Quality, Risk & Continuous Improvement Manager

Position Overview

Located at UPMC Kildare Hospital in Clane, County Kildare, this permanent part-time role leads the hospital’s efforts in quality management, patient safety, risk control, and ongoing improvement programs. The manager ensures adherence to healthcare standards, drives quality initiatives, supports accreditations, and strengthens risk management across the facility.

Core Responsibilities

• Collaborate with hospital leadership including General Manager, Director of Nursing, Chief Quality and Compliance Officer, and Medical Director to develop the hospital’s quality improvement strategies and programs.
• Design, implement, and oversee the hospital’s Quality Management System ensuring compliance with HIQA, JCI, ISO, CHKS, JAG, and HSA standards.
• Lead quality audits, coordinate corrective actions, analyze quality data, prepare dashboards, and present findings to senior leadership.
• Support policy and procedure development in clinical and non-clinical areas.
• Manage the Risk Management Framework by overseeing risk identification, evaluation, mitigation, incident investigation, root cause analysis, and promotion of open disclosure culture.
• Ensure required statutory reporting for incidents and risks.
• Drive patient safety programs focused on fall prevention, medication safety, infection control, and monitor safety indicators and clinical outcomes.
• Facilitate patient safety committees and ensure compliance with safeguarding and patient rights standards.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives utilizing Lean, Six Sigma, PDSA cycles, and process mapping techniques.
• Provide staff training and coaching on quality tools and methodologies, and manage cross-department projects with tracking of key performance indicators.
• Coordinate preparations for internal and external inspections and accreditations, ensuring documentation and processes meet regulatory standards and liaising with accrediting bodies.
• Deliver regular quality, risk, and safety reports; support clinical audit activities and governance meetings with evidence-based insights.
• Promote staff education, delivering training on risk management, quality improvement, and fostering a culture of safety and continuous learning.
• Participate in staff development programs, performance appraisals, education initiatives, and provide professional support and supervision.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Nursing, Healthcare Management, Quality, or a related field; Master’s degree is advantageous.
• Formal training in Lean, Six Sigma, or other quality improvement methodologies, with Green or Black Belt certification preferred.
• Minimum five years of healthcare administration experience, particularly in quality, patient safety, or risk management.
• Proven experience with hospital accreditation processes (CHKS or JCI) and thorough knowledge of healthcare standards and regulatory frameworks.
• Advanced proficiency in MS Office suite (Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and email systems like Outlook.
• Strong leadership, organizational, strategic thinking, problem-solving, data analysis, and stakeholder engagement skills.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary for this position ranges from €65,000 to €80,000 annually based on a 39-hour work week. UPMC offers a comprehensive rewards package including competitive pay, performance bonuses, fully paid maternity and paternity leave, a generous pension plan, death in service benefits, critical illness cover up to age 66, enhanced annual leave up to 27 days, flexible working options, and diverse career development opportunities.

Organizational Details

UPMC is an international academic medical center dedicated to high-quality, patient-centered care with facilities in Ireland, Italy, and Croatia. In Ireland, UPMC offers extensive healthcare services including hospitals and outpatient centers across multiple locations.

Equal Opportunity

UPMC is committed to fostering diversity and inclusion within its workforce and provides equal employment opportunities to all applicants.