Director Nursing, Neonatal and Critical Care

Summary:

The Director of Nursing, Neonatal and Critical Care is responsible for advancing Akron Children's as a leader in the delivery of integrated, high-quality nursing and provider-supported care across neonatal, newborn, breastfeeding medicine, and pediatric critical care services. The scope includes Special Care Nurseries (SCNs), the Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs), Breastfeeding Medicine clinics, the Newborn Medicine program, the NICU Follow-Up Clinic, the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), and the Heart Unit, as well as administrative partnership for neonatal, newborn, breastfeeding medicine, and critical care providers.

This position develops and translates strategy into action across the continuum of inpatient, outpatient, and follow-up care for critically ill children, neonates, newborns, and their families. The role operates within a highly matrixed structure across a complex health system to align nursing practice, provider administration, clinical operations, program development, business planning, and financial performance.

The Director of Nursing focuses on access, capacity, patient flow, care design and standardization, patient and family experience, workforce planning, quality, safety, and outcomes. Oversight includes strategic planning, nursing operations, provider administrative support, clinical program development, financial stewardship, regulatory compliance, talent development, and effective partnership with physician, advanced practice provider, and interdisciplinary leaders.

Responsibilities:

1. In collaboration with nursing, physician, and advanced practice provider leadership, develops and executes strategy for neonatal, newborn, breastfeeding medicine, and pediatric critical care services in alignment with organizational goals, community needs, and evolving models of pediatric care.

2. Provides operational nursing leadership across SCNs, NICUs, PICU, and the Heart Unit, promoting safe staffing, effective capacity management, patient flow, care coordination, and consistent standards of practice across sites and programs.

3. Provides administrative partnership and operational support for neonatal, newborn medicine, breastfeeding medicine, and critical care providers, strengthening provider engagement, practice operations, access, scheduling, resource planning, and program performance.

4. Leads strategic and financial planning, including business case development, budget management, productivity, capital and resource planning, and performance monitoring to support sustainable growth and responsible stewardship.

5. Advances program development and integration across Breastfeeding Medicine clinics, the Newborn Medicine program, and the NICU Follow-Up Clinic to improve access, continuity, family-centered care, and outcomes across the newborn care continuum.

6. Partners with clinical leaders to design, implement, and evaluate evidence-based care models, clinical programs, and quality initiatives for high-acuity neonatal and pediatric populations.

7. Ensures operational excellence and regulatory readiness with a focus on patient safety, quality, high reliability, accreditation, standardization, and the patient and family experience.

8. Uses data and performance analytics to identify opportunities, establish priorities, monitor outcomes, and lead continuous improvement in access, throughput, workforce, quality, safety, experience, and financial performance.

9. Builds and sustains collaborative relationships with internal departments, regional partners, referral networks, and community stakeholders to support coordinated care and appropriate utilization of neonatal, newborn, breastfeeding medicine, and critical care services.

10. Provides leadership and talent management for leaders and team members, including workforce planning, coaching, succession planning, development, and performance management, while contributing to enterprise initiatives and organizational strategy execution.

Other information:

Technical Expertise

1) Demonstrated nursing leadership within a large, complex healthcare system, with direct experience in neonatal, pediatric critical care, women's and children's services, or a comparable high-acuity service line strongly preferred.

2) Proven ability to lead and integrate inpatient, ambulatory, and follow-up care models across neonatal, newborn, breastfeeding medicine, and pediatric critical care programs.

3) Advanced expertise in nursing operations, provider administrative partnership, financial management, workforce planning, capacity management, patient flow, and performance analytics.

4) Strong knowledge of regulatory, accreditation, quality, and patient safety standards applicable to neonatal and pediatric acute and critical care environments, including CMS and The Joint Commission requirements.

5) Demonstrated success partnering with physicians, advanced practice providers, nursing leaders, and interdisciplinary teams to lead through influence in a highly matrixed environment.

6) Expertise in operational excellence and performance improvement, including evidence-based practice, care standardization, high reliability, and patient and family experience.

Education and Experience

1. Education: Master's degree in nursing required. Master's degree in healthcare administration, business administration, or healthcare leadership is preferred.

2. Licensure: Current license to practice professional nursing in the state of Ohio is required.

3. Certification: Nurse Executive Advanced-Board Certified (NEA-BC) or Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) is preferred.

4. Years of relevant experience: Five (5) years of progressive nursing leadership experience required; experience supporting neonatal and/or pediatric critical care services is preferred.

5. Years of supervisory experience: Three (3) years of formal leadership experience required.

Full Time

FTE: 1.000000

Status: Onsite