Quality Assurance And Training Lead

Reporting to the Professional Practice Director, the Quality Assurance and Training Lead is responsible for developing and implementing measurement tools and training to support pharmacy practice and pharmacy operations inspections. This includes training pharmacy practice consultants (PPCs) and sterile compounding assessors (SCAs), collaborating on the analysis and reporting of aggregate performance data, and providing input on standards development.

Key responsibilities

Quality assurance

Design and implementation of measurement tools

• Collaborate with the Professional Practice Director on the development, implementation and maintenance of measurement tools and performance indexes to be used by the practice team in inspections to support quality improvement, quality assurance, and compliance with pharmacy practice and pharmacy operations standards.

• Recommend and implement changes to measurement tools and their configurations in the professional practice module in the ACP database to facilitate inspections by PPCs, and self-evaluations and correction of deficiencies by licensees.

• Collaborate with the Professional Practice Director and other departments on the development of performance indexes specific to pharmacy practice and pharmacy operations inspections.

Implementation of standards and reporting

• Lead the ongoing review and implementation of approved changes to the sterile and non-sterile compounding standards.

• Collaborate with the Professional Practice Director and Business Intelligence Analyst to develop business intelligence reporting including performance dashboards about professional practice inspections and data collected from these inspections.

• Write policies and procedures to support the use of the professional practice database and application of business processes.

• Ensure records management principles and guidelines for record keeping are followed.

Inspections training

• Provide training to PPCs and SCAs on interpretation of legislation, standards, and policies; and field training on conducting inspections and writing inspection reports in accordance with the Health Professions Act (HPA) and the Pharmacy and Drug Act (PDA),

• Be the first point of contact for PPCs and SCAs to answer questions about inspections, and to triage challenging situations, escalating issues to the Professional Practice Director as needed.

• Occasionally conduct inspections in tandem with PPCs on an as-needed basis to assess pharmacy practice, operations, and systems to achieve quality assurance and improvement to the standards.

• Develop and revise training programs for PPCs and SCAs including identifying training needs, developing and revising training material, developing and implementing inspection consistency training, and identifying external training opportunities.

• Develop and share expertise about pharmacy practice and pharmacy operations processes and keep team members up to date about practice trends, challenges, and issues that may require policy development.

• Collaborate with ACP team members on policy development.

• Ensure that team members understand and can apply relevant policies, standards, and legislation in addressing deficiencies during inspections.

• Consistently communicate project priorities in the professional practice department.

• Other duties as required.

About you

• You have excellent knowledge of pharmacy practice and regulatory trends and challenges. You’re able to apply this knowledge to contribute to policy discussions and the development of inspection tools to support the implementation of standards.

• You’re self-motivated with excellent time management and organization skills. You’re detail-oriented and able to manage a heavy workload, deal with multiple priorities, and maintain composure while progressing toward desired outcomes efficiently and effectively.

• You take ownership of your work and take pride in meeting standards for quality, service, and professionalism.

• You’re a collaborative team player, who builds, maintains, and supports colleagues in delivering their services and acts in the best interest of the team.

• You demonstrate excellent critical thinking skills including big picture thinking, bringing insightful perspectives and understanding others’ broad perspectives when delivering solutions for highly complex problems.

• You’re able to work independently with minimal supervision once clear expectations have been set.

• You are analytical and an excellent problem-solver, good at determining how to measure and track progress.

• You’re a skilled communicator who is clear, concise, effective, and respectful in all forms of communication.

• You value, build, and leverage relationships – you use compelling communications to reinforce messages or build buy-in and can influence others.

• You listen actively to understand, negotiate skillfully to promote a common cause, comfortably confront and work through conflict, and value tact and diplomacy in all your communications.

Qualifications

• Undergraduate or graduate pharmacy degree is required. Master’s degree in related health sciences or business is an asset.

• Eligibility for registration on the clinical register of the Alberta College of Pharmacy.

• At least five years of experience in pharmacy practice.

• At least three years of leadership and management experience.

• Knowledge of and experience in applying legislation, professional standards, guidelines, and policies.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

• Skills, experience, education, or a strong interest in statistics, data analytics, data reporting, and data visualization is preferred.

• Experience and/or education in quality assurance, quality improvement, change management, or program evaluation is preferred.

• Previous experience in conducting inspections, assessing and monitoring performance of others, and performing quality assurance, is an asset.

About us

The Alberta College of Pharmacy (ACP) is the regulatory body for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and licensed pharmacies in Alberta. We are responsible for quality pharmacy care through developing and enforcing pharmacy practice standards and guidelines. We also ensure only qualified pharmacy professionals are licensed and that all pharmacies provide a practice environment that supports quality practice and patient safety. It’s a big responsibility.

ACP is a global leader in the advancement of pharmacy practice. Alberta’s pharmacists have the broadest scope of practice in North America. You could say ACP is a trailblazer. Our team members are collaborative, thoughtful, respectful, encouraging, and committed to quality. In fact, that’s our team charter, which was created by our team members. ACP offers competitive compensation and benefits.

How to apply

Along with your resume, please submit a cover letter outlining why you’re interested in the opportunity and how your work experience has prepared you to succeed in the role. Cover letters can be addressed to Ashley Edwards Scott, Manager of Human Resources and Culture. Submissions without a cover letter will not be considered.

We thank all applicants for their interest in ACP, however, only those selected for a phone screen will be contacted.