The Nursing Director is a Registered Nurse (RN) accountable for advancing excellence in nursing care and leadership at the departmental or service line level. The Director provides strategic, operational, financial, and human resource leadership while ensuring alignment with organizational priorities and the Professional Practice Model. Through collaboration with interdisciplinary teams, the Director fosters a care environment that supports safe, high-quality, patient- and family-centered care, staff engagement, and continuous professional development. The Director drives quality, safety, and performance improvement, manages resources responsibly, and ensures compliance with regulatory and accreditation standards.

At OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, we go beyond care — we transform lives. Located in vibrant Portland, Oregon, Doernbecher is Oregon’s premier pediatric academic medical center, delivering world-class care, advancing groundbreaking research, and training the next generation of pediatric healthcare leaders.

The Nursing Director role is distinguished from Nurse Managers by its expanded scope, scale, and strategic impact. Directors typically oversee multiple units, programs, or service lines and are responsible for larger budgets, higher complexity of operations, and broader organizational integration. While Nurse Managers focus on unit-level leadership and performance, the Nursing Director establishes long-term vision and strategies, mentors nursing leaders, and influences system wide priorities. Directors work in partnership with executive nursing and medical leadership, aligning departmental goals with health system strategies, and represent nursing at senior leadership and cross-organizational forums.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Strategic & Program Planning — Develops and implements department or service line
strategic plans aligned with organizational and nursing priorities; sets short- and long-term
goals; establishes performance metrics and communicates progress to stakeholders; partners
with executive and physician leadership to execute system-level strategies and initiatives.
2. Operational Leadership — Oversees daily operations and long-term program development
across multiple units or service lines; applies systems thinking to integrate patient care
services across settings; ensures consistent delivery of safe, efficient, high-quality care;
maintains visibility with staff and promotes collaboration, shared governance, and
accountability.
3. Financial Management — Develops, monitors, and manages complex departmental or
service line operating and capital budgets; forecasts and allocates resources; analyzes
productivity, cost, and utilization trends; ensures financial stewardship while supporting
high-quality care delivery; mentors nurse leaders in fiscal responsibility and business
planning.
4. Human Resources & Leadership Development — Provides vision and direction for
recruitment, retention, and workforce planning; develops and mentors nurse managers and
assistant nurse managers, building leadership capacity and succession pipelines; ensures staff
performance management, engagement, and professional development; fosters a culture of
equity, safety, recognition, and continuous learning.
5. Quality, Safety & Performance Improvement — Leads development and execution of
quality and safety plans at the department or service line level; uses data and evidence-based
practices to identify risks and improvement opportunities; oversees regulatory readiness and
accreditation compliance; drives cross-unit or system-level performance improvement
projects that advance outcomes and patient experience.
6. Professional Practice & Organizational Engagement — Advances professional nursing
practice consistent with ANA standards, the Nurse Practice Act, and organizational values;
promotes a culture of ethical, evidence-based, and patient-centered care; represents nursing at executive, organizational, and system-level committees; partners with medical and
administrative leaders to shape policy, innovation, and strategic priorities.

• BSN required AND • Master’s degree in nursing or related field required.

• Seven (7) years of relevant clinical experience AND five (5) years of progressive nursing management experience, including oversight of multiple units or complex clinical programs.
• Demonstrated ability to lead in a large, matrixed health systems
• Current unencumbered Oregon RN license.
• Professional certification in nursing leadership (e.g., Nurse Executive/Administrator)

required within 3 years of hire.