Vice President, Clinical Services

Posting closes: July 2, 2026 at 5:00pm

About Us:

The Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington (CMHA WW) provides a full care system for those with addictions, mental health or developmental needs. We serve everyone from children to adults to seniors, all under one roof. Our programs help individuals and families to lead lives filled with meaning and promise. We have 400 staff at offices in Cambridge, Waterloo, Kitchener, Guelph, Fergus, and Mount Forest.

We are fully accredited by Accreditation Canada and are proud of our Exemplary Status (the highest standing) received at our most recent accreditation exercise.

Why Join our Team:

Competitive Compensation and Benefits: Our compensation package includes a competitive salary and generous benefits supporting the wellness of our staff. We are proud to be members of the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) offering one of Canada’s largest and most respected defined benefit plans.

Career Development Opportunities: Our wide range of services and supports allows for varied opportunities for career growth. Our multi-disciplinary approach to care offers cross collaboration and enhanced opportunities for learning. A formal succession planning process is key to our internal leadership recruitment.

Values that include: Mutual Respect, Accountability, Integrity and Excellence and Innovation and a culture that is welcoming and inclusive.

Commitment to Health and Safety: We have a strong health and safety culture at CMHA WW and work tirelessly to address the health and safety needs of staff and the people we serve.

The Opportunity:

We are recruiting for a Vice President, Clinical Services

• This a regular full-time newly created position (minimum of 35 hours per week Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm) based at 737 Woolwich St, Guelph.

The Vice President, Clinical Services (VP, Clinical Services) is a member of the Executive Leadership Team at the Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington (CMHA WW) and reports to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), providing executive leadership and organization-wide accountability for clinical services, clinical excellence, quality improvement, client safety, enterprise risk management, and privacy and health information management across a multi-site, community-based mental health and addictions organization.

The VP, Clinical Services ensures services are safe, equitable, evidence-based, trauma-informed, are compliant with funder’s requirements, accreditation, and regulatory requirements, including privacy legislation and standards governing the collection, use, disclosure, and protection of personal health information. The role integrates clinical governance, system accountability, and risk stewardship with enterprise privacy governance to drive consistent standards while enabling responsive, high-quality care across diverse programs and geographies. The VP Clinical Services also holds executive oversight for the performance, integration, and continuous improvement of clinical service delivery across the organization.

As a trusted advisor to the CEO and Board, the VP Clinical Services leads organization-wide quality, risk, and accreditation systems, and serves as Chief Privacy Officer, providing strategic oversight of privacy governance, compliance, breach management, and organizational practices related to health information. The VP strengthens system partnerships and advances innovation and continuous improvement in clinical care, information stewardship, and service delivery.

Key Responsibilities:

Clinical Governance & Professional Practice

• Provide executive leadership and professional accountability for clinical services across all services and programs across the lifespan provided by CMHA WW.
• Establish and sustain an integrated clinical governance framework that ensures consistent standards, accountability, and excellence across all programs, services and sites.
• Oversee clinical leadership structures, including professional practice, clinical ethics, and scope of practice optimization.
• Ensure alignment of clinical services with regulatory standards, best practices, and organizational priorities.
• Drive consistency and integration of clinical service delivery across multiple sites, ensuring equitable access, standardized care pathways, and seamless client transitions between programs and services

Quality, Client Safety & Continuous Improvement

• Lead the development, implementation, and evaluation of the organization’s Quality Management System.
• Establish organization-wide quality performance indicators, outcome measurement frameworks, and reporting structures.
• Ensure consistent client safety practices, including incident reporting, investigation, disclosure, and system-level improvement.
• Monitor organizational performance, identify trends and risks, and ensure timely mitigation and corrective action.
• Integrate quality improvement initiatives directly into clinical service delivery to drive measurable improvements in care outcomes and client experience.
• Champion a culture of continuous quality improvement, client experience, and organizational learning.
• Oversee Quality of Care review processes and ensure compliance with applicable legislation, including the Quality of Care Information Protection Act (QCIPA).

Risk Management & Compliance

• Provide executive oversight of clinical and organizational risk within the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework.
• Ensure compliance with applicable legislation, regulatory requirements, professional standards, and funder expectations.
• Oversee the development, implementation, and monitoring of policies, procedures, and standards that mitigate risk and support safe, high-quality care.
• Lead organizational response to critical incidents, complaints, and external reviews, ensuring transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Ensure systems are in place for the reporting, investigation, and management of incidents, complaints, and Serious Occurrences, including compliance with funder reporting requirements.
• Promote a proactive, organization-wide approach to risk identification, prevention, and mitigation to safeguard clients, staff, and organizational assets.

Privacy & Health Information Management

• Serve as the organization’s Chief Privacy Officer (CPO), providing executive leadership and accountability for privacy and health information management.
• Ensure compliance with applicable privacy legislation (including PHIPA), and oversee organizational practices related to the collection, use, disclosure, retention, and protection of personal health information.
• Establish and sustain an enterprise-wide privacy governance framework, including policies, standards, and controls that support compliance and risk mitigation.
• Oversee the management of privacy breaches and complaints, ensuring timely investigation, resolution, and system-level improvements.
• Lead privacy and health information audits, monitoring, and continuous improvement initiatives to strengthen organizational practices.
• Provide strategic oversight of health information management, including data governance, standardization, and the effective use of information to support quality care and decision-making.
• Build organizational capacity through education, guidance, and leadership to ensure consistent application of privacy and health information standards across all programs and sites

Accreditation, Standards & System Accountability

• Serve as the organization’s Executive Lead for Accreditation Canada and Health Standards Organization (HSO) processes, ensuring ongoing readiness and compliance.
• Oversee Required Organizational Practices (ROPs) and alignment with national quality and safety standards.
• Ensure fulfillment of Ontario Health accountability requirements, including Multi-Sector Service Accountability Agreement (MSAA) obligations, quality improvement plans, and performance reporting.
• Represent CMHA WW in regional and provincial forums, contributing to system planning, integration, and transformation initiatives.

Strategy, Innovation & System Integration

• Contribute to organizational strategic planning, with a focus on clinical quality, safety, and sustainability.
• Lead clinical and quality input into service design, transformation, and innovation initiatives.
• Advance integrated care models and partnerships that improve access, coordination, and client outcomes.
• Provide Executive Leadership for change management initiatives, including implementation of new models of care, technologies, and system reforms.
• Identify opportunities to expand or redesign clinical services to better meet emerging community needs and system priorities.

Governance & Board Relations

• Provide regular reporting and strategic advice to the CEO and Board on clinical performance, quality, client safety, and risk.
• Support Board and the Board’s Committee on Performance, Quality, Risk and Ethics (PQRE) decisions through reporting, analysis, and recommendations.
• Ensure transparency and alignment between governance, strategy, and operational performance.

Leadership & Organizational Culture

• Provide Executive Leadership for change management related to new models of care, digital tools, or system reforms.
• Lead clinical input into service redesign, expansion, and innovation across multiple sites.
• Provide leadership, coaching, and accountability for senior clinical, quality, and risk leaders.
• Support leadership development, succession planning, and workforce sustainability within clinical and quality portfolios.
• Foster a culture of accountability, transparency, and ethical stewardship of clinical and personal health information.
• Contribute to organizational strategic planning with a focus on clinical quality, safety, and sustainability.
• Apply CMHA WW privacy, quality, and risk management standards consistently across all responsibilities and duties.
• Demonstrate commitment to CMHA WW’s Mission, Vision, and Values in all daily work and professional interactions.
• Provide CEO Coverage as designated by the CEO.

Qualifications:

Education and Experience:

• Master’s degree in a regulated health profession, health administration, public health, or a related field; doctoral degree considered an asset.
• Current registration in good standing with a relevant regulatory college
• Significant progressive senior leadership experience in healthcare, preferably within community mental health and addictions or a similarly complex environment.
• Demonstrated experience leading at an executive level in:
  • Clinical governance and professional practice
  • Quality improvement and patient safety
  • Enterprise risk management and regulatory compliance
  • Clinical service delivery, program performance, and multi-site operations
• Experience with Accreditation Canada / HSO standards and Ontario Health accountability frameworks.
• Proven experience leading organizational transformation, system integration, and large-scale change initiatives.

Required Skills & Abilities:

• Strong systems thinking with the ability to lead across complex, multi-site environments.
• Strategic mindset with the ability to translate vision into measurable outcomes.
• Advanced knowledge of quality improvement methodologies, performance measurement, and risk mitigation.
• Exceptional communication, relationship-building, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Demonstrated ability to influence at executive, Board, and system levels.
• High level of political acuity and sound judgment in complex environments.
• Commitment to equity, inclusion, and culturally safe care.
• Strong project management, organizational, and analytical skills.
• Advanced proficiency in MS Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and PDF tools.
• Valid G Class driver’s license, access to a reliable personal vehicle, and appropriate insurance
• Embody CMHA WW values: Mutual Respect, Integrity, Accountability, Excellence, and Innovation.

Compensation: Level 12 (Non-Union) $76.78 to $91.75 per hour ($139,739.60 to $166,985.00 annually)

Qualified applicants are invited to submit a resume and cover letter (in one document) outlining how your skills and experience meet the position requirements.

CMHA WW, as an equal opportunity employer, embraces diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive workplace. Our goal is to attract, develop and retain talented employees from diverse backgrounds, allowing us to benefit from a wide variety of experiences and perspectives. We welcome applications from all qualified persons.

*We do not use AI in our screening process.