Job Summary:

The Program Medical Director position is key for success to ensuring an integrated, accessible, and accountable health care system by providing medical leadership and oversight of all Adult Psychiatry and Mental Healthcare programs in Rural areas (outside of Edmonton and Calgary) focusing on a provincially coordinated approach to optimize access, quality, and sustainability.  

The Program Medical Director will provide leadership to Psychiatry and Mental Healthcare in Rural areas (outside of Edmonton and Calgary) including:  

• Community psychiatry and mental health clinics  
• Regional hospitals with Recovery Alberta adult psychiatry inpatient beds and outpatient services  
• Outreach and visiting psychiatry services to rural areas across the province with Recovery Alberta outpatient programs  
• Adult telepsychiatry services  
• Community child & adolescent psychiatry and mental health clinics  
• Hospitals with Recovery Alberta child & adolescent psychiatry inpatient beds and outpatient services  
• Outreach and visiting psychiatry services across the province with Recovery Alberta child & adolescent outpatient programs  
• Child & adolescent telepsychiatry services.

Physician leadership is central to driving high-performing, patient-centered health systems. This role blends expertise with strategic oversight, ensuring that medical decisions, operational priorities, and organizational goals are aligned. An effective physician leader shapes culture, fosters accountability, advances quality and safety, and supports teams through evidence-informed decision-making. They build strong relationships across clinical, operational, administrative, and community partners; champion innovation; and guide systems through complexity and change. This position, working directly with operational counterparts, requires exceptional communication, sound judgment, and the ability to translate clinical insight into sustainable policy, operational planning, and workforce strategies that improve outcomes and strengthen organizational performance.

The successful candidate will play a pivotal role in shaping development of Psychiatry and Mental Healthcare services and programs in Rural areas (outside of Edmonton and Calgary), contributing to clinical service design, outcome measurement, and evidence-based research.

Responsibilities / Accountabilities:

The Program Medical Director will:

• Perform physician workforce planning, recruitment and retention activities.
• Complete performance evaluations of direct reports.
• Work in close partnership with other members of Recovery Alberta leadership teams and internal / external stakeholders, including other health service delivery organizations, community service providers and agencies.  
• Participate in strategic and business planning, establishing priorities for Psychiatry and Mental Healthcare services in Rural areas (outside of Edmonton and Calgary) in line with Recovery Alberta priorities.
• Support operational resource management and contribute to Recovery Alberta’s financial health.
• Design and implement efficiencies, develop best practices and establish standards of practice.
• Review and support inclusion of new and emerging evidence where appropriate. 

Qualifications:  

The ideal candidate will have demonstrated strong leadership, excellent communication skills, and an understanding of psychiatry to effectively manage the complexities of psychiatric and Mental Healthcare. They will be an inclusive and visionary leader with experience in medical leadership and be considered a strong clinician by peers.  

The successful applicant must hold an MD or its equivalency and shall have or be eligible for certification with the Canadian College of Family Physicians or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and shall have or be eligible for licensure with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta.  

In addition, the successful applicant shall obtain and maintain an AHS Medical Staff Appointment.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Reporting Relationship:  

The practitioner will report to the Senior Medical Director, Psychiatry and Mental Healthcare.  

Term:  

Start date is negotiable.  

Deadline for submission of applications is 10 days; however, the competition will remain open until the position is filled.  

Additional Information:

This position is 0.3 - 0.4 FTE. Remuneration is in accordance with CMO Policy 01-01 for contracted medical leadership positions.

We thank you for your interest in this position; only those selected for an interview will be contacted.  

Contact:

If you have questions, please forward to:  

Dr. David Tano, Senior Medical Director, Psychiatry and Mental Healthcare.  

Email:  ***@recoveryalberta.ca (🔒 Premium)