Director of Nursing Programs

Oregon Center for Nursing; Portland (OR); Remote; USD 135,000 - 155,000; Full time

Job summary

The Oregon Center for Nursing (OCN) seeks a Director of Nursing Programs to lead statewide nursing programs, continuing education, and convenings. This exempt, full‑time role reports to the Executive Director and owns programs end to end from design to evaluation, working with partners, contractors, and staff.

The ideal candidate has an Oregon RN license, a nursing degree, at least five years in nursing leadership or education, and strong communication skills to advance policy, relationships,

Qualifications

• Current, unrestricted RN license in Oregon.
• Bachelor's degree or higher in nursing from an accredited institution.
• At least five years of progressively responsible experience in nursing, nursing education, nursing professional development, healthcare program leadership, or workforce development.
• Experience leading programs or multi‑organization initiatives from planning through delivery, including timelines, budgets, facilitation, and follow‑through.
• Ability to turn a broad idea into clear goals, activities, responsibilities, and measures.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to independently own complex work in a small organization, including learning unfamiliar programs, determining what they need, and moving them forward without ongoing direction.

Responsibilities

• Lead OCN's statewide nursing programs and continuing education activities.
• Own program design, delivery, partnerships, budgets, evaluation, and improvement.
• Coordinate convenings, annual conference, and Friday Huddle; develop agendas and facilitation plans.
• Develop relationships with nursing education programs, employers, regulators, associations, and community partners.
• Supervise program contractors, consultants, and volunteers; manage progress, risks, and updates for stakeholders.
• Collaborate with the Executive Director on priorities, funding, and organizational initiatives.

Skills

Leadership

Project management

Strategic planning

Communication

Facilitation

Independent work

Education

Bachelor's degree in nursing

Graduate degree in nursing or related field

Tools

ANCC CPD criteria

Job description

Reports to: Executive Director

Classification: Full-time, exempt

Salary Range: $135,000–$155,000, commensurate with education and experience

Location: Remote, with residence in the Portland metro area strongly preferred

Director of Nursing Programs

Organization: Oregon Center for Nursing (OCN)

Reports to: Executive Director

Classification: Full-time, exempt

Salary Range: $135,000–$155,000, commensurate with education and experience

Location: Remote, with residence in the Portland metro area strongly preferred

About the Oregon Center for Nursing

The Oregon Center for Nursing is a statewide nonprofit organization that works to strengthen Oregon's nursing workforce through research, communication, and collaboration. OCN helps leaders understand nursing workforce issues, brings the right people together to explore solutions, and turns evidence into useful information and action.

OCN is a small organization. Staff work closely together, several functions are carried by contractors and partners, and work does not always come with a detailed roadmap.

Position Summary

The Director of Nursing Programs leads OCN's statewide nursing programs and convenings and serves as OCN's nurse planner for continuing education. Primary responsibilities include the Oregon Nurse Faculty Collaborative, workforce convenings, the annual conference and Friday Huddle, and nursing continuing education.

The Director owns assigned programs end to end: design, delivery, partners, contractors, budgets, evaluation, and improvement. The Executive Director sets organizational priorities and serves as a thought partner but does not manage program execution. The Director is expected to learn each program, form a view about what it needs, and act.

Essential Responsibilities

Program Leadership and Nursing Continuing Education — 35%

• Hold responsibility for OCN's programs, making routine and substantive program decisions independently and informing the Executive Director rather than seeking approval, except in the areas reserved to the Executive Director below.
• Translate program goals into plans, timelines, budgets, responsibilities, and measurable outcomes.
• Identify and resolve barriers that could delay or weaken program delivery.
• Serve as nurse planner for OCN's continuing education activities, in coordination with the Oregon Nurses Association's OCEAN program as the accredited provider, and ensure educational activities meet ANCC Nursing Continuing Professional Development criteria, including needs assessment, learning outcomes, content review, required disclosures, contact-hour calculation, evaluation, and documentation.

A list of OCN's programs will be provided to applicants. Programs named in this description reflect OCN's current portfolio; program assignments may change as the organization's work evolves.

Convening and Facilitation — 25%

• Lead planning and delivery of OCN's workforce convenings. OCN is currently developing new convening work in clinical placement and nurse leader engagement; the Director leads the design and launch of that work as it takes shape.
• Help shape the educational program and participant experience for OCN's annual conference and the Friday Huddle.
• Lead programmatic elements of the Nurse of Distinction awards.
• Recruit participants, speakers, facilitators, and planning-group members and develop agendas, briefing materials, discussion questions, and facilitation plans.
• Facilitate productive conversations among people with different roles and perspectives; document findings, decisions, recommendations, and next steps; and coordinate follow-through.
• Evaluate convenings and use participant feedback to improve future work.

Nursing Leadership — 15%

• Bring nursing knowledge and professional judgment to program and organizational discussions.
• Assess how policies, programs, and workforce solutions may affect nurses and nursing practice.
• Build relationships with nurses across roles, settings, specialties, regions, and career stages.
• Help translate among nursing practice, workforce research, organizational leadership, and public policy while supporting OCN's credibility as a neutral statewide organization.

Program Management — 15%

• Maintain a current view of assigned programs, including work plans, timelines, responsibilities, budgets, risks, dependencies, and documentation.
• Coordinate program work across staff, contractors, partners, and subject‑matter experts.
• Supervise program contractors, consultants, and volunteers when assigned.
• Monitor progress, communicate significant issues and resource needs, and prepare updates for staff, the board, partners, and funders.
• Lead project closeout and capture lessons for future work.
• Work with research staff to establish meaningful measures and evaluation plans and use findings to improve programs.
• Maintain program records, decisions, resources, and institutional knowledge.

Program Development and Partnerships — 10%

• Monitor emerging nursing workforce issues and identify opportunities where OCN may have a useful role.
• Develop program concepts, intended outcomes, partnership models, and initial implementation plans for the Executive Director's consideration.
• Build and maintain productive relationships with nursing education programs, employers, regulators, professional associations, labor organizations, and community partners.
• Represent OCN in external meetings related to assigned programs.
• Contribute program design, budgets, and narrative content to grant and funding proposals led by the Executive Director, and prepare program information for grant reports and funder updates.

Collaboration, Accountability, and Authority

The Director is accountable for program outcomes, coordination, quality, and follow-through, but is not expected to personally perform every administrative, research, communications, or logistical task associated with a program.

The Director works closely with the Executive Director on organizational priorities, funding, major relationships, and new initiatives. OCN's research, communications, and operations functions are carried by a combination of staff and contractors, and the Director coordinates with those functions on evidence and evaluation, outreach and publications, and budgets, contracts, logistics, and records.

Within approved plans and budgets, the Director has authority to manage program schedules, workflows, partners, contractors, educational design, routine program decisions, and expenditures within an approved program budget.

Executive Director approval is required for: expenditures outside an approved program budget; changes to program scope or timeline; new organizational commitments, partnerships, or contracts; public policy positions; funding agreements; staffing changes; and any matter involving significant financial, legal, reputational, or organizational risk.

Measures of Success

• Programs meet agreed‑upon goals, timelines, budgets, and quality standards.
• Continuing education activities meet requirements, are submitted on time, and are documented completely.
• Convenings include the right participants and produce useful findings, decisions, recommendations, or next steps.
• Program risks and delays are identified and addressed early.
• Grant, contract, and program reporting requirements are met.
• Nursing perspective is consistently and credibly represented in OCN's program decisions, and OCN's relationships with nurses and nursing organizations are strengthened.
• Program knowledge and documentation remain organized and accessible.
• Program responsibilities are carried within the program team rather than routinely returning to the Executive Director.

Required Qualifications

• Current, unrestricted registered nurse license in Oregon.
• Bachelor's degree or higher in nursing from an accredited institution, meeting nurse planner eligibility requirements for continuing education activities.
• At least five years of progressively responsible experience in nursing, nursing education, nursing professional development, healthcare program leadership, or workforce development.
• Experience leading programs or multi‑organization initiatives from planning through delivery, including timelines, budgets, facilitation, and follow‑through.
• Ability to turn a broad idea into clear goals, activities, responsibilities, and measures.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to independently own complex work in a small organization, including learning unfamiliar programs, determining what they need, and moving them forward without ongoing direction.

Preferred Qualifications

• Graduate degree in nursing, nursing education, nursing leadership, public health, education, or a closely related field.
• Experience serving as a nurse planner, or working knowledge of ANCC Nursing Continuing Professional Development criteria.
• Experience with academic nursing, clinical education, preceptorship, or statewide nursing initiatives.
• Experience contributing to grant proposals, managing grant‑funded programs, and preparing funder reports.
• Experience with program evaluation and continuous improvement.
• Knowledge of Oregon's nursing and healthcare environment.

Work Environment and Schedule

This remote position requires residence within reasonable commuting distance of the Portland metro area for regular team meetings, partner meetings, and events. Occasional travel within Oregon and nationally is required, and some early‑morning, evening, or extended hours may be necessary for OCN events.

OCN will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.

Application Process

Submit a resume or CV and cover letter describing your interest and relevant experience. Applications will be reviewed beginning 09/28/2026 and the position will remain open until 10/02/2026.

Equal Opportunity

The Oregon Center for Nursing is an equal opportunity employer. OCN welcomes applicants with different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences and does not discriminate based on any status protected by applicable law.

This description summarizes the general nature and level of the position and is not a complete list of every responsibility. The employee may be asked to perform other duties consistent with the purpose, authority, and level of the position.