Senior Vice President, Nursing

About the role

Oceans Healthcare is a nationally recognized provider of behavioral health services, offering inpatient and intensive outpatient programs for adults and seniors with depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, medication‑related behavioral changes, substance abuse, and other behavioral issues. The Senior Vice President of Nursing (SVP) serves as the organization’s senior nursing executive, providing strategic leadership and enterprise‑wide oversight of nursing operations, workforce strategy, professional practice, quality, patient safety, and regulatory readiness across a multi‑state behavioral health system. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, the SVP partners with executive, regional, and facility leaders to establish nursing priorities, drive operational excellence, ensure consistent standards of care, and align nursing resources with organizational goals and patient needs.

Essential Functions

• Develop and execute the enterprise nursing strategy, aligning clinical operations, workforce initiatives, and patient care objectives with organizational goals.
• Serve as a senior advisor to executive leadership, providing strategic direction on nursing operations, workforce planning, quality, patient safety, and clinical performance.
• Lead nursing operations across all hospitals and applicable outpatient settings, ensuring operational excellence, accountability, and consistent performance.
• Establish and standardize nursing policies, practices, workflows, and evidence‑based care models to promote quality, efficiency, and consistency.
• Drive enterprise nursing workforce strategies, including recruitment, retention, engagement, succession planning, leadership development, and professional growth.
• Oversee nursing staffing, productivity, labor management, and resource utilization while promoting financial stewardship and operational effectiveness.
• Champion a culture of patient safety, quality, accountability, and continuous improvement in behavioral healthcare delivery.
• Monitor and improve nursing performance through data‑driven metrics, quality indicators, benchmarking, and performance improvement initiatives.
• Partner with operational, clinical, regulatory, compliance, and corporate leaders to ensure accreditation readiness, regulatory compliance, and achievement of organizational objectives.
• Support organizational growth and transformation initiatives, including acquisitions, integrations, new facility openings, service expansions, and strategic change efforts.
• Provide regular and extensive travel to provide strategic leadership, operational oversight, and executive support across the multi‑state network of hospitals and outpatient facilities.

Requirements

• Current Registered Nurse (RN) license in good standing.
• Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) from an accredited institution.
• Minimum 10 years of progressive nursing leadership experience, including significant senior‑level nursing leadership responsibilities.
• Minimum 5 years of nursing leadership experience within inpatient psychiatric or behavioral health hospitals.
• Demonstrated leadership experience within a multi‑site, multi‑state hospital or healthcare organization.
• Experience leading nursing operations through regional, divisional, or other senior nursing leaders across geographically dispersed organizations.
• Proven success developing senior nursing leaders, building leadership pipelines, and establishing accountability across multiple organizational levels.
• Demonstrated business and financial management experience, including oversight of nursing labor, productivity, staffing models, agency utilization, and nursing‑related operating expenses.
• Preferred: National certification in nursing administration or executive nursing leadership.
• Preferred: Experience supporting organizational growth initiatives, acquisitions, hospital integrations, new facility openings, or large‑scale operational transformations.

Qualifications / Skills

• Comprehensive knowledge of psychiatric hospital nursing operations, nursing practice, staffing strategies, workforce management, patient safety, and nursing performance improvement.
• Strong understanding of regulatory, compliance, and accreditation requirements applicable to inpatient psychiatric hospitals and nursing services.
• Proven ability to analyze operational, workforce, and nursing quality metrics to identify opportunities and drive measurable performance improvements.
• Strong executive presence with the ability to influence and collaborate effectively across senior leadership teams.
• Demonstrated ability to partner with leaders across Operations, Quality, Regulatory, Human Resources, Finance, Compliance, and Legal functions.
• Exceptional strategic leadership, organizational alignment, and change management capabilities.
• Strong decision‑making, problem‑solving, and accountability leadership skills.
• Excellent communication, relationship‑building, and stakeholder management abilities.
• Demonstrated financial acumen and ability to align nursing operations with organizational performance goals.

Work Environment

The role is subject to many interruptions and occasional pressure due to multiple calls and inquiries. It can be high‑paced and stressful, requiring mental and physical resilience. Work is performed primarily inside buildings (approximately 90% of the time), offering protection from weather but not necessarily from temperature changes. Significant travel (40‑60%) to hospitals, outpatient locations, regional meetings, and other organizational sites is required to maintain effective leadership presence, develop nursing leaders, assess performance, and provide oversight across the enterprise.