Chief Nursing Officer - Montana

Calling all Esteemed Leaders! Are you a transformational nursing executive who excels at leading across complex healthcare environments, advancing clinical excellence, and building strong partnerships with physicians, caregivers, and operational leaders? Do you thrive in highly matrixed organizations where strategic vision, operational execution, and exceptional patient care must be balanced across multiple facilities and communities? This leadership opportunity invites your expertise.

The Role: 

The Service Area (SA) Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) provides leadership to a variety of nursing, ancillary and support departments and is responsible for nursing operations at both St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula and St. Joseph Hospital in Polson. The SA-CNO works with operational/clinical leaders and medical staff to assure efficient and effective operations, implementation of the strategic plan, recruitment/retention of staff as well as being a key driver of quality and patient satisfaction initiatives. Works closely with the Chief Operating Officer in operational activities, including strategic plan development and growth initiatives. The SA-CNO is an integral member of the Executive Team, as well as a participant in Market and System initiatives. Performs all duties in a manner that promotes teamwork and collaboration.

The SA-CNO will operate in a highly matrixed environment with accountability to the SA-CE, Ministry-CE (if applicable) and the Division CNO.

The SA-CNO is accountable for the provision and quality of all nursing services in support of Service Area, Market, and System goals. This includes strategically ensuring a balance of optimal and efficient patient care; staff, patient, and physician satisfaction; and cooperative partnerships with other organizational departments and professional groups. With a constant focus on patient-centeredness and staff and patient safety, the SA-CNO creates and maintains standards and systems for care delivery at their facility. These systems of care delivery promote evidence-based practice and are designed to support the management of productivity targets, patient acuity, and available resources. Through leading in patient care delivery and planning strategically, consistently supports efficient and effective patient care services, and achieving organizational and system goals. This includes advancing the strategic vision and goals of Nursing. Constructively manages change and promotes a team-based approach.

In addition, the SA-CNO is accountable for the coordination and implementation of strategic goals and initiatives in all facilities in the defined service area. This will be achieved through partnership with the Division CNO and division teams to ensure consistent practices and implementation of key initiatives is achieved in all facilities in the Service Area. The SA-CNO will act as a mentor to all CNOs in their service area and ensure each CNO has the knowledge and skills to implement clinical strategic plans.

The Mission, Vision and Core Values of the Sisters of Providence are demonstrated and promoted daily by this individual. Open discussion and problem solving, frequent regular communications and a respectful and caring approach to staff, patients, families and medical staff are required.

What You'll Do:

• The SA-CNO is accountable to achieve the following in their ministry and to act as a resource to the CNOs in their service area to ensure goals are met throughout the service area in partnership with Division leadership.
• Sits on ministry and service area leadership decision making councils and committees to ensure the voice of the clinician is represented in critical decision making and strategic planning.
• Sits on the SA-CNO council to guide and contribute the clinical decision making via the division CNO.
• Provides direction for the development of short and long-term strategic initiatives to assure achievement of the ministry, service areas, division and system initiatives and goals. This includes providing strategic direction and assures implementation of ministry, service areas, divisional and system nursing initiatives.
• Effectively coordinates the integration efforts of divisional and site based programs to maximize existing resources and expands services to meet community needs. Works closely with Program Leaders and site Administrators during planning and implementation phases of clinical or business changes for all services.
• Provides for the development and effective operation of all inpatient care units, and other facility departments as assigned.
• Works collaboratively with the Chief Executive, COO, CMO and departmental directors to assure quality and patient safety and satisfaction goals are achieved.
• Supports physician partners by knowing and understanding the medical staff issues and works with the physician in order to provide appropriate operational environment necessary for optimum physician practice. Participates on Medical Staff Committees and recruitment of key physicians.
• Participates actively in strategic planning and budgetary formation in conjunction with the COO, finance director and site managers to ensure strong and focused operational and financial management of the acute care business.
• Keeps patients/the people we serve at the center of what we do and assures the needs/voice of the patient/customer are heard. Displays consistent commitment to customer service.
• Works to assure the effective and efficient delivery of services and works collaboratively to develop coordinated systems of care which fulfill our vision of a connected experience of care across the continuum.
• Reduces variation and error through implementation of evidence based practice models.
• Lead efforts to support the effective and comprehensive implementation of the Quality Strategic Plan, including responsibility for health care outcomes.
• Ensures the development of policies and programs that are economically feasible and conducive to the development of ministry.
• Responsible for coordination or support of regulatory agency compliance readiness and audit checks in programs and service lines.
• Participates in coordination of business development and service line priorities by working closely with Finance, Human Resources, Nursing Administration, Medical Staff Leaders, department directors and Service Area and Market leaders on planning, financial and resource management.
• Serves as administrative sponsor or provides leadership to various site councils, committees and task force based at hospital. Is an administrative representative at various councils in the Service Area, Market and System level.
• Enhances professional growth and development through literature reviews, conferences, etc., as they pertain to acute care operations in a matrix environment. Maintains professional affiliations.
• Coordinates service excellence initiatives by reviewing appropriate surveys, helps establish quality improvement goals and insures issue resolutions on all customer driven feedback. Looks for opportunities to advance the seamless concepts for patients and families as it applies to service lines.
• Works closely with the information system teams to ensure appropriate technological support is in place as planned. Plans for and supports the implementation of technology to support clinical practice.
• Exhibits achievement and learning orientation to work and organizational life by maintaining a broad outlook, demonstrating personal responsibility for keeping up with current information, expanding knowledge and skill, and ensuring contribution to organizational success.
• Attends and supports leadership meetings and assists in the education of core leaders and other appropriate groups as may be indicated by organizational needs.
• Provides mentoring/coaching for core leaders as well as professional development opportunities.
• Creates a work environment that attracts and retains skilled staff and physicians.
• Completes annual mandatory education review and competency program.
• Building a Successful Team: Uses appropriate methods and a flexible interpersonal style to help build a cohesive team; facilitates the completion of team goals.
• Building Partnerships: Identifies opportunities and takes action to build strategic relationships between one’s area and other areas, teams, departments, units, or organizations to help achieve business goals.
• Business Acumen: Uses economic, financial, market, and industry data to understand and improve business results; uses one’s understanding of major business functions, industry trends, and own organization’s position to contribute to effective business strategies and tactics.
• Coaching: Provides timely guidance and feedback to help others strengthen specific knowledge/skill areas needed to accomplish a task or solve a problem.
• Communication: Clearly conveys information and ideas through a variety of media to individuals or groups in a manner that engages the audience and helps them understand and retain the message.
• Driving for Results: Sets high goals for personal and group accomplishment; uses measurement methods to monitor progress toward goals; tenaciously works to meet or exceed goals while deriving satisfaction from that achievement and continuous improvement.
• Delegating Responsibility: Allocates decision-making authority and/or task responsibility to appropriate others to maximize the organization’s and individuals’ effectiveness.
• Facilitating Change: Encourages others to seek opportunities for different and innovative approaches to addressing problems and opportunities; facilitates the implementation and acceptance of change within the workplace.
• Gaining Commitment: Using appropriate interpersonal styles and techniques to gain acceptance of ideas or plans; modifying one’s own behavior to accommodate tasks, situations, and individuals involved.
• Leadership Disposition: Demonstrates the traits, inclinations, and dispositions that characterize successful leaders; exhibits behavior styles that meet the demands of the leader role.
• Leading Through Mission and Values: Keeping the organization’s Mission and Values at the forefront of associate decision making and action.
• Planning and Organizing: Establishes courses of action for self and others to ensure that work is completed efficiently.
• Strategic Decision Making: Obtains information and identifies key issues and relationships relevant to achieving a long-range goal or vision; commits to a course of action to accomplish a long-range goal or vision after developing alternatives based on logical assumptions, facts, available resources, constraints, and organizational values.
• Contributes to successful operational performance of the hospital including financial targets and clinical operational excellence targets.
• Collaborate with system leaders and other peer Community and CAH hospitals on key operational and patient experience improvement programs to help achieve our vision of health for a better world. Actively engage in and drive continuous operational improvements.
• Ensure effective CAH strategies to provide an outstanding level of support to communities in Northeastern Washington. Continue to differentiate Providence services as a Top CAH acute care environment in America.
• Participate in divisional and system-level councils and institutes as required to ensure the effective implementation of technical clinical enhancements and new service delivery.
• Effectively partner with the Providence ambulatory care network to drive patient services to the appropriate place in the care continuum. Engage in the service area's strategic plan to accelerate a continuum of care approach that lowers cost to patients (meeting Medicare break-even goals), addresses new regulatory and payer trends and improves the patient experience in their journey to health through the various touch points with Providence caregivers.
• With partners in risk and compliance, manage risk at the medical center including day to day operational risk and response; as well as potential emergency situations posing a risk to the community.
• Actively develop leadership talent at all levels across these ministries to support business continuity.
• Inspire all caregivers around the Providence Mission. As a visible presence, engage caregivers and seek feedback for continuous improvement of the caregiver experience.

What You’ll Bring:

Education & Credentials

• Bachelor's Degree in Nursing or related field
• Master's Degree in Nursing, Healthcare Administration, Business or a related field
• Coursework/Training in Nursing Leadership coursework and/or Certification (preferred)
• Required upon hire: Montana Registered Nurse License (Vendor Managed)

Experience & Expertise

• 10 or more years of progressive clinical leadership experience including senior level nursing management experience in a position of authority and responsibility commensurate with scope and complexity of patient care needs of the patient population served in a complex health care delivery organization.
• 10 or more years of administrative experience should include experience leading multiple disciplines, working with complex groups, and leading major clinical and operational departments/functions.
• 10 or more years of leadership experience with physicians and a record of success in working with medical staff leaders.
• 10 or more years of experience working collaboratively with represented nursing units and demonstrated experience of successfully engaging represented staff in shared governance (preferred).
• 10 or more years of knowledge and skills in hospital outpatient and physician practice operations (preferred).

Professional & Leadership Capabilities

• Ability to work in a highly matrixed environment.
• Ability to lead the alignment of strategy with local and service area operations executives.
• Display advanced leadership and organizational agility and interpersonal savvy skills.
• Able to communicate strategic needs/intent to a wide cross-section of the organization in a clear and concise way that inspires confidence and generates enthusiasm.
• Possess excellent written, verbal, non-verbal and listening communication skills.
• Able to establish credibility with other leaders in the System and throughout the Division.
• Ability to work collaboratively and facilitate teamwork in order to implement ideas and programs.
• Possess thorough knowledge of provider organizations, quality, utilization, accreditation and risk management, advanced planning and budgeting skills, and negotiation, persuasion and mediation skills.
• Creating and implementing strategic plans.
• Influencing key stakeholders.
• Identifying, selecting, and developing talent.
• Managing costs against a budget.
• Executing major organizational change.
• Changing an organizational culture.
• Growing a business unit or operation.
• Tracking performance.
• Interacting with higher levels in the organization.

Why Join Us?

• Executive Nursing Leadership: Lead nursing strategy, operations, and clinical excellence across a complex service area and multiple facilities.
• System-Wide Influence: Partner with ministry, division, market, and system leaders to advance transformational initiatives and improve care delivery.
• Clinical & Operational Impact: Drive quality, patient safety, workforce engagement, physician partnership, and operational performance across the continuum of care.
• Leadership Development: Mentor and support nursing leaders throughout the service area while helping build a strong pipeline of future leaders.
• Mission‑Driven Work: Advance Providence's commitment to compassionate, evidence-based, patient-centered care while enhancing the health of the communities served.

Ready to Shape the Future of Healthcare?

If you are a visionary nursing executive with a passion for clinical excellence, strategic leadership, and developing high-performing teams, we encourage you to apply.

The full pay range is listed in accordance with applicable law. Final compensation will be determined based on qualifications, experience, organizational compensation alignment, and the approved hiring department budget for the position. This position may also be eligible for incentive compensation and benefits.

At Providence we believe in the importance of human connection and the impact of in-person collaboration towards team cohesion and caregiver engagement. Further, we want our leaders to live in or near the communities we serve.  Therefore, leaders applying for this role will be required to work a hybrid schedule, which consists of three days onsite, two days remote and live within a reasonable commuting distance to the ministry or service area they support and lead.