Director, Emergency Services

UPMC • Pittsburgh, PA

6d • Onsite

About The Position

UPMC St. Margaret Hospital is a four‑time Magnet‑designated community hospital, a testament to our sustained excellence in nursing, shared governance, and patient care. Located in the heart of the community, St. Margaret takes great pride in its people‑first culture, where collaboration, respect, and service to our neighbors guide everything we do. Leaders at St. Margaret are empowered to influence change, develop teams, and make a meaningful impact on the care we provide every day.

UPMC St. Margaret is seeking a dynamic and experienced Director of Emergency Services to lead a fast‑paced, high‑volume Emergency Department that serves as a critical access point for our community. This is a highly visible leadership opportunity for an operationally strong, clinically grounded leader who thrives in complexity and is motivated to improve patient outcomes and experience.

This position requires on‑site leadership with flexible daylight hours and 24/7 accountability, ensuring continuous oversight of Emergency Department operations. The Director will be responsible for all day‑to‑day operations within the Emergency Department, working closely with frontline staff, physicians, and interdisciplinary partners to support safe, efficient, and patient‑centered care delivery.

As a key member of the hospital leadership team, the Director of Emergency Services will have a significant role in creating and implementing best practices that drive improvements in patient experience, performance management, patient flow, and length of stay. The ideal candidate will bring a strong leadership foundation with experience in Emergency Medicine, including stroke and sepsis care, active participation in shared governance, and a collaborative mindset. Additionally, the Director will collaborate with nursing and ancillary service directors across the hospital, fostering alignment, innovation, and operational excellence in support of our mission.
If you are a strong clinical leader with a background in Emergency Medicine ready to take the next step in your career we encourage you to apply!

Purpose:
The Director, Emergency Services, reporting to the Chief Nursing Officer, will work collaboratively with nursing and physician leadership to coordinate, implement, and monitor the clinical operations and patient care delivery for the emergency department. This position will have oversight to ensure that appropriate resources are available to meet patient care needs and be accountable for achieving quality patient care by identifying, analyzing, and redefining clinical and system processes/operations to improve and ensure positive patient outcomes. Key focus areas for development and improvement include capacity management and throughput, reduction of boarder hours and improving patient experience.The scope of the Director is the Emergency Department and all other Emergency Services offered (including Clinical Decision Unit, Observation Unit, etc.) within a medium to large hospital (typically >20,000 patient visits per year).

Requirements

• BSN required at time of hire or transfer into position.
• Masters degree in Nursing or related health care field required, either at time of hire/transfer, or must be enrolled in a program within one year of hire/transfer date and completed within three years of enrollment. (i.e. public health, informational technology, administration, etc.)
• Knowledge of clinical practice human resource management normally gained through a minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in health care including supervision and leadership.
• Analytical ability necessary to evaluate staff, address and improve clinical and programmatic issues and devise solutions to complex problems.
• Leadership ability to develop staff, establish and maintain standards of performance within a national context for professional nursing practice and comply with administrative requirements.
• Superior interpersonal and communication skills sufficient to effectively create relationships to support a healing environment with patients, families, staff, physicians and hospital personnel including senior management in both written and verbal communication.
• Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
• Basic Life Support (BLS) OR Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
• NIH Stroke Scale (NIH)
• Registered Nurse (RN)
• Act 34
• Current licensure either in the state where the facility is located or, if the facility is in a state covered by the multistate Nursing Licensure Compact (NLC) agreement, a multistate license issued by a participating NLC state. Hires and current employees working on an out-of-state NLC license who later change their residency to the state where the facility is also located will have 60 days upon changing their residency to apply for licensure within that state.

Responsibilities

• Healthy Workforce - Develops and maintains productive working relationships internally and externally by building teams and relationships through mentoring and modeling uplifting and positive communication. Extends trust by acknowledging the contributions of others; listens first, creates transparency in communications, confronts reality, and clarifies expectations. Integrates all team members into the team's work, creating an environment that supports diversity and values differences. Seeks opportunity to adopt best practice, eliminate duplication and maximize efficiency.
• Professional Practice - Ensures a culture of caring by promoting and supporting decisions that are patient centered and within the framework of Relationship Based Care. Participates in professional organizations to enhance personal growth and facilitate collaborative relationships within the local and regional area. Supports Emergency Services in demonstrating continuous improvement in patient, caregiver, and physician satisfaction. Directs program teams to function within scope of practice as defined by clinical discipline and job description. Develops and evaluates clinical systems and process that facilitate delivery of comprehensive patient/family care across the continuum. Assists in the annual budget development and has oversight for budgeted annual man-hours, expense and capital budgets for responsible departments based on an analysis of needs of patients, clinical programs, staff and physicians.
• Quality & Innovation - Works closely with clinical and administrative services in identifying opportunities for improving quality, safety, and cost of care to meet identified goals for the responsible areas. Assists with an analysis of clinical variance trends and directs programmatic activities which support the achievement of organization operational imperatives, and implements clinical practice changes as appropriate to the clinical setting. Supports and encourages involvement in the development and implementation of evidence-based practice and quality improvement initiatives. Identifies appropriate risk assessment strategies and leads risk reduction strategies for responsible areas.
• Structural Empowerment - Establishes and achieves professional standards for quality, legal, and ethical professional practice that is supported by regulatory guidelines and policies and procedures. Demonstrates ongoing departmental and personal development, coaches and advises direct reports and professional staff in the formulation of their professional development plan. Shares learning from improvement with other departments and spreads across the campus as applicable. Supports a shared governance model, facilitating staff involvement in decision making. Promotes the ongoing development of the Professional Practice Council. Promotes peer to peer accountability.
• Transformational Leadership - Demonstrates the ability to create a shared vision; applies critical thinking skills and utilizes financial and quality data as well as conceptual and didactic knowledge to oversee the development of the operational plan for Emergency Services. Provides an analysis of respective clinical areas to include strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats to define proactive processes and shares this information with the Vice President of Patient Care Services/Chief Nursing Officer for the development of patient care and nursing strategic plan for both campuses. Demonstrates initiative to address complex, high-risk problems and translates them into opportunities and challenges. Recognizes the need for a varied leadership style based on the situation and developmental stage of an individual or group. Promotes individual contributions at all levels, working with cross functional teams to effect change. Assumes a leadership role in the program development that supports and advances the strategic initiatives for Emergency Services at UPMC.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees