Full-Time Nurse - Lead

Orchard Place; Des Moines (IA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Orchard Place seeks a Nurse - Lead to provide direct patient care and lead the nursing team at our Des Moines campus. You will support daily nursing operations, mentor staff, and collaborate with the Director, Medical Services to ensure a trauma-informed, high-quality standard of care.

The role requires an Iowa RN license, leadership experience, and strong crisis management and communication skills, with on-site work at the residential campus.

Qualifications

• Requires active Iowa RN license.
• Minimum 3 years of pediatric or psychiatric nursing experience; leadership/charge nurse preferred.
• CPR certification and mandatory child abuse reporter training.

Responsibilities

• Provides direct patient care and assists with daily nursing duties.
• Triages medical concerns and provides immediate decision support.
• Models trauma-informed care and assists in crisis situations.
• Coordinates daily nursing operations and delegates tasks.

Skills

RN leadership

Clinical leadership

Crisis management

Team communication

Education

Active Iowa RN license

RN licensure

Job description

SUMMARY:

The Nurse - Lead provides direct patient care and operational leadership for the nursing team at the Orchard Place residential campus. This role serves as an extension of nursing leadership, assuming many non–people-management duties. In addition to clinical responsibilities, the Nurse - Lead coordinates daily nursing operations, provides real-time clinical decision support, mentors staff, ensures compliance with protocols and regulations, and partners with the Director, Medical Services to maintain a consistent, trauma-informed, high-quality standard of care.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

include the following: Other duties may be assigned.

• Adheres to Orchard Place’s philosophy, values, commitments and practices in guiding the day-to-day interactions with clients, families and staff.
• Respects and values individual differences and actively supports a culture that embraces inclusion and belonging.
• Embodies Family Driven Care principals in daily interactions with youth, families, and treatment team members.
• Promotes a culture of safety, collaboration, and transparency.
• Advocates for staff well-being, encouraging healthy work-life balance to support retention.
• Clinical Care & Leadership
• Provides direct patient care and assists with daily nursing duties.
• Triages medical concerns, prioritizes urgent needs, and provides immediate decision-making support, escalating when appropriate.
• Supports and models trauma-informed care in alignment with treatment models.
• Assists in crisis situations calmly and effectively.
• Operational Oversight
• Coordinates daily nursing operations and delegates tasks appropriately.
• Addresses staffing concerns and coordinates coverage when needed.
• Assists in creating, implementing, and revising nursing workflows, protocols, and procedures.
• Ensures infection control and safety procedures are consistently followed.
• Team Communication & Collaboration
• Partners with the Director, Medical Services to ensure consistent leadership presence and unified communication.
• Represents nursing leadership in interdisciplinary treatment team meetings.
• Maintains open communication with patients, families, providers, and multi-disciplinary teams.
• Collaborates with external healthcare partners to support high-quality care delivery.
• Staff Development & Support
• Supports orientation, onboarding, and ongoing training for nursing staff.
• Provides guidance, mentoring, and constructive feedback; assists in performance improvement plans as needed.
• Conducts medication competency checks and supervised med passes for certified medication givers.
• Identifies training needs and coordinates in-service education.
• Quality, Compliance, & Safety
• Ensures nursing operations meet regulatory and organizational standards.
• Participates in audits, quality improvement initiatives, and policy updates.
• Ensures HIPAA compliance in all nursing activities.
• Educates staff on medication processes and related concerns.

SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIP:

Reports to the Director, Medical Services. Works in close collaboration with the co-Lead Nurse and Senior Director, Milieu Treatment Operations. Provides informal, day-to-day clinical oversight and leadership to RNs, LPNs, CNAs, and medication aides. Offers input into, but does not complete, performance appraisals.

HOURS, WORK LOCATION AND REMUNERATION:

Full-time position with flexible scheduling to accommodate program needs. Includes on-call leadership coverage on a rotating basis and occasional support during weekends or holidays. Position works onsite at Campus location. Compensation is commensurate with leadership responsibilities, experience, and qualifications.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. The Nurse - Lead must have the ability to handle emergency situations and function effectively under stress. It is expected that the Nurse - Lead will be emotionally stable, mature, and the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with residents, their families, other team members, the public, and other agencies. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

GENERAL:

At the time of employment and every three (3) years thereafter, the person shall receive a physician’s certification of adequate health to perform duties. Must have satisfactory background checks and meet federal fingerprinting requirements through the Division of Criminal Investigation and the Abuse Registries (which includes child abuse, dependent adult abuse and sexual offender registries). At the time of employment and throughout employment with the agency, the person shall have a valid Driver’s license and show proof of valid liability insurance on own vehicle.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

Must pass and/or complete: New Staff Orientation, Mandatory Child Abuse Reporters Training, CPR certification must be kept current throughout employment.

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE AND COMPETENCIES:

Requires active Iowa RN license. Minimum 3 years of pediatric or psychiatric nursing experience; leadership or charge nurse experience strongly preferred. Demonstrated ability to lead teams with professionalism, empathy, and sound judgment. Strong organizational, communication, and crisis management skills. CPR certification and mandatory child abuse reporter training required. Must demonstrate competence in understanding of population served, providing individual and family services, ability to effectively engage client/family/provider in services, and commitment to providing safe, high-quality care to the children, youth and families served.

LANGUAGE SKILLS:

Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations. Ability to write reports and general correspondence. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from superiors, other employees, residents, families and persons outside of the organization.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS:

Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret graphs.

REASONING ABILITY:

Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret a variety of technical instructions, verbal and behavioral interaction, and deal with several abstract and concrete variables. Ability to determine imminent danger to ensure safety of residents and staff through an appropriate level of response.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

Occasional lifting and/or moving up to 50 pounds. Walking, standing, and sitting required. Using hands to finger, handle and feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms. Specific vision abilities include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, and the ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

While performing the duties of this job the employee is periodically exposed to outside weather conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.