Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) - Primary Care and Ambulatory Behavioral Health

If you became a Clinical Nurse Leader to drive meaningful change, improve quality outcomes, and influence patient care beyond the bedside, this is the role you've been working toward. UVA Health offers a true Clinical Nurse Leader opportunity where your expertise is dedicated to advancing evidence-based practice, improving clinical workflows, and elevating the patient experience across ambulatory behavioral health and primary care settings.

This position is uniquely designed for a Clinical Nurse Leader who wants to work at the top of their education and training. You will focus on leading initiatives that strengthen care delivery, improve outcomes, support regulatory excellence, and create lasting impact across multiple ambulatory clinics and specialties.

The Role

This is a dedicated Clinical Nurse Leader position, an opportunity that is increasingly difficult to find in today's healthcare environment. In many organizations, CNL responsibilities are absorbed into Nurse Manager or Assistant Nurse Manager roles, limiting the ability to fully focus on quality, evidence-based practice, and systems improvement. At UVA Health, the Clinical Nurse Leader role is intentionally structured to allow you to concentrate on the work that defines the profession.

Working closely with nursing leadership, clinic leaders, and interdisciplinary partners, you will serve as a catalyst for improvement across ambulatory behavioral health and primary care services. While not a direct patient care role, your influence will be felt throughout the patient experience by driving improvements in care delivery, clinical quality, and operational effectiveness.

In an average day, you may:

• Lead quality improvement initiatives from concept through implementation and outcome measurement.

• Evaluate clinical practices, standards, and outcomes to identify opportunities for improvement.

• Support regulatory, accreditation, and compliance initiatives across ambulatory clinics.

• Promote and implement evidence-based practice that strengthens care quality and consistency.

• Observe workflows and identify opportunities to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and patient experience.

• Partner with clinic teams, specialty providers, and Nursing Professional Development leaders to advance strategic initiatives.

• Analyze data and outcomes to guide decision-making and support sustainable improvements.

• Support multiple ambulatory clinics and specialties while maintaining a systems-level perspective.

This role is ideal for a Clinical Nurse Leader who wants to influence care on a broader scale, build meaningful relationships across teams, and see their work translate into measurable improvements for patients, providers, and clinical operations.

Background checks and pre-employment health screenings will be conducted on all new hires prior to employment. All safety-sensitive positions with direct patient interaction also require a drug screen.

Why UVA Health

For many Clinical Nurse Leaders, this role represents the opportunity they envisioned when pursuing their CNL education and certification. This is not a bedside nursing position, staffing role, or traditional management position. It is a dedicated systems-improvement role where you can fully utilize Clinical Nurse Leader competencies to improve care delivery and patient outcomes.

At UVA Health, you will join a nationally recognized academic health system that values nursing leadership, innovation, quality improvement, and professional growth. You will be surrounded by colleagues who understand the importance of evidence-based practice and who are committed to advancing healthcare through collaboration and continuous improvement.

Highlights of this opportunity include:

• A true dedicated Clinical Nurse Leader role focused on quality, outcomes, and patient experience improvement.

• The opportunity to positively influence care across multiple ambulatory behavioral health and primary care clinics.

• High autonomy and ownership of meaningful improvement initiatives.

• Collaboration with fellow Clinical Nurse Leaders and Nursing Professional Development leadership.

• Exposure to diverse ambulatory specialties and complex healthcare operations.

• Opportunities to develop expertise in quality improvement leadership, regulatory readiness, accreditation standards, and healthcare process improvement.

• The ability to drive measurable change and see the direct impact of your work on patient care.

• Access to the resources, collaboration, and innovation of a leading academic health system.

• A Magnet-recognized nursing culture that supports professional practice, leadership development, and continuous learning.

Most importantly, this position allows you to focus on the work that inspired many nurses to pursue Clinical Nurse Leader preparation in the first place: improving systems, advancing evidence-based practice, enhancing patient outcomes, and creating a better healthcare experience for patients and care teams alike.

Relocation assistance may be available for qualified candidates.