The Chief of Staff serves as the principal strategic partner, advisor, and integrator for the Chief Nurse and Operations Executive (CNOE). This executive leadership role ensures alignment, execution, and accountability across nursing, clinical operations, workforce, nursing quality and strategic transformation initiatives throughout the health system.

Acting as the CNOE's trusted advisor, the Chief of Staff drives organizational priorities from strategy through implementation, facilitates executive decision-making, oversees key operational and governance processes, and ensures coordinated execution across hospitals, ambulatory care, regional sites, and systemwide programs.

The Chief of Staff serves as a connector across executive leaders, operational teams, and clinical stakeholders, translating strategic priorities into measurable outcomes while fostering a culture of excellence, accountability, innovation, and collaboration.

This role represents the CNOE in high-profile meetings and initiatives, leads enterprise-wide projects, and helps advance organizational goals related to quality, safety, workforce engagement, operational performance, patient experience, and growth.

Strategic Leadership & Executive Advising

• Serve as the CNOE?s trusted advisor on strategic, operational, workforce, and organizational matters. 
• Partner closely with nursing, physician, operational, and administrative leaders to develop and execute enterprise priorities. 
• Translate strategic goals into actionable plans with measurable outcomes and accountability structures. 
• Prepare executive briefings, analyses, recommendations, presentations, and decision-support materials for executive leadership, governing boards, and committees. 
• Anticipate emerging operational, workforce, regulatory, and healthcare industry trends that may impact organizational performance. 
• Represent executive priorities in planning meetings, governance forums, and strategic discussions. 

Nursing and Clinical Operations Leadership

• Facilitate execution of nursing and operational priorities across inpatient, ambulatory, regional, and specialty care settings. 
• Support initiatives related to workforce recruitment, retention, professional practice, staffing, care delivery transformation, and nursing excellence. 
• Partner with operational leaders to improve quality, safety, patient experience, access, throughput, and financial performance. 
• Monitor organizational performance metrics and coordinate action plans to address opportunities and risks. 
• Assist in the development and implementation of enterprise operational strategies that advance organizational goals. 

Executive Operations, Governance & Organizational Effectiveness

• Oversee strategic operations of the Office of the CNOE. 
• Establish systems for prioritization, decision-making, accountability tracking, and performance monitoring. 
• Coordinate executive leadership meetings, governance committees, and leadership forums. 
• Ensure alignment among nursing leadership, hospital operations, ambulatory care, quality, finance, human resources, and support services. 
• Identify organizational inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement and facilitate implementation of solutions. 
• Support organizational redesign, change management, and workforce transformation initiatives. 

Strategic Project & Program Leadership

• Lead complex, high-impact, enterprise-wide initiatives on behalf of the Chief Nurse and Operations Executive. 
• Develop project plans, milestones, metrics, and reporting mechanisms to ensure successful implementation. 
• Coordinate multidisciplinary teams and stakeholders across clinical and operational functions. 
• Identify barriers, mitigate risks, and ensure timely execution of strategic priorities. 
• Serve as operational lead for major organizational initiatives, leadership transitions, regulatory reviews, strategic planning efforts, and transformational programs.

Executive Communications & Stakeholder Engagement

• Develop executive communications and messaging that advance organizational priorities and leadership objectives. 
• Prepare presentations, talking points, speeches, board materials, and leadership communications. 
• Ensure consistent communication of strategic priorities across nursing, operations, and organizational leadership. 
• Partner with communications teams on high-priority organizational announcements, change initiatives, and sensitive operational matters. 
• Support leadership visibility and engagement across the organization. 

Stakeholder Management & Relationship Building

• Foster strong relationships with executive leaders, clinical leaders, faculty, staff, and external partners. 
• Serve as a liaison between the Office of the Chief Nurse and Operations Executive and key internal stakeholders. 
• Facilitate collaboration among hospitals, ambulatory care, regional entities, and enterprise functions. 
• Represent the Chief Nurse and Operations Executive at meetings, committees, and events as appropriate. 
• Build consensus among diverse stakeholder groups to advance organizational priorities. 

• Master's degree in Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, Public Health, Nursing, Health Services Administration, or related field. 
• 8-10 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in healthcare administration, hospital operations, nursing administration, consulting, or healthcare strategy. 
• Demonstrated success leading complex, cross-functional initiatives within large healthcare organizations. 
• Experience supporting executive leaders and managing enterprise-level strategic priorities. 
• Strong analytical, organizational, project management, and problem-solving skills. 
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills. 
• Ability to influence and lead through collaboration without direct authority. 
• Demonstrated ability to manage sensitive and confidential information with discretion. 

• Experience within an academic medical center or integrated health system. 
• Experience supporting nursing leadership, clinical operations, quality, patient safety, or workforce initiatives. 
• Lean, Six Sigma, Project Management Professional (PMP), or related operational improvement experience. 
• Experience preparing executive and board-level communications and presentations. 

Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes.

Michigan Medicine conducts background screening and pre-employment drug testing on job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent job offer and may use a third party administrator to conduct background screenings.  Background screenings are performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Report Act. Pre-employment drug testing applies to all selected candidates, including new or additional faculty and staff appointments, as well as transfers from other U-M campuses.

Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days. The review and selection process may begin as early as the eighth day after posting. This opening may be removed from posting boards and filled any time after the minimum posting period has ended.

The University of Michigan is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.