Director of Nursing

Director of Nursing, CVICULocation: Albuquerque, New MexicoFacility: Lovelace Heart HospitalSchedule: Full-Time, DaysSalary: $130,000 to $150,000 annuallyBonus Eligible: YesRelocation Assistance: Available for qualified candidates

Benefits

Full benefits packagePosition Type: Permanent, Full-TimePosition OverviewLovelace Heart Hospital is seeking an experienced Director of Nursing, CVICU to provide clinical, operational, and administrative leadership for its high-acuity cardiovascular intensive care unit in Albuquerque, New Mexico.This is a hands-on nursing leadership position overseeing a 16-bed CVICU within a 55-bed specialty heart hospital. The Director will have 24-hour responsibility for the department and will oversee approximately 50 to 60 registered nurses when fully staffed.The ideal candidate will bring strong cardiovascular critical care experience, formal nursing leadership experience, and the clinical ability to support the bedside team when necessary.Key ResponsibilitiesThe Director of Nursing will provide overall leadership and direction for the CVICU, including:Leading, developing, mentoring, and retaining nursing staff and frontline leadersManaging staffing, scheduling, productivity, and timekeepingOverseeing clinical quality, patient safety, patient satisfaction, and employee engagementMonitoring quality metrics, conducting chart audits, and implementing performance improvement initiativesPartnering closely with cardiothoracic surgeons, interventionalists, intensivists, and other procedural service linesSupporting recruitment, onboarding, staff development, and retention initiativesMaintaining compliance with hospital policies, regulatory requirements, and professional nursing standardsBuilding collaborative relationships with physicians and hospital leadershipManaging financial and operational performance of the departmentSupporting staffing and providing bedside clinical assistance when neededAdjusting leadership coverage as necessary to engage both day and night shift teamsThere is currently no nurse manager assigned to the unit, so the Director will maintain responsibility for manager-level operations with support from four full-time charge nurses.Required QualificationsEducationBachelor of Science in Nursing preferred at time of hireCandidates without a completed BSN may be considered if they are already enrolled in an accredited BSN program with a documented completion dateMaster's degree in Nursing or a related field is preferredLicensure and CertificationCurrent Registered Nurse license or eligibility for licensure in New MexicoBLS certification required within 14 days of hire and prior to providing direct patient careClinical ExperienceStrong and recent CVICU experienceExtensive cardiac critical care backgroundCandidates coming exclusively from a medical ICU without significant cardiovascular experience will not be consideredMust be clinically capable of supporting bedside nursing when neededCandidates should have experience with high-acuity cardiac patients and technologies including:ECMOLVADOpen-heart surgery patientsImpellaIntra-aortic balloon pumpsCandidates with strong CVICU experience who do not have extensive LVAD experience may still be considered.Leadership ExperienceMinimum of approximately 3 to 5 years of clinical nursing experienceAt least 2 years of formal nursing leadership or management experienceRelevant backgrounds may include Nurse Manager, Nursing Supervisor, Assistant Nurse Manager, or comparable formal leadership positionsTemporary or intermittent charge nurse responsibilities alone will not meet the leadership requirement