Unit Director, Birth Center

Department Overview - Labor & Delivery / Birth Center

The Unit Director provides operational leadership for Labor & Delivery and associated perinatal services (e.g., antepartum, L&D, postpartum, triage, and OBED care) within a high-acuity academic medical center. Oversees care delivery through subordinate managers, ensuring safe, high-quality, and patient-centered care across the maternal-newborn continuum.

Accountable for clinical outcomes, patient safety, regulatory compliance, patient experience, and financial performance of the service line. Leads initiatives to reduce maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality, with a strong focus on evidence-based practice, health equity, and standardization of care in alignment with national perinatal quality benchmarks.

Executes established strategic direction and operational goals for the department, including volume growth, capacity management, throughput, workforce optimization, and labor productivity and OT optimization in a 24/7 environment. Ensures appropriate staffing models, skill mix, and labor productivity while maintaining readiness for high-risk, high-volume obstetric care, including emergent situations.

Partners closely with Obstetrics, Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Neonatology, Anesthesia, and Emergency Medicine leaders to coordinate interdisciplinary care and advance clinical programs, including high‑risk pregnancy management and neonatal services. Supports academic priorities through collaboration with faculty, integration of teaching into clinical workflows, and advancement of nursing research and quality improvement initiatives in perinatal care.

Leads a professional practice environment grounded in shared governance, fostering staff engagement, clinical competency, and leadership development. Serves as a mentor and resource to nurses, advanced practice providers, residents, and students, promoting a culture of accountability, continuous learning, and excellence in women's and infant health.

Implements systems to proactively identify and mitigate clinical and operational risks, ensuring compliance with regulatory and accreditation standards (e.g., perinatal core measures, fetal monitoring standards, obstetric emergency readiness). Drives programs and strategies with service line and organizational impact, including quality, safety, patient experience, and workforce sustainability.

Key Responsibilities

• Labor Relations & Workforce Management: Partners closely with Labor Relations to manage union/bargaining unit matters, including contract interpretation, grievance resolution, and local negotiations. Oversees and facilitates resolution of complex human resources issues, including employee relations, workplace safety, and risk management, ensuring alignment with organizational policies and regulatory requirements.
• Clinical Operations & Care Delivery: Leads the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of operational processes to ensure safe, high-quality, and efficient patient care across multiple units within the perinatal service line. Ensures care delivery models align with evidence-based practice, internal policies, and external regulatory and accreditation standards.
• Interdisciplinary & System Integration: Partners with leaders across the health system, including ambulatory, perioperative, ancillary, pediatric, and specialty services, to develop and implement coordinated care pathways and policies that optimize patient flow, safety, and quality outcomes across the continuum of care.
• Governance, Quality & System Leadership: Represents the department at the medical center and health system level in interdisciplinary committees. Leads and influences initiatives related to patient experience, quality and safety, regulatory readiness, workflow optimization, and clinical informatics. Drives performance improvement aligned with organizational and Magnet standards.
• Leadership Development & Succession Planning: Provides mentorship and strategic direction to nurse managers and emerging leaders. Oversees leadership development planning, performance management, and succession strategies to ensure a strong and sustainable leadership pipeline.
• Talent Management & Culture: Maintains accountability for recruitment, retention, performance evaluation, and progressive discipline. Establishes and reinforces management practices that promote a culture of accountability, ownership, engagement, collaboration, and high performance.
• Staffing & Workforce Optimization: Collaborates with subordinate leaders to ensure appropriate staffing models, skill mix, and labor productivity. Advises senior leadership on workforce trends, such as LOAs, modified duty, and sick call usage, that contribute to staffing shortages and operational challenges. Formulates strategies to meet evolving patient care demands despite workforce shortage issues.
• Financial Stewardship: Oversees financial performance for areas of responsibility, including budget development, resource allocation, labor productivity, overtime, missed meals and breaks, and variance management. Reviews and approves budget recommendations, ensuring alignment with organizational financial goals.
• Shared Governance & Professional Practice: Promotes a professional practice environment grounded in shared governance and Magnet principles, ensuring a strong nursing voice in decision-making and fostering innovation to improve patient and nursing outcomes.
• Clinical Informatics & Technology Integration: Collaborates with Information Technology and clinical informatics leaders to design, implement, and optimize patient care information systems that enhance clinical workflows, documentation, and outcomes across multiple units.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Nursing.
• Registered Nurse in the State of California.
• Basic Life Support (BLS) certification.
• Labor & Delivery Experience: Direct clinical and/or leadership experience in Labor & Delivery required, with a strong understanding of high‑risk obstetric care, perinatal safety practices, and interdisciplinary care models.
• Clinical and Operational Expertise: Demonstrated progressive leadership experience in hospital-based patient care services, with deep knowledge of Labor & Delivery and the perinatal continuum. Comprehensive understanding of hospital and clinic operations within a complex academic medical center environment, including application of professional nursing standards and evidence-based practice.
• Leadership & Communication: Exceptional communication, relationship management, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence across multiple levels of the organization. Proven ability to foster a culture of collaboration, shared governance, and interdisciplinary decision-making across diverse teams and service lines.
• Healthcare Systems & Informatics: Strong knowledge of healthcare information systems, clinical informatics, and patient care workflows. Demonstrated ability to leverage technology to improve care delivery, operational efficiency, and data-driven decision-making.
• Leadership Experience: Prior experience in a supervisory or management role within Labor & Delivery required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's Degree in Nursing or a relevant area preferred.
• RN-BC or other relevant certification.
• Regulatory & Compliance Acumen: In-depth knowledge of regulatory, accreditation, and compliance requirements, including those relevant to perinatal services (e.g., The Joint Commission, CMS, state licensing). Experience ensuring readiness and sustained compliance within a highly regulated environment.
• Leadership Experience: Director-level or multi-unit leadership experience strongly preferred. Demonstrated success leading through subordinate managers and managing complex teams in a 24/7 environment. Demonstrated success in stabilizing the workforce and achieving high performance from the staff.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.