Posting Date
09/09/26

Application Deadline
Open Until Filled

Pay Range
$131,000 - $194,000 annually

Salary offers are based on the candidate's equivalent experience and internal equity with other employees within the same job classification. This position is not eligible for overtime compensation.

Job Type
Unclassified

Department
Correctional Health

About the Position

Correctional Health Services (CHS) is seeking a collaborative, visible, and highly accountable Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) to provide executive leadership for nursing and clinical support services within a complex, 24/7 correctional healthcare system. Reporting to the CHS Director and serving as a member of the Senior Executive Team, the CNO is responsible for the strategic, clinical, operational, workforce, and fiscal leadership of nursing services across all CHS facilities. The CNO leads through a team of nursing leaders and is accountable for developing strong, effective leaders who consistently translate organizational priorities into safe, reliable, and high-quality patient care. The CNO ensures that nursing operations support evidence-based, medically necessary, integrated healthcare for patients throughout their incarceration in the County jail system.

The successful candidate will be an experienced leader of leaders who builds trust, establishes accountability, develops high-performing teams, uses data to drive decisions, and works effectively across professional and organizational boundaries. This individual must be comfortable leading change, addressing difficult issues directly, and balancing clinical excellence with operational, workforce, fiscal, regulatory, accreditation, and governmental responsibilities. Because healthcare delivery occurs within a public-safety environment, the CNO must also develop and maintain productive partnerships with County Leadership, Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO), County departments, regulatory and accrediting organizations, community partners, and other stakeholders while maintaining appropriate clinical independence and professional nursing standards.

We Require

• Seven years of nursing experience in a hospital, ambulatory, correctional, behavioral health, or similarly complex healthcare environment
• Two years of nursing leadership experience (nursing operations, personnel management, clinical quality, regulatory compliance, organizational performance, or resource management) involving supervision, management, or clinical oversight of nurses and other healthcare professionals
• Valid, unrestricted Registered Nurse (RN) license issued by the Arizona State Board of Nursing or a multistate license recognized by Arizona through the Nurse Licensure Compact
• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from an accredited nursing program
• Master's degree in Nursing, Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, Public Administration, or a closely related field may substitute for up to two years of the required general professional nursing experience

We Also Value

• Senior nursing leadership experience within a large, complex, multi-site, 24/7 healthcare organization
• Executive or senior management experience within a governmental, public-sector, correctional, public-safety, safety-net, or similarly complex healthcare environment
• Correctional healthcare experience
• Certified Correctional Health Professional (CCHP) or other relevant professional certification
• Experience with healthcare accreditation and regulatory compliance, including continuous survey readiness

Job Contributions

• Provides executive leadership, strategic direction, and oversight for nursing and designated clinical support services across all Correctional Health Services (CHS) facilities and 24/7 operations
• Serves as the senior nursing executive and principal nursing advisor to the CHS Director and represents nursing as a member of the CHS Senior Executive Team
• Leads, supervises, develops, and evaluates Nursing Managers and other assigned nursing leaders; establishes expectations, accountability, and performance standards, and builds leadership capacity through coaching, mentoring, professional development, succession planning, and performance management
• Establishes, implements, and evaluates standards of nursing practice to ensure safe, evidence-based, medically necessary, patient-centered care consistent with applicable laws, regulations, accreditation standards, and CHS policies
• Maintains appropriate visibility across facilities, clinics, and shifts to understand frontline operations, engage employees, identify barriers, and evaluate the effectiveness of nursing services
• Collaborates with CHS Administration, the Chief Medical Officer, and leaders from medicine, mental health, psychiatry, dentistry, pharmacy, quality, and other disciplines to promote integrated care and shared accountability for patient outcomes, and provides executive recommendations regarding nursing practice, policy, staffing, organizational structure, patient safety, clinical operations, resource allocation, and strategic priorities
• Partners with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) and other public-safety stakeholders on operational matters affecting healthcare delivery while maintaining appropriate clinical independence, professional nursing standards, and patient advocacy
• Develops, evaluates, and continuously improves nursing programs, policies, procedures, protocols, workflows, and models of care
• Develops and regularly evaluates nursing staffing models based on patient population, acuity, workload, scope of practice, service requirements, operational demand, and available resources
• Ensures appropriate nursing leadership and clinical coverage across facilities and shifts, and establishes effective processes for escalation and resolution of staffing and operational concerns
• Provides executive oversight of scheduling and workforce utilization and develops strategies to manage vacancies, overtime, contracted labor, attendance, productivity, and other workforce pressures while maintaining safe patient care
• Partners with Human Resources and nursing leadership to strengthen recruitment, selection, onboarding, retention, employee engagement, performance management, workforce development, and succession planning
• Establishes and supports nursing orientation, education, competency assessment, continuing education, and leadership development programs to maintain a competent and professional nursing workforce
• Promotes a nursing culture characterized by accountability, professionalism, teamwork, respectful communication, continuous learning, psychological workplace safety, and patient-centered care.
• Uses clinical, operational, workforce, quality, and financial data to establish priorities, clinical performance measures, Performance Based Budgeting (PBB) measures, and key performance indicators; evaluates trends and variation, drives measurable improvement, and holds nursing leaders accountable for outcomes within their areas of responsibility.
• Provides leadership for nursing participation in Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI), patient safety, mortality review, risk management, corrective-action plans, and other performance-improvement activities
• Maintains continuous nursing readiness for accreditation, regulatory review, audits, licensing requirements, and other external oversight, and ensures identified deficiencies are corrected and improvements are sustained
• Participates in departmental and interdisciplinary governance and committees, including MCSO/CHS leadership meetings, Clinical Practice Committee, Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, Quality Improvement Committee, and other committees as assigned
• Collaborates with Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology, and data and analytics resources to evaluate organizational performance, workforce utilization, resource needs, and opportunities for improvement
• Participates in Electronic Health Record (EHR) governance, optimization, workflow evaluation, and implementation of technology affecting nursing practice, documentation, patient safety, and operational efficiency
• Provides executive leadership in the management of significant clinical events, staffing emergencies, critical incidents, business continuity events, and other circumstances requiring senior nursing involvement
• Identifies and promptly communicates significant clinical deficiencies, patient-safety concerns, regulatory or accreditation risks, professional practice concerns, and operational risks to the CHS Director and other appropriate leaders
• Leads organizational change affecting nursing services and ensures changes are effectively communicated, implemented, evaluated, and sustained across facilities and shifts
• When needed, may participate in clinical care as a qualified Registered Nurse

Working Conditions

• Position operates in a complex, high-volume, 24/7 healthcare and public-safety environment with a culturally diverse patient population characterized by frequent interruptions, competing priorities, rapidly changing circumstances, and unscheduled events
• Position operates within secured correctional facilities and requires the ability to maintain MCSO jail access and successfully complete all applicable background requirements
• Travel between CHS clinical locations is required within a 5-mile radius
• Must be able to work inside a jail and stand, walk, and bend for extended periods of time throughout the shift
• Must be able to respond appropriately to clinical and operational emergencies and practice as a Registered Nurse when needed
• Must have the ability to get on the floor to perform CPR/chest compressions, push medical equipment, climb stairs, and lift patients on a gurney
• Must be available to provide executive nursing leadership outside traditional business hours when significant clinical, staffing, operational, or emergency circumstances require escalation, which may include weekends and holidays
• Must maintain active and valid BLS/CPR certification that meets applicable CHS requirements
• Must obtain Certified Correctional Health Professional (CCHP) certification within 12 months of appointment and maintain certification throughout employment
• Must successfully complete and maintain all background, security clearance, and other requirements necessary for access to Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) secured facilities

Selection Procedure

• Consideration will only be given to candidates who submit online applications
• Candidates will be contacted primarily through email and their Workday online application profile
• Must pass a pre-employment background and/or fingerprint investigation as required by statute or policy, including drug and alcohol testing requirements for positions designated as safety-sensitive

Apply Now!