Corporate Project Director of Nursing (DON)
Remote | Nationwide Role | 95-100% Travel

Lead With Purpose. Make an Immediate Impact Across Behavioral Health.

Acadia Healthcare is the largest stand‑alone behavioral healthcare provider in the United States, operating 313+ locations across 42 states and Puerto Rico. Our purpose is simple but powerful: Lead Care With Light - combining clinical excellence, compassion, and innovation to elevate mental health and addiction treatment nationwide.

About the Role

The Corporate Project Director of Nursing (Project DON) is a highly visible, mission‑critical leadership role responsible for delivering interim nursing leadership and operational support across Acadia facilities nationwide. This role is ideal for a seasoned nursing executive who thrives in fast‑paced environments, excels in change leadership, and is passionate about improving patient outcomes and stabilizing teams.

Important:

This role requires prior behavioral health experience in an inpatient psychiatric setting.

What You’ll Do

• Serve as interim CNO or DON at facilities experiencing leadership transitions
• Provide hands‑on operational and clinical support during critical periods
• Partner with local leadership to stabilize teams, improve performance, and ensure compliance
• Support onboarding and transition of permanent nursing leadership
• Drive quality, safety, staffing optimization, and regulatory readiness initiatives
• Act as a trusted leader during high-acuity, high-impact situations

Key Responsibilities

• Oversees daily nursing operations to ensure safe, high‑quality patient care
• Ensures compliance with Joint Commission, CMS, and state regulatory standards
• Leads staffing and workforce planning based on acuity and census
• Drives quality improvement, patient safety, and performance initiatives
• Manages budgets, productivity, and resource utilization
• Coaches and develops nursing leaders and frontline teams
• Conducts rounding, supports crisis response, and ensures operational continuity
• Contributes to strategic planning and organizational performance goals

What Makes This Role Unique

• 95-100% travel across the U.S. (including occasional weekends)
• Opportunity to impact multiple facilities and teams
• Exposure to diverse behavioral health environments
• Backed by strong corporate support and leadership resources
• Ideal for leaders who enjoy turnarounds, stabilization, and high-impact work

• Master’s degree in Nursing (Psychiatric/Mental Health preferred) required
• 6+ years of nursing experience required; 10+ years strongly preferred
• Prior experience working with the target patient population required
• Minimum of 5 years of experience at the Director of Nursing level or higher required
• Active RN Compact License required
• Experience in a freestanding inpatient psychiatric setting required.
  
  • Experience in a Residential Treatment Center (RTC) and Substance Use Disorder (SUD) environments would be a bonus. 
• Current RN license in good standing required
• CPR and de‑escalation/restraint certification required (training available upon hire)
• First Aid certification may be required based on state or facility guidelines

While this job description is intended to be an accurate reflection of the requirements of the job, management reserves the right to add or remove duties from particular jobs when circumstances
(e.g. emergencies, changes in workload, rush jobs or technological developments) dictate.