Director of Nursing Operations

Advocate Health; Milwaukee (WI); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Advocate Health in Milwaukee seeks an experienced Nursing Manager to coordinate resources and lead a large inpatient nursing department. You will optimize staffing, supplies, and automated systems to deliver high-quality patient care.

You will drive recruitment and retention, mentor staff, and lead orientation and ongoing education. The role requires governance participation, budget oversight, and strong collaboration across departments to meet performance goals.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Nursing is required.
• Typically requires 7 years of nursing experience, including 3 years in management of large inpatient departments.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and manage resources to provide optimal nursing care, including staff, supplies, and systems.
• Recruit and retain staff; coach in recruitment behaviors and relationships with nursing instructors/students.
• Develop orientation and continuing education programs; coach staff toward goals and career advancement.
• Evaluate patient care quality using standards, outcomes, and quality indicators; support Performance Improvement initiatives.
• Develop service strategies and monitor satisfaction; hold staff accountable to service standards.
• Maintain relationships with patients, families, staff, other departments, and vendors; liaison between medical and nursing staff.
• Promote evidence-based nursing; align practice with organizational goals and governance.
• Achieve care management targets, patient loyalty, and employee engagement; plan staffing to meet productivity benchmarks.
• Ensure compliance with Joint Commission and regulatory bodies; manage HR responsibilities including hiring and staff development.
• Develop operating and capital budgets and control expenditures; adhere to Code of Ethical Conduct.

Skills

Leadership

Staff coaching

Budgeting

Quality improvement

Communication

HR management

Strategic planning

Nursing information systems

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Nursing

Tools

Nursing information systems

Productivity software

Job description

Major Responsibilities:

• Coordinates and manages all resources necessary to provide optimal nursing care. This includes the availability of staff resources, patient care supplies and automated patient care systems. Also responsible for effectively managing resources through systems management, carefully coordinating system issues to assure optimal patient care.
• Responsible for using innovative and effective recruitment and retention strategies and coaching staff in recruitment and retention behaviors. Also responsible for establishing successful relationships and links with nursing instructors and students. Responsible for optimizing the work environment by effective use of all data, which includes but is not limited to employee feedback and the employee engagement index to enhance the retention of staff.
• Responsible for providing input, direction and expertise in the development, application, and evaluation of orientation and continuing education programs. Coaches staff to assist in identification of their goals to advance practice and career advancement. Develops a plan with employees for achievement of identified goals. Assists staff in areas where deficits are identified and in the identification of areas for growth.
• Responsible for evaluating the quality of patient care provided by all department staff by using the Standards of Practice and patient outcomes and other quality indicators to include peer review, incident reports, use of policy and procedures, evaluation of equipment, supplies and products. Responsible to ensure that appropriate resources are available for Performance Improvement initiatives on the department.
• Develops service strategies and monitors service levels against indicators to demonstrate improvement in customer and patient satisfaction. Coordinates and integrates services with other areas. Holds employees accountable for meeting department, facility, and Aurora Service Standards.
• Maintains and promotes effective relationships with and between patients, families, department staff, other departments, medical staff and their support staff, other health care facilities and vendors. Participates in problem resolution as needed. Acts as a liaison between medical and nursing staffs as necessary.
• Facilitates evidence-based nursing by creating an environment that encourages the utilization of evidence in practice; uses evidence in decision-making to maintain quality, cost and customer service; and ensures the integration of evidence in congruence with departmental, organizational, regional and Aurora strategic goals.
• Responsible for making recommendations for changes in nursing practice to shared governance councils and promotes new approaches and concepts. Responsible for participating in shared governance councils as a management representative, as a work group member, or by providing feedback as requested to the councils. Responsible for supporting shared governance in the department by holding staff accountable and by monitoring and counseling the department representative(s) to ensure role compliance.
• Responsible for achieving care management targets in area(s) of responsibility. Responsible for achieving patient loyalty targets. Responsible for achieving target improvements in employee engagement. Plans for staffing needs appropriately meeting established productivity benchmarks.
• Responsible for attaining and maintaining department's compliance with the Joint Commission on Accreditation, and other regulatory bodies.
• Performs human resources responsibilities for staff which include interviewing and selection of new employees, promotions, staff development, performance evaluations, compensation changes, resolution of employee concerns, corrective actions, terminations, and overall employee morale.
• Develops and recommends operating and capital budgets and controls expenditures within approved budget objectives.
• Responsible for understanding and adhering to the organization's Code of Ethical Conduct and for ensuring that personal actions, and the actions of employees supervised, comply with the policies, regulations and laws applicable to the organization's business.
• Must be able to demonstrate knowledge and skills necessary to provide care appropriate to the age of the patients served. Must demonstrate knowledge of the principles of growth and development over the life span and possess the ability to assess data reflective of the patient's status and interpret the appropriate information needed to identify each patient's requirements relative to his/her age-specific needs, and to provide the care needed as described in the department's policies and procedures. Age-specific information is developed further in the departmental job standards.

Licensure, Registration, and/or Certification Required:

• Registered Nurse license issued by the state in which the team member practices.

Education Required:

• Bachelor's Degree in Nursing.

Experience Required:

• Typically requires 7 years of experience in nursing. Includes 3 years of management experience in managing multiple, large, complex inpatient nursing departments.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities Required:

• Demonstrated business, financial, and clinical skills to manage the operations of assigned departments to ensure high quality, patient focused care.
• Demonstrated leadership and administrative skills with the ability to develop and coach staff as well as the ability to delegate appropriately.
• Strong listening and critical thinking skills.
• Strong skills in the management of human resources.
• Ability to handle multiple demands simultaneously.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Strong planning and organization skills.
• Demonstrated experience in the use of personal computers, productivity software and nursing information systems

Physical Requirements and Working Conditions:

• Must be able to operate all equipment essential in performing the job.
• May be exposed to hazardous conditions and thus must wear protective clothing as needed.
• Working atmosphere may contain fumes and odors.
• Must be able to walk the majority of the workday.
• Must have functional speech, vision, smell, and hearing.

This job description indicates the general nature and level of work expected of the incumbent. It is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required of the incumbent. Incumbent may be required to perform other related duties.