SHR Talent is partnering with a healthcare client in Denver, CO in its search for a NICU Director (RN) – Level IV Neonatal ICU. This is a permanent, full-time leadership opportunity working primarily Monday through Friday during administrative hours, with shared on-call responsibility. The Director will lead a 40-bed Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit caring for critically ill and medically complex newborns while overseeing approximately 60 FTEs.
The NICU Director will have overall operational and clinical responsibility for nursing care delivery within the Neonatal ICU. This leader will oversee staffing, clinical quality, patient safety, performance improvement, employee development, regulatory compliance, and budgetary performance while working closely with nursing leadership, physicians, and the interdisciplinary care team. The Director will also collaborate closely with leadership supporting an affiliated Level II NICU to promote continuity of care across neonatal services.
The ideal candidate is an experienced neonatal nursing leader with a strong acute care background and demonstrated success leading teams within a NICU or comparable high-acuity pediatric environment. This position requires a hands-on, collaborative leader who can balance clinical excellence, employee engagement, operational performance, and strategic initiatives within a highly specialized Level IV NICU.
Responsibilities:
- Provide clinical and operational leadership for a 40-bed Level IV NICU while overseeing approximately 60 FTEs and ensuring safe, high-quality, patient- and family-centered neonatal care
- Lead daily department operations including staffing, scheduling, productivity, resource utilization, patient flow, clinical practice standards, and employee performance
- Monitor clinical outcomes, patient safety measures, regulatory requirements, accreditation standards, and quality metrics while leading continuous performance improvement initiatives
- Recruit, coach, develop, and evaluate nursing staff while promoting accountability, professional growth, interdisciplinary teamwork, and evidence-based nursing practice
- Collaborate with physicians, nursing leadership, the interdisciplinary care team, and Level II NICU leadership to support coordinated neonatal services and improve clinical and operational outcomes
- Partner with senior nursing leadership on budgetary performance, department planning, strategic initiatives, systems improvement, and efficient allocation of staffing and clinical resources
- Maintain readiness to support direct patient care when clinically necessary while serving as a visible nursing leader for staff, patients, and families
Qualifications:
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) required; Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), MBA, MHA, or another healthcare-related advanced degree preferred
- Graduate of an accredited School of Nursing required
- Current Colorado Registered Nurse (RN) license or active Multistate/Compact RN license required
- Current Basic Life Support (BLS) certification required
- Minimum of 5 years of acute care or specialty nursing experience preferred, ideally within Neonatal Intensive Care, NICU, neonatal services, or a related high-acuity specialty
- Minimum of 3 years of Charge Nurse, Supervisor, Manager, Director, or other formal nursing leadership experience required
- Previous leadership experience within a NICU, neonatal services, pediatric critical care, or other highly specialized acute care environment strongly preferred
- Experience leading clinical quality, staffing, employee performance, patient safety, regulatory compliance, performance improvement, and departmental operations
- Strong clinical judgment, critical thinking, organizational, communication, problem-solving, and team leadership skills
- Ability to collaborate effectively with physicians, nursing leadership, interdisciplinary teams, patients, and families in a complex tertiary or quaternary care environment
- Must be able to participate in a shared on-call rotation with other nursing leaders
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