Birth Center Director – Registered Nurse

FCMC; Charles City (IA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The Birth Center Director – Registered Nurse at Floyd County Medical Center leads strategic, clinical, and operational aspects of the Birth Center, ensuring patient safety and high-quality maternal and newborn care across all shifts.

This role requires 24-hour accountability, hands-on patient care when needed, staffing, budgeting, regulatory compliance, and collaboration with physicians and hospital leadership to maintain exceptional family-centered care.

Qualifications

• Graduate of an accredited nursing program with a Bachelor’s degree; Master’s preferred.
• Minimum five years of clinical nursing experience, preferably in labor & delivery.
• Minimum two years of supervisory or management experience.
• Current RN licensure in Iowa with BLS/NRP; ACLS preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provides strategic leadership and direction for the Birth Center across all shifts.
• Maintains 24-hour accountability for performance, safety, and patient experience.
• Delivers direct patient care when needed to support safe operations.
• Develops goals and budgets, monitors performance and resources.
• Leads quality improvement initiatives and ensures regulatory readiness.
• Collaborates with physicians, staff, and leadership to coordinate care.

Skills

Leadership

RN

Staff development

Clinical supervision

Quality improvement

Education

Bachelor's in Nursing

Master's degree preferred

Job description

Floyd County Medical Center is aware of questions regarding the status of our Obstetrics program. We want to clarify that FCMC is not closing its Obstetrics program. We continue to provide labor and delivery services and obstetrical care for the communities we serve. Patients with questions regarding their care are encouraged to contact our Rural Health Clinic at 641-228-5151.

Birth Center Director – Registered Nurse

The Director of the Birth Center provides strategic, clinical, and operational leadership for Floyd County Medical Center’s Birth Center. The Director is accountable for the overall performance and operation of the department across all shifts and assumes 24-hour accountability for patient safety, quality of care, staffing, regulatory compliance, employee performance, patient experience, resources, and the effective functioning of the Birth Center.

The Director leads the delivery of exceptional, family-centered care to mothers, infants, and families throughout the continuum of the perinatal experience. The Director plans, organizes, directs, and evaluates clinical, operational, and administrative functions of the department while collaborating with executive leadership, medical staff, and interdisciplinary teams.

The Director is also expected to provide direct patient care when department needs require clinical support, including periods of increased census, staffing shortages, unexpected call-ins, emergencies, or other circumstances in which the Director’s clinical skills are needed to ensure safe patient care.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provides strategic leadership and direction for the Birth Center, ensuring alignment with organizational mission, vision, and goals.
• Assumes 24-hour accountability for the Birth Center and its operations, regardless of shift or time of day, and provides leadership, direction, and follow-up for significant clinical, staffing, operational, patient-safety, and employee matters.
• Provides direct patient care when needed to support safe department operations. This includes functioning within the Registered Nurse (RN) scope of practice and current competencies during staffing shortages, unexpected call-ins, increased patient volume, emergencies, or other operational circumstances requiring clinical assistance.
• Maintains clinical knowledge, competencies, certifications, and skills necessary to safely provide direct patient care when assigned or required.
• Develops and oversees department goals, objectives, and budgets; monitor performance and ensure efficient resource utilization.
• Leads quality improvement initiatives focused on clinical outcomes, patient safety, and patient experience.
• Maintains regulatory compliance with state, federal, and accrediting bodies; lead survey readiness activities.
• Collaborates with physicians, staff, and other departments to ensure coordinated and compassionate care for all patients.
• Recruits, mentors, and evaluates nursing staff and ensure ongoing professional development and competency validation.
• Establishes and maintains appropriate staffing models, schedules, call coverage, workload distribution, and contingency plans to support safe care across all shifts.
• Develops, reviews, implements, and enforces department policies, procedures, protocols, and evidence-based clinical standards in collaboration with appropriate medical staff and organizational leadership.
• Utilizes data analytics to track trends, outcomes, and opportunities for improvement.
• Fosters a culture of teamwork, accountability, professionalism, psychological safety, service excellence, and continuous learning.
• Serves as liaison between the Birth Center, medical staff, and hospital administration.
• Promotes patient education, family engagement, and community awareness related to maternal and newborn health.
• Maintains appropriate department inventory and ensures timely ordering, Ensures the Birth Center maintains a safe, clean, organized, and patient-centered environment.
• Ensures appropriate response, escalation, documentation, and follow-up for clinical events, patient concerns, complaints, staffing issues, safety events, and other significant departmental matters.
• Assumes other duties and responsibilities that are related and appropriate to the position and area. The above responsibilities are a general description of the level and nature of the work assigned to this classification and are not to be considered as all-inclusive.

Minimum Education and/or Experience Required:

• Graduate of an accredited program of nursing; Bachelor’s degree required. Master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum of five years of clinical nursing experience, preferably in labor & delivery / obstetrics.
• Minimum of two years supervisory or management experience.
• Recent clinical experience in labor & delivery and postpartum nursing, with demonstrated competency in fetal monitoring, emergency obstetrical care, newborn stabilization, cesarean/perioperative care, and coordination of higher-risk patient transfers. Rural hospital or Critical Access Hospital and family medicine obstetrical experience preferred.
• Demonstrated expertise in leadership, communication, and performance improvement.
• Demonstrated ability to manage staffing, scheduling, employee performance, quality initiatives, education and staff competencies.

Additional Qualifications:

• Demonstrated professionalism and leadership in all interactions with staff, patients, families, and providers.
• Supports the organization’s commitment to safety, quality, and patient-centered care.
• Participate in hospital committees, strategic planning, and leadership development initiatives.
• Maintains current knowledge through continuing education, professional organization participation, and regulatory updates.
• Exhibits flexibility, sound judgment, and integrity in decision-making.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills required.
• Ability to communicate with confidence in a group setting.
• Self-motivated and able to work independently while maintaining appropriate collaboration with leadership and the interdisciplinary team.
• Must be able to read, write, comprehend, and verbally communicate in English fluently.
• Integrity and ability to work independently. Initiative to take on tasks without being told.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Adaptive to change, embraces change with optimism.
• Ability to problem solve, critically think.
• Ability to prioritize assignments and manage time efficiently.
• Ability to operate technologies and equipment associated with this position.
• Must have a service mindset and a commitment to continuous learning.
• Ability and willingness to work outside regularly scheduled hours, including evenings, nights, weekends, holidays, and other times when department needs require Director-level leadership or clinical support.
• Mandatory Reporter.

Success in This Role

Success in this role is demonstrated by a Birth Center that consistently provides safe, high-quality, compassionate, patient-centered care while operating in alignment with the mission, values, policies, and strategic priorities of Floyd County Medical Center.

The successful Birth Center Director accepts 24-hour accountability for the overall operation, performance, staffing, safety, regulatory compliance, and patient experience of the Birth Center. This individual establishes clear expectations, develops and supports staff, addresses concerns promptly, and creates an environment of accountability, teamwork, professionalism, and continuous improvement.

Success includes maintaining appropriate staffing and competencies, ensuring reliable clinical processes, identifying and mitigating risks, maintaining regulatory and accreditation readiness, monitoring quality and patient experience outcomes, and using data to drive meaningful improvements. The Director effectively collaborates with physicians, nursing leadership, ancillary departments, and organizational leadership to ensure coordinated care and a strong patient experience.

The successful Director remains visible, accessible, and clinically engaged, providing direct patient care when needed to support safe operations, staff, and patients. Clinical involvement is expected to complement, rather than replace, the Director’s responsibility for leadership, oversight, and accountability for the department.

Ultimately, success is reflected in a Birth Center where patients and families feel safe, respected, and well cared for; staff understand expectations and feel supported and accountable; physicians and colleagues experience strong collaboration; regulatory and quality expectations are consistently met; and the department operates reliably, efficiently, and in support of the broader goals of Floyd County Medical Center.

Licensure/Certification Required:

• Current licensure as a Registered Nurse (RN) in the State of Iowa.
• Current certifications in Basic Life Support (BLS), Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP), and Fetal Monitoring; Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) preferred.

Physical/Cognitive Requirements:

• Ability to walk, stand, and assist with patient care activities as needed.
• Must be able to lift up to 25 pounds of equipment or supplies and assist in patient transfers.
• Requires visual and auditory acuity for monitoring patient conditions and responding to clinical situations.
• Must demonstrate critical thinking, prioritization, and multitasking in a fast-paced environment.
• Sit: Frequent
• Stand: Frequent
• Walk: Frequent
• Lift:
  • 10 pounds Frequent
  • 25 pounds: Frequent
  • 50 pounds*: Frequent
  • 75 pounds*: Frequent
  • Greater than 100 pounds*: Occasionally
• Carry:
  • 10 pounds: Occasionally
  • 25 pounds: Never
  • 50 pounds*: Never
  • 75 pounds*: Never
  • Greater than 100 pounds*: Never
• Push/Pull:
  • 10 pounds: Frequent
  • 25 pounds: Frequent
  • 50 pounds*: Frequent
  • 75 pounds*: Occasionally
  • Greater than 100 pounds*: Occasionally
• Squat/Kneel/Crouch: Frequent
• Climb: Frequent
• Balance: Frequent
• Twist: Frequent
• Crawl: Occasionally
• Grasp/Grip: Frequent
• Talk: Constant
• Hear: Constant
• See: Constant

*Anything greater than 50 pounds- assist of two or more, or mechanical lift are required.

• May be exposed to communicable diseases due to working in a health care environment.
• Works in a well-illuminated climate-controlled environment.
• Work environment is comfortable, with minimal exposure to physical hazards.
• Moderate noise level when machines/equipment in use but typically quiet environment.
• Will come in contact with blood and other body fluids.

Organizational Relationships:

Reports to: Chief Nursing Officer

Employees supervised: Obstetrical Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses, Certified Nursing Assistants, and support staff

Birth Center Director – Registered Nurse