Vice President, Operations
For over 35 years, The Safehaven Project for Community Living has been providing exceptional care to children with developmental disabilities and complex care needs. Our mission is to provide high-quality, family-centered, and community-based residential and respite care for individuals with complex care needs. Safehaven serves individuals with disabilities and their families, through respite and residential programs at our Toronto, Etobicoke, North York, Woodbridge, and Aurora facilities, as well as client homes.
Our Future
At Safehaven, we are constantly striving to better serve our clients and communities that need us most. That’s why we are currently exploring opportunities to expand our service offerings beyond children to include adults, developing programs and services to care for more medically complex individuals, and implementing innovative therapy and recreational programs for our existing and future clients. In order for Safehaven to achieve our goals, we are looking for exceptional people with huge hearts who are motivated by positively impacting the lives of others and believe in our vision of creating a more inclusive world for people with complex care needs.
ROLE SUMMARY:
Reporting directly to the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Vice President, Operations is responsible for ensuring the efficient, effective and safe delivery of high-quality clinical care and administrative support services, including finance, human resources, information technology, purchasing and materials management, facilities management, strategy and system innovation. As the senior operations leader, the Vice President, Operations is accountable for driving operational excellence across both clinical and administrative functions. This role works in close partnership with the CEO and the senior leadership team, including the CFO, to achieve shared clinical, compliance and organizational goals across all Safehaven sites.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Vision and Strategic Operational Execution
- Leads the operationalization of strategic priorities for all functions, translating them into specific objectives ensuring clear alignment between strategy, operational planning and measurable outcomes. Note: the Philanthropy and Strategic partnership function is separate and reports directly to the President and CEO.
- Identifies emerging trends, system pressures and opportunities across healthcare, developmental services and community care, positioning Safehaven as an innovative and influential leader in the sector.
- Leads transformational change that strengthens service models, improves client and family experience, and enables sustainable growth and innovation.
- Ensures that clinical care, financial performance, resource utilization, human resource, strategy & system innovation and IT functions work in concert in the achievement of organizational goals and objectives.
Operational Management
- Provides executive leadership for all clinical, financial, administrative and operational functions, ensuring integrated, high-performing operations that support quality care, service excellence, fiscal stewardship and organizational resilience.
- Strengthens organizational structures, leadership accountabilities and service delivery models to meet current demands and support future growth.
- Establishes clear organizational goals and performance indicators, using data and evidence to monitor results, drive accountability and inform decision-making.
- Leads a strong, multi-functional senior leadership team, setting high expectations for performance, fostering professional development and ensuring succession readiness across key roles.
- Works in close concert with the finance leads to ensure the effectiveness and strategic alignment of the Finance function, which reports directly to the CFO for functional and technical expertise.
- Oversees the development workforce planning strategies that support recruitment, retention, engagement and the development of a capable and values-aligned workforce.
- Leverages digital innovation, technology, data analytics and emerging tools to improve access, quality, efficiency and the experience of clients, families and staff.
Quality & Safety Assurance
- Provides executive oversight for quality, patient safety, risk management and regulatory compliance, ensuring Safehaven consistently meets or exceeds applicable healthcare, licensing and accreditation standards.
- Ensures robust systems are in place to identify, assess and mitigate clinical, operational, legal and reputational risks, while promoting transparency and organizational learning.
- Drives excellence in care outcomes, quality performance and service standards, positioning Safehaven as a sector leader in complex care, safety and quality.
Stakeholder Engagement and Systems Partnerships
- Works in close partnership with CEO in building effective relationships with clients, families, staff, physicians, community partners, government representatives, and sector leaders to advance Safehaven’s mission and strategic priorities.
- Provides operational leadership and support, in concert with CEO and the Senior Director Strategy and System Innovation for major capital and development initiatives.
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility and Anti-Racism (EDIAA)
- Champions equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility and anti-racism as core leadership responsibilities, embedding these principles in strategy, decision-making, policies, people practices and service delivery.
- Oversee the establishment of a psychologically safe, respectful and inclusive workplace culture in which all staff, clients, families and communities are valued, heard and supported.
- Leads with humility and integrity to remove barriers, address inequities and strengthen belonging across the organization and the communities Safehaven serves.
Reporting Relationships
- The Vice President Operations reports directly to the President and CEO • Senior leadership positions as established report directly to the Vice President, Operations and includes clinical programs, finance, human resource and information technology, strategy and system innovation, material and facilities management. This is a key role working in collaboration with the President & CEO to evolve the organization with our growth and development.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Minimum ten(10) years progressive experience in a healthcare or healthcare, development sector or a related not-for-profit environment , with a minimum of five (5) years in a clinical leadership role with accountability for multiple programs and interprofessional teams.
- Master’s degree in a health-related discipline, health administration, business, public administration or a related field; a regulated health professional background is a strong asset. Additional business education is also considered an asset.
- Strong healthcare leadership credibility, including deep knowledge of clinical quality, patient safety, risk management, system accountability and person- and family-centred care.
- Demonstrated experience in managing non-clinical support functions is highly desirable, with demonstrated knowledge and experience in financial and budgeting involvement.
- Strong understanding of Ontario’s healthcare, developmental and community services sectors, including funding structures, government relations and relevant regulatory, licensing, accreditation and policy environments.
- Proven expertise in strategic planning, financial stewardship, operational leadership, performance management and the translation of strategic direction into measurable results. • Exceptional relationship-building, communication and influencing skills.
- Demonstrated resilience, sound judgment and adaptability in leading through complexity, change and ambiguity, with the ability to advance innovation while maintaining operational stability and excellence.
Work Location: Toronto (On-site)
We thank all interested candidates for applying. Successful candidates will be contacted to participate in the interview process. All Safehaven employees are required to be fully vaccinated as a condition of hire in accordance with Safehaven policies. Safehaven is committed to a respectful, inclusive, equitable, accessible, and anti-racist workplace.
We value diverse perspectives and believe they are essential to delivering high-quality, safe, and person centered services. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds. Accommodation is available throughout the recruitment process in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code and AODA.
If contacted for an employment opportunity or testing, please advise Human Resources if you require accommodation. Accommodations can be made for individuals identifying with a disability under the Ontario human rights Code.
