Chief Midwifery Officer - Government of Nunavut

- Employer
- Phelps Group
- Location
- Remote
- Starts
- Closes
- Job Category
- Healthcare Services and Wellness, Nursing/Healthcare
- Job Type
- Contract
2+ year contract
Remote working opportunity with travel requirement throughout Nunavut
This employment opportunity is open to all applicants.
About the Government of Nunavut
The Government of Nunavut was selected as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers, Top Employers for Young People and recent graduates in 2022. With one of the fastest growing and youngest populations in Canada, Nunavut is a dynamic, vibrant territory, committed to becoming an even better place for future generations. As a government, we are strengthening our unique model of governance - one that integrates Inuit societal values, promotes use of the Inuktut language, achieves a representative public service, and collaborates with partners to achieve the promise of Nunavut. Successful applicants will enjoy a competitive salary, medical and dental benefits, a defined benefit pension plan, and opportunities for training and career advancement.
About the Role
The Chief Midwifery Officer (CMO) is a senior leadership role within the Department of Health, reporting to the Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) of Operations while receiving functional guidance from the Chief Nurse and Midwifery Officer (CNMO). The CMO oversees the planning, implementation, and monitoring of sexual and reproductive health and neonatal and maternal care services across the territory. They provide strategic leadership to ensure equitable access to culturally sensitive and high-quality care. The CMO holds signing authority for clinical and administrative policies related to midwifery and neonatal care and offers expertise on standards for nurses providing prenatal, postpartum, and neonatal care. Additionally, the CMO manages the midwifery workforce, focusing on policy, education, recruitment, and retention, and advises on healthcare services design and delivery in the territory.
The Chief Midwifery Officer (CMO) wields substantial influence within Nunavut's healthcare system. The role entails offering executive leadership, expertise, and strategic guidance to government bodies at various levels, with a primary focus on continuous quality improvement and risk management. This is critical to ensuring equitable access to high-quality care for all Nunavummiut. The CMO leads the development and implementation of a territorial midwifery strategy and advises senior health officials on midwifery service design, delivery, and utilization, impacting inter and intra-departmental divisions and regional operations while fostering improvements in patient experiences. The CMO collaborates closely with midwives, nurses, and various stakeholders to enhance healthcare excellence and drive positive health outcomes. Additionally, the role encompasses managing and leading the territorial midwifery program, including policy development, competency maintenance, resource allocation, education, research, recruitment, and retention, all while ensuring alignment with Inuit Societal Values in maternal/newborn care.
Key Responsibilities
- Proposing and refining health-related laws and policies to senior health officials.
- Tracking and responding to nursing and midwifery trends, recommending system improvements in Nunavut, and overseeing their implementation.
- Collaborating with federal, provincial, and territorial entities to address nursing and midwifery challenges in Nunavut.
- Guiding strategic workforce planning for various health professionals in Nunavut to achieve health objectives.
- Developing strategies for revitalizing Inuit midwifery and maternal-newborn health services, including updating midwifery laws.
Leadership Responsibilities and Objectives
- Provide strategic policy advice to ADM Operations and the Deputy Minister of Health to improve health system efficiency and patient outcomes.
- Develop integrated policies for nursing and midwifery workforce planning in Nunavut, considering their significant role in healthcare.
- Focus on reconstructing maternal-newborn health services, aligning with the government's priority.
- Enhance health outcomes for Nunavummiut in support of the Katujjiluta objectives.
- Creating a Territorial Midwifery Working Group for regular meetings.
- Monitoring and analyzing midwifery issues and trends, making recommendations for system improvements.
- Deciding on clinical midwifery program standards based on emerging trends.
- Addressing territorial midwifery issues through partnerships with federal/provincial/territorial platforms.
- Maintaining professional affiliations for growth and staying current in midwifery healthcare administration.
- Coaching and developing senior midwife leaders.
- Providing expert advice to Health Program Directors on midwifery practice matters.
- Establishing cooperative relationships with various stakeholders.
- Communicating changes and updates in midwifery practices department wide.
- Leading the development, implementation, and evaluation of a territorial midwifery workforce strategy.
- Participating in staff and committee meetings, task forces, and external working groups.
- Advocating for patient and birthing family involvement in midwifery service planning.
- Demonstrating culturally safe practices in clinical and administrative settings.
- Collecting, interpreting, and evaluating data on administrative, fiscal, and clinical midwifery matters.
- Preparing reports, Briefing Notes, and Business Cases.
- Providing input into departmental technology and informatics systems planning to support data collection, midwifery workflow, sexual and reproductive health care principles, and staff competency development.
Education and Other Requirements
- The successful candidate must have or obtain a Midwifery Diploma or be registered with a provincial/territorial College of Midwives in Canada or other recognized midwifery regulatory authority.
Acceptable combinations of education and experience may be considered for this position. We encourage you to apply if you have equivalent years of education and/or experience equal to the education and experience requirements listed above.
If you are interested in applying for this job, please submit your application to Phelps by clicking: https://bit.ly/3SxTEZ5
Application Deadline: March 7, 2024
401 Bay Street, Suite 1400, Toronto, ON M5H 2Y4
Phone: 416 364 6229