POSITION SUMMARY

This position grows and oversees The Joint Commission’s (TJC’s), and its affiliate, the National Quality Forum’s (NQF’s) data acquisition and analytic talent needed for development, implementation, and application of quality measurement in TJC products. The primary responsibilities are (1) enhancing and overseeing the development and maintenance of the data assets, architecture and data exchange infrastructure for quality measurement calculation and benchmarking, and (2) mentoring and supervising a data and analytics team that provides statistical methods, programming, and data visualization support for quality measure development, adaptation, testing, and benchmarking. The SMD brings knowledge of and experience assembling and managing real world health care data to support quality improvement and measurement analytics, research, and benchmarking. They guide the application of statistical theory, health services research methods, and cutting-edge analytic tools (including emerging artificial intelligence applications) to integrated data sets. They are an experienced team leader who will work across NQF and the TJC enterprise to inform and optimize strategies to achieve NQF/TJC strategic objectives of strengthening the use of quality measurement and data and analytics in TJC and NQF products and services to evaluate and improve healthcare quality.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Data infrastructure and acquisition

2. Lead the development, validation, and implementation of data resources and systems necessary to support NQF/TJC quality measurement products, including the acquisition and aggregation of data to develop, apply, test, implement and benchmark quality measures and measure sets, and other analytics.

• Develop, design, and help oversee data acquisition, data integration, data validation and data management systems for quality measurement.

• Advise on hardware and software solutions that meet business needs, developing proposals and assessing alternatives in consultation with TJC IT and NQF/TJC quality measurement teams.

• Manage implementation of new products and processes to support business needs.

• Create a trusted environment that supports data sharing by accredited organizations and other collaborating organizations including payers, purchasers, and specialty society registries. Comply with and enhance data governance policies. Proactively identify needs for supplementary and/or adapted controls and collaborate with enterprise IT and security leadership and corporate compliance to fully address data governance and security compatible with business requirements.

• Support business development efforts through assessing and proposing data solutions.

1. Data science

2. Lead, supervise and mentor data science staff.

3. Enable and guide the translation of quality measure results into effective, accessible data analyses and displays that are meaningful and actionable by varied users including health care organizations, payers, purchasers, clinicians and consumers.

4. Inform the selection and application of tools to enable data analysis and visualization.

5. Assist the quality measurement teams with accurately conveying quality measure results and benchmarks and characterizing uncertainty. Work with the Products Lead and quality measurement teams to gather user feedback and adapt displays.

6. Optimize and oversee production of data products.

7. Support other enterprise requests for measurement related data analytics and visualization products.

8. Statistical leadership and oversight

• Oversee biostatisticians supporting measure development, testing, validation and benchmarking activities.

• Lead the creation of best practices, resources and tools that enable new analytical capabilities, including the use of artificial intelligence.

• Recruit and train staff in the application of analytic approaches.

• Foster climate of continuous learning and innovation in data and analytics work.

• Train Senior Biostatistician and other statistical staff to work collaboratively with quality measurement team staff to identify testable hypotheses, devise suitable statistical analysis plans, carry out statistical analyses, and summarize and present findings to inform decisions.

• Foster true partnership between quality measure program staff and statisticians to evaluate and address measure design tradeoffs wholistically and transparently given statistical and programmatic considerations.

• Oversee technical components of the writing for analytic products, reports, and articles.

POSITION QUALIFICATIONS

Education/Certification:

Master of Science or higher degree in statistics, biostatistics, or data science with statistical emphasis required. Doctorate preferred.

Experience:

• Minimum 8 years of relevant work experience that includes aggregating real world health care data and overseeing a team of statistical analysts supporting research and applications relevant to quality measurement and improvement.

• Minimum of 6 years of experience team building and managing people in a matrixed organization to execute relevant tasks.

• Demonstrated knowledge and application of advanced statistics and analytics, including predictive modeling with large data sets, hierarchical modeling, machine learning, and other advanced statistical techniques.

• Experience with multiple types of health care data, including claims, electronic health record, patient-generated, and patient-reported data.

• Experience leading successful collaborations with partner organizations to optimize and execute data exchange and to collaborate on products and services.

• Experience initiating and supporting business development (BD) efforts.

• Experience leading analytics in the healthcare delivery system or at a health plan a plus.

Skills/Abilities:

• Proficient programming in R and Python.

• Proficiency in leading and overseeing multiple projects, staff, and competing priorities to achieve optimal results.

• Ability to manage client relationships.

• Ability to translate statistical techniques for multiple audiences.

• Ability to define the approach to and oversee deliverables and to guide staff on their timely completion.

• Proven experience fostering an environment for the development of new ideas and solutions, as well as proactively mitigating problems.

• Advanced facilitation and presentation skills and ability to write/present on behalf of an organization in an organized, concise, and clear manner with compelling and persuasive messages.

NQF is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.