Specialist, Quality and Patient Safety

Specialist, Quality and Patient Safety Department

Entity: Aga Khan University Hospital

Location\: Karachi, Pakistan

Introduction:

The Aga Khan University Hospital is a not-for-profit healthcare institute that offers all medical services to its patients under one roof. In addition to the tertiary care hospital in Karachi, AKUH has a network of 4 secondary care hospitals, 30+ Medical Centers, and over 290+ Clinical Laboratories, 30+ Pharmacies in over 120+ cities across Pakistan. It also offers Home Healthcare Services and home deliveries of medicines. The Hospital provides Zakat for those patients who are eligible, and the health system offers generous Patient Welfare to support those in financial need. In recognition of its high quality and patient safety, the AKUH is accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCI) as an Academic Medical Centre, and its Clinical Laboratories are accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) for fast and accurate testing.

As an equal opportunity employer, AKU believes in promoting a diverse and inclusive culture and is committed to adopting appropriate standards for safeguarding and promoting a respectful relationship with and between diverse workforce of its faculty, staff, trainees, volunteers, beneficiaries, wider communities, and other stakeholders with whom it works, including children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees/trainees and partners to share this commitment.

Responsibilities:

You will be responsible to:

• Responsible for driving excellence in quality, patient safety, and infection prevention through systematic clinical audits, surveillance activities, and data-driven improvement initiatives.
• Ensure compliance with internationally recognized healthcare quality and accreditation standards across all patient care areas and hospital departments.
• Serve as a subject matter expert and trusted resource for leaders and managers, providing guidance to address identified gaps during audits, strengthen adherence to clinical and administrative policies, and embed a culture of continuous improvement in Quality, Patient Safety, and Infection Prevention & Control.
• Guide, support, and train QPS Coordinators and Infection Preventionists in following clinical guidelines, audits, and infection control practices.
• Monitor and track hospital-acquired infections and multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) as per CDC and WHO standards.
• Coordinate with departments to provide training, ensure compliance with patient safety through key indicators, and ensure safe and compliant patient care.
• Supervise and guide the team in conducting QPSC and IPs for audits as per hospital policies and international standards.
• Supervise surveillance of hospital-acquired infections and multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) in accordance with CDC and WHO guidelines.
• Review and update Quality and Patient Safety, and Infection Control policies, procedures, and guidelines in line with evidence-based international practice guidelines, or pathways.
• Monitor Quality, Patient Safety, and Infection Control Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) through data collection and analysis.
• Develop and implement the department's Goals & Objectives
• Supervise and train QPS coordinators and Infection Preventionists (IPs)
• Manage QPSD and DIPHE-related activities as per the departmental scope of services
• Plan Quality, Patient Safety, and Infection Control audits as an auditor and overall responsible person, ensuring audits are organized across patient care, diagnostic, and support service areas to check compliance with infection control policies.
• Collaborate with department leads, NES, HR, and PGME to plan and support staff development activities, including educational sessions, certifications, and workshops on Quality, Patient Safety, and Infection Control concepts.
• Any other related tasks assigned by the supervisor.

Requirements:

You should have:

• at least a Graduate degree or equivalent qualification in a related field / Masters preferred
• professional Certification in a relevant field in the area of work will be an added advantage
• minimum 4-5 years post-graduate experience in a healthcare setting preferably in any leadership role
• Ability to organize, analyze, interpret, and present the relevant data.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• IT competency, especially in data management and analysis will be preferred
• ability to break down concrete issues into parts and synthesizes succinctly along with collecting and analyzing information from a variety of appropriate sources
• ability to identify client/internal customer needs and expectations and respond to requests efficiently and effectively while taking action beyond explicit requests within established service standards
• ablility to meet client/internal customer needs in a respectful, helpful, and responsive manner and seek feedback to develop a clear understanding of client needs and outcomes
• ability to listen actively and objectively without interrupting and present appropriate information in a clear and concise manner, both orally and in writing
• ability to recognize and act on present issues as well as offer ideas to address current situations or issues. Able to work independently and complete assignments without constant supervision
• ability to complete tasks in accordance with plans and sets priorities for tasks in order of importance
• ability to give support to co-workers and works collaboratively rather than competitively as well as share experiences, knowledge, and best practices with team members.

Comprehensive employment reference checks will be conducted.