Professional Development Educator, Behavioral Health - Full time

Department
CLINICAL EDUCATION - 206030Worker Sub Type
RegularWork Shift

Pay Range
$40.76 - $57.71Job Description

The Professional Development Educator is accountable for implementing standardized education, onboarding, competency, and workforce development programs that promote practice readiness, safe clinical care, and consistent outcomes across assigned departments, service lines, and care settings. This role supports the development and maintenance of professional competence, fosters lifelong learning, and facilitates professional growth for clinical and interprofessional caregivers throughout their professional journey.

The Professional Development Educator operationalizes system-wide education, competency, and workforce development strategies, ensuring consistent implementation, effective adoption, and efficient use of organizational resources across assigned departments, service lines, and care settings. This role partners with leaders, subject matter experts, and interprofessional teams to deliver learning experiences, support transition to practice, facilitate competency development, and provide coaching, mentorship, and professional development throughout the caregiver career journey.

Through effective education delivery and competency validation, the Professional Development Educator contributes to improved time-to-productivity, workforce readiness, staff engagement, and retention, while reducing variability in onboarding processes and supporting efficient utilization of staffing resources.

Core Responsibilities

Education Delivery & Workforce Readiness

• Implements and delivers onboarding, orientation, competency, just-in-time learning, and continuing professional development programs to support workforce readiness, professional growth, and safe clinical practice.
• Facilitates instructor-led learning experiences using evidence-based educational strategies and adult learning principles.
• Adapts educational delivery strategies to meet the unique needs of assigned departments, service lines, and caregiver populations while maintaining system standards.
• Identifies learning needs and implements targeted interventions that support workforce readiness, staff engagement, retention, and patient safety.

Competency Validation & Clinical Practice Support

• Facilitates and monitors initial and ongoing competency assessment, validation, documentation, and development to ensure caregivers demonstrate safe, effective, and professional practice.
• Implements standardized competency frameworks and validation processes to promote consistency, regulatory compliance, and reduced variability in practice.
• Provides coaching, feedback, and practice support to strengthen clinical judgment, decision-making, and performance at the point of care.
• Collaborates with leaders, preceptors, subject matter experts, and Professional Development Specialists to support onboarding, transition to practice, competency progression, and workforce readiness.
• Identifies competency gaps and facilitates targeted development activities to address individual, team, or practice-area needs.

Operational Partnership & Resource Stewardship

• Supports operational leaders through coordination of educational activities, competency processes, and workforce development initiatives.
• Effectively utilizes approved technologies, learning systems, data tools, and standardized workflows to optimize educational delivery, improve data integrity, and reduce administrative burden.
• Identifies opportunities to streamline processes, improve efficiency, and optimize educational resources within assigned practice areas.
• Ensures consistent implementation of system-wide educational programs, standards, and resources to reduce variation and duplication

Collaboration & Professional Practice

• Collaborates with Professional Development Specialists, leaders, subject matter experts, and interprofessional teams to implement educational solutions aligned with organizational and practice needs.
• Implements and reinforces system governance, professional practice, and professional development initiatives at the point of care.
• Serves as a resource for caregivers and leaders regarding education, competency validation, onboarding, and professional development processes.

Professional Leadership & Development

• Serves as a role model in the professional development roles of educator, facilitator, change agent, and consultant.
• Promotes a culture of accountability, lifelong learning, professional growth, and continuous improvement.
• Participates in committees, councils, and initiatives that support education, workforce development, and professional practice.
• Maintains current knowledge of professional development, healthcare education, and clinical practice trends and demonstrates commitment to ongoing professional growth.

Education

Bachelor's degree in nursing is required. Candidates must possess clinical experience appropriate to the practice setting and caregiver populations supported.

Experience

2-3 years of clinical experience required

Experience in education, precepting, or professional development preferred

Certification & Licensure

Nursing Professional Development Board Certification (NPD-BC) preferred.

Professional certification appropriate to the discipline or specialty area supported may be considered in lieu of NPD-BC.

NPD-BC or other approved professional certification required within 18 months of hire.

Basic Life Support (BLS) certification

Qualifications

Based on primary state of residency and in accordance with current Virginia and West Virginia Board of Nursing Regulations, must be licensed or eligible to practice pending licensure as a Registered Nurse in the Commonwealth of Virginia with a Multi-state license, or in West Virginia with a multi-state license.

Benefits

At Valley Health, we believe everyone is a caregiver, and our goal is to create an environment where our caregivers thrive physically, financially, and emotionally. In addition to a competitive salary, our most popular benefits for full-time employees include:

• A Zero-Deductible Health Plan
• Dental and vision insurance
• Generous Paid Time Off
• Tuition Assistance
• Retirement Savings Match
• A Robust Employee Assistance Program to help with many aspects of emotional wellbeing
• Membership to Healthy U: An Incentive-Based Wellness Program

Valley Health also offers a health savings account & flexible spending account for childcare, life insurance, short-term and long-term disability, and professional development. In addition, several perks come with working for the largest employer in the region, such as discounts to on-campus dining, and more.

To see the full scale of what we offer, visit valleyhealthbenefits.com.