Director Center Nursing Excellence

Position Location:

Hospital for Special Care Scheduled Weekly

Hours:

40

Work Shift:

First Shift Department:
Patient Care Services We are dedicated to creating an environment of care and engagement that makes us one of the most desirable places to work, providing exceptional care to each patient each and every day!

The Director, Center for Nursing Excellence (CNE) is a senior nursing leader responsible for advancing nursing practice and producing high-quality outcomes through an integrated framework for education, staff development, nursing empowerment, quality and patient safety, and shared governance. Reporting to the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), the Director provides strategic and operational leadership for the Center and is accountable for four core pillars:
Clinical Practice;
Education and Professional Development;
Quality and Patient Safety; and Shared Governance. The Director develops the systems, programs, and professional practice infrastructure necessary to support consistent evidence-based care, clinical competency, professional growth, frontline nurse engagement, and continuous improvement.

Required:

Current, unrestricted licensure as a Registered Nurse in the State of Connecticut.

Required:

Master’s degree in Nursing, Nursing Education, Nursing Professional Development, Healthcare Administration, or a related field; at least one degree must be in nursing. DNP preferred.

Required:

Minimum of five years of progressive nursing leadership, professional development, education, clinical practice, or quality experience with demonstrated program and team leadership.

Preferred:
Director-level or comparable organizational leadership experience.

Preferred:
National certification in nursing professional development, nursing leadership/executive practice, specialty nursing, or another role-relevant area.

Required:

Demonstrated knowledge of evidence-based practice, clinical competency, adult learning, orientation, professional development, quality improvement, patient safety, regulatory readiness, and professional/shared governance.

Required:

Strong leadership, coaching, facilitation, relationship-building, written, verbal, and presentation skills.

Required:

Ability to analyze clinical, education, workforce, quality, and outcome data and translate findings into sustainable practice improvement.

Leads the development, review, implementation, and evaluation of nursing policies and clinical practice standards. Advances evidence-based nursing practice and supports translation of current evidence into standardized clinical care. Develops and oversees role- and specialty-specific clinical competency frameworks that validate knowledge, skills, clinical judgment, and performance. Partners with Nursing Operations and Clinical Managers to identify practice variation and implement strategies that improve consistency and reliability of care.

Creates infrastructure to support clinical inquiry, practice innovation, and, as the Center matures, nursing research and development.

Provides strategic oversight for nursing orientation and onboarding pathways across nursing roles and specialty areas. Oversees the nurse residency program and other transition-to-practice initiatives and evaluates their impact on competence, confidence, engagement, and retention. Leads continuing nursing education and ongoing professional development programs based on organizational priorities, clinical needs, quality trends, and staff learning needs. Develops core curricula and structured learning pathways to support specialty practice and progressive professional…