Unit Director - 3G Behavioral Health

UPMC; Altoona (PA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Tuition reimbursement for BSN/MSN

Sign-On Bonus $15,000

Generous vacation accrual

Competitive wages

Job summary

UPMC Altoona invites applications for a Unit Director of the 3G Behavioral Health unit. The role leads clinical and administrative operations, ensuring high-quality patient care and a healthy staff environment.

Required are a BSN and MSN (or enrollment within 1 year of hire if master’s not in nursing), plus 4+ years of progressive leadership in nursing. This is a weekday schedule with competitive wages and strong benefits.

Qualifications

• BS/BSN required at time of hire and master's degree/MSN required.
• Minimum of 4 years of progressive leadership experience required with relevant clinical experience preferred.
• 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.

Responsibilities

• Lead the day-to-day operations of the Behavioral Health Unit, ensuring the delivery of safe, high-quality, patient-centered care.
• Establish and monitor clinical, quality, financial, and operational goals that align with organizational priorities.
• Utilize evidence-based practice, quality metrics, and patient outcomes data to drive continuous improvement initiatives.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory, professional, and organizational standards of nursing practice.
• Foster a positive, collaborative work environment built on trust, accountability, respect, and inclusion.
• Recruit, mentor, coach, and develop staff and nursing leaders to support professional growth, leadership development, and succession planning.
• Support performance management, employee engagement, conflict resolution, and staff retention initiatives.
• Promote continuing education, specialty certification, competency validation, and lifelong learning.
• Engage staff and stakeholders in shared governance, departmental planning, and decision-making processes.
• Lead change initiatives and operational improvements while supporting staff through transitions.
• Build strong partnerships with physicians, interdisciplinary teams, academic institutions, and community stakeholders to enhance patient care and workforce development.
• Manage department budgets, staffing plans, and resources to ensure efficient and effective operations.
• Maintain appropriate staffing levels and workforce plans that support patient care needs and employee well-being.
• Promote fiscal stewardship and accountability for resource utilization.
• Advance a culture of excellence by championing patient safety, quality improvement, and relationship-based care.
• Partner with interdisciplinary teams to improve patient outcomes, patient satisfaction, and staff engagement.
• Support initiatives that enhance the clinical, psychological, and emotional well-being of patients and their families.

Skills

Leadership

Staff development

Strategic planning

Financial management

Interdepartmental collaboration

Change management

Education

BSN

MSN

Job description

UPMC Altoona is seeking a Registered Nurse with leadership experience for an exciting opportunity as a Unit Director for our 3G Behavioral Health unit!

In this challenging and rewarding position, the Unit Director maintains 24-hour accountability for leading and managing the assigned area in order to ensure an outstanding experience for patients and employees by continuously improving the quality of patient care, creating a healthy workplace for staff, and overseeing clinical, and administrative/business functions.

About UPMC Altoona's 3G Behavioral Health unit:

Our 34-bed inpatient Behavioral Health Unit provides acute psychiatric services to adult patients experiencing a wide range of behavioral health conditions, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, psychosis, and co-occurring substance use disorders. As a collaborative, multidisciplinary team of Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses, Patient Care Technicians, Mental Health Workers, psychiatrists, and other healthcare professionals, we are dedicated to helping patients stabilize, heal, and develop the skills needed for long-term success. Through therapeutic support, medication management, patient education, and coping skill development, we deliver compassionate, patient-centered care tailored to each individual's needs.

Guided by a mission of service excellence, respect, and high standards of care, our team is committed to providing behavioral health services with dignity, compassion, and teamwork. Patients receive daily support from psychiatrists who closely monitor treatment progress and medication effectiveness, ensuring the highest quality of care throughout their recovery journey. Our Behavioral Health Unit offers a rewarding and supportive work environment where a diverse team of professionals works together to make a meaningful impact in the lives of patients every day.

Why choose UPMC Altoona?

• Work/Life Balance - primarily a Monday-Friday schedule, dayshifts
• Competitive wages
• An incomparable benefit package (found to be 20% higher in value than other healthcare employers in our market!)
• 100% Tuition Reimbursement for your BSN/MSN degree through approved Universities.
• Generous vacation accrual
• Plus, this position is eligible for a generous Sign-On Bonus! External applicants will receive $15,000 in exchange for a 2-year work commitment!

Responsibilities:

Clinical & Operational Leadership

• Lead the day-to-day operations of the Behavioral Health Unit, ensuring the delivery of safe, high-quality, patient-centered care.
• Establish and monitor clinical, quality, financial, and operational goals that align with organizational priorities.
• Utilize evidence-based practice, quality metrics, and patient outcomes data to drive continuous improvement initiatives.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory, professional, and organizational standards of nursing practice.

Team Leadership & Staff Development

• Foster a positive, collaborative work environment built on trust, accountability, respect, and inclusion.
• Recruit, mentor, coach, and develop staff and nursing leaders to support professional growth, leadership development, and succession planning.
• Support performance management, employee engagement, conflict resolution, and staff retention initiatives.
• Promote continuing education, specialty certification, competency validation, and lifelong learning.

Strategic Planning & Change Management

• Engage staff and stakeholders in shared governance, departmental planning, and decision-making processes.
• Lead change initiatives and operational improvements while supporting staff through transitions.
• Build strong partnerships with physicians, interdisciplinary teams, academic institutions, and community stakeholders to enhance patient care and workforce development.

Financial & Resource Management

• Manage department budgets, staffing plans, and resources to ensure efficient and effective operations.
• Maintain appropriate staffing levels and workforce plans that support patient care needs and employee well-being.
• Promote fiscal stewardship and accountability for resource utilization.

Patient & Quality Outcomes

• Advance a culture of excellence by championing patient safety, quality improvement, and relationship-based care.
• Partner with interdisciplinary teams to improve patient outcomes, patient satisfaction, and staff engagement.
• Support initiatives that enhance the clinical, psychological, and emotional well-being of patients and their families.
• BS/BSN required at time of hire and master's degree/MSN required.
• If BS degree not in nursing, a Master's or higher degree in Nursing is required. If Masters degree not in nursing, a BSN is required. If the Masters degree/MSN is not present at time of hire, must be enrolled in a Masters or MSN program within one year of hire/transfer date and completed within three years of enrollment.
• Minimum of 4 years of progressive leadership experience required with relevant clinical experience preferred.
• 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.

Licensure, Certifications, and Clearances:

• 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.

UPMC is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Disability/Veteran