Job Summary
AURELIA is seeking a dynamic and visionary Director of Nursing to join our team. This is not a traditional hospital DON role. It’s a startup clinical operations leadership role for a private post-surgical recovery facility (likely plastic surgery / elective recovery).
You would essentially be responsible for:
- Building the nursing program (policies, workflows, staffing, training)
- Preparing the facility for licensing and regulatory approval in the long run. Starting with a partner’s license.
- Running day-to-day clinical care for post-op patients once open
- Overseeing nurses, patient flow, medication systems, and recovery protocols
- Managing compliance, safety, and infection control
- Working directly with plastic surgeons and supporting patient experience
- Helping scale the operation as census grows
Key reality of this job:
This is a “wear many hats startup clinical leader” role, including:
- Clinical leadership (RN oversight, patient care standards)
- Operations leadership (scheduling, workflows, vendors, EMR setup)
- Compliance leadership (state licensing, audits, policies)
- Some non-clinical operational tasks (transportation, scheduling, coordination)
It blends:
DON + Clinical Operations Manager + Startup Builder + Patient Experience Lead
What stands out (important):
- Very startup-heavy (you are building everything)
- Early phase is development work, not just nursing care
- Includes non-clinical duties that are unusual for a DON (transportation, scheduling, marketing coordination)
- Strong emphasis on flexibility and “wear many hats”
- Likely small team at first, high ownership
What a strong candidate needs:
- Active CA RN license (required) NP also acceptable.
- Prior leadership in nursing (charge nurse, supervisor, DON, clinical manager)
- Experience in post-op, surgical, outpatient surgery, or cosmetic medicine strongly preferred ICU Post-surgical experience qualifies.
- The ideal candidate is an experienced clinical leader who enjoys working collaboratively to establish best practices, lead a high-performing nursing team, and deliver exceptional patient care in a growing post-surgical recovery environment.
Join us as we elevate nursing excellence through innovative leadership!
Work Location: In person
