Chief Quality Officer (CQO)

Department/Unit:

President

Work Shift:

Day (United States of America)

Salary Range:

$0.00 - $0.00

Albany Med Health System
Chief Quality Officer (CQO)
Quality, Patient Safety, and Performance Improvement
Reports to: Health System Chief Clinical Officer
Location: Albany, New York (Systemwide responsibilities)



Albany Med Health System (AMHS) is in the midst of executing First Choice 2030, a bold, multi-year transformation agenda designed to position AMHS as the region’s trusted, connected, and transformative academic health system.

AMHS’s Vision states:

Albany Med Health System will be the region’s trusted, connected, and transformative academic health system—advancing the health and well-being of every community we serve.

We will unite exceptional care, discovery, and education to deliver the highest quality outcomes, expand equitable access, and shape the next generation of healthcare professionals.

Through collaboration, innovation, and compassion, AMHS will set the standard for value-based, patient-centered care and serve as a catalyst for health, hope, and opportunity across Upstate New York.

AMHS will be the first choice for patients seeking exceptional care, for providers pursuing the most rewarding careers, for partners driving the most advanced innovation, for students aspiring to the best education, and for supporters seeking the greatest impact.

The AMHS mission is to provide compassionate, high-quality care; advance medical discovery and education; and improve the health of the communities we serve.

To realize this vision, AMHS must integrate its academic medical center, community hospitals, physician enterprise, and clinical programs into a unified, high-performing system defined by clinical excellence, operational discipline, value-based performance, and physician alignment.


The Chief Quality Officer (CQO) (EVP), Quality, Patient Safety, and Clinical Performance Improvement, is a senior enterprise clinical leader responsible for developing, implementing, directing, and evaluating systemwide quality, performance improvement, patient experience, infection prevention, and safety programs in support of the goals of Albany Med Health System (AMHS). The CQO leads the development, implementation, evaluation, and refinement of the quality, patient safety, and patient experience strategy throughout AMHS. The CQO provides executive oversight of the following System functions: quality and safety (patient safety), accreditation and regulatory readiness, clinical process and performance improvement (PPI), healthcare quality data analytics and insights, patient experience, epidemiology and infection prevention, and other System-based functions as assigned. Reporting directly to the Chief Clinical Officer (CCO), this role integrates four critical enterprise capabilities—quality, patient safety, patient experience, and clinical PPI—into a disciplined, performance-driven organizational structure. The CQO partners with senior system leadership to define quality goals and strategy to ensure that AMHS is "First Choice" and defined by clinical excellence, value, and measurable outcomes. The CQO ensures that quality and safety priorities are translated into executable initiatives with clear ownership, sequencing, performance measurement, financial alignment, and accountability across the System. The CQO plays a central role in advancing AMHS's value-based care strategy, including supporting risk-based contracting initiatives and aligning quality performance with financial and clinical incentives. This executive collaborates closely with contracting, finance, physician enterprise, and population health leaders to ensure that quality performance is integrated into enterprise value creation. The CQO partners closely with clinical, operational, financial, academic, digital, and governance leaders to develop strategy and lead cross-functional initiatives that improve and redesign operational and administrative processes critical to safe, high-quality, efficient, equitable, and patient- and family-centered care. Working directly with the CCO and hospital/site-based Vice Presidents of Quality, Patient Safety, and Performance Improvement, the CQO directs, coordinates, and evaluates comprehensive and aligned quality management, PPI, and patient safety programs across AMHS. The CQO also supports the academic mission of AMHS and Albany Medical College by fostering scholarship in quality and safety, mentoring trainees and early-career clinicians in quality improvement science, and promoting research, publication, and dissemination of innovations stemming from system quality efforts.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Works directly with the Chief Clinical Officer and other executives and senior leaders to develop, direct, coordinate, and evaluate a comprehensive and aligned quality management, patient safety, and patient experience program for AMHS.

• Leads the development, implementation, and advancement of strategy to integrate evidence-based clinical process improvement methodologies (e.g., Lean, Six Sigma, Toyota Production System, DMAIC, or other high-reliability frameworks) into core operational and clinical improvements, maintaining flexibility to deploy the most appropriate methodology based on context and need.

• Is directly responsible for fostering a data-driven environment of quality, safety, experience, and cost improvement. Partners closely with the Chief Digital Officer and system data and analytics teams to ensure that actionable, timely, and transparent performance information and improvement tools are available to leaders and frontline teams across inpatient and outpatient settings.

• Leads and facilitates the development of annual quality priorities, system incentive program metrics, and board-approved quality goals. Aligns improvement initiatives with strategic and financial objectives and oversees disciplined execution and reporting.

• Works directly with the Chief Clinical Officer and Board of Directors/Trustees on the annual quality plan and provides regular updates on progress toward goals and objectives.

• Partners with the system contracting and population health teams to incorporate appropriate, evidence-based quality and outcome metrics into risk-based contracts and value-based arrangements. Ensures that quality performance infrastructure supports financial sustainability under risk-bearing models.

• Works with physician executives, nursing leadership, and human resources to develop and refine incentives around quality, safety, patient experience, and value for incorporation into compensation plans and performance evaluations.

• Prepares and obtains approval of budgets sufficient to attain agreed-upon goals. Administers expenditures within agreed-upon limits and ensures responsible stewardship of resources.

• Directs a broad spectrum of operational excellence and clinical performance services to maximize patient outcomes, operating performance, and organizational benefit.

• Guides assessments of organizational effectiveness at the System, hospital, and department levels, identifying variation, unwarranted practice differences, and opportunities for improvement.

• Establishes and continuously refines systems and structures to optimize quality, patient safety, patient experience, physician performance, and nursing performance across all care settings.

• Leads efforts to strengthen and sustain a culture of safety and high reliability across AMHS.

• Ensures regulatory compliance with DNV, TJC, CMS, DOH, and other licensing or accrediting bodies and leads systemwide readiness efforts.

• Cultivates strong collaborative working relationships across AMHS, including patient experience leaders, clinical process improvement leaders, site-based VPs of Quality and Safety, academic leaders, and external partners.

• Mentors the next generation of clinicians and leaders in quality and safety science, including medical students, residents, fellows, nurses, and allied health professionals, and supports leadership development in quality disciplines.

• Encourages and supports academic work, research, publication, and dissemination of innovations arising from quality and safety initiatives, contributing to the academic mission and national reputation of AMHS.

Qualifications:

• Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) with board certification in an applicable specialty - required

• Master's Degree in a quality, safety, healthcare administration, public health, or related field - required

• Master's Degree in Nursing - preferred

• 10+ years years of progressive executive leadership experience, preferably in a complex health system with an academic medical center, serving in a senior quality leadership role (e.g., CQO, VP Quality and Safety, or equivalent) - required

• 7-9 years of senior leadership experience with responsibility for oversight of core quality functions, including patient safety, clinical performance, patient experience, quality measurement and reporting systems, accreditation, and regulatory readiness - required

• 7-9 years of experience in supporting value-based care, risk-based contracting, and performance improvement initiatives tied to financial and clinical outcomes - required

• 7-9 years of presenting to boards and executive leadership, including quality dashboards and performance reporting - required

• Extensive knowledge of healthcare quality, patient safety science, performance measurement, and value-based care trends in complex healthcare delivery environments.

• Working knowledge of clinical process improvement methodologies (e.g., Lean, Six Sigma, Toyota Production System, DMAIC, high-reliability frameworks, or equivalent).

• Strong operational and financial acumen with the ability to align quality performance with cost-of-care reduction, resource utilization, and enterprise financial strategy.

• Demonstrated interest in scholarly contribution related to quality, safety, and patient experience, including research, publication, or collaboration with academic partners.

• Engagement in clinical practice or meaningful frontline experience preferred.

• Demonstrated ability to mentor colleagues and trainees in quality and safety-related initiatives.

• Enterprise mindset with strong systems thinking and ability to align quality strategy with enterprise transformation.

• Disciplined, execution-oriented leader capable of translating strategy into measurable results.

• Leadership from the front, modeling accountability, transparency, and high standards.

• High integrity, sound judgment, and credibility with physicians, nurses, operational leaders, and the Board.

• Courage to address difficult issues, escalate risks appropriately, and advocate for patient safety and quality at all levels of the organization.

• Collaborative, low-ego leadership style with the ability to influence without formal authority across a federated system.

• Comfort operating in complexity, ambiguity, and large-scale organizational change.

• Strong interpersonal, facilitation, analytical, and written and verbal communication skills.

• Deep respect for confidentiality and professionalism.

• Action and results oriented, with a demonstrated commitment to continuous improvement and clinical excellence.

• CPHQ - Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality within 90 Days - required

• Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS) within 90 Days - required

Equivalent combination of relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Physical Demands

• Standing - Occasionally
• Walking - Occasionally
• Sitting - Constantly
• Lifting - Rarely
• Carrying - Rarely
• Pushing - Rarely
• Pulling - Rarely
• Climbing - Rarely
• Balancing - Rarely
• Stooping - Rarely
• Kneeling - Rarely
• Crouching - Rarely
• Crawling - Rarely
• Reaching - Rarely
• Handling - Occasionally
• Grasping - Occasionally
• Feeling - Rarely
• Talking - Constantly
• Hearing - Constantly
• Repetitive Motions - Frequently
• Eye/Hand/Foot Coordination - Frequently

Working Conditions

• Extreme cold - Rarely
• Extreme heat - Rarely
• Humidity - Rarely
• Wet - Rarely
• Noise - Occasionally
• Hazards - Rarely
• Temperature Change - Rarely
• Atmospheric Conditions - Rarely
• Vibration - Rarely

Thank you for your interest in Albany Medical Center!

Albany Medical Center is an equal opportunity employer.

This role may require access to information considered sensitive to Albany Medical Center, its patients, affiliates, and partners, including but not limited to HIPAA Protected Health Information and other information regulated by Federal and New York State statutes. Workforce members are expected to ensure that:
Access to information is based on a “need to know” and is the minimum necessary to properly perform assigned duties. Use or disclosure shall not exceed the minimum amount of information needed to accomplish an intended purpose. Reasonable efforts, consistent with Albany Medical Center policies and standards, shall be made to ensure that information is adequately protected from unauthorized access and modification.

Thank you for your interest in Albany Medical Center!​

Albany Medical is an equal opportunity employer.

This role may require access to information considered sensitive to Albany Medical Center, its patients, affiliates, and partners, including but not limited to HIPAA Protected Health Information and other information regulated by Federal and New York State statutes. Workforce members are expected to ensure that:

Access to information is based on a “need to know” and is the minimum necessary to properly perform assigned duties. Use or disclosure shall not exceed the minimum amount of information needed to accomplish an intended purpose. Reasonable efforts, consistent with Albany Med Center policies and standards, shall be made to ensure that information is adequately protected from unauthorized access and modification.