Job Description

National Veterinary Associates has an exciting opportunity to join the field leadership team of our Specialty+ER and Equine businesses. We are currently looking to add a Manager of Regional Operations (MRO) to support a mix of large animal and small animal practices located in Canada. The MRO will act as an operations expert supporting our existing practices and helping new practices transition into the group. This position will be based out of a home office in Canada, and requires approximately 60% travel.

The Position

Due to continued growth, NVA is seeking to hire an MRO for its Specialty+ER and Equine businesses in Canada. The MRO will have dotted line reporting to both the Specialty+ER and Equine business leaders, and will also have access to NVA’s broader Canadian support organization for our General Practice sites. Specialty+ER and Equine are both fast-growing business lines in Canada, and this is a unique opportunity to get in on the ground floor with a new group of practices to NVA and help define their future success. We currently have one equine site and one Specialty+ER site in Canada and are expecting to add up to 5-7 sites per year over the next several years.

Responsibilities for this role generally fall into three categories:

Operational support for the existing practices (~50%):

• Work directly with a portfolio of practices to improve operational and financial performance, based on practice need. Specific areas of focus include:
• Improving practices processes and workflows, including medical and customer service processes, billing and collections, and referral management
• Training and developing staff in operational best practices
• Supporting recruitment and hiring of veterinarians, key practice leaders, and staff
• Supporting implementation of new technologies and systems within the practices (e.g., roll out of new patient management or inventory management systems)
• Providing expertise and best practices for marketing tactics, e.g., referral coordination, online reputation management
• Supporting professional development for teams & departments
• Collaborate with leaders of Specialty+ER and Equine to develop holistic plans for practice improvement over time; help analyze financial health of practices, diagnose issues, and implement changes
• Ensure practice leaders are trained in NVA financial and operational systems, processes, and reports, including new leader onboarding
• Support practices with acute site needs, help problem-solve, drive change & enable growth

Transition support for new practices joining NVA (~30%)

• Host staff welcome meetings pre-acquisition, and collaborate with various teams (including finance, human resources, accounts payable, and payroll) that support practice onboarding to meet objectives and timelines
• Oversee and implement all aspects of onboarding newly-acquired practices, including training and development, change and risk management, and initial operational assessments
• Help new practices navigate NVA processes and liaise between Support Center & Operations teams to fully integrate new practices into the NVA ecosystem (typically a 3-4 month time period)
• Special projects in support of the Canadian Specialty+ER and Equine portfolios (~20%):
• Drive special projects at the practice- or portfolio-level to improve operational and financial performance of our practices (specific efforts determined in collaboration with Division Leaders). Examples of special projects include:
• Driving strategic turnaround or transformation efforts at high-profile practices
• Developing and implementing programs for practices at the division or portfolio level (e.g., technician training program, hospital leadership development program, procurement and large equipment purchasing guidelines and financial justification)
• Working with business functions that support practice operations (e.g., recruiting, finance, HR, marketing) to identify opportunities to improve service levels and enhance performance across the portfolio

Special projects in support of the Canadian Specialty+ER and Equine portfolios (~20%):

• Drive special projects at the practice- or portfolio-level to improve operational and financial performance of our practices (specific efforts determined in collaboration with Division Leaders). Examples of special projects include:
• Driving strategic turnaround or transformation efforts at high-profile practices
• Developing and implementing programs for practices at the division or portfolio level (e.g., technician training program, hospital leadership development program, procurement and large equipment purchasing guidelines and financial justification)
• Working with business functions that support practice operations (e.g., recruiting, finance, HR, marketing) to identify opportunities to improve service levels and enhance performance across the portfolio

The MRO will report to the Senior Director of Operations – Equine and the VP of Operations – Specialty+ER and will closely collaborate with the Support Center and Transition Group leadership to support hospitals.

Competencies

• Accountability & ownership:
• Capable of managing across a range of unique sites, applying principles of business and operational excellence to the distinctive needs of each practice
• Able to diagnose business challenges and opportunities with available data and form action plans to drive performance
• Ability to work autonomously and with ambiguous or minimal information to diagnose and solve complex operational problems
• Time management skills to manage priorities across and within several practices; ability to ruthlessly prioritize tasks and opportunities

• Growth & Strategy:
• Identifies growth and innovation opportunities based on experience and interaction with local teams
• Helps sell the case for change with teams and senior leaders, including assessing the impact on site-level initiatives

• Leadership capability:
• Demonstrates leadership and collaboration as demonstrated by the ability to build relationships and rapport with local management teams quickly, including both staff and veterinarians, and actively engage the team in collective problem-solving
• Excellent customer service skills to understand, adapt and meet the needs of practice leaders while executing against defined objectives and goals
• Excellent trainer of individuals on systems, process, and how to be successful operators in animal health

• Professional development and growth
• Leads internal projects to support NVA beyond divisional responsibilities; seeks opportunities to continue to build professional skills in support of NVA’s mission

Requirements/Personal Attributes

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent education is required; Master’s degree is preferred
• 6+ years of work experience in an operations-focused environment; operations experience with progressive leadership responsibilities in a multi-site portfolio is preferred (g.g., retail, food service, human or animal health)
• Ability to independently analyze large sets of data using Excel and to present succinctly to senior leaders using tools such as Powerpoint
• Learns quickly, rapidly absorbs new information, and determines causal relationships, particularly as related to practice operations
• Strong problem-solving skills, including using data and analytics to identify insights and around business problems and develop pragmatic solutions
• A self-starter able to execute projects in a fast-paced, quickly evolving environment without supervision
• Able to lead relationships with practice leaders; strong expertise at motivating, coaching and inspiring others
• Understands and has passion for the human-animal bond
• Able to travel approximately 60% of the time

Location

The ideal candidate will be based out of their home near a major metropolitan area in Canada, with easy access to an airport. The position will require frequent travel throughout Canada and occasional travel to the United States.