Director of Care (Quality)

Role Description: Director of Care (Quality)

Mission

As the Director of Care, you will contribute to Extendicare’s purpose of Helping People Live Better by leading a high-performing team dedicated to ensuring all residents receive the care they need.

The Director of Care (DOC) is a highly skilled and compassionate leader responsible for overseeing care delivery in a long-term care home. This role ensures best practices aligned with Extendicare standards, accreditation requirements, and provincial regulations.

Leading and inspiring an engaged care team is essential to delivering an excellent resident experience. Building strong relationships with residents and families is key to achieving satisfaction and fulfilling our mission to provide care wherever people call home.

Key Outcomes

• Advocate for resident safety and continuous quality improvement.
• Achieve high resident and family engagement (Experience Survey Results).
• Meet or exceed all quality and clinical indicators through effective program execution.
• Foster a positive culture, increasing employee engagement year over year.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, care plans, and organizational standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Cultivate: Lead the care team, provide day-to-day guidance, and foster a collaborative, accountable, high-performing environment focused on retention and engagement.
• Train: Ensure staff education, competency, and ongoing professional development.
• Financial Stewardship: Manage staffing levels aligned with care models and legislated hours; support budgeting and variance analysis.
• Comply: Ensure adherence to healthcare regulations, licensing, accreditation, and labour standards; oversee investigations and action planning.
• Risk Management: Identify and mitigate clinical risks; ensure timely response to critical incidents.
• Customer Service: Respond to feedback from residents, families, vendors, and staff with empathy and accountability.
• Resident Care: Oversee assessment and care planning, ensuring individualized and preference-based care.
• Collaborate: Work with leadership, staff, residents, and families to optimize care delivery.
• Improve: Implement quality improvement initiatives to enhance safety, wellness, and satisfaction.
• Strategic Planning: Develop operational plans for clinical services and staffing aligned with home priorities.
• Community Partnerships: Engage vendors and collaborate with community health partners.
• Values Alignment: Uphold the organization’s Mission, Vision, Values, and ethical standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Nursing (Master’s preferred).
• Current and unrestricted RN registration with the applicable provincial licensing body.
• Minimum 5 years of nursing experience, including 2+ years in a leadership role in long-term care or healthcare.
• Strong knowledge of long-term care regulations and best practices.
• Proven leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with interdisciplinary teams.
• Demonstrated success in quality improvement initiatives and achieving positive outcomes.
• Proficiency with electronic health records (EHR) and related technology.

Core Competencies

• Business Knowledge
• Industry/Regulatory Knowledge
• Program Administration
• People Management
• Customer Service
• Priority Management

Attributes of an Effective Leader

• Strategy Development: Aligns priorities with organizational goals.
• Results Driven: Takes ownership and delivers high-quality outcomes.
• Collaboration: Builds strong, effective team relationships.
• Communication: Listens actively and communicates respectfully.
• Problem Solving: Proactively addresses challenges beyond defined roles.
• Team Building: Develops individuals through coaching and feedback.
• Continuous Improvement: Uses data to drive performance and improvements.

What Extendicare Offers

• Ongoing mentorship and professional development opportunities
• Career advancement within the organization
• Meaningful and rewarding work experience
• Employee Family Assistance Program
• Comprehensive benefits package

About Extendicare

Extendicare is a leading provider of care and services for seniors across Canada. With 123 long-term care homes and home healthcare services supporting over 10,000 patients annually, we are committed to delivering high-quality care wherever people call home. Our team of 22,000 professionals is dedicated to improving access to care and helping Canadians live their best lives.

Time Type

Full time

At Extendicare, we’ve spent more than 50 years dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for residents in our long-term care homes across Canada. When you join Extendicare, you become part of a compassionate, mission-driven team committed to creating a safe, supportive, and enriching environment for every resident we serve.

We provide competitive compensation that reflects the value of this role and the unique qualifications each candidate brings. Final salary offers are based on a variety of factors such as your skills, experience, education, and alignment with the responsibilities of this position.

Base salary is one component of our broader total rewards package. We offer a comprehensive suite of benefits designed to support your health, financial well-being, and long-term career growth. Your recruiter can provide more details about our total rewards offerings during the hiring process.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support certain stages of the recruitment process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing candidate responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment — every application is reviewed by a member of our team to ensure thoughtful and equitable consideration. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

Extendicare is committed to fostering an accessible, inclusive, and equitable hiring process. We gladly accommodate the needs of applicants throughout all stages of recruitment and selection upon request.