Chief Nursing Officer

Position Summary

SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University seeks an accomplished, innovative and highly visible nursing executive to serve as Chief Nursing Officer for University Hospital at Downstate. As the hospital’s senior nursing executive, the CNO will provide strategic, clinical, operational and professional leadership for nursing and patient care services and advance a comprehensive vision for nursing excellence.

This is a significant leadership opportunity for an executive prepared to strengthen and transform nursing within a complex academic teaching hospital. The CNO will enhance nursing infrastructure; strengthen professional practice; develop and retain the RN workforce; build an accountable nursing leadership structure; advance quality, safety and service; and create meaningful opportunities for nurses to learn, develop, lead and build long-term careers at Downstate.

Core Executive Accountabilities

• Develop and execute a comprehensive nursing strategic plan aligned with hospital and institutional priorities.
• Provide executive oversight of nursing operations, professional practice, education, workforce planning, quality, safety, patient experience, staffing, productivity and resource allocation.
• Build a sustainable RN workforce strategy encompassing recruitment, onboarding, residency, orientation, professional development, engagement, retention and career advancement; use workforce data, including voluntary turnover trends, to identify and address drivers of avoidable RN attrition.
• Recruit, develop, mentor and hold accountable nursing leaders; establish leadership competencies and succession plans.
• Advance a professional nursing practice model, shared governance, evidence-based practice, research, certification and continuing education.
• Establish and monitor nursing-sensitive quality, safety and patient-experience indicators and drive sustained improvement.
• Ensure regulatory and accreditation readiness, including NYSDOH, CMS and The Joint Commission requirements.
• Establish data-driven staffing and workforce-management strategies aligned with acuity, volume, quality and fiscal responsibility.
• Partner with Finance and HR on budgets, productivity, overtime, agency/temporary staffing, workforce planning and labor-management strategy.
• Establish and maintain a direct strategic partnership with the College of Nursing to strengthen clinical education, student and graduate talent pipelines, transition-to-practice, professional and leadership development, nursing research, faculty-practice collaboration, and pathways from education to employment and career advancement at Downstate.
• Assess readiness and develop an appropriate long-term roadmap toward recognized nursing excellence frameworks, including Magnet and/or other applicable programs.
• Maintain a highly visible presence throughout clinical areas and build trust with frontline nurses, physicians, executives, labor partners, patients and academic stakeholders.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master’s Degree in Nursing, Nursing Administration, Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, Public Health or closely related field from an accredited institution.
• New York State Registered Professional Nurse Licensure or eligibility prior to appointment.
• 10+ years of progressively responsible professional nursing experience, including substantial acute-care leadership.
• 5+ years of progressive senior nursing leadership at Director, ACNO/Deputy CNO, VP, CNO or comparable executive level.
• Demonstrated responsibility for significant nursing operations, workforce management, quality, patient safety, professional practice and organizational performance.
• Demonstrated experience developing nursing leaders and leading meaningful organizational change.

Strongly Preferred Qualifications

• Doctoral Degree.
• Prior CNO, Deputy/Associate CNO, VP Nursing or comparable senior executive experience.
• Academic medical center, teaching hospital, public/safety-net or similarly complex healthcare experience.
• Demonstrated success in RN workforce stability, professional development, leadership development and measurable quality/patient-experience improvement.
• Professional Practice Model/shared governance and Magnet/Pathway or comparable nursing-excellence experience.
• Unionized healthcare experience; NEA-BC, CENP or comparable executive nursing certification.

Leadership Expectations

The successful candidate will demonstrate transformational leadership, visible and engaged executive presence, talent development, accountability and execution, clinical credibility, collaborative leadership, change management, workforce strategy, financial acumen, exceptional communication and a strong commitment to academic nursing.

The Opportunity

The next Chief Nursing Officer will have the opportunity to shape the future of nursing at University Hospital at Downstate. Success will mean more than filling vacancies: it will mean developing nurses and nurse leaders, strengthening professional practice, improving outcomes, and creating a workplace where talented nurses choose to come, grow, lead and stay.

Are you looking to take your career to new heights with a leader in healthcare? SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University is one of the nation's leading metropolitan medical centers. As the only academic medical center in Brooklyn, we serve a large population that is among the most diverse in the world. We are also highly-ranked by Castle Connolly Medical, a healthcare rating company for consumers, among the top 5 leading U.S. medical schools for training doctors.