Director of Quality Improvement

Date: Aug 19, 2026
Location: Richmond, TX

About the Role

Join the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) and be part of a team committed to creating a positive impact in the lives of fellow Texans. At HHSC, your contributions matter, and we support you at each stage of your life and work journey. This role performs advanced (senior-level) managerial work administering the daily operations and activities of the Quality Improvement department at the State Supported Living Center (SSLC).

The state supported living centers serve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are medically fragile or who have behavioral problems. The centers provide campus-based direct services and supports at 13 centers located throughout the state.

If you are looking for a place to work where you can establish a career that is filled with purpose, this is the job for you!

Responsibilities

• Establishes, implements, and oversees goals and priorities for the Quality Improvement department.
• Oversees a proactive, organization-wide quality systems approach by surveilling performance data and identifying where in the system the Center needs to focus improvement efforts.
• Oversees the SSLC’s efforts to optimize the effectiveness of processes, improving outcomes for individuals, improving stakeholder satisfaction, and overhauling systems.
• Proactively identifies issues and provides solutions.
• Provides and oversees provision of technical assistance, support, and training to department heads and other staff assigned to program compliance and quality improvement work in the use of QI tools, data analysis, and auditing.
• Oversees the preparation for and response to annual survey, annual state-wide review by the state-office team, and regulatory audits. Acts as the liaison before, during, and after monitoring visits.
• Directs and oversees the functions of the quality assurance department including providing support to departments in data collection, monitoring, analysis, and reporting.
• Provides leadership and plans, assigns, and supervises the activities of the quality improvement department and client records department staff. Directly supervises the systems improvement specialist, program auditor(s), data analyst(s), records coordinator, Quality Assurance Nurse(s), and administrative/clerical staff.
• Manages the center’s data surveillance system. Oversees the work of data analysts to ensure statistical analysis of data and database design is conducted and maintained.
• Oversees the Center’s QA/QI Council. Functions as a member of the Executive Team and the QA/QI Council and typically participates in the Executive Duty Officer/Administrative Duty Officer process and Mortality Review Committee.
• Interfaces with the state office leadership via regular conference calls and face-to-face meetings.
• Prepares assigned reports. Reviews, evaluates, advises, and trains on the impact of proposed and actual changes to federal and state laws.
• Oversees the analysis, training, and implementation of HSCS and SSLC policies, and monitors compliance with policies and procedures as directed (e.g., incident management policy, restraint policy, and quality improvement policy).
• Assists department heads in creating and overseeing the work on quality improvement plan teams using a structured process for creating the team, establishing roles, analyzing the issue, related data, and its contributing factors, drafting a goal statement, developing change ideas, implementing the PDSA cycles, and monitoring and optimizing the change to confirm it is long-lasting.
• Participates in face-to-face meetings with each department lead at least quarterly to promote and oversee a culture of quality, including review of all data, defined action strategies that promote teamwork, transparent communication, a focus on processes, innovation, and improvement, and engages front-line staff to provide insight into processes and past decisions.
• Leads others in the successful implementation of the 5 Whys technique to make informed decisions about root causes of problems. Provides assistance and guidance in facilitating brainstorming and prioritization sessions, identifying improvement metrics, and developing strategies to collect the data for discipline-specific improvement projects.
• Manages the professional development of QI staff including enhancing their skills in the use of monitoring tools, applied data analysis, root cause analysis, Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle, and use of systems to track and display data.
• Conducts performance evaluations of assigned staff to give employees timely feedback on their performance and oversees staff development plans and activities.
• Oversees and manages the center’s data surveillance system, reviewing and coordinating the systems and processes to retrieve, track, validate, and trend data.
• Ensures the collection of information in a timely and efficient manner and ensures the use of that information to identify performance issues and make decisions.
• Establishes and oversees the goals and priorities for the Quality Improvement department including promoting a culture of quality by fostering a blame-free, inquisitive environment that encourages collaboration, creativity, and psychological safety.
• Implements a model for quality improvement that includes action strategies for department heads such as including the input of front-line staff, residents and their families, guiding and empowering staff to solve problems, avoiding duplication and waste, using the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) model for change, using data to inform and track change, developing communication strategies, and creating a system where all staff members have the necessary equipment, skills, and knowledge to do their jobs.
• Serves as a subject matter expert to data analysts, quality assurance specialists/program auditors, and others in analyzing and visualizing data. Assists them in organizing, summarizing, interpreting, and displaying data effectively to help others understand it, such as by using charts and graphs.
• Ensures data displayed in the SSLC Key Indicator Platform (SKIP) is complete and correct. Collaborates with state office data analysts to validate and correct datasets in the electronic records system and improve data integrity.
• Oversees the development and submission of a plan of correction (POC) for all deficiencies cited by HHSC-Regulatory. Ensures POCs include measurable outcomes and appropriately address the identified issue(s), that the outcomes are monitored, and that all due dates are met.
• Attends the HHSC-Regulatory quarterly provider meetings and regional trainings.
• Reviews and evaluates the impact of proposed federal and state laws, such as new or changing rules to the Texas Administrative Code or Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) ICF/IID requirements, on program objectives and program operations. Advises the SSLC’s leadership on program changes that are needed and oversees or provides training to all staff on the required changes.

Requirements

• Serves in an on-call rotation, as assigned.
• Works under limited supervision, with considerable latitude for the use of initiative and independent judgment.
• Attends work on a regular basis and may be required to work a specific shift schedule or, at times, even a rotating schedule, extended shift, and/or overtime in accordance with agency leave policy.

Benefits

Our comprehensive benefits package includes:

• 100% paid employee health insurance for full-time eligible employees.
• A defined benefit pension plan.
• Generous time off benefits.
• Numerous opportunities for career advancement.

Explore more details on the Benefits of Working at HHS webpage.

Pay

Salary Range: $6,800.00 - $10,785.83 per month

Schedule

• Full-time
• Day shift (First)
• Not eligible for telework
• Travel: Up to 5%
• Regular, exempt position