key partners to align strategic initiatives with emerging healthcare needs. With a focus on collaboration, innovation, and system integration, the COO plays a vital role in shaping the future of healthcare delivery within Interior Health.

What will you work on:
• Leads the operational execution of Interior Health’s strategic priorities, ensuring that clinical and community services are effectively integrated and aligned with Ministry of Health directives.

• Provides leadership and oversight to Executive Directors and operational teams, ensuring seamless service delivery across the care continuum, with a focus on enhancing patient access and experience.

• Ensures the tactical planning, financial and business operations, and service delivery activities of the portfolio align with and contribute to successful achievement of the organization’s strategic services plan and deliverables and are working towards ensuring public confidence in health system performance.

• Translates high-level strategic objectives into actionable plans, guiding operational leaders in achieving both short-term performance targets and long-term healthcare transformation goals.

• Monitors key performance indicators (KPIs), ensuring Executive Directors and site leaders meet operational targets related to patient care, safety, quality, and financial stewardship.

• Leads change management efforts, ensuring the adoption of new models of care, service integration strategies, and process improvements to enhance patient and provider experiences.

• Provides sound financial management (operational and capital) focused on achieving a balanced budget while ensuring a high quality of care at all service levels. Working within the approved financial mandate, prepares budget and program recommendations, oversees and monitors actual expenses and program/service outcomes, identifies efficiencies and promotes optimal use of resources, and makes recommendations on current and future program and service adjustments.

• Guides and supports Executive Directors in partner engagement, working with municipalities, Indigenous leaders and community organizations to address regional healthcare needs.

• Ensures compliance with accreditation standards, regulatory requirements, and healthcare best practices, fostering a culture of continuous quality improvement.

• Works with government agencies and health authorities to advocate for funding, policy changes, and system improvements that benefit the communities served by Interior Health.

• Develops and implements crisis and risk management strategies, ensuring operational readiness for emergencies, service disruptions, and evolving healthcare challenges.

• Represents Interior Health at provincial and national forums, contributing to healthcare system planning, advocacy, and knowledge sharing on operational best practices.

• Fosters an environment that embraces and supports innovation and evidence-based research to inform local decision-making and develop enhanced practices and protocols.

• Guides the continued development and evaluation of a multi-year people management plan that complements Interior Health’s strategic human resources direction for staff, volunteers, and physicians.

• Develops and maintains internal relationships with staff, physicians, patients/clients, and volunteers by communicating effectively to ensure the business operations and service delivery activities of the portfolio are aligned and contribute to the successful achievement of Interior Health’s Strategic Directions.

• Develops and maintains relationships with key external partners such as elected officials, government agencies, regional hospital districts, Indigenous leaders, advocacy groups, and foundations, and represents the organization in a variety of settings and to external partners. Relationships with key partners are foundational for success and must encourage understanding, cooperation, and cultural safety in the development, implementation, and evaluation of the portfolio programs and services.

• Provides executive leadership for special projects and strategic initiatives as assigned by the Vice President.

• Performs other related duties as required.

In alignment with IH’s Occupational Health & Safety Program, maintain a healthy and safe work environment through complying with and implementing applicable Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, responding to requests from WSBC, identifying hazards and communicating risks, ensuring compliance with employee training, conducting effective incident investigations and implementing required corrective actions.

Honouring Interior Health’s commitment to Truth and Reconciliation and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), and Pursuant to Section 42 of the BC Human Rights Code, preferential consideration and/or hiring will be given to qualified applicants who self-identify as Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, or Inuit).

Qualfications
Education, Training and Experience:
• A Master’s degree in Health, Business Administration, Leadership, Healthcare Administration, or a related discipline.
• A minimum of fifteen years of experience in progressively senior leadership roles ideally gained in a complex, multi-site, unionized environment. Experience may have been in either the public or private sector, with healthcare leadership an asset.
• An equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.

LEADS
Demonstrates all LEADS Capabilities, in particular:
• Leads Self/Cultural Agility - self-awareness, demonstrates character, noticing and adapting to cultural uniqueness to create a sense of safety for all.
• Engages Others/Empathy - fosters the development of others, communicates effectively, builds effective teams, listens with heart rather than reacting.
• Achieves Results/Process Orientation - sets direction, strategically aligns decisions with vision, values & evidence, accepting that use of process orientation and a ‘good relationship’ are concrete deliverables.
• Develops Coalitions/Building a Trust-Based Relationship - builds partnerships & networks to create results, demonstrates a commitment to customers & service, navigates socio-political environments, building personal relationships in addition to professional ones, participating in open exchanges of experiences and culture.
• System Transformation/Credible Champion - demonstrates systems/critical thinking, strategically oriented to the future, champions & orchestrates change, remains self-aware and maintains effective relationships, shows courage and conviction in advocating for change for the betterment of Indigenous people.

Skills and Abilities:
• Comprehensive knowledge of current BC healthcare policies, funding practices, and relevant Federal and Provincial Health Statutes.
• Comprehensive knowledge of current healthcare issues, trends, and government directives.
• Ability to successfully utilize management strategies and programs.
• Demonstrated leadership and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated knowledge of budget preparation and management of financial resources involving short-, immediate-, and long-term plans.
• Ability to unify, energize, and motivate people.
• Ability to drive and facilitate change.
• Ability to influence others at all levels of the organization and well as external partners.
• Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing, including the ability to make effective presentations to groups.
• Ability to function effectively in a highly dynamic environment.
• Physical ability to perform the duties of the position.

Interior Health strives to create an environment where you enjoy the work you do, the place where you work, and the people around you. Together, we create great workplaces. Apply today!