Medical Director, Environmental Health Services

Medical Director, Environmental Health Services

BC Centre for Disease Control

Regular Full - Time Clinical FTE)

Vancouver, BC

The  British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC)  provides provincial and national leadership in public health through surveillance, detection, prevention and consultation and provides direct diagnostic and treatment services to people with diseases of public health importance.

Come join one of Canada’s best Public Health facilities in one of the world’s most beautiful cities The BC Centre for Disease Control in Vancouver, British Columbia (BC), is hiring a Medical Director with Environmental Health Services.

Environmental Health Services  (EHS)  at the BC Centre for Disease Control  (BCCDC) , a Program of the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA), comprises core environmental health, the Drug and Poison Information Centre  (DPIC) , and the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health  (NCCEH) . Core environmental health services include the provision of expertise related to public health management of climate change and climate change adaptation, food safety, air quality, water quality, toxicology, and other environmental hazards. The multi-disciplinary service line has approximately 45 personnel, including physicians, toxicologists, epidemiologists, food safety specialists, poison control specialists, data analysts, knowledge translation specialists, and others.

Reporting to the BCCDC Executive Medical Director, the Medical Director, EHS provides medical direction and supervision for core environmental health services and DPIC while contributing medical expertise to the NCCEH. The role supports the ongoing development of EHS, particularly in radiation safety, climate change adaptation, emergency planning and management, and toxicology. The role leads EHS in the development and demonstration of respect and equity at the forefront of environmental health practices. This includes ensuring that all environmental health programs, policies and procedures are grounded in Indigenous perspectives and anti-racist principles. The Medical Director oversees environmental health programs and projects that support the five regional Health Authorities and First Nations Health Authority in meeting their management and service delivery responsibilities. The Medical Director also supports the provincial Ministry of Health in meeting its stewardship responsibilities and the Office of the Provincial Health Officer in meeting its legislative and public health leadership responsibilities.

The core business of EHS is to provide expert consultation services and administer EHS programs. The team also provides research, evaluation and knowledge translation services, assists with training and education, and helps coordinate other provincial programs. The Medical Director must provide senior medical oversight to staff who deliver various environmental health-related services and programs. The Medical Director works closely with the Scientific Director of EHS to provide scientific oversight and to plan and implement strategic subject matter directions for the service line. The Medical Director is part of the senior leadership team at the BCCDC and is a key contributor to directing the BCCDC and supporting the leadership in creating a collaborative and creative environment.

Reconciliation is an ongoing process and a shared responsibility for all of us. The BC Governments’ unanimous passage of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act was a significant step forward in this journey—one that all health authorities are expected to support as we work in cooperation with Indigenous Peoples to establish a clear and sustainable path to lasting reconciliation. True reconciliation will take time and ongoing commitment to work with Indigenous Peoples as they move toward self-determination. Guiding these efforts Crown agencies must remain focused on creating opportunities that implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Mandate.

Applicants must be eligible for licensure as a physician in British Columbia and hold RCPSC certification or equivalent qualifications in a specialty related to environmental health, such as Public Health and Preventative Medicine, Community medicine or Occupational Medicine, and be eligible for appointment as senior clinical faculty at the University of British Columbia or another BC institution of higher learning. Along with at least 10 years of experience in fields related to environmental health, such as toxicology, epidemiology, occupational health, risk assessment and control of environmental hazards, applicants have extensive practical experience responding to environmental health issues and developing policy to mitigate risks. Applicants have comprehensive and in-depth knowledge of regulatory agencies, policies, legislation, and processes that govern and are relevant to environmental health. This senior role requires sound medical judgment on a wide range of environmental health issues, and an understanding of the structure and mandates of Health Authorities in the province is an asset. It also requires exceptional communication and cross-functional collaboration skills, together with knowledge of budget preparation and control and quality control practices in an environmental health setting.

Contact

Applications, accompanied by a cover letter, detailed curriculum vitae, and the name, title, rank and contact information of four references, should be directed to:

Advisor, Talent Acquisition – Physician and Scientific Recruitment

Application will be reviewed immediately. Position will remain open until filled.

About Provincial Health Services Authority 

The  BCCDC  is a program of  Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) , which plans, manages and evaluates selected specialty and province-wide health care services across BC. PHSA embodies values that reflect a commitment to excellence. These include: Respect people • Be compassionate • Dare to innovate • Cultivate partnerships • Serve with purpose.

For more information on all that the PHSA has to offer, please visit: 

For more information about BC Centre for Disease Control, please visit the website at: 

PHSA is committed to employment equity and hires on the basis of merit. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals, including Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities.

Reconciliation is an ongoing process and a shared responsibility for all of us. The BC Government unanimous passing of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act was a significant step forward in this journey—one that all health authorities are expected to support as we work in cooperation with Indigenous Peoples to establish a clear and sustainable path to meaningful and lasting reconciliation. True reconciliation will take time and ongoing commitment to work with Indigenous Peoples as we move toward self-determination. Guiding these efforts PHSA must uphold legislative obligations and provincial commitments found in the foundational documents such as including Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action (2015), In Plain Sight (2020), BC's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (2019), United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Reclaiming Power and Place Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls Calls for Justice (2019), the Declaration Act Action Plan and Remembering Keegan: A First Nations Case Study.