Chief Nursing Officer, Riley Children's Health

The Opportunity

Riley Children’s Health at Indiana University Health seeks a strategic and collaborative Chief Nursing Officer to lead nursing across one of the nation’s premier pediatric health systems. As a key member of the Riley Children’s executive team and in close partnership with the IU Health enterprise Chief Nurse Executive, the CNO will advance a unified nursing vision aligned with system strategy while preserving Riley’s distinct identity and national reputation. This leader will thrive in a highly collaborative environment, building strong partnerships with physician leaders, operational executives, and system stakeholders to ensure nursing is fully integrated into enterprise priorities.

The CNO will provide executive oversight for nursing practice, quality, safety, workforce strategy, and professional development across all Riley Children’s Health campuses and care settings. Operating within a complex, matrixed academic health system, the successful candidate will leverage the scale, resources, and infrastructure of a strong, stable health system to advance innovation, operational excellence, and sustained ANCC Magnet designation. Strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration, advancing leadership development, and fostering a culture of professionalism and pride will be central to the role.

This is a highly visible leadership opportunity requiring executive presence, strategic agility, and the ability to inspire and align a large nursing workforce around shared goals. The CNO will join a respected and well-established health system, contributing to a One Team culture grounded in trust, accountability, and excellence while positioning Riley Children’s nursing as a national leader in pediatric care.

The Position

The Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) is a key member of the Riley Children’s Health executive leadership team, reporting directly to the Riley Children’s President and serving as the primary advocate for nursing excellence and patient care outcomes. The CNO is responsible for setting the strategic direction, providing operational oversight, and financial management of the nursing division, ensuring alignment with the organization's mission, vision, and long-term goals.

The CNO serves as the nursing expert for Riley Children’s Health. They are accountable for enhancing nursing practice across both inpatient and ambulatory settings that are patient-centric, providing exceptional quality and safe care, and ensuring that all nurses practice at the highest scope of their licensure. The CNO is a champion of change that advances care and quality outcomes across Riley Children’s Health.

This role requires a visionary leader who can drive nursing innovation, enhance quality and patient experience, and foster a culture of evidence-based clinical excellence. Additionally, the CNO will drive cross-functional collaboration between clinical (especially physician enterprise), administrative, and operational teams to ensure a seamless patient care experience.

This leader supports professional development at all levels of the organization and demonstrates a deep commitment to the nursing profession and to those who turn to IU Health for care. The CNO will create environments where team members feel personally valued, professionally invested, and inspired by both patients and colleagues. Additionally, the CNO is accountable for achieving organizational outcomes as measured by the IU Health Promise Dashboard, including improvements in quality and safety, care affordability, patient experience, and team member engagement.

The ideal candidate will bring a strong dedication to evidence-based decision-making in both clinical and leadership settings. They will foster shared leadership, professional practice models, and continuous improvement, while promoting a culture of learning through clinical inquiry and partnerships with nursing schools. They will possess up-to-date knowledge of clinical standards, regulatory and accreditation requirements, and be familiar with ANCC Magnet criteria. With a solid grasp of healthcare economics and policy, they will understand the influence of governing bodies across all levels. This leader will build collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders and actively engage in professional organizations, serving as a visible and inspiring presence in the nursing community.

This leader will embody IU Health's mission; embrace its vision; and lead with respect, humility, and intellectual curiosity. The leader will demonstrate the highest moral and ethical traits and will understand the unique importance of a pediatric focus.

Key Responsibilities

Executive Leadership & Strategy

• Serve as a trusted advisor to the President and executive leadership team, contributing to the overall strategic direction of the organization.
• Develop and implement nursing strategies, policies, and care models that support organizational goals and enhance patient outcomes.
• Act as the voice of nursing leadership, advocating for nursing staff at the executive and system level.
• Responsible for the vision, strategy, and execution of nursing practice throughout Riley Children’s Health to be delivered consistently and safely.
• Actively engage with peer Chief Nursing Officers across IU Health and beyond to share best practices and strengthen system-wide nursing leadership.

Nursing Operations & Clinical Excellence

• Provide direct leadership to nurse executives, directors, and managers to maintain high standards of nursing care across all departments.
• Establish evidence-based practices and quality initiatives to improve patient safety, satisfaction, and clinical outcomes.
• Oversee contemporary nursing workforce planning, including recruitment, retention, succession planning, and professional development initiatives.
• Enhance and evolve the nursing professional governance and evidence-based practice infrastructure.
• Create innovative and leading class programs in nurse education and academic scholarship.
• Drive performance improvement strategies by monitoring key clinical metrics and implementing continuous quality improvement programs.
• Address the professional practice needs of nurses throughout the full continuum of care; develop and promote effective care coordination models to partner with community resources and ensure optimal health for patients outside of the hospital setting.

Financial & Resource Management

• Develop and manage the budget of nursing departments, ensuring cost-effective operations without compromising care quality.
• Optimize nursing resource allocation, including staffing models and technology investments, to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
• Partner with the CFO and President on capital planning for nursing-related infrastructure, technology, and innovation.
• Partner with CHRO on human capital management and workforce related matters.

Regulatory Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure full compliance with federal, state, and local healthcare regulations, as well as accreditation standards (e.g., The Joint Commission, CMS, OSHA).
• Develop and enforce policies that align with regulatory requirements while supporting best practices in patient care and safety.
• Partner with leaders overseeing the organization’s infection control, patient safety, and risk management programs to ensure alignment of nursing practice with the goals of these programs.
• Ensure standardization of quality, accreditation, regulatory, compliance, and patient safety efforts throughout Riley Children’s Health are consistent with IU Health System initiatives.

Innovation, Change Management & Technology Integration

• Drive the adoption of emerging healthcare technologies and digital transformation in nursing operations.
• Lead change management initiatives to enhance clinical workflows, nurse engagement, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
• Stay abreast of industry trends and innovations, ensuring the organization remains a leader in nursing excellence and patient care delivery.
• Create and implement initiatives that elevate and innovate the nursing care delivery model.
• Work to consistently innovate nursing practices that provide exceptional patient care and operational performance.
• Collaborate with system executives and other key stakeholders to appropriately utilize clinical data, informatics, and business analytics in the expansion of care initiatives, clinical integration, workforce development, process improvement, and standardization of nursing practice.

Culture, Engagement & Leadership Development

• Cultivate a culture of excellence, collaboration, and accountability within the nursing workforce.
• Implement leadership development programs to empower nurse leaders and support career progression, in partnership with HR learning & development leaders.
• Ensure an environment of wellbeing and agile listening to create a highly engaged nursing workforce.
• Recognize generational differences and implement retention strategies for a multigenerational workforce.

The Candidate

Experience and Professional Qualifications

The ideal CNO candidate will be a highly respected nurse executive with dynamic leadership capabilities and demonstrated operational acumen, with the ability to lead in a manner that supports and advances the success, unity, and mission of Riley Children’s Health and the community it serves. Meaningful clinical experience in pediatric nursing is strongly preferred to ensure credibility with frontline teams and a nuanced understanding of the distinct clinical, operational, and family-centered care considerations inherent in pediatric healthcare. The CNO will exemplify leadership, collaboration, communication, integrity, and fairness.

In addition, the CNO will have:

• At least 7-10 years of progressive nursing leadership within an academic medical center or integrated delivery system is preferred.
• Proven success operating within a large, matrixed health system environment, with the ability to influence across organizational boundaries, align stakeholders, and fully leverage system assets, scale, and capabilities to drive quality, operational excellence, and strategic growth.
• Strong operational and financial acumen with the ability to lead and partner around a vision for superior patient-centered care that includes continuous improvements in care coordination, quality, safety, and cost-of-care reductions.
• Executive presence with strong decision-making and strategic-thinking skills.
• Exceptional leadership and communication abilities, with a proven ability to build relationships across all levels of an organization.
• Ideally experience leading within an ANCC Magnet-designated organization.
• Deep understanding of healthcare regulations such as JCAHO, financial management, and quality improvement methodologies.
• Ability to drive organizational change, innovation, and transformation in nursing practice.
• Experience as a nurse leader in quality, patient safety, and care management.
• Proven ability to build internal and external relationships, with a demonstrated track record of working successfully with physicians and physician leaders, diverse management teams, community, and other key stakeholders.
• A “systems thinker” who demonstrates innovation and an understanding and appreciation for nursing practice across the full continuum of care.
• Extensive knowledge of health care issues, trends, legal and regulatory compliance, and clinical integration with emphasis in service line development and nursing operations.
• A courageous and innovative individual with a “can do attitude” that can inspire an organization to do its best even in difficult circumstances.
• A proactive leader and problem solver regarding the health care economics facing health systems today.
• Exhibits strength of character and is viewed as a trusted, ethical and highly visible and effective leader within the organization.

Education and Certifications

• A master’s degree in nursing, health administration, or a related field is required (with a BSN if the master’s is not in nursing).
• A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) or Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) is preferred but not required.
• RN licensure is required.

Riley Children's Health

Since 1924, Riley Children’s Health has consistently raised the bar for excellence in pediatric healthcare. As a comprehensive children’s health system serving the state of Indiana, the Midwest, and beyond, Riley Children’s offers nationally recognized care in a footprint that meets patients and families close to home. Riley Children’s operates two hospitals with a total of 475 beds and is Indiana’s largest and most skilled pediatric system, with over 50 locations across the state. It combines the specialization of a comprehensive pediatric system with the power of IU Health, the state's largest health system, ensuring patients have access to groundbreaking research and innovative treatments to complement high-quality patient care. Faculty physicians within Riley Children's are members of the IU School of Medicine.

Through enduring collaborations with the Indiana University School of Medicine, Indiana University School of Nursing and Indiana University School of Health and Human Sciences, Riley Children's Health is one of the top 10 sites in the United States for pediatric health research. The Indiana University School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics, which serves as the research partner of Riley Children’s, ranks 6th among all U.S. pediatric programs for National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding. NIH grants are the gold standard in the research community and are widely considered a barometer of a program’s impact and success. The Riley-affiliated program is also the only nationally ranked pediatric research program in Indiana and the top-ranked program in the Midwest.

IU Health, in partnership with the Indiana University School of Medicine, created three institutes – cardiovascular, cancer and neuroscience - that bring together highly skilled physicians, researchers, and educators into close collaboration to provide world-class care and improve the health of patients and communities across Indiana. IU Health Simon Cancer Center is associated with IU Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, Indiana’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated comprehensive cancer center.

In Indianapolis, IU Health includes three major downtown hospitals: IU Health Methodist Hospital, IU Health University Hospital and Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health. These facilities serve as the system’s academic health center (AHC) and provide nationally recognized care to patients from across Indiana and beyond. The system’s regional and statewide facilities serve as referral resources to the AHC and facilitate seamless, high- quality patient care throughout Indiana.

In addition to the AHC, IU Health has 12 community hospitals across the state, and a network of strategic partnerships, joint ventures and initiatives, including urgent care centers, ambulatory operations, philanthropic foundations and a health plan. The system’s statewide operations provide Hoosiers with access to advanced clinical care without having to travel to Indianapolis.

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Korn Ferry shall provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified candidates, and will refer candidates without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, veteran status or any other legally protected basis. Artificial Intelligence tools may be used in connection with the recruitment process for this position.