Find your calling at Mercy!
Overview -
The Director - Ethics provides strategic leadership for the development, sustainability, and integration of a robust culture of ethics across Mercy. This role is fundamentally oriented toward shaping organizational culture, strengthening ethical capacity at all levels, and ensuring that Mercy's Catholic identity, mission, values, and charism are deeply embedded in daily decision-making.
The director serves the whole community (hospital and clinics) and partners closely with caregivers, physicians, leaders, and community partners to move ethics upstream-anticipating ethical challenges, equipping others with skills for ethical discernment, and fostering shared ownership of an ethical culture. Guided by Mercy's vision for ethics, the director leads initiatives that cultivate trust, dialogue, accountability, and moral courage throughout the ministry. This vision informs the leadership posture, priorities, and competencies required for this role:
A Mercy where a robust culture exists in which our caregivers, physicians, leaders, and community partners recognize and discuss the ethical implications of their daily work. When situations arise, they have the skills and tools needed to respond in a manner consistent with our Catholic/Christian/Mercy values and patient-centered care. Our caregivers, physicians, and patients experience community, connection, and meaning through participation in our healing ministry.
This leader serves as a visible and trusted collaborator with senior leadership, local leaders and peer ethics leaders, helping Mercy live its healing mission in complex clinical, organizational, and social contexts.
Position Details:
Qualifications -
Education
Experience
Skills & Competencies
Preferred Certification: Healthcare Ethics Consultant-Certified (HCE-C)
Why Mercy?
From day one, Mercy offers outstanding benefits - including medical, dental, and vision coverage, paid time off, tuition support, and matched retirement plans for team members working 32+ hours per pay period.
Join a caring, collaborative team where your voice matters. At Mercy, you'll help shape the future of healthcare through innovation, technology, and compassion. As we grow, you'll grow with us.
Our Mercy health system was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1986. But our heritage goes back more than 185 years. It began with an Irish woman named Catherine McAuley, who wanted to help the poor women and children of Dublin. Though Catherine had a modest upbringing, she received an unexpected inheritance that allowed her to fulfill her dreams. In 1827, she opened the first House of Mercy in Dublin, intending to teach skills to poor women and educate children. Many volunteers came to help. A few years later, Catherine founded the Sisters of Mercy, the first religious order not bound to the rules of the cloister, whose Sisters were free to walk among the poor and visit them in their homes. By the time Catherine died in 1841, there were convents in Ireland and England, and in 1843, the Sisters of Mercy came to the United States. In 1871, they traveled to St. Louis and from there throughout the Midwest, beginning what would, today be known as Mercy.
Mercy, named one of the top five large U.S. health systems in 2018, 2017 and 2016 by IBM Watson Health, serves millions annually. Mercy includes more than 40 acute care and specialty (heart, children’s, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, 800 physician practices and outpatient facilities, 44,000 co-workers and 2,100 Mercy Clinic physicians in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has clinics, outpatient services and outreach ministries in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. In addition, Mercy's IT division, Mercy Technology Services, supply chain organization, ROi, and Mercy Virtual commercially serve providers and patients in more than 20 states coast to coast.