Value Engineer, Sr.

As a patient-focused organization, University of Utah Health exists to enhance the health and well-being of people through patient care, research and education. Success in this mission requires a culture of collaboration, excellence, leadership, and respect. University of Utah Health seeks staff that are committed to the values of compassion, collaboration, innovation, responsibility, diversity, integrity, quality and trust that are integral to our mission. EO/AA

Senior Value Engineers are process improvement experts who apply lean six sigma (LSS) principles and methods to healthcare processes to increase value at University of Utah Health Care where value is defined by the value equation: Value = (Quality+Service)/Cost. Senior Value Engineers apply LSS expertise at a black belt level to patient value streams. They provide leadership, facilitation, coaching, teaching, and consultative technical support to UUHC process owners. Value Engineering is part of Strategic Initiatives which reports to the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Medical Quality Officer. Senior Value Engineers execute their work with humility, respect, and resilience. They take direction and receive constructive feedback in the spirit of opportunity and growth. They may adopt one or more specialty knowledge areas. This position is not responsible for providing care to patients.

Corporate Overview: The University of Utah is a Level 1 Trauma Center and is nationally ranked and recognized for our academic research, quality standards and overall patient experience. Our five hospitals and eleven clinics provide excellence in our comprehensive services, medical advancement, and overall patient outcomes.

• Facilitates multidisciplinary teams by partnering with clinical, operational, and administrative teams.
• Develops and maintains collaborative working relationships with internal clients.
• Executes basic project management including identifying obstacles and escalating when appropriate.
• Selects and performs process analyses. Some analyses require inferential statistics.
• Collaborates with sibling departments to execute system level process improvement and monitor performance metrics.
• Coaches teams and leaders on LSS principles and techniques.
• Assesses cultural readiness, and makes on-the-spot judgments about when to push for change and how hard.
• Develops and delivers value improvement training in client or classroom settings.
• Provides expert consultation and advice to sponsors, champions, and executives.
• Assesses value improvement work goals for alignment with strategic goals and policies.
• Attends variety of meetings, conferences, and seminars as required or directed.
• Gains an understanding of our culture, operational strategy, market, and patient populations.
• Identifies process improvement opportunities within the Value Engineering department.
• Respects diverse views and approaches, and contributes in maintaining an environment of professionalism, tolerance, civility, and acceptance toward all employees, patients and visitors.
• Performs other similar and related duties as required or directed.

Knowledge / Skills / Abilities

• Ability to manage self (self-motivating, self-disciplined): Work in teams with minimal daily input from management.

• Ability to work independently and adapt in a fast-changing work environment.

• Ability to Initiate and manage projects with initially vague goals and boundaries.

• Ability to facilitate teams. Help colleagues find the best paths within LSS principles.

• Ability to share information openly and proactively: organize details of multiple, related issues to present in a logical, cohesive format.

• Develop solutions to complex problems and explain them to stakeholders.

• Demonstrate consistency in high-quality performance and a bias for action.

• Ability to listen well so you can better understand.

• Ability to communicate concisely and articulately in speech and writing.

• Analytical thinking, process thinking, and an instinctive understanding of process variation.

• Excellent judgment and objectivity.

• Experience as a facilitator of culture change.

• Strong communication & presentation skills.

• Strong sense of ownership and personal accountability.

Qualifications
Required

• Six years’ experience applying LSS with demonstrated success.
• Bachelor’s degree.
• ASQ Black Belt Certification or equivalent.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office especially Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Outlook.

Preferred

• MBA or equivalent preferred.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

Employee must be able to meet the following requirements with or without an accommodation.

• This is a sedentary position that may exert up to 10 pounds and may lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects. This position involves sitting most of the time and is not exposed to adverse environmental conditions.

Listening, Sitting, Speaking