Manager, Clinical Staff Performance & Professional Development (Corporate)

Manager, Clinical Performance & Professional Development

The Manager, Clinical Performance & Professional Development, manages performance, professional development, promotion processes, and continuous improvement initiatives for shipboard health staff across North American brands. Reporting to the Director, Medical Staffing, this role leads a team to ensure consistent, high-quality performance reviews, competency assessments, leadership readiness reviews, and staff development strategies that support clinical outcomes, regulatory compliance, and shipboard health operations.

The Manager provides guidance on performance metrics, coaching, leadership development, and succession planning, supporting staff throughout their careers. Responsibilities include overseeing job descriptions, orientation and competency programs, corrective action pathways, and performance management plans. The role collaborates with shoreside Recruitment, Scheduling, Learning & Development, and onboard medical teams to optimize staffing, reduce risk, and ensure compliance with corporate health standards and regulatory requirements. The Manager also leads the review and updating of relevant policies and procedures.

This position supports a fleet of over 65 ships across all North American brands and is essential to enhancing the effectiveness, readiness, and professionalism of shipboard medical teams serving more than 10 million guests each year. Leveraging their nursing background, shipboard healthcare experience, and clinical quality improvement expertise, the Manager conducts clinical record reviews, documentation audits, and quality analyses to inform performance decisions, strengthen clinical governance, and support targeted improvement initiatives aligned with Clinical Services priorities.

Essential Functions:

HEALTH STAFF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

• Manages evaluation and continuous improvement of performance for doctors, nurses, paramedics, and medical support staff.
• Conducts clinical and documentation audits to identify performance gaps, ensure evidence-based practice, and inform coaching and corrective action plans.
• Uses quality improvement methods to identify recurring issues, find root causes, and design interventions that improve care and reduce operational risk.
• Oversees shipboard job descriptions and performance reviews to ensure consistent, objective assessment of clinical skills, leadership, patient interactions, teamwork, and policy adherence.
• Ensures shipboard leaders participate in and accurately document performance processes, handover reports, and clinical performance indicators.
• Identifies performance concerns, ensures timely intervention, and leads to development and monitoring of corrective actions.
• Collaborates with HR partners to address disruptive team dynamics, resolve conflicts, and implement remediation strategies.
• Manages the review and implementation of policies and procedures applicable to performance management.
• Ensures performance standards align with health system benchmarks and supports continuous quality improvement.
• Analyzes performance data, identifies trends, and manages implementation of targeted improvement interventions.
• Works with the QPS Manager to review patient safety events, complaints, audit findings, and adverse incidents to determine training or performance needs.
• Partners on continuous quality improvement projects to enhance clinical standards, service delivery, and patient outcomes.

HEALTH STAFF PROMOTIONS & SUCCESSION PLANNING

• Oversees the fleetwide promotion process to ensure applicants are evaluated consistently, transparently, and according to established criteria.
• Uses findings from audits, documentation reviews, and quality data to inform promotion decisions and assess leadership readiness.
• Identifies high performers and staff with leadership potential using performance metrics, capability assessments, and stakeholder input.
• Oversees preparation of promotion files, panel presentations, and communicates outcomes to scheduling teams, onboard leaders, and medical teams.
• Maintains accurate records of promotion decisions, career pathway compliance, and progression timelines.
• Leads succession planning to ensure continuity in key medical staff roles across all brands.
• Ensures early identification of high-potential staff and oversees their development through structured pathways and targeted opportunities.
• Reviews leadership probation outcomes and provides development recommendations for confirmation-in-rank decisions.

HEALTH STAFF SCHEDULING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• Collaborates with Scheduling to ensure ships are staffed with clinicians whose skills support safety, teaching, leadership coverage, and itinerary-specific risks such as remote deployments, high-acuity itineraries, new builds, and dry docks.
• Partners with shoreside teams to optimize onboarding, training, and support for new-to-sea staff.
• Ensures orientation, competency, and leadership programs incorporate insights from clinical audits, patient safety events, and CQI findings to support ongoing professional growth and quality improvement.
• Engages with cross-functional teams such as Public Health, Shoreside Health Services, HR, and technology vendors to support workforce planning and system enhancements.
• Leads or supports strategic and ad hoc projects to strengthen medical staffing operations or clinical governance.
• Collaborates with Learning and Development teams to ensure effective shipboard orientation and competency programs for new-to-sea staff and those transitioning into leadership roles.
• Ensures competency frameworks are current, measurable, and aligned with operating practices and health standards.
• Supports ongoing clinical and leadership development initiatives in collaboration with the L&D team.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Scope: This role oversees fleetwide performance and development initiatives for shipboard medical staff across the North American brands, ensuring consistent performance standards, competency readiness, and leadership development across a global workforce operating on more than 65 ships. This role also supports clinical governance by integrating clinical audit findings, documentation reviews, and quality improvement insights into performance and professional development strategies.
• Problem solving: This role contributes to complex problem-solving by evaluating performance data, identifying root causes of clinical or behavioral gaps, and implementing targeted improvement plans and training initiatives.
• Impact: This role directly influences clinical quality, patient safety, regulatory compliance, staff retention, the strength of the leadership pipeline, and the overall readiness and professionalism of shipboard health staff across the fleet. By integrating clinical quality methodologies and audit findings into performance oversight, the role directly advances the organization's clinical governance framework and enhances the safety, reliability, and standardization of care delivered across the fleet.
• Leadership: This role provides leadership to shipboard health staff and a shoreside team which collaborates with cross-functional stakeholders. It requires strong decision-making, coaching, communication, project management, and change management capabilities to drive fleetwide performance and development initiatives. The Manager also serves as a clinical performance and quality advisor to shipboard leaders and shoreside stakeholders, guiding decision-making and supporting Clinical Services in advancing excellence in practice.

For all roles:

• Knowledge: Knowledge of clinical operations, patient safety standards, performance management principles, shipboard healthcare operations, maritime regulatory requirements, and organizational procedures supporting both shipboard and shoreside environments. Knowledge of clinical audit processes, root-cause analysis methods, and continuous quality improvement frameworks.
• Skills: Strong communication and facilitation skills; excellent assessment, coaching, and documentation skills; strong time management and organizational abilities; analytical capability to interpret performance and quality data; ability to lead teams and manage complex, cross-brand initiatives. Strong analytical ability to assess clinical documentation and evaluate performance using quality improvement tools and metrics.
• Abilities: Ability to collaborate effectively with colleagues across multiple brands and disciplines; ability to work in a fast-paced and evolving operational environment; commitment to professionalism, confidentiality, and fairness; strong attention to detail and ability to implement policies consistently across a large global workforce. Ability to translate clinical quality findings into practical performance strategies, coaching approaches, and professional development interventions.

Qualifications:

• Registered Nurse (RN) with active licensure required; advanced certification in clinical quality improvement, patient safety, or healthcare quality strongly preferred. Additional qualifications in healthcare administration, leadership, or human resources will be advantageous. Candidates must have strong knowledge of clinical practice standards, competency evaluation, performance management frameworks, and healthcare quality principles, with proficiency in digital documentation, reporting, and communication platforms.
• A minimum of 5 years of clinical experience is required, with at least 2 years of direct shipboard experience in a healthcare environment, and demonstrated experience in performance management, clinical auditing, and quality improvement. Proficiency in LMS platforms, Microsoft Office Suite, and familiarity with electronic health records required.

Travel: Less than 25% with shipboard travel likely

Work Conditions: Work primarily in a climate-controlled environment with minimal safety/health hazard potential.

Physical Demands: Work primarily in a climate-controlled environment with minimal safety/health hazard potential.

This position is classified as "in-office." As an in-office role, it requires employees to work from a designated Carnival office in South Florida Monday through Thursday each week. Employees may work from their homes on Fridays. Candidates must be located in (or willing to relocate to) the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area.

Offers to selected candidates will be made on a fair and equitable basis, taking into account specific job-related skills and experience.

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