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Position Description – Vice President, Human Resources, Children’s Hospital & Research Center at Oakland

Our highly prestigious client, Children’s Hospital & Research Center at Oakland (CHRCO), located in Oakland, California, is the oldest, largest, busiest and most comprehensive children’s hospital between Los Angeles and Seattle. The Hospital is a separately governed, free-standing facility.

Founded in 1912, Children’s Hospital & Research Center at Oakland meets the medical, developmental, and psychological needs of all children, from premature infants to teenagers, with expertise in 30 pediatric subspecialties from adolescent medicine to urology. With a staff of 2,200+ employees specially trained to care for children, CHRCO serves as both a regional referral center and a medical safety net for East Bay children, with more than 176,000 visits each year from patients from throughout California as well as other states and countries.

Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) is among the nation’s top ten pediatric facilities in terms of Federal funding. Close collaboration between clinical and research services at Children’s has resulted in advances in the treatment of cancers, sickle cell disease, thalassemia, AIDS/HIV and many other life-threatening diseases. CHORI researchers have contributed significantly to the understanding of the human response to vaccines and to the impact of nutritional deficiencies, drug use, and environmental toxins on birth defects. Ongoing studies into the molecular mechanisms of atherosclerosis, obesity, asthma, and diabetes benefit children worldwide.

The Hospital has the largest pediatric intensive care unit in Northern California, the only pediatric emergency department and the only designated pediatric trauma center between Los Angeles and Seattle. The 47-bed intensive care nursery is the State-designated regional referral center for high-risk newborns in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

The Outpatient Center is the only freestanding pediatric outpatient center in Northern California. The Hospital works closely with community physicians to bring pediatric expertise to outlying areas through satellite offices. The Hospital has two Foundations that raise funds to help support these specialized services and programs.

Our client’s annual revenue is approximately $150 MM, it controls assets of nearly $180MM and operates on a net margin of 2.8%. The balance sheet and other operating ratios indicate that it is in a strong financial position. The organization’s income is a combination of standard medical reimbursement by the State and Federal Governments, private payors, grants and donations.

The Management

Underlying the management team's skill-set is a passionate, deep-seeded and visionary commitment to excellence, innovation and growth. The style of management and the organizational culture of excellence are deeply rooted in teamwork and mutual support. The commitment of the management team to the mission, which is “Kids”, is outstanding and highly effective in keeping the management and staff focused on the big picture. To complement the management team an individual must be able to blend their individual success into that of the entire team and share in the commitment and the satisfaction of taking care of very sick children.

Key management individuals work together in Cluster Groups, which allows them to focus the combined resources of the organization on particular challenges by working together and sharing resources. The level of teamwork and support within and among the cluster groups is extraordinarily high and remarkably effective. This group of managers, with their collaborative style and complete commitment to the mission, is the heart of the organization’s success.

Position Description

The Vice President, Human Resources reports to the President and CEO and he or she will be directly responsible for the overall administration, coordination, and evaluation of the Human Resources function.

Adheres to organizational Policy and Procedures
Acts as a role model within and outside the organization
Promotes organizational good will and morale
Passionate about ensuring employee satisfaction and confidence with the HR department
Performs duties as workload necessitates
Maintains a positive and respectful attitude
Communicates regularly with supervisor about Department issues
Demonstrates flexible and efficient time management and ability to prioritize workload
Consistently reports to work on time prepared to perform duties of position
Meets Department productivity standards

Responsibilities

Annually reviews and makes recommendations to Senior Management for improvement of Organization’s policies, procedures, and practices on personnel matters.
Maintains knowledge of industry trends and employment legislation and insures Organization’s compliance.
Responsible for Organization’s compliance with Federal and State legislation pertaining to all personnel matters.
Communicates changes in Organization personnel policies and procedures and insure proper compliance is followed.
Assists executive management in the annual review, preparation and administration of Organization wage and salary program.
Coordinates and/or conducts exit interviews to determine reasons behind separation.
Consults with legal counsel as appropriate, and/or as directed by the CEO on personnel matters.
Works directly with department managers to assist them in carrying out their responsibilities on personnel matters.
Recommends, evaluates, and participates in Staff Development for Organization.
Develops and maintains a human resources system that meets Organization personnel information needs.
Supervises the staff of the Human Resources Department.
Participates on committees and special projects and seeks additional responsibilities.
Serve as integral member of the management team to participate in the development of strategic organizational planning.
Provide expertise and guidance to the management team regarding resource management.
Direct benefits administration including claims administration, billing, carrier interface and problem resolution.
Provide direction and advise to HR staff on policies, procedures, compensation and employee relations issues.
Education and Credential Requirements
BS in Business Administration or equivalent
Minimum of 7 to 10 years of Human Resources management experience in the areas of employee relations, staffing, benefits, compensation administration, training and policy development and implementation.
Strong Labor Relations background.
Proven successful negotiation skills to influence policy making with executive level management.
Experience within a healthcare provider background desired.
High energy, hands-on experience required.
Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills are necessary.
Must be able to act independently.
Demonstrated sound judgment and strong problem resolution skills.

Personal Traits and Characteristics

The Vice President, Human Resources is a key position in the organization. The successful candidate must have the following skills:

Excellent Communication Skills, both written and oral: The successful candidate's communication style should be direct, but not confrontational. He or she must be able to clearly articulate financial planning functions to all levels of the organization. The successful candidate must be a good listener. He or she must have the ability to get a complete understanding of the user needs, prioritize those needs and clearly communicate the action timetable to the users in a level of communication that they require.
Sense of Urgency: The successful candidate will possess a high energy level, which allows them to react to situations quickly and decisively, possessing self confidence to be assertive when taking a position, not being afraid to make decisions.
Image and Presence: The successful candidate will have significant exposure to customers and industry constituents. As such, he or she must project the appropriate image for the Company.
Accountability: He or she should be a results oriented team player who leads by example, holds him or herself accountable for performance, takes absolute ownership, and champions all aspects of the program.
Indomitable Work Ethic: The successful candidate will reject setbacks and will enthusiastically persist until ambitious goals are achieved. He or she will be resourceful and innovative at managing the day-to-day operations of the department, as well as gaining support and understanding for future systems deployments, enhancements and capabilities.

The Opportunity

As a nationally respected Pediatric Center, the hospital will continue to serve as a key referring location for Northern California Pediatric Care, therefore maintaining a reputation as leading-edge facility with extraordinary technology and services, and the level of excellence and respect is especially critical and essential to our client’s future.

The healthcare delivery system has and will continue to undergo significant change. As the vast majority of healthcare providers are finding it difficult, at best, to keep pace with the growing clinical demands, while controlling the cost of care.

This position offers the right person an opportunity to work in an innovative environment. The Vice President, Human Resources will have an opportunity to significantly grow their direct experience and knowledge of the industry and position themselves to met future career challenges with a broad and noteworthy experience base.

Compensation

The compensation plan is based on a competitive base salary commensurate with the experience and the demonstrated accomplishments of the successful candidate, and will reflect the opportunity at the Company. The organization has an excellent employee benefits package, consisting of medical coverage, a dental plan, life insurance, and a 403 b program.