Clinical Services Manager I Nursing-Emergency Department (Departmental Promotional Only)

The Clinical Services Manager oversees patient care, staff performance, and daily department operations to support the delivery of safe, high-quality, patient-centered emergency care. This position provides leadership to nursing staff, manages staffing and resources, supports regulatory compliance and quality improvement, and works collaboratively across disciplines to address the evolving needs of patients and the department.

The Clinical Services Manager will also play an important role in developing staff, strengthening department operations, and advancing initiatives that support SMMC’s mission to partner with the community to improve health outcomes for individuals who face barriers to accessing high-value, comprehensive medical care.

The current vacancy is a full-time, permanent, benefited position.

The Emergency Department Clinical Services Manager will:

• Provide leadership and oversight of daily Emergency Department nursing operations to ensure safe, timely, and high-quality patient care.
• Lead, coach, develop, and evaluate nursing staff while fostering a collaborative, inclusive, and accountable team environment.
• Manage staffing, scheduling, patient flow, and department resources in response to changing patient volumes and operational needs.
• Monitor clinical practices and department performance to ensure compliance with nursing standards, regulatory requirements, and organizational policies.
• Lead quality and performance improvement initiatives focused on patient safety, clinical outcomes, operational efficiency, and patient experience.
• Collaborate with physicians, nursing leadership, hospital departments, and community partners to coordinate care and address operational and patient care needs.
• Support implementation of department and organizational goals, policies, procedures, and strategic initiatives.

The ideal candidate will be an experienced nursing leader who can effectively manage the clinical and operational demands of a fast-paced Emergency Department. The successful candidate will bring:

• Emergency Department expertise: Strong clinical knowledge and experience in emergency nursing, including managing complex and high-acuity patient care.
• People leadership and staff development: Demonstrated ability to supervise, coach, mentor, and develop nursing staff while setting clear expectations and supporting sound clinical decision-making.
• Operational management: Experience managing staffing, scheduling, patient flow, competing priorities, and resources in a dynamic clinical environment.
• Sound judgment and problem-solving: Ability to assess complex situations, establish priorities, make timely decisions, and respond effectively to changing patient and operational needs.
• Collaborative and inclusive leadership: Ability to build trust, engage staff, navigate challenging conversations, and develop high-performing teams through shared accountability.
• Quality and safety focus: Experience using quality improvement principles, performance data, and evidence-based practices to strengthen patient safety, clinical outcomes, efficiency, and regulatory compliance.
• Communication and relationship building: Strong ability to communicate effectively and collaborate with nursing staff, physicians, leadership, patients, families, community partners, and other stakeholders.

NOTE: The eligible list generated from this recruitment may be used to fill future extra-help, term, unclassified, and regular classified vacancies.

Duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Organize, supervise, and monitor nursing care and related services within the Emergency Department.
• Participate in the development and implementation of department goals, objectives, policies, procedures, and priorities.
• Select, supervise, train, coach, and evaluate clinical, professional, technical, and clerical staff.
• Plan and manage staffing and other resources to support patient care and department operations.
• Monitor and support compliance with applicable nursing standards, laws, regulations, policies, and accreditation requirements.
• Identify operational and service-delivery challenges, develop solutions, and lead improvements in collaboration with staff and organizational partners.
• Support continuous quality improvement, patient safety initiatives, and regulatory readiness.
• Prepare cost estimates and budget recommendations and monitor expenditures within the approved budget.
• Maintain effective working relationships with medical staff, other SMMC departments, County departments, healthcare providers, public agencies, and community partners.
• Provide staff assistance and recommendations to senior leadership regarding nursing operations, patient care, and related issues.
• Represent the department on or chair relevant committees, workgroups, and improvement initiatives.
• Prepare and maintain reports, procedures, records, and other documentation related to department operations.
• Perform related duties as assigned.

License/Certification:

• Must possess and maintain a valid California license as a Registered Nurse.
• Must possess current Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) certifications approved by the American Red Cross or American Heart Association.

Knowledge of:

• Nurse Practice Act.
• Principles and practices of nursing and clinical systems, including safety and infection control practices.
• Principles and practices of community health care including current trends in research, treatment, prevention, education and related services.
• Principles and practices of program management, including planning, implementation, and evaluation.
• Principles of budget preparation and monitoring.
• Principles of personnel training, supervision and evaluation.
• State and other regulatory requirements for assigned unit or program.
• Emergency Medical Services Act (EMS), relevant EMS regulations and functions, and public safety/law enforcement organizations, if assigned to EMS.
• Principles and practices of public health, public health nursing, epidemiology, communicable disease control and prevention, emergency preparedness response and environmental health, if assigned to disease control and prevention and public health nursing programs.
• Non-profit public/private entities, community/faith-based organizations and related state and federal agencies, as well target population for assigned program, if assigned to public health nursing programs.
• Treatment and intervention practices for acute psychiatric population, if assigned to psychiatric nursing.
• Third-party reimbursement systems, revenue streams, and other principles relevant to the financial management of operating rooms, if assigned to perioperative nursing.

Skill/Ability to:

• Organize, direct, coordinate and evaluate nursing services that ensure quality patient care and conform to all prescribed standards.
• Work cooperatively with other County departments and public and private organizations, including private medical providers.
• Analyze service delivery problems accurately, develop recommendations and take appropriate action to resolve them.
• Develop, evaluate and maintain accurate records; prepare complex and detailed written reports, procedures and contracts.
• Communicate effectively with administrative, medical, professional, clinical and citizen groups.
• Train staff and coordinate activities of contractors, volunteer groups and staff, as appropriate.
• Conduct field public health investigations; administer immunizations, TB skin tests, and chemoprophylaxis; and perform venipuncture and collect diagnostic specimens, if assigned to disease control and prevention and public health nursing programs.
• Maintain medical stability of acute and chronic conditions in a 24/7, non-medical setting, if assigned to correctional health nursing.
• Lead multi-disciplinary patient care conferences, if assigned to psychiatric nursing.
• Provide unit management and support during evening, off hours and weekends, if assigned to administration and designated as nursing supervisor.
• Surgical scheduling systems, if assigned to medical-surgical nursing.

Education and Experience:  
Any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to qualify is three years of professional nursing experience in an accredited hospital or clinic, including:

• At least one year of responsible supervisory experience; and 
• At least two years of nursing experience in an Emergency Department, including experience with domestic violence and rape trauma reporting requirements. 

Departmental Promotional Only. Only current County of San Mateo employees in San Mateo County Health with at least six months (1040 hours) of continuous service in a classified regular, probationary, or extra-help/limited term position prior to the final filing date may apply.  

The examination process will consist of an application screening (weight: pass/fail) based on the candidates' application and responses to the supplemental questions. Candidates who pass the application screening will be invited to a panel interview (weight: 100%). Depending on the number of applicants, an application appraisal of education and experience may be used in place of other examinations or further evaluation of work experience may be conducted to group applicants by level of qualification. All applicants who meet the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement through any subsequent phase of the examination. All examinations will be given in the County of San Mateo, California and applicants must participate at their own expense.
  
IMPORTANT: Applications for this position will only be accepted online. If you are currently on the County's website, you may click the "Apply" button. If you are not on the County's website, please go to https://jobs.smcgov.org/ to apply. Responses to the supplemental questions must be submitted in addition to our regular employment application form. A resume will not be accepted as a substitute for the required employment application and supplemental questionnaire. Online applications must be received by the Human Resources Department before midnight on the final filing date.
 

TENTATIVE RECRUITMENT TIMELINE
Final Filing Date: Thursday, August 27, 2026, at 11:59 PM PST
Application Screening: Friday, August 28, 2026, 
Panel Interviews: Week of September 7, 2026