Performance Excellence Consultant

St. Luke’s Health is the largest Catholic health system in greater Houston and southeast Texas. Our integrated delivery network comprises sixteen hospitals covering Houston, Brazos Valley, southeast Texas and Lake Jackson, and East Texas and Lufkin, and includes Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, the research and teaching hospital for Baylor College of Medicine. St. Luke’s Health is home to the Texas Heart ®Institute (THI), the top ranked heart center in Houston, and the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, a nationally ranked NCI designated cancer center. Our integrated network of care includes more than 398 employed and 1,668 clinically aligned network providers, and more than 20,000 employees delivering high value, nationally ranked quality and compassionate care along with our Christian ministry of healing.  Our goal is to deliver accessible, nationally recognized high quality care through the highest valuenetwork for choice in healthcare for patients, employers and payers with a commitment to an equitable and personalized patient experience for all consistent with our ministry of healing. 

The Performance Excellence Consultant within the Division is a hospital based, or divisional, resource that manages process improvement efforts for their organization using structured Lean and Six Sigma methodologies. This position supports the organization by addressing strategic issues, including determining the problem definition and structuring the problem solving approach, generally where no precedent currently exists. Provides consulting, project management, analytic support services, or technical expertise for a broad array of strategic issues. Strategic issues span several topics and are not restricted to one functional area; examples include: program evaluation, operations research, business planning, process design, strategy development, policy issues, profitability assessments, and major implementations.

ESSENTIAL KEY JOB RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Define and frame multi‐dimensional strategic issues and develop time tables/processes for decision making. Translate needs, issues, and ideas into effective strategies and plans.
2. Establish project team membership through the coordination of expectations from senior leadership and the need for content experts. Plan and facilitate meetings. Coordinate team/project activities and schedules.
3. Determine goals and priorities with team sponsors. Develop proposals for clients, outlining proposed project structure and approach.
4. Formulate specific implementation plans and evaluate the effectiveness of actions/programs implemented; develop creative alternative solutions; transfer project team knowledge/tools to client.
5. Communicate results and recommendations to project sponsors. Make formal presentations to various senior level audiences.
6. Design research plans for data gathering and analysis. Research key business issues, and direct the collecting and analyzing of quantitative and qualitative data. Synthesize analysis and identify key findings; participate significantly in interpreting analysis and developing action plans accordingly.
7. Utilize external benchmarking, cost analysis, scorecard analysis, re‐engineering theory and implementation, workload measurement, workflow modeling, performance improvement theory, cost‐benefit analysis, root cause analysis, FEMA, PDSA cycle,  business cases and other methods to propose solutions to strategic issues and craft action plans.

8. Prepare and analyze detailed business plans for both short‐ and long‐term objectives covering pros and cons, impact on profit and loss, and ROI as they relate to hospital and system objectives.
9. Assist as needed in planning and coordinating w/ other ongoing teams and projects to maximize effectiveness. Provide staff leadership to multi‐disciplinary project teams; Manage work of outside consultants when used.
10. Responsible for multi‐dimensional projects using data to validate problems and project implementation planning to secure sustainable improvements.

Required Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's Degreein a related discipline (i.e. Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, Healthcare Operations Management, or other).
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification or comparable licensure obtained within one year of employment.

Preferred:  HIGHLY preferred Process Improvement experience within Healthcare.  

Minimum Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to conduct and interpret quantitative/qualitative analysis.
• Advanced computer skills and knowledge of data systems.
• Must be able to manage several, complex projects at once.
• Must be able to interact with and sometimes direct the work of Project Analysts and Consultants in order to achieve project aims and provide mentorship.
• Must be able to influence members of project teams to participate in projects fully and achieve results.
• Ability to determine the key business issues and develop appropriate action plans from multidisciplinary perspectives.
• Must be skilled in exhibiting efficiency, collaboration, candor, openness, and results orientation.
• Must have effective communication, consulting, interpersonal, presentation, and project skills.
• Goal driven, persistent, and creative.

Disclosure Summary:

The job summary and responsibilities listed above are designed to indicate the general nature of the work performed within this job. They are not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all job responsibilities required of employees assigned to this job. Employees may be required to perform other duties as assigned.