Position Title : Decision Support Consultant

Department: Decision Support

Manager’s Position Title: Manager of Decision Support

Union: Non-Union

Last Date Reviewed: 2025-04-01

Location: WRHN @ Midtown (formerly Grand River Hospital)

Home to seven regional programs and comprehensive health-care services, Waterloo Regional Health Network (WRHN, pronounced wren) is committed to meeting the current and emerging needs in Waterloo-Wellington and beyond.

WRHN is redefining the health-care experience through collaboration and innovation, addressing barriers to access, advancing care delivery, and setting new standards in compassionate, empowered community-driven health care.

At WRHN, every patient is at the centre of everything we do as we strive to improve lives, inspire healing, and build healthier, stronger communities. By listening to patients and partners, we strive to connect communities to the right care, at the right place, and at the right time.

Please Note: New employees must provide documentation/proof of COVID-19 vaccination status, a 2-step TB test, as well as proof of immunity to measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (chickenpox) prior to their start date at Waterloo Regional Health Network (WRHN). New Employees will require clearance from Employee Health, Safety and Wellness before they are able to begin any position within WRHN.

Position Summary The Decision Support Consultant (DSC) plays a crucial role in providing expert analytics, insights, and recommendations to support both clinical and non-clinical leadership across the organization and external initiatives. The DSC will utilize advanced analytics to drive improvements in clinical, statistical, and financial outcomes. The DSC will also support strategic decision-making at the program, organizational, and system levels by delivering high-quality, meaningful, and timely data that informs key decisions.

The ideal candidate is a highly skilled, evidence-driven individual with exceptional analytical and communication abilities. They will have a demonstrated commitment to enhancing business intelligence and fostering a data-driven culture throughout the organization.

Responsibilities

General Responsibilities

- Proactively identify opportunities aligned with the hospital’s strategic and operational priorities and prioritize tasks to meet deadlines and deliverables.
- Independently develop innovative methods to address emerging challenges and meet stakeholder information needs.
- Maintain accountability for relationships, decisions, and actions across all organizational levels.
- Contribute to the development of internal and external initiatives, particularly those leveraging data and analytics to improve patient care.
- Assist in the direction and coordination of the Decision Support department, including training and supporting staff in operational activities, advanced analytics, result interpretation, and communication.
- Aid in the development and maintenance of department policies, procedures, and processes for data ingestion, analytics, and reporting.
- Demonstrate advanced expertise in quantitative/statistical analysis, including trending, impact analysis, benchmarking, forecasting, and support for future AI initiatives.
- Take a leadership role in organizational health information initiatives.
- Collaborate effectively with management at all levels to ensure information meets the specific needs of clinical, performance, operational, strategic, and research areas.
- Foster ongoing collaboration between clinical programs and other departments (Finance, Infection Control, Quality, Risk and Patient Safety, HR, IT/Digital Services, etc.).

Performance Measurement





- Develop performance metrics, dashboards, scorecards, and benchmarking capabilities aligned with the hospital’s strategic goals.
- Assist leadership in data collection, integration, development, presentation, and interpretation of corporate and program-level KPIs, through scorecards and dashboards.
- Use expert knowledge to align corporate strategies with key performance indicators across all balanced scorecard dimensions (financial, quality, internal processes, and innovation).

Education and Research

- Use predictive and mathematical modeling (e.g., clinical volume forecasting) to provide expert analysis.
- Educate staff and management on data quality issues, their impact on OCCI, OCDM, and MIS reporting, and potential funding consequences.
- Educate stakeholders about Health System Funding Reform, Quality Improvement Plans, and other clinical methodologies, offering recommendations to enhance care quality and optimize funding performance.
- Facilitate knowledge transfer/exchange strategies with internal and external leaders on report interpretation, data literacy and the use of business intelligence tools (e.g., scorecards, SharePoint, Microsoft cubes) to support decision-making.

Data Maintenance and Input

- Build and maintain systems to obtain data from financial and clinical sources, develop costing models, address data quality issues, and meet internal and external stakeholders' information needs (e.g., OCCI, MOHLTC).
- Engage in annual hospital planning activities, including financial, clinical, and statistical budgeting, forecasting models, strategic business case development, and performance analyses (e.g., physician impact, patient flow, bed impact, balanced scorecard reporting).
- Improve analytics and reporting capabilities by ensuring information from hospital systems is reconciled and integrated to support the organization’s ‘Insight-Driven’ goals.
- Maintain and enhance effective analytics and BI systems to ensure automated, accessible, and informative reports and dashboards.

Leadership and Support

- Provide in-house expertise and education on OCCI, Ontario Cost Distribution Methodology (OCDM), and other costing tools used by LHINs, Ministry of Health, and other stakeholders.
- Use insightful statistical analysis of clinical services to support volume management, performance interpretation, and decision-making by stakeholders.
- Manage projects supporting the collection and reporting of new structural, process, and outcome indicators, collaborating with Business Intelligence Advisors.
- Adapt communication and interpersonal skills to interact effectively with patients, families, co-workers, physicians, and others in the healthcare community.
- Demonstrate a commitment to fostering a healthy, supportive work environment that delivers high-quality care through compassion, innovation, and respect.
- Apply organizational and time management skills to prioritize work, solve problems, and adapt to changes and interruptions.
- Abide by all organizational policies and procedures (e.g., Occupational Health & Safety Act, Public Hospitals Act), and adhere to the Code of Conduct.

Cultural Performance Competencies

- Model the Way: Exercise self-control under pressure and effectively manage negative emotions.
- Inspire a Shared Vision:



Enlist others in a common vision by appealing to shared aspirations.
- Challenge the Process: Challenge traditional approaches to identify better ways of doing things.
- Enable Others to Act: Foster collaboration, build trust, and facilitate relationships.
- Encourage the Heart: Show genuine interest in others' thoughts, opinions, values, and needs, celebrating individual excellence.
- Demonstrate Enthusiasm for Lean: Take responsibility for applying Lean thinking to daily activities.

Position Requirements

- Undergraduate degree in Health Informatics, Math, Statistics, or equivalent.
- Minimum three (3) to five (5) years of related progressive experience in a health care environment.
- Experience with clinical datasets submitted to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, Cancer Care Ontario and case costing.
- Robust knowledge of Power BI, SQL Database, and Microsoft Excel.
- Demonstrated proficiency in quantitative and statistical analysis.
- Demonstrated effective communication and interpersonal skills with all levels of staff including physicians, patient service leaders, Ministry representatives and various other internal/external client groups.
- Advanced knowledge of MOHLTC Reporting and MIS Guidelines.
- Advanced knowledge of HSFR
- Strong understanding of OCCI methodology.
- Proven leadership and expertise in organizational performance measurement, development of scorecards, quality and process improvement initiatives, data warehousing, and business intelligence.
- Strong project coordination, time-management, and planning skills with the ability to multi-task and meet conflicting demands.

Preferred Requirements

- Advanced proficiency in Cerner, MS Power Platform
- Master’s degree in Health Informatics, Math, Statistics, or equivalent.

Application Instructions EMPLOYEES OF WRHN MIDTOWN & CHICOPEE ARE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT THEIR APPLICATION ELECTRONICALLY USING INFOR. Where applicable, as per the collective agreement, the internal recruitment process will be completed prior to the consideration of external applications.

WRHN is committed to fair and equitable employment and in our recruitment and selection practices. We strongly believe in inclusion and diversity within our organization, and welcome all applicants including, but not limited to racialized communities, all religions and ethnicities, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ2S+ persons, Indigenous people, and all others who may contribute to the further diversification of our Hospital community. We are committed to providing and fostering a respectful workplace for all employees, free from violence and harassment.

Accommodations are available during all stages of the recruitment process in accordance with the Human Rights Code. WRHN is committed to complying with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) to provide an inclusive, barrier free workplace. We will accommodate the accessibility needs of individuals with disabilities to support participation in all aspects of the recruitment process. Should you require this accommodation, please contact Human Resources.

International Applicants

If you are seeking employment on a temporary work or study permit we recommend reviewing work permit restrictions as it applies to healthcare organizations in Canada. Individuals holding a work or study permit seeking employment in the healthcare sector may be required to complete additional steps in the process. This may also apply to current employees seeking renewal of their work permits.

It is the accountability of the applicant and/or employee to ensure they are adhering to their specific work permit restrictions.

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