Staff Spotlight
Rising to the challenge: Unexpected leadership roles in health care
Whether your background is in health care or not, your path can lead here. Our leaders are diverse and offer fresh perspectives and skills that reach beyond traditional clinical roles.
At Vancouver Coastal Health, we’re hiring leaders driven by a shared passion for improving patient care and fostering healthier communities — leaders who believe in meaningful work, value supportive leadership and thrive through collaboration.
Your next leadership opportunity might be closer and more unexpected than you think. Here are four roles in health care you may not have considered - each breaking traditional molds and proving that leadership comes in many forms.
Building leadership through talent development
At VCH, the Health, Safety and Talent Management team plays a pivotal role in shaping how VCH engages, grows, develops and retains our workforce. This team spans five focus areas: Health, Wellness and Talent Development, Leadership Development and Support, People Experience, People Safety & Prevention and Strategy Deployment — each contributing to a curated, employee-centered journey that supports VCH’s goal of creating inspiring and accountable leaders and a great place to work.
Positions include advisory and leadership roles in program management, people experience, leadership coaching, leadership development, employee wellness, health and safety, psychological safety, talent development and workforce analytics.
Meet Jane (pictured left). Jane is the Director of Leadership Development and Supports, overseeing a team of leadership coaches dedicated to strengthening the skills and capabilities of VCH leaders. Taking a unique approach by focusing on leaders themselves, her team designs and delivers tailored in-house learning programs and services to meet their needs. “There’s a real sense of purpose in helping develop leaders who shape exceptional care and foster a culture of making VCH a great place to work,” she says.
Jane is proud of her team, who equip leaders with diverse skills including conflict resolution, psychological safety, inclusive leadership and emotional intelligence. “We share a common bond of making a difference and contributing through service to others,” she explains. “It’s incredibly rewarding to witness leaders’ growth and know it contributes to stronger teams and better care.”
Strong leadership communication and teamwork have been key to Jane’s success in engaging diverse groups, even in challenging conversations. “Health care offers so many opportunities to grow through meaningful work,” she says. Recognizing the fast-paced nature of the field, Jane emphasizes the importance of balance and adds, “I feel very supported by senior leadership in taking care of my own well-being.”
Guiding care quality with team collaboration
The Patient Care Quality Office (PCQO) may not be the first place you think of when considering leadership roles in health care. It operates within a team environment where legal, clinical and patient perspectives come together.
Meet Ian (pictured middle). Ian is the Interim Regional Director for PCQO, a vital link between the public and VCH’s clinical and leadership teams. He works closely with teams across the organization to improve patient care. “Recognizing the different pressures faced by rural versus urban sites and acute versus community settings has been invaluable,” he reflects.
Ian describes the PCQO as a close-knit, passionate team focused on quality improvement and ensuring patients have a respectful avenue to raise concerns. Made up of social workers and clinical staff, they work empathetically to understand patient experiences while recognizing clinical pressures. “The team is self-motivated and brings a passion for patient-centred care to work every day,” he shares.
This commitment shines through in the team’s hands-on collaboration approach. “Our team finds great fulfillment in the face-to-face work we do with patients and clinical teams,” Ian adds. “The ability to help make a complex system and diagnoses understandable for our patients keeps us motivated and brings us personal satisfaction.”
Strategic and creative leadership in Primary Care
Leadership in primary care at VCH integrates strategic planning, community engagement and innovation to meet evolving population needs. This includes executive leaders and directors collaborating with teams, partners and communities to advance equitable and sustainable health care aligned with provincial priorities.
Meet Andy (pictured right). He is the Regional Executive Director for Primary Care and Chronic Disease Management. Andy guides initiatives like Urgent and Primary Care Centres that offer patients alternative access to care outside emergency departments. “The best part of the job is thinking creatively and strategically—not just about health care delivery today but in 5, 10, 20 years,” he shares. “The work is purposeful with demonstrable, daily, real-life impacts.”
Andy fosters a collaborative, inclusive team culture by mentoring others, supporting growth and creating space where everyone feels valued. “We have to create and support the conditions for all individuals to work well and feel set up to provide their best each day,” he says. He encourages creative problem-solving where diverse perspectives drive innovation. “Several different brains and perspectives can help with creative dialogue and solving knotty issues.”
At the heart of his leadership is a deep respect for both patients and staff, whom he considers “cherished members of the family”—reinforcing a culture grounded in empathy, inclusion and accountability.
Join our team
We’re hiring leaders driven by meaningful work, value supportive leadership and thrive through collaboration.
