Assistant Director of Nursing - Prescott Valley, AZ

HealthOp Solutions; Prescott Valley (AZ); On-site; USD 110,000 - 135,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

On-site role

Competitive compensation

Leadership exposure

Job summary

HealthOp Solutions is seeking an Assistant Director of Nursing (ADON) for Prescott Valley, AZ. The role reports to the Director of Nursing and leads nursing operations across inpatient psychiatric, crisis stabilization, residential, and outpatient programs.

It involves hands-on patient care during staffing shortages and emergencies, with on-site oversight in a comprehensive behavioral health continuum. The ADON will supervise RNs and behavioral health staff, develop staffing plans, ensure

Qualifications

• BSN is required and active RN license in Arizona or multi-state compact.
• CPI certification or equivalent de‑escalation training.
• BLS/CPR certification in good standing.

Responsibilities

• Assist the Director of Nursing with operations, staffing strategy, performance management and clinical quality initiatives.
• Supervise and mentor RNs and nursing support staff across inpatient, crisis stabilization, residential and outpatient settings.
• Oversee nursing workflows and care delivery to ensure timely assessment, triage and monitoring in high-acuity environments.
• Coordinate with physicians, psychiatrists, nurse practitioners and pharmacists to deliver comprehensive patient care.
• Provide direct nursing care during staffing shortages or emergencies and participate in regulatory readiness activities.

Skills

Nursing leadership

Behavioral health

Crisis management

Staff development

Regulatory compliance

Communication

Education

BSN

Arizona RN license

CPI certification

BLS/CPR

Tools

Electronic Health Records

Regulatory reporting tools

Job description

Assistant Director of Nursing - Prescott Valley, AZ

Assistant Director of Nursing (ADON) - Prescott Valley, AZ - Behavioral Health Nursing Leadership

Overview & Highlights:

• Location: Prescott Valley, AZ — a high-desert community in the greater Prescott area, with four-season weather, quick access to pine country and trail systems, and a far shorter commute and lower cost of living than the Phoenix metro.
• Schedule: Full time, on site. Day-shift administrative hours with the flexibility a 24/7 nursing operation requires; specific hours and any after-hours or on-call expectations are reviewed during the interview process.
• Compensation: $110,000 - $135,000 annually, depending on nursing leadership experience and behavioral health background.
• Benefits: Reviewed during the interview process.
• Work Setting: Behavioral health nursing leadership across inpatient psychiatric, crisis stabilization, residential, and outpatient treatment programs.
• On-Site Status: Fully on site — this is a hands-on, visible leadership role, not a remote or hybrid position.

Location & Logistics:

• Work Environment: Licensed, accredited behavioral health settings spanning acute inpatient psychiatric care, crisis stabilization, residential treatment, and outpatient services.
• Department or Team: Nursing leadership. You will supervise Registered Nurses and behavioral health support personnel and partner daily with psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and quality and risk management colleagues.
• Reporting Structure: Reports directly to the Director of Nursing and serves as the Director's deputy, stepping in for nursing leadership coverage when needed.
• Patient-Facing Responsibilities: Yes — this is a working leadership role. You will round in patient care areas, lead through behavioral health emergencies, and deliver direct nursing care during staffing shortages or periods of elevated acuity.
• Systems / Software: Electronic health records, incident and quality reporting tools, and scheduling and communication systems; the specific platforms are reviewed during the interview process.
• Travel: Local travel between assigned treatment sites as needed; a valid Arizona driver's license is required.

About the Opportunity / A Day in the Life:

This is the number-two nursing leadership seat across a full continuum of behavioral health care. You partner with the Director of Nursing to keep nursing services clinically sound, survey-ready, and well staffed across inpatient psychiatric, crisis stabilization, residential, and outpatient programs — four very different care environments, one nursing standard.

A typical day starts with the census and the acuity picture: what came through crisis overnight, where staffing is thin, which patients need closer monitoring, and which nurses need backup. You round in patient care areas, check that assessments and triage happened on time, review restraint and seclusion documentation for appropriate initiation, observation, and timely discontinuation, and look at medication administration and controlled substance accountability with the same eye.

The rest of the day splits between people and compliance. You coach and evaluate Registered Nurses and behavioral health support staff, build staffing plans against census and acuity, run orientation and annual competency work, and keep nursing documentation aligned with medical necessity, individualized treatment plans, and payer requirements. You coordinate mock surveys, regulatory tracers, and environmental safety rounds, and you sit in on root-cause analyses for clinical incidents, sentinel events, grievances, and medication variances — then write and follow through on the corrective action plans.

When a psychiatric emergency happens or the schedule breaks, you are on the unit. This role expects a leader who can take report, assess a patient, de-escalate a crisis, and carry a nursing assignment when that is what the shift needs.

Why This Role Stands Out:

• True deputy scope — you share real responsibility for nursing operations with the Director of Nursing rather than managing a single unit.
• Breadth most nursing leadership roles cannot offer: acute psychiatric, crisis stabilization, residential, and outpatient nursing under one remit.
• Direct ownership of the work that defines a safe behavioral health program — restraint and seclusion oversight, medication safety, survey readiness, and competency.
• Visible regulatory exposure across ADHS licensing, AHCCCS behavioral health requirements, The Joint Commission standards, and CMS Conditions of Participation.
• Real influence on nursing practice and staff development: you shape orientation, competency, de-escalation training, and the trauma-informed standard the teams work to.
• A northern Arizona setting with a genuinely manageable commute, an outdoor lifestyle, and none of the valley-metro drive time.

What We're Looking For:

• An experienced psychiatric and behavioral health nursing leader who is comfortable being accountable for clinical quality across several levels of care.
• Someone fluent in behavioral health regulation — licensing surveys, accreditation visits, compliance audits, and the documentation standards behind them.
• A hands‑on leader who stays approachable, coaches rather than polices, and picks up an assignment when the unit is short.
• Steady clinical judgment under pressure: psychiatric emergencies, detoxification and withdrawal monitoring, and high‑acuity patient populations.
• A communicator who can hold staff accountable, brief executives, and talk to surveyors with equal composure.
• A nurse committed to trauma‑informed, recovery‑oriented care and to patient rights and advocacy.

Job Duties & Responsibilities:

• Assist the Director of Nursing with nursing operations, staffing strategy, performance management, and clinical quality initiatives, and provide nursing leadership coverage in the Director's absence.
• Supervise, mentor, evaluate, and support Registered Nurses and nursing support personnel across inpatient psychiatric, crisis stabilization, residential, and outpatient settings.
• Oversee nursing workflows and care delivery in acute inpatient psychiatric and crisis stabilization environments, ensuring timely assessment, appropriate triage, safe stabilization, and ongoing monitoring.
• Monitor compliance with restraint and seclusion regulations, including appropriate initiation, observation, documentation, and timely discontinuation.
• Oversee medication administration safety, controlled substance accountability, and emergency medication protocols, including safe monitoring of patients in psychiatric crisis, detoxification, or withdrawal.
• Support compliance with ADHS behavioral health licensing regulations, The Joint Commission accreditation standards, CMS Conditions of Participation, and AHCCCS behavioral health requirements, and maintain continuous survey readiness.
• Coordinate mock surveys, regulatory tracers, environmental safety rounds, and clinical compliance assessments across all assigned treatment settings.
• Partner with quality and risk management to investigate clinical incidents, sentinel events, patient grievances, and medication variances; participate in root‑cause analyses and build corrective action plans.
• Review nursing documentation for compliance with medical necessity requirements, individualized treatment plans, and applicable payer guidelines.
• Develop and maintain staffing plans driven by patient census, clinical acuity, and operational demand, and support nursing policy and procedure development and evaluation.
• Coordinate nursing orientation, annual competency assessment, continuing education, and specialized training in crisis intervention, de‑escalation, trauma‑informed care, and regulatory documentation.
• Coordinate transitions of care between inpatient, crisis stabilization, residential, and outpatient services, and support discharge planning and strategies that reduce preventable readmissions.
• Collaborate with physicians, psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners, and clinical pharmacists to coordinate comprehensive patient care.
• Provide direct nursing care and hands‑on clinical support during staffing shortages, emergencies, and periods of increased operational demand.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN).
• Current, active, and unrestricted Registered Nurse (RN) license in Arizona, or a valid multistate compact RN license.
• Current Basic Life Support (BLS) / CPR certification.
• Crisis Prevention and Intervention (CPI) certification, or an equivalent de‑escalation certification.
• Minimum of 5 years of progressive professional nursing experience.
• At least 3 years of nursing leadership or supervisory experience within an acute psychiatric hospital, crisis stabilization unit, or inpatient behavioral health setting.
• Demonstrated experience overseeing nursing operations, clinical workflows, staffing, and patient safety initiatives.
• Working knowledge of ADHS licensing surveys, The Joint Commission accreditation visits, CMS compliance audits, and AHCCCS behavioral health requirements.
• Experience managing psychiatric emergencies, behavioral health crises, and high‑acuity patient populations.
• Valid Arizona driver's license, and the ability to obtain and maintain an Arizona Department of Public Safety Level One Fingerprint Clearance Card.
• Ability to work on site across inpatient psychiatric, crisis stabilization, residential, and outpatient behavioral health environments, to travel between assigned treatment sites, to respond effectively during psychiatric emergencies, to perform administrative work on a computer and in an electronic health record, to sit for extended periods, and to occasionally lift or move 5 or more pounds, with or without reasonable accommodation.

Preferred Background:

• Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), or a degree in healthcare administration, preferred.
• Psychiatric‑Mental Health Nursing Certification (RN‑BC) strongly preferred.

This Role Is Likely a Fit If You…

• Have led nursing teams in an acute psychiatric or inpatient behavioral health environment and want broader scope.
• Like owning compliance and quality rather than reacting to it, and can keep a program survey‑ready year round.
• Are energized by developing nurses — orientation, competency, de‑escalation skill, and career growth.
• Stay calm and decisive during psychiatric emergencies and high‑acuity stretches.
• Want a deputy‑level seat with genuine authority and a direct line to the Director of Nursing.
• Are happy to be on the floor, in scrubs, carrying an assignment when the shift calls for it.

This Role May Not Be a Fit If You…

• Do not hold a BSN, an active unrestricted Arizona or multistate compact RN license, current BLS/CPR, and CPI or equivalent de‑escalation certification.
• Have fewer than 5 years of professional nursing experience, or fewer than 3 years of nursing leadership or supervisory experience in an acute psychiatric hospital, crisis stabilization unit, or inpatient behavioral health setting.
• Want a purely administrative leadership role with no direct patient care and no crisis response.
• Prefer a remote or hybrid arrangement, or a single fixed site with no travel between treatment locations.
• Would rather avoid regulatory work — surveys, tracers, root‑cause analyses, and corrective action plans are a standing part of this job.
• Are looking only for a permanent, direct‑hire position; this is structured as a full‑time interim, contract‑based engagement.

Why Join Us:

Behavioral health nursing done well changes the trajectory of people's lives, and nursing leadership is where that standard is set. You will join a team that takes patient safety, patient rights, and recovery‑oriented care seriously, works across a real continuum of care rather than a single unit, and gives its nursing leaders the authority to act on what they see.

If you are an experienced psychiatric nursing leader who wants deputy‑level scope, visible regulatory ownership, and the chance to build the nursing teams around you, we would like to meet you.