Role Description
Title:
Quality Improvement Advisor
Incumbent:
Leadership
Competency Group
Business and Service Enabler
LOCATION:
Branch and Division:
HHL Group, Quality Team (Shared Services)
Geographical Location:
Head Office, Wellington
Manager’s Title:
Director Client Safety, Quality and Risk
Manager Once Removed Title:
Director Planning and Service Development
ROLE PURPOSE:
The primary purpose of the role of the Quality Improvement Advisor is to support HHL Group and its entities
in the achievement of high quality and safe services for its clients. The role will support operational
management to understand and be accountable for implementing the quality framework and associated key
deliverables, ensuring compliance with sector quality and service delivery specifications, and with a particular
emphasis on continuous quality improvement.
The role is part of the HHL Group Quality Team, providing quality improvement support across all HHL Group
entities:
o NZCare
o Community Services Division
o Healthcare Rehabilitation Ltd
o Mental Health & Addiction
o Explore Behaviour Support Service
o Freedom Medical Alarms
o Pharmacy 547
HHL Group’s vision is:
“To provide the best community-based health, rehabilitation and disability support services.”
JD Quality Improvement Advisor, HHL Group Updated: 12 March 2014
DIMENSIONS OF THE POSITION:
Number of direct reports
Geographical area of responsibility
Nil
National across all HHL Group entities:
o NZCare
o Community Services Division
o Healthcare Rehabilitation Ltd
o Mental Health & Addiction
o Explore Behaviour Support Service
o Freedom Medical Alarms
o Pharmacy 547
Operating Budget
TBD
Other (delegation levels)
As per Authority Matrix
POSITION SPECIFICS:
In general terms, this position interacts with the following stakeholders:
Entity management
and staff
HHL Group
Quality Team
Certification
agencies
Government
Agencies (ACC,
HDC)
Clients and
Family/whanau
Advocacy Groups
IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIPS:
Internal
 HHL Group Quality Team
 HHL Group Senior Leadership Team
 Quality, Safety and Clinical Governance Group
 Planning and Service Development team
 HHL Group Shared Services
 All HHL Group divisions and staff:
o NZCare
o Community Services Division
o Healthcare Rehabilitation Ltd
o Mental Health & Addiction
o Explore Behaviour Support Service
o Freedom Medical Alarms
o Pharmacy 547
External
 Certification/audit agencies
 Clients, family, whānau and advocates
 Consumer organizations
 Health and Disability Commissioner’s Office
 ACC
 Ministry of Health
 Health Quality & Safety Commission
JD Quality Improvement Advisor, HHL Group Updated: 12 March 2014
PRINCIPAL ROLE ACCOUNTABILITIES AND EXPECTATIONS:
Quality Systems

Work with the Director Client Safety, Quality and Risk to implement the HHL Group Quality Framework and
Quality Plan.

Implement and monitor progress with the HHL Group Quality Plan, ensuring Senior Leadership Teams are
provided with regular progress reports and guidance on priority areas.

Develop regular reports of quality and safety data including incident reporting, complaints, satisfaction
surveys and other feedback mechanisms. Develop and promote use by operational management of analysis
and trend reports, key performance indicators etc.

Work with Clinical Leaders to ensure the Quality Plan links with clinical policies and procedures and clinical
audit activities. Ensure that all continuous quality improvement activities involving clinical practice integrate
with the organisation wide quality programme.

Provide oversight, direction and support to existing quality team members, ensuring workload is managed
to ensure key priorities are met.
Quality Improvement

Facilitate and promote use of the ‘Model for Improvement’ and other quality improvement methodologies
to ensure continuous quality improvement is the focus for quality programmes across all HHL Group
entities.

Provide oversight and coordination of client and family satisfaction surveys, providing support to services
for the development, implementation and collation of surveys, analysis and reporting of results.

Monitor and analyse trends associated with incidents and complaints ensuring remedial action is planned,
monitored and reported on.

Oversee the incident management system, responding to service requests for assistance with reporting,
coding and categorisation of events, and ensuring data entry into central spreadsheet occurs.

Ensure all incidents, including near misses, are reported and follow-up actions taken to eliminate or
minimise occurrences in the future.

Provide support and quality improvement advice to operational management in the reporting, analysing
and corrective actions resulting from major incidents and/or complaints.
Compliance

Work with the Director of Client Safety, Quality and Risk and senior leadership teams to ensure an internal,
contractual and external audit programme is maintained, reported on and corrective actions managed with
the agreed timeframes, ensuring that all service quality standards are met in all areas where the
programme services are being delivered.

Ensure that the quality function uses modern internal audit methodologies, which is proactive and focused
on continuously improving the effectiveness of quality and risk management.

Maintain a central register of all quality and safety corrective action registers related to internal and
external audit activities, monitoring progress and reporting on exceptions.
JD Quality Improvement Advisor, HHL Group Updated: 12 March 2014
Relationship Development

Maintains strong relationships and linkages with key organisations including audit agencies and
governmental departments.

Contribute to projects across HHL Group related to proposals for new business and/or national projects
associated with quality and safety. Eg: MOH, ACC, DHB’s PHOs, Health Quality and Safety Commission.

Develop relationships with managers and staff throughout HHL Group to promote a collaborative and
cooperatively approach, ensuring that the quality and safety programme works effectively within the
company matrix structure.

Develop strong relationship with clinical leaders throughout HHL Group entities, ensuring engagement and
participation in all quality improvement activities involving clinical practices.
Professional Development

Promotes a quality practice environment that contributes to the ongoing demonstration and evaluation of
competencies and encourages learning, best practice and evidence-based practice.

Participates in professional activities related to quality and safety to keep abreast of current trends and
issues related to rehabilitation, disability and community health services.

Communicates effectively with members of the health care team including using a variety of effective
communication techniques, employing appropriate context and providing adequate time for discussion

Promotes client and family/whanau perspective within the various teams.

Work with Learning and Development to support training and education of the packages related to quality
and safety.
Health and Safety

Demonstrate a high level of commitment to and understanding of the Company’s Health & Safety
Management System by become familiar with all policies and procedures as it affects the work
environment.

Systematically identify and assess hazards within the working environment and take all practical steps to
control these hazards.

Report all incidents and near misses as per the Company’s policies and procedures.
Miscellaneous

The diverse nature of this role requires that other duties may be undertaken from time-to-time and these
will be in consultation with management as they arise.
JD Quality Improvement Advisor, HHL Group Updated: 12 March 2014
COMPETENCIES:
Leadership Competency Group
Focusing on the people we work with
Executing the strategy
Understanding the environment
Business and Service Enabler
Coaching - Providing timely guidance and feedback to
help others strengthen specific knowledge/skill areas
needed to accomplish a task or solve a problem.
Delegating Responsibility - Allocating decision-making
authority and/or task responsibility to appropriate
others to maximize the organisation’s and individuals’
effectiveness.
Developing Others - Planning and supporting the
development of individuals’ skills and abilities so that
they can develop and/or enrich their capability in
their current or future job/role.
Selecting Talent - Evaluating and selecting internal
and external talent to ensure the best match
between the individual and the organisation’s
requirements.
Enabling Change - Encouraging others to understand
the need for change; facilitating the implementation
and acceptance of change within the workplace.
Taking Action - Setting high goals for personal and
team accomplishment; measuring and monitoring
team progress towards goals; tenaciously working to
meet or exceed team goals while deriving satisfaction
from that achievement and continuous improvement.
Building Client Loyalty - Effectively meeting client
needs; building productive client relationships; taking
responsibility for client satisfaction and loyalty.
Problem Solving - Identifying problems or
opportunities; comparing data from different sources
to draw conclusions; using effective approaches for
choosing a course of action or developing appropriate
solutions; taking action that is consistent with
available facts, constraints, and probable
consequences.
JD Quality Improvement Advisor, HHL Group Updated: 12 March 2014
PERSON SPECIFICATION:
Essential
Desired

Relevant tertiary/diploma qualification


Proven experience of at least 10 years working in
health and disability in NZ.
Project management qualification such as
PRINCE or equivalent experience.

A sound understanding and experience of the
principles of quality improvement methodologies.
Ability to maintain a strategic view of
organisational priorities.

Proven experience in motivating and inspiring staff
to exceed quality standards.
Experience in health service change and
implementation of new policy.

Proven knowledge and experience of
implementing health and disability sector
standards.
Preferable to have knowledge of working
with ACC contracts and coordination of
compliance audits against contract.

Knowledge of working with health and
safety compliance programmes eg: ACC
WSMP and/or ACC partnership programme.

The ability to envisage the way in which
services should develop to meet community
health needs and how changes might impact
on future models of care.




Experience in the facilitation of feedback from
clients, family/whanau and advisory group forums.

Proven policy development and strategic planning
skills

Working with clients and families in a participatory
health setting

Highly developed coaching and development skills.

Change management and leadership skills.

Skilled in relationship management with internal
and external stakeholders.

High standard of oral and written communication
skills.

Self-motivated, able to set priorities and achieve
timeframes with little direction or supervision.

Ability to adapt to chance and use initiative to
make decisions based on information and
knowledge of the situation.
JD Quality Improvement Advisor, HHL Group Updated: 12 March 2014