Chief Nursing Officer

the client is seeking a Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) to serve as the senior nursing executive for the client’s health network, a growing integrated community hospital and ambulatory network within an academic health system. This leadership role will help translate academic nursing standards into community settings while supporting nursing strategy and operations during a period of transformation and growth. The CNO will provide enterprise-level leadership across nursing practice, clinical operations, workforce strategy, and patient experience across multiple community hospitals, ambulatory sites, and affiliated partnerships. The Chief Nursing Officer reports to the senior vice president/president of the client’s health network and maintains a dotted-line relationship with the system chief nurse executive. As a key member of the network executive leadership team and dyad partner to the Chief Medical Officer, the CNO will oversee nursing services across network hospitals and ambulatory/outpatient sites, and will engage with affiliate partners and physician foundation practices. The role is highly matrixed and is expected to lead senior nursing executives while building a robust leadership pipeline for future nursing leaders. Key responsibilities include providing strategic, clinical, and operational leadership for nursing services; establishing and upholding professional nursing practice standards aligned with the client’s expectations; driving measurable improvements in quality, safety, patient experience, engagement, and retention; and leading workforce planning, talent development, succession planning, and shared governance. The CNO will also achieve financial and productivity targets through effective resource stewardship, advance nursing excellence initiatives (including pursuit of Magnet designation), and partner with physician leaders, academic colleagues, and affiliate organizations to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and a culture of safety, trust, and continuous improvement. Qualifications include a master’s degree in nursing or a related healthcare field (DNP or PhD strongly preferred), eligibility as a Registered Nurse with licensure in California, 8–10+ years of progressive nursing leadership with senior-level responsibility, demonstrated success in complex multi-site or matrixed systems (preferably community hospitals), strong operational and change-management expertise, experience in unionized environments and Magnet organizations highly desirable, and a commitment to academic excellence, evidence-based practice, and inclusive leadership.