Vice President, Clinical Care, Learning and Chief Nursing Executive (CNE)

Company : IWK Health

Req ID: 203729 
Department/Program: Clinical Care, Learning and CNE 
Location: Halifax   
Type of Employment: Permanent Hourly FT (100% FTE)  x 1 position(s)
Union Status: Management, Management/Non Union Bargaining Unit

IWK Health is a respected academic health sciences centre located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, providing tertiary and primary care for two million children, youth, adults and families each year across the Atlantic region. We have a team of approximately 4000 employees, physicians, volunteers and learners at sites across Nova Scotia. People build careers with IWK Health with our focus on training and mentorship opportunities. We recognize each other’s talent and celebrate our successes. We collaborate in modern facilities or virtually from home, align our work to our values, and enjoy access to enhanced benefits and wellness programs. We are proud to support our patients, families and communities and are grateful for the generous donor support we receive.

Promoting an anti-racist environment, and calling out discrimination as we work and provide care, is important to us. We are located in Mi’kma’ki, the unceded and ancestral territory of the Mi’kmaq people. Working in Mi’kma’ki and providing care to those across Atlantic Canada is a shared privilege with the original inhabitants who have lived here for many thousands of years prior to colonization. There are 13 First Nation communities across Nova Scotia, and more than 50 historic African Nova Scotian communities who also have a long, deep, and complex history dating back over 400 years. We have the highest percentage of people with disabilities in the country. Nova Scotia has the highest proportions of transgender and non-binary people than any other province or territory in the country. We are active in our work to eliminate discrimination, but have more work to do to build that trust, acknowledge our biases and reduce the barriers our diverse communities face. We want IWK Health to be a safe and supportive space of equity and belonging in the care we provide and the employment we offer. We welcome all interested persons who self-identify as Indigenous, Black/African Nova Scotians, Persons of Colour, Immigrants/Newcomers, Persons with Disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ to apply to support our goal for our workforce to be representative of the patients, families, and communities that we care for at all job levels.

The Opportunity

To advance excellence in care and support system-wide transformation, IWK Health is seeking a Vice President, Clinical Care, Learning and Chief Nursing Executive (CNE) to lead the delivery of high-quality, patient- and family-centered care across key clinical programs.

As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, you will provide strategic and operational leadership for Children’s Health, Mental Health & Addictions, Women’s & Newborn Health, Interprofessional Practice, and Learning & Development. With executive oversight of more than 1,700 staff and a $224.5 million budget, your leadership will shape care for women, children, youth, and gender-diverse individuals across Nova Scotia and the Maritimes.

You will guide a broad range of health professionals and provide professional leadership for IWK’s nursing workforce. A key part of your role includes advancing health human resources and workforce development through learning and development strategies that equip teams to deliver safe, innovative, and inclusive care. In close collaboration with fellow clinical Vice Presidents and provincial partners, you will help drive system alignment and quality improvement, contributing to IWK’s vision and supporting priorities outlined in the province’s Action for Health plan.

Key Areas of Responsibility

As Vice President, you will have oversight and accountability for:

• Strategic leadership
• Quality service delivery and system performance
• Health human resources, talent management, employee engagement and learning
• Responsible stewardship
• Provincial leadership, partnerships and relationships

The Ideal Candidate

As the ideal candidate, you are a values-driven health system leader with a strong record in senior clinical and operational roles in complex healthcare settings. With a nursing degree and a graduate degree in a related field, you bring deep knowledge of care across the continuum, ideally in maternal, newborn, pediatric, or mental health, and have led major initiatives that drive system change and improve outcomes.

A skilled collaborator, you build strong relationships across government, health authorities, academia, and communities. You champion professional practice excellence, interprofessional collaboration, and evidence-informed care. Focused on people and performance, you foster high-performing teams and lead learning strategies that support a resilient workforce.

Passionate about innovation, you are committed to advancing IWK Health as a learning health system where data, research, and feedback improve care. Most importantly, you are inspired by IWK’s mission and believe deeply in the importance of specialized care for women, children, youth, and families. You’re ready to lead change and shape the future of care across the Maritimes.

To explore this opportunity, contact Daniella Sam at dsam@kbrs.ca, Andrea Forbes Hurley at aforbeshurley@kbrs.ca, or Erin MacDonald at emacdonald@kbrs.ca, or apply online at: https://www.kbrs.ca/Career/17478505196630000008ywu

Thank you for your interest in IWK Health.

Please note that we only contact applicants selected for interview/testing. If we invite you to participate in an assessment process (such as an interview or testing) you have the right to request accommodation. Please discuss your needs when invited to the assessment process.

This is a Management/Non Union  bargaining  unit position. Preference is given to bargaining unit employees for unionized positions. Successful applicants changing unions, bargaining units or employment status, are advised to seek clarification regarding their seniority, benefits, and vacation entitlement and/or usage, prior to accepting the position.

An offer of employment is conditional upon the completion and satisfactory results of all applicable background checks and confirmation of credentials.

If you are an employee of IWK Health, please apply through the internal careers page to ensure you are flagged as an internal applicant.