Job Description

At NorthBay Health, the Vice President, Hospital Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) is the nursing executive responsible for providing strategic, operational, and clinical leadership for nursing services across NorthBay Medical Center and VacaValley Hospital. Reporting to the Senior Vice President, Hospital President, the CNO is accountable for the delivery of high-quality, safe, patient-centered nursing care while advancing professional nursing practice, workforce engagement, operational excellence, and organizational performance.

The CNO holds ultimate responsibility for sustaining the standards of nursing practice in all assigned areas.

The CNO partners closely with physician leaders, hospital executives, and interdisciplinary teams to ensure the achievement of strategic priorities, regulatory compliance, and exceptional patient outcomes. In addition to oversight of nursing operations, the CNO provides executive leadership for Nursing Education, ensuring the development of a highly skilled, competent, and future-ready nursing workforce. The Chief Nursing Officer serves as the principal advocate for professional nursing practice and ensures that the voice of nursing is represented in executive and strategic decision-making and partners to shape organizational strategy, advance quality and patient safety, strengthen workforce engagement, and promote a culture of nursing excellence. The CNO champions a professional practice environment that empowers nurses, advances evidence-based practice, and supports NorthBay Health's commitment to nursing excellence and Magnet® principles. As the visible steward of nursing excellence, the CNO leads NorthBay Health’s journey toward and sustainment of ANCC Magnet Recognition®.

PRIMARY JOB DUTIES

Executive Leadership

• Serve as the organization's nursing executive and principal advocate for the nursing profession.
• Represent the voice and perspective of nursing in senior leadership discussions, organizational strategy, and enterprise decision-making.
• Partner as a trusted strategic advisor to the President, Chief Executive Officer, executive leadership team, medical staff leaders, and Board of Directors on matters affecting clinical care, workforce strategy, patient experience, quality, safety, and organizational performance.
• Ensure nursing priorities are integrated into the organization's strategic planning, capital planning, operational initiatives, and long-term organizational goals.
• Foster an environment in which nursing leadership is recognized as an essential contributor to organizational governance and decision-making.

Clinical Excellence & Quality

• Ensure delivery of safe, evidence-based, patient-centered care across all inpatient nursing departments.
• Lead initiatives to improve:
  • Patient safety
  • Clinical quality
  • Patient experience
  • Nursing-sensitive quality indicators
  • Regulatory readiness
• Promote high reliability principles and continuous quality improvement methodologies.
• Maintain readiness for Joint Commission, CMS, California Department of Public Health, and other regulatory surveys.

Nursing Operations

• Provide executive oversight for nursing operations across both hospitals.
• Ensure appropriate staffing models and workforce deployment.
• Optimize nursing productivity while maintaining quality outcomes.
• Partner with operational leaders to improve throughput, patient flow, and capacity management.
• Establish performance expectations and accountability for nursing leadership.

Nursing Professional Practice

• Advance a professional nursing practice environment grounded in evidence-based care.
• Support shared governance and clinical excellence.
• Promote interdisciplinary collaboration and physician partnership.
• Encourage nursing research, innovation, and adoption of best practices.
• Champion Magnet® principles and nursing excellence initiatives, whether pursuing or maintaining designation.
• Champion a professional nursing practice model that supports shared governance, structural empowerment, exemplary professional practice, innovation, and evidence-based care.
• Promote an environment in which nurses are actively engaged in organizational decision-making, quality improvement, research, professional development, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
• Provide executive sponsorship for nursing councils and shared governance structures that empower frontline nurses to influence practice and patient care.

Magnet® and Nursing Excellence

• Provide executive leadership for the organization's Magnet® journey and ongoing commitment to nursing excellence.
• Ensure alignment with the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program® standards by fostering a culture of professional governance, innovation, evidence-based practice, quality outcomes, and continuous improvement.
• Lead initiatives that enhance nurse engagement, professional development, workforce well-being, and nursing-sensitive quality outcomes.
• Promote visibility of nursing leadership throughout the organization while ensuring nursing perspectives are incorporated into executive and Board-level discussions.
• Builds and sustains a shared governance structure that gives direct-care nurses decision-making authority over their practice.
• Establishes and upholds a professional practice model and care-delivery system grounded in evidence and the ANA standards.
• Ensures safe, effective, patient- and family-centered nursing care across all settings and entities.

Nursing Education

Provide executive oversight for Nursing Education, including:

• Clinical orientation
• Nurse residency programs
• Leadership development
• Continuing education
• Specialty certification
• Clinical competency programs
• Professional development pathways
• Academic partnerships with schools of nursing, research and development of future nursing workforce

Ensure educational programming supports organizational goals, regulatory requirements, workforce development, and succession planning.

Talent Management

• Recruit, develop, mentor, and retain high-performing nursing leaders.
• Build leadership succession plans across nursing.
• Foster employee engagement and a culture of belonging.
• Support workforce wellness and resilience initiatives.
• Promote professional growth and career advancement opportunities.
• Oversees adequate and appropriate staffing, competency, and credentialing structures that support quality outcomes.
• Accountable for nurse engagement, satisfaction, and retention outcomes, and for reducing preventable turnover.

Financial Stewardship

• Develop and manage nursing operating and capital budgets.
• Optimize labor resources and financial performance while maintaining quality.
• Identify opportunities for operational efficiencies and cost management.
• Ensure responsible stewardship of organizational resources.
• Collaboration to Strengthen relationships to improve patient outcomes and operational effectiveness.

Regulatory & Compliance

• Ensure compliance with all federal, state, and accreditation requirements.
• Maintain compliance with California nursing regulations.
• Support infection prevention, patient safety, risk management, and emergency preparedness initiatives.
• Promote ethical practice and regulatory integrity throughout nursing services.

Education

• Master's degree in Nursing, Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, or related field required.
• Doctoral degree (DNP, PhD, EdD, or equivalent) preferred.

Licensure/Certification

• Current California Registered Nurse license required.
• Nurse Executive Advanced (NEA-BC) strongly preferred.
• Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) preferred.
• Lean, Six Sigma, or other quality improvement certification preferred.

Experience

• Minimum of ten (10) years of progressive nursing leadership experience.
• Minimum of five (5) years serving in a senior nursing executive role within an acute care hospital or integrated healthcare system preferred
• Minimum of five (5) years of leadership at Director level in hospital nursing.
• Multi-hospital leadership experience strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated success leading quality improvement, workforce engagement, financial performance, and strategic initiatives.

Core Competencies

• Strategic Leadership
• Executive Presence
• Healthcare Operations
• Clinical Excellence
• Nursing Professional Practice
• Financial Acumen
• Change Leadership
• Workforce Development
• Talent Management
• Quality & Patient Safety
• Regulatory Compliance
• Physician Collaboration
• Communication & Influence
• Data-Driven Decision Making
• Emotional Intelligence
• Relationship Building

Interpersonal Skills:

• Demonstrates the True North values. The True North values are a set of value-based behaviors that are to be consistently demonstrated and role modeled by all employees that work at NorthBay Health. The True North values principles consist of Nurture/Care, Own It, Respect Relationships, Build Trust and Hardwire Excellence.

• Ability to build and maintain positive working relationships with others.

• Ability to communicate effectively to employees at all levels of a culturally diverse organization.

Interpersonal Skills and Values

Demonstrates NorthBay Health’s True North Values: Nurture Care, Own It, Respect Relationships, Build Trust, and Hardwire Excellence. These values guide behavior, accountability, teamwork, and commitment to high-quality patient care.

Why NorthBay Health

NorthBay Health is an independent, nonprofit health system serving the Napa, Solano, and Yolo County regions. We are expanding access to care across our communities through two acute-care hospitals, including a Level II Trauma Center and a Level III NICU maternity unit, along with a cancer center, urgent care locations, and a growing network of primary and specialty care clinics.

We provide advanced services in cardiovascular care, neuroscience, orthopedics, surgery, and outpatient specialties. NorthBay Health is nationally recognized for quality care, including Magnet with Distinction designation for nursing and multiple U.S. News and World Report high performing recognitions.

We are committed to being the trusted healthcare partner of choice and offer an environment where employees can grow, contribute meaningfully, and support the health of our communities.

NorthBay Health Benefits Options

NorthBay Health offers a comprehensive benefits package based on established eligibility requirements. Benefits may include medical, dental, and vision insurance, life, disability, and long-term care coverage, paid time off including vacation, sick leave, holidays, and bereavement, a 403(b) retirement plan with employer match, education reimbursement for eligible roles, professional development and training programs, Employee Assistance Program, wellness programs, recognition programs, shift differentials, and market-based compensation review and increases subject to approval and organizational performance.

Compensation Structure

NorthBay Health uses a structured compensation framework. Staff-level positions use a step-based system (Steps 1–5) based on years of directly related experience, with Step 5 representing 20 or more years of experience in the role. Manager level and above positions are paid a fixed annual base salary and are eligible for a variable incentive compensation plan. Physician compensation is structured based on specialty and role requirements.

Remote Work Disclosure

NorthBay Health is primarily an onsite organization due to the nature of healthcare. Some roles may allow hybrid or remote work based on business needs.

Remote work is not supported in Washington, Ohio, Wyoming, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or outside of the United States.

Notice to Recruitment Agencies

NorthBay Health utilizes a managed service provider (MSP) for agency partnerships and is not currently engaging external recruiting firms outside of established agreements. We do not accept unsolicited resumes or third-party candidate submissions. Please do not contact NorthBay Health employees, leaders, physicians, or hiring managers regarding recruitment or job postings.

More Information

Visit NorthBay Health Careers for recruitment FAQs and additional information.