Chief Nursing Officer

Calling all Esteemed Leaders! Are you a senior nursing executive who thrives in dynamic environments, leading transformation, strengthening professional practice, and guiding nursing organizations through critical transitions? Do you excel at partnering with executive teams while advancing high standards of patient care, safety, and performance? This leadership opportunity invites your expertise.

The Role: 

Reporting directly to the System Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), and matrixed to the Ministry Chief Executive (CE) when on assignment, the CNO has overall responsibility for the operation and ongoing development of the Professional Nursing Practice when on assignment.

The Chief Nursing Officer directs nursing services by approval and implementation of nursing policies, procedures, standards and staffing plans. The CNO assures that nursing services are integrated into the ministry's performance improvement plan in support of the PSJH nursing strategic plan.

As a member of the hospital executive team, the CNO assumes an active leadership role interdepartmentally, with the medical staff, during Community Ministry Board activities, and as a key representative to the community.

With a constant focus on patient-centeredness, quality, staff and patient safety, the CNO creates and maintains standards and systems for care delivery at their ministry. These systems of care delivery promote evidence-based practice and are designed to support the management of productivity targets, patient acuity, and appropriate planning for and use of available resources.

What You'll Do:

• Act as an interim ministry based CNO with Providence and the family of organization.
• Act as a mentor and coach to CNO’s and aspiring CNO’s.
• Support the Nursing Leadership Academy by acting as an active mentor to attendees.
• Support system, divisional and local goals and initiatives.
• Work collaboratively with multidisciplinary and highly matrixed team leadership to accomplish strategic goals and objectives.
• Manage multiple priorities and projects.
• Develop creative plans and solutions to execute identified clinical care related strategies and programs.
• Participate in designing strategies to address the unique needs of a diverse workforce, patient population, and community while promoting a culture of excellence, safety and psychological safety.
• Develop and maintain an effective team environment which recognizes and values diversity and promotes cultural competency.
• Engage caregivers and others in shared decision making, particularly as it relates to patient care.
• Contribute to retention by fostering an environment of caring, belonging, purpose and growth.
• Demonstrate expertise in organizational revenue, expense performance and capital planning; manage fiscal, human and material resources in a cost-effective manner.
• Deliver cost effective, quality clinical services.
• Lead the design and maintenance of effective systems for clinical resource management.
• Develop and implement standards, protocols, policies and procedures aligned with evidence-based clinical care.
• Provide consultation and support to operational and core leaders related to clinical care processes, shared leadership, and policies.
• Partner with quality leaders to design, implement and support quality improvement initiatives.
• Support and collaborate in nursing research and translation of evidence into practice.
• Support research on clinical leading practices and influence adoption and deployment.
• Actively participate in mentoring and developing aspiring caregivers, including future Chief Nursing Officers.

Communication & Relationship Building

• Creates a work environment that facilitates and encourages involvement of the staff in critical thinking to enact professional nursing practice.
• Build collaborative relationships.
• Uses shared decision making to accomplish the organization’s primary goal which is service to patients, families and the community.
• Promotes implementation of processes and resources that deliver data and information to empower staff to participate meaningfully in clinical decision making.
• Establish an environment that values diversity in which care is delivered in a manner sensitive to social and cultural diversity.
• Provides and maintains effective communications with medical staff, the community, and all levels of supervision and staff. Rounds for improved visibility and to meet specific goals such as safety.
• Represent the organization to non-health care constituents within the community.
• Represent nursing to the media and broader community stakeholders.
• Serve on community-based boards, advisory groups, academic advisory councils and task forces.
• Represent nursing at medical executive committee and other departmental / medical staff committees.
• Collaborate with nursing programs to provide required resources.
• Support academic partnerships to ensure a qualified workforce for the future. 

Knowledge of the Health Care Environment

• Communicate patient care standards as established by accreditation, regulatory and quality agencies.

• Ensure compliance with the State Nurse Practice Act, State Board of Nursing regulations, state and federal regulatory agency standards, federal labor standards and policies of the organization.

• Adhere to professional association standards of nursing practice.

• Ensure that written organizational clinical policies and procedures are reviewed and updated in accordance with evidence-based practice.

• Integrate bioethical and legal dimensions into clinical and management decision-making.

• Ensure protection of human subject rights and safety in clinical research.

• Assess the effectiveness of delivery models.

• Develop new delivery models.

• Participate in the design of facilities.

• Align care delivery models and staff performance with key safety and economic drivers (e.g., value-based purchasing, bundled payment).

• Take action when opportunities exist to adjust operations to respond effectively to environmental changes in economic elements.

• Use knowledge of federal and state laws and regulations that affect the provision of patient care (e.g., tort reform, malpractice/ negligence, reimbursement).

• Participate in legislative process on health care issues through such mechanisms as membership in professional organization and personal contact with officials.

• Educate patient care team members on the legislative process, the regulatory process and methods for influencing both.

• Interpret impact of legislation at the state and federal level on nursing and health care organizations.

• Represent patient care issues to the governing body.

• Participate in strategic planning and quality initiatives with the governing body.

• Interact with and educate the organization’s board members regarding health care and the value of nursing care.

• Represent nursing at the organization’s board meetings.

• Represent other disciplines at the organization’s board meetings.

• Use evidence for establishment of standards, practices and patient care models in the organization (nurse sensitive outcomes).

• Design feedback mechanisms by which to adapt practice based upon outcomes from current processes.

• Design and interpret outcome measures.

• Disseminate research findings to patient care team members.

• Allocate nursing resources based on measurement of patient acuity/care needed.

• Monitor and address nurse sensitive outcomes and satisfaction indicators.

• Support the development of an organization-wide patient safety program.

• Use knowledge of patient safety science (e.g., human factors, complex adaptive systems, LEAN and Six Sigma, high reliability organization).

• Monitor clinical activities to identify both expected and unexpected risks.

• Support a Just Culture (non-punitive) reporting environment, supporting a reward system for identifying unsafe practices.

• Support safety surveys, responding and acting on safety recommendations.

Leadership

• Address ideas, beliefs or viewpoints that should be given serious consideration.

• Recognize one’s own method of decision making and the role of beliefs, values and inferences.

• Apply critical analysis to organizational issues after a review of the evidence.

• Maintain curiosity and an eagerness to explore new knowledge and ideas.

• Promote nursing leadership as both a science and an art.

• Demonstrate reflective practice and an understanding that all leadership begins from within.

• Provide visionary thinking on issues that impact the health care organization.

• Recognize the contribution of mental models on behavior.

• Promote systems thinking as an expectation of leaders and staff.

• Consider the impact of nursing decisions on the healthcare organization as a whole.

• Develop a leadership succession plan.

• Promote nursing leadership as a desirable specialty.

• Mentor current and future nurse leaders.

• Establish mechanisms that provide for early identification and mentoring of staff with leadership potential.

• Develop a workforce analysis plan and implement strategies to ensure an adequate and qualified workforce.

Professionalism

• Hold self and others accountable for mutual professional expectations and outcomes.

• Contribute to the advancement of the profession.

• Participate in and contribute to professional organizations.

• Demonstrate and promote leader and staff participation in professional organizations.

• Promote leader and staff participation in lifelong learning and educational achievement.

• Promote professional certification for staff.

• Role model standards of professional practice (clinical, educational and leadership) for colleagues and constituents.

• Coach others in developing their own career plans.

• Seek input and mentorship from others in career planning and development.

• Develop a personal and professional career plan and measure progress.

• Solicit feedback about personal strengths and weaknesses.

• Act on feedback about personal strengths and weaknesses.

• Uphold ethical principles and corporate compliance standards.

• Hold self and staff accountable to comply with ethical standards of practice.

• Discuss, resolve and learn from ethical dilemmas.

• Promote clinical perspective in organizational decisions.

• Involve nurses and other staff in decisions that affect their practice.

• Represent the perspective of patients and families.

• Advocate for optimal health care in the community.

Business Skills

• Develop and manage an annual operating budget and long-term capital expenditure plan.

• Use business models for health care organizations and apply fundamental concepts of economics.

• Interpret financial statements.

• Manage financial resources.

• Ensure the use of accurate charging mechanisms.

• Educate patient care team members on financial implications of patient care decisions.

• Participate in the negotiation and monitoring of contract compliance (e.g., physicians, service providers).

• Evaluate the results of employee satisfaction/quality of work environment surveys.

• Support reward and recognition programs to enhance performance.

• Formulate programs to enhance work-life balance.

• Interpret and ensure compliance with legal and regulatory guidelines.

• Provide education regarding components of collective bargaining.

• Promote healthful work environments (promote a culture of safety, address sexual harassment, workplace violence).

• Create the operational objectives, goals and specific strategies required to achieve the strategic outcome.

• Conduct SWOT and Gap analyses.

• Defend the business case for nursing.

• Utilize the balanced scorecard analysis to manage change.

• Evaluate achievement of operational objectives and goals.

• Identify marketing opportunities.

• Develop marketing strategies in collaboration with marketing experts.

• Promote the image of nursing and the organization through effective media relations.

• Collaborate to prioritize for the establishment of information technology resources.

• Participate in evaluation of enabling technology in practice settings.

• Use data management systems for decision making.

• Identify technological trends, issues and new developments as they apply to patient care.

• Provide leadership for the adoption and implementation of information systems.

• Performs other duties as assigned or requested.

What You’ll Bring:

Education & Credentials

• Bachelor's Degree in Nursing, or Master's Degree in Nursing, or Master's Degree in a related field (Health Administration, Business, Public Health or Management)
• Doctoral degree (preferred)
• Required upon hire: Registered Nurse License (eligible for licensure in TX, NM, CA, OR, WA, MT, and AK)
• Required upon hire: Certificate in Executive Nursing Practice (CENP) or Nurse Executive Advanced Board Certified (NEA-BC)

Experience & Expertise

• 10 or more years of Nursing Executive Acute Care experience
• Demonstrated progressive leadership experience with expertise in cross-disciplinary communication, participative change management, group dynamics and performance improvement processes (preferred)

Professional & Leadership Capabilities

• In depth, current working knowledge of clinical practice and processes
• Knowledge of high reliability principles and patient safety practices
• Knowledge of regulatory requirements and standards (e.g., CMS, TJC, Title 22)
• Ability to understand patient and caregiver needs and deliver services to meet those needs
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to leverage data to identify, plan and implement improvements
• Working knowledge of labor contracts and application to practice
• Ability to communicate effectively and influence across a matrixed environment
• Ability to conceptualize and implement new service delivery models
• Ability to serve as a change agent supporting integration and transformation initiatives
• Ability to represent PSJH professionally and build collaborative relationships with diverse stakeholders
• Ability to develop progressive, compliant programs aligned with regulatory and organizational expectations
• Experience working in complex, multi-entity and highly matrixed healthcare environments
• Mobility to travel throughout the ministry and community; ability to work varying hours as needed
• Strong system thinking and strategic leadership capabilities
• Ability to clearly articulate the PSJH mission and vision and demonstrate servant / mission-driven leadership

• Able to articulate Magnet® standards and expectations.

Why Join Us?

• System Leadership: Serve as a key executive leader supporting ministries across a complex healthcare system 

• Clinical Impact: Shape professional nursing practice, safety, and care delivery outcomes 

• Strategic Influence: Partner with executive teams and governing bodies on high-impact initiatives 

• Leadership Development: Mentor current and future nurse leaders across the organization 

• Mission‑Driven Work: Advance compassionate, high-quality care aligned to PSJH values

Ready to Shape the Future of Healthcare?

If you are a seasoned nursing executive with the ability to lead through complexity, drive alignment, and strengthen professional practice across diverse environments, we encourage you to apply.

The full pay range is listed in accordance with applicable law. Final compensation will be determined based on qualifications, experience, organizational compensation alignment, and the approved hiring department budget for the position. This position may also be eligible for incentive compensation and benefits.