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

• This position will help implement ‘Greening the OR’ programs to enhance the environmental sustainability of perioperative and surgical services through waste reduction and environmentally preferred purchasing.Waste reduction and prevention initiatives may include regulated medical waste segregation/reduction, medical plastic upcycling/recycling, and medical device reprocessing.
• Environmentally preferred purchasing will consider environmental factors (positive effects on the environment and health), social factors (fair labor, human rights, local employment), and economic factors (longevity, total cost of ownership, disposal cost, quality, innovation).
• Environmentally preferred purchasing initiatives may include reducing excessive supplies from OR kits, purchasing reprocessed devices, transitioning from single-use to reusable devices, removing chemicals of concern (PVC/DEHP) from supplies[AL1] , and enhancing the resilience of critical surgical supplies that are vulnerable to climate-change related crises.
• This position will report to the Director of Environmental and Social Sustainability and will receive strategic direction from a collaborative multi-departmental team including the Medical Director of Environmental and Social Sustainability, Chief Surgical Operations Officer, Associate Executive Director of Surgical Services, Senior Director Clinical Operations in Perioperative Services, and the Director of Community Engagement.
• 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 and expands current waste reduction initiatives including recycling and reprocessing in perioperative and procedural areas.
• Assesses current sustainability purchasing practices, and researches opportunities related to cost-savings and environmental impacts to transition to lower waste alternatives.
• Develops and maintains collaborative relationships with sustainability, perioperative services, environmental services, supply chain, and community engagement staff to ensure effective, result-oriented project outcomes.
• Participates as a member of various hospital committees or sub-committees as a representative of sustainability.
• Enhances OR and procedural sustainability through staff education and engagement. Directs, develops, and designs publications and departmental training programs for staff. Conducts regular rounding and audits to enhance program compliance and efficiency.
• Develops committee and work group structures to support continuous environmental quality improvement in perioperative areas.
• Collects and leverages data to conduct comprehensive analyses and benchmark Greening the OR initiatives. Populates data in institutional submissions for Practice Greenhealth, Healthcare Anchor Network, STARS, SIMAP and other platforms.
• Establishes, sets targets for, and tracks key performance indicators (KPIs) to identify progress on important sustainability metrics. Analyzes results on an ongoing basis to effectively audit progress and identify areas for continual improvement.
• Coordinates with supply chain team, vendors and key business partners to identify opportunities for waste reduction, take back programs, and other ways to reduce total waste.
• Coordinates product and purchased service evaluation processes including life cycle cost and total cost of ownership.
• Embeds sustainability into perioperative and procedural pre-purchasing, purchasing and post-purchasing processes.
• Performs other duties as required or assigned.

Knowledge / Skills / Abilities

• Demonstrated potential ability to perform the essential functions as outlined above.

• Demonstrated human relations, collaboration, and effective communications skills.

• Demonstrated computer, analytical, organizational, facilitation and negotiation skills.

• Demonstrated ability to seek answers and work independently.

• Knowledge about perioperative and surgical workflows and products.

• Knowledge about sustainability and environmental considerations of products.

• Ability to manage multiple projects at once.

• Ability to analyze and document complex business processes.

• Ability to think analytically and offer guidance to the team regarding business solutions.

• Ability to gather and interpret relevant data and information.

• Ability to prepare written and verbal communications for projects.

• Experience with Word and Excel (ability to create pivot charts, v-lookups, diagrams, graphs etc. needed).

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in a health or sustainability related specialty or equivalent.
• Five (5) years of related experience.
• Clinical perioperative/ procedural experience.

Depending upon department of hire, a valid, State of Utah Driver's License may be required.

Preferred

• Master’s degree in Health, Business, or an Environmental Specialty.
• Licensure as a Registered Nurse (RN).
• Experience conducting product evaluation, cost benefit analysis, and financial feasibility studies.
• Experience with sustainability reporting, including Practice Greenhealth.

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.