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ST. MICHAEL'S CENTRE

POSITION DESCRIPTION

POSITION TITLE:Director of Support Services

DEPARTMENT:SupportServices: Dietary and Environmental Services

REPORTS TO:Senior Operations Leader

SCOPE\ACCOUNTABILITY:

Reporting to the Senior Operations Leader (SOL), the Director of Support Services is responsible for the overall leadership, best practices, and integrity of the clinical and/or operational aspects of Food Services, Housekeeping, Laundry, and Environmental Services including the supervision of related staff in those areas.Develops, coordinates and evaluates all activities relating to the day-to-day dietary needs of the residents and patients. As part of the Leadership Team, the Director is responsible for maintaining the related departmental budgets and budget cost control; departmental staffing; labour relations, participation in essential service planning levels; developing, evaluating, and ensuring compliance with the designated departmental goals and objectives, standards, policies and procedures, programs; resident/patient nutritional care plans; accreditation; and compliance with applicable legislation and regulations including completion and submission of required reports. The Director builds excellent employee and public relations within and outside the facility, and liaises with families, health authorities and facilities, licensing bodies and other external agencies.

Director of Support Services

RESPONSIBILITIES:

  1. Develops, implements and evaluates designated departmental goals, objectives, policies, procedures and care standards; ensures standards are maintained for the designated areas and comply with the operating requirements of the licensing body, the policies of the Society, the facility mission statement, values and philosophy, and relevant Federal, Provincial and professional legislation, standards and regulations.
  2. Establishes and directs systems for measuring and improving quality of departmental services to residents and patients.
  3. Participates in Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) and completes CQI follow-up to incident reports, infection control studies & audits, etc., especially as they relate to the accreditation process.
  4. Coordinates appropriate designated services through the B.C. Ministry of Health, Fraser Health Authority, and other external agencies.
  5. Supervises designated staff by interviewing and hiring qualified staff, setting priorities, establishing and monitoring performance expectations, and managing workload to meet operational requirements. Conducts documented performance appraisals on designated staff at least once every two years. Provides departmental orientation in accordance with the facility's overall employee orientation program.
  6. Investigates work and staff issues and, where necessary, initiates disciplinary action up to and including termination, in coordination with St. Michael’s Centre’s Human Resources Analyst and Site Operations Leader (SOL). Participates in labour relations and essential service levels as necessary.
  7. Ensures staff operations and schedules are conducted in compliance with Collective Agreements and facility policies. Defines duties, develops and coordinates work schedules, assigns work-loads and organizes departmental staff scheduling for designated staff. Approves timekeeping records, authorizes overtime and compiles program status reports as required.
  8. Approves leave of absence applications, including sick leave, vacation leave, etc. Prepares appropriate documentation for WCB claims and submits to the Administration office.
  9. Liaises and coordinates nutritional/food services, housekeeping, laundry and environmental services with other departments, establishing and maintaining cooperative working relationships.
  10. Plans and implements a nutritional care plan for all residents.Performs a nutritional assessment on admission and on a quarterly basis as or more frequently as required. Essential elements of the Nutritional Care Plan may include therapeutic and/or texture modified diets, nutritional counseling and the provision of nutritional supplements as required.
  11. Investigates complaints concerning the operation of the facility as they relate to resident and patient nutritional/food services, housekeeping, laundry, and environmental services; develops appropriate action or refers recommended action(s) to the SOL.
  12. Maintains departmental budget control by implementing applicable management policies and procedures, investigating variances and discrepancies, initiating corrective action and identifying trends for future budget planning. Seeks opportunities to reduce costs, and prepares rationale and justification for budget request. Ensures staffing hours and equipment costs are within the allotted budget.
  13. Fosters an ongoing safe and therapeutic environment for residents and patients. Ensures departmental operations comply with all required health and safety standards and regulations and established clinical and corporate policies, standards and procedures. Evaluates effectiveness of processes and identifies opportunities to enhance outcomes.
  14. Liaises with hospitals, health authority, government ministries and licensing, professional organizations, and other agencies. Represents the organization on external committees as deemed appropriate.
  15. Participates as a leader in the process to be accredited by Accreditation Canada.
  16. Participates in SMC’s Risk Management Program, including completing on time assigned issues for annual survey, and providing specified statistical information for the Quarterly Risk Report.
  17. Develops necessary documentation and reporting systems to maintain accurate departmental records and communications.
  18. Co-ordinates in-service and continuing education programs for nutritional and environmental services staff.
  19. Serves as a member of SMC’s Leadership Team. Participates in and/or chairs various meetings, teams, committees, task forces as required and as requested by the SOL.
  20. Participates in multi-disciplinary conferences by providing the applicable services support to the team.
  21. Ensures compliance with facility policies on purchasing, ordering, stock and inventory control while maintaining an appropriate and adequate inventory of supplies and equipment. Ensures all nutritional and environmental services equipment is maintained in proper working order; monitors the efficient use of supplies and equipment.
  22. Participates in the afterhours On Call rotation.
  23. Participates in the annual Strategic Planning process as directed by the SOL.
  24. Liaises with SMC’s Director of Care as required to ensure Resident and Patient care needs are met.
  25. Performs other related duties as required.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education, Training and Experience:

  • Bachelor’s in Dietetics, Clinical Nutrition, or Home Economics, with at least five years recent, related experience including extensive experience in Gerontology in a unionized environment and a minimum 3 - 5 years effective managerial experience in a related managerial position with demonstrated leadership abilities.
  • Current Registration with the College of Dieticians of BC.
  • Knowledge of maintenance operations and issues an asset.
  • Experience in the Accreditation Canada (AC) survey program. Ideally, has led a facility through the AC program to a successful survey outcome.
  • Experience designing, leading and instructing staff education programs, including hands-on teaching situations.
  • Experience using Point-Click-Care and MDS.
  • Computer literate with experience in using MS Office software. Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint) and ESP Scheduling software.

SKILLS & ABILITIES:

  • Possesses the personal qualities and attitudes that respect and maintain the spirit, dignity and individuality of the residents.
  • Understands and is able to integrate a philosophy of resident-centred-care into daily operations.
  • Ability to supervise staff.
  • Comprehensive knowledge of health care delivery systems.
  • Physical and mental capacity to carry out assigned duties in the working environment.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Ability to comfortably and competently address small and large groups in a public speaking/presentation role.
  • Ability to establish and maintain good interpersonal relations both within and outside the facility.
  • Ability to safely and efficiently operate all equipment associated with the duties of the position.
  • Ability to work independently, and as part of a management team, with a minimum of supervision

COMPETENCIES:

Achievement Orientated / Demonstrates new methods to improve performance through building on past experience or seeking new ideas in the industry.
Information Seeking / Systematic effort over time to obtain needed data or feedback includes research.
Innovative / Generates creative solutions, removes barriers.
Develops Others / Fosters the development of others through influence, teaching, coaching mentoring.
Builds Partnerships / Seeks new partnerships to support the vision and accomplish the goals of the organization.
Conceptual Thinker / Identifies key issues in complex situations; effective problem solver.
Acquires and Distributes Expertise / Translates knowledge into effective results.
Flexible / Ability to adapt and work effectively with a variety of situations, individuals and groups. Manages change.
Self Control / Demonstrates control of strong emotions; calms others.
Interpersonal Understanding / Understands underlying problems, behaviours, concerns, and cultural differences. Negotiates and facilitates consensus.
Teamwork and Cooperation / Exemplary communication skills; builds, motivates and empowers teams.

Created December 2012