Director EIDP and Infection Prevention - Infection Control - FT Days

Director of Epidemiology and Infection Prevention (EIP) and Emerging Infectious Disease Program (EIDP)

UCI Health is one of California's largest academic health systems and the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. Established on July 1, 1976, UCI Health has grown into a 1,461-bed health system that includes UCI Health - Orange, UCI Health - Irvine, four Community Network hospitals and a growing network of ambulatory care centers across Orange and Los Angeles counties. As Orange County's only academic health systems, UCI Health is home to the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center based in the county, the region's only American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center, American College of Emergency Physicians Gold Level 1 Geriatric Emergency Department and a nationally recognized regional burn center verified by the American Burn Association. Powered by UC Irvine, UCI Health serves 5.6 million people across Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County through excellence in patient care, research and medical education.

Position Summary: The Director of Epidemiology and Infection Prevention (EIP) and Emerging Infectious Disease Program (EIDP) provides strategic and operational leadership for infection prevention and control. This role drives and implements system-wide efforts to continuously improve the safety, effectiveness, efficiency, patient-centeredness, equity, and timeliness of healthcare services delivered to all patients across inpatient and perioperative settings. The incumbent is responsible for developing and implementing an integrated, high-reliability approach to infection-prevention-related quality and patient-safety initiatives throughout the organization. This includes ensuring shared accountability, standardized practices, and consistent implementation of the EIP program in close collaboration with system leadership. The position plays a central role in leading the organization to achieve outstanding performance on key, nationally standardized infection prevention quality and safety metrics, including healthcare-associated infection (HAI) rates and other publicly reported indicators.

What It Takes to be Successful Required Qualifications: Minimum of 7 years of experience as an infection preventionist Knowledge of current trends and best practices in epidemiology and infection prevention Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English Excellent public speaking skills Excellent customer service skills Demonstrated skill in data management and analysis Demonstrated leadership in emerging infectious disease preparedness and response Demonstrated experience with strategic leadership and program development for EIP and EIDP Demonstrated experience with standardization and integration of infection prevention policies, practices, and initiatives Demonstrated experience with regulatory compliance and coordination with public health agencies Demonstrated experience with performance improvement and achievement of nationally benchmarked infection prevention quality metrics Demonstrated experience with oversight of surveillance, investigation, and reporting of HAIs and communicable diseases in inpatient and perioperative settings Demonstrated experience with mentorship, supervision, and professional development of EIP team members Demonstrated experience with development and sustainment of a proactive, high-reliability culture of patient safety Demonstrated ability to work with or understand data bases, systems opportunities, and statistical analysis Certification in Infection Control (CIC) Bachelors Degree in related field Ability to manage multiple projects, setting priorities and advancing results in a fast-paced environment. Ability to maintain a work pace appropriate to the workload Ability to fulfill role as a cross-functional liaison to nursing, clinical, administrative, and medical staff leadership 5+ years of progressive leadership and management experience in an academic medical center, public health or a large, integrated, tertiary health care setting Preferred Qualifications: Master's Degree in Nursing, Public Health, Epidemiology, or other public health related field. Master's Degree in Nursing, Public Health, Epidemiology or other public health related field or an equivalent combination of education and experience Current valid California RN license or related healthcare discipline (e.g. Clinical Laboratory Scientist) and associated license as required.