Job Description

Nurse Manager – Behavioral Health

Nexus Children’s Hospital – Shenandoah | Shenandoah, TX

Lead a Team Where Behavioral Health and Complex Medical Care Come Together

Nexus Children’s Hospital – Shenandoah is seeking an experienced Behavioral Health Nurse Manager to provide clinical and operational leadership for nursing services supporting children and adolescents with complex behavioral, neurodevelopmental, and medical needs.

This is an opportunity for an experienced psychiatric or behavioral health RN leader who understands that successful behavioral care requires more than managing a nursing schedule. You will lead a multidisciplinary team focused on creating a safe, structured, trauma-informed environment while improving patient outcomes, developing nursing staff, and strengthening clinical practices across the unit.

The ideal candidate brings strong experience in inpatient behavioral health, psychiatric nursing, adolescent behavioral health, or neurodevelopmental care, along with demonstrated nursing leadership experience.

What You’ll Do

Behavioral Health & Clinical Leadership

• Provide 24/7 leadership and accountability for nursing operations within the assigned behavioral/neurodevelopmental unit.
• Lead nursing care for patients with complex behavioral, psychiatric, neurodevelopmental, and medical needs.
• Promote trauma-informed, patient-centered approaches to behavioral health care.
• Ensure nursing interventions align with evidence-based behavioral health and neurodevelopmental practices.
• Partner with physicians, therapists, behavioral health clinicians, and other disciplines to develop and execute individualized treatment plans.
• Serve as a clinical resource during behavioral escalations, psychiatric crises, and other complex patient situations.
• Champion effective de-escalation strategies and approaches designed to reduce restraints and improve behavioral stabilization.

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, coach, mentor, and develop nursing staff while promoting accountability and high clinical standards.
• Oversee daily nursing operations, staffing, scheduling, assignments, and resource allocation.
• Develop staff competency in behavioral health crisis intervention, de-escalation, trauma-informed care, and management of aggressive or challenging behaviors.
• Foster a collaborative team environment that supports employee engagement, professional development, and retention.
• Identify opportunities to improve workflows and implement team-based care models that strengthen patient outcomes and staff effectiveness.

Quality, Safety & Compliance

• Promote a culture of patient and employee safety throughout the unit.
• Monitor clinical outcomes and behavioral health performance indicators, including restraint utilization, medication adherence, behavioral stabilization, and other quality measures.
• Lead quality improvement initiatives related to behavioral health, patient safety, infection prevention, and nursing practice.
• Ensure nursing documentation meets organizational, regulatory, and accreditation requirements.
• Maintain compliance with applicable state and federal healthcare regulations, hospital policies, HIPAA requirements, and professional nursing standards.
• Participate in audits, regulatory reviews, performance improvement initiatives, and corrective action planning.

Patient & Family Experience

• Champion compassionate, patient-centered care that respects each patient's developmental level, individual needs, culture, and treatment goals.
• Promote appropriate family involvement throughout the treatment process.
• Address patient and family concerns professionally and promptly.
• Advocate for patients requiring specialized behavioral, developmental, and medical services.

Operational Leadership

• Manage departmental resources responsibly while maintaining high standards of patient care.
• Monitor staffing and operational needs to ensure safe and effective coverage.
• Participate in budget management, resource planning, and cost-effective care delivery.
• Collaborate with hospital leadership on departmental goals and strategic initiatives.

What We’re Looking For

Required

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN).
• Active Texas Registered Nurse (RN) license.
• Minimum 5 years of clinical nursing experience.
• Minimum 2 years of nursing leadership experience.
• Strong clinical judgment, leadership, communication, and conflict-resolution skills.
• Ability to effectively lead teams through complex behavioral situations and crisis interventions.
• BLS certification from the American Heart Association or American Red Cross.
• ACLS and PALS certification as required by the assigned unit.
• Ability to complete required de-escalation training within 30 days of hire.

Strongly Preferred

• Nursing leadership experience within inpatient behavioral health, psychiatric care, adolescent behavioral health, neurodevelopmental care, or a medical-behavioral setting.
• Experience caring for children or adolescents with significant behavioral or psychiatric needs.
• Experience leading crisis intervention, de-escalation, and restraint-reduction initiatives.
• Master's degree in Nursing, Healthcare Administration, or a related field.
• Certified Nurse Manager and Leader (CNML) or comparable nursing leadership certification.

Why Nexus Children’s Hospital – Shenandoah?

At Nexus, our teams care for patients whose needs often extend beyond a traditional hospital setting. Our interdisciplinary approach brings together nursing, medicine, behavioral health, rehabilitation, and therapy to provide individualized care for children and adolescents with complex needs.

As Nurse Manager – Behavioral Health, you will have the opportunity to directly influence the clinical culture of your unit, develop nurses working with a highly specialized patient population, and help create an environment where patients and staff can succeed.

If you are an experienced behavioral health RN leader ready to take the next step in your career, we want to hear from you.