Director of Nursing

Level Senior

Position Type Full Time

Job Shift 1st Shift

Travel Percentage Up to 25%

Description

Director of Nursing Services

Lead with clinical expertise. Build a strong nursing team. Make a difference in people's lives.

The Arc of Litchfield County (LARC) is seeking an experienced, compassionate, and collaborative Director of Nursing Services to lead and oversee nursing and medical services for the individuals we support.

This is an opportunity for an RN leader who wants their work to have meaning beyond the clinical setting. At LARC, nursing is an essential part of helping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities live healthy, safe, self-directed, and fulfilling lives in their communities.

The Director of Nursing Services is both a strategic leader and a hands-on clinical resource. You will lead our nursing team, establish standards of care, strengthen systems and practices, collaborate with program leaders and healthcare professionals, and help ensure the highest quality of care for the people LARC supports.

Position: Director of Nursing Services Status: Full-Time, Exempt Location: Litchfield County, Connecticut

What You'll Do

As Director of Nursing Services, you will provide leadership and oversight for nursing and medical services throughout LARC. Key responsibilities include:

• Lead, supervise, mentor, and support LARC's nursing team.

• Coordinate and oversee nursing and medical services for individuals supported by LARC.

• Establish standards of care and continually evaluate the quality and outcomes of nursing services.

• Recruit, onboard, train, develop, and evaluate nursing staff.

• Provide clinical leadership, guidance, consultation, and problem-solving support to staff and programs.

• Develop and implement nursing goals, practices, policies, and procedures that promote safe and consistent care.

• Ensure compliance with applicable DDS, DPH, DSS, ICF, and LARC requirements.

• Conduct audits and monitor clinical documentation, medical records, licensing, certifications, and regulatory compliance.

• Oversee medication administration recertification and required health-related staff training.

• Provide training to nursing and direct support staff in health maintenance, Medication Certification, Signs and Symptoms, and other required areas.

• Serve as a clinical resource during medical concerns, emergencies, hospitalizations, admissions, and transitions back home.

• Collaborate with physicians, consultants, behavioral and psychiatric providers, program leadership, and other community healthcare partners.

• Participate as an integral member of LARC's interdisciplinary teams, planning meetings, reviews, and intake/referral processes.

• Represent LARC at DDS Nurse Consultant meetings and maintain awareness of emerging nursing practices, regulations, and standards of care.

• Help create a culture of quality, accountability, learning, collaboration, and person-centered care.

The Leadership Opportunity

We're looking for more than someone who can manage clinical tasks.

We are looking for a nursing leader who can develop people, strengthen systems, build relationships, and create confidence in the quality of care we provide.

You'll have the opportunity to influence nursing practice across the organization while remaining connected to the individuals and staff who experience that care every day.

The right person will be comfortable moving between the big picture and the details—developing standards and policies one moment and providing hands-on clinical guidance or coaching staff the next.

Qualifications

What You'll Bring

Required:

• Current Connecticut Registered Nurse (RN) license in good standing.

• Bachelor's degree in Nursing from an accredited RN program or an Associate's degree with at least five years of nursing supervisory/leadership experience requiring sound clinical judgment.

• Minimum of three years of full-time or equivalent clinical nursing experience.

• Strong clinical judgment, critical-thinking, organizational, and problem-solving skills.

• Demonstrated ability to lead, teach, coach, and develop others.

• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.

• Ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining attention to quality and detail.

• Current valid Connecticut driver's license in good standing.

• Ability and willingness to travel among LARC programs and residential locations and work a flexible schedule when needed.

Preferred:

• At least one year of experience supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

• Working knowledge of Connecticut DDS, DSS, DPH, and ICF regulations, policies, and procedures.

• Experience with Therap and healthcare-related documentation systems.

Who Will Thrive in This Role?

You may be a great fit if you are a nurse leader who:

• Believes excellent healthcare starts with seeing the whole person, not simply a diagnosis.

• Enjoys mentoring and developing other nurses and frontline professionals.

• Can balance compassion with accountability.

• Is comfortable making decisions and exercising sound clinical judgment.

• Builds collaborative relationships with families, physicians, staff, consultants, and community partners.

• Notices opportunities to improve systems rather than simply working around them.

• Can translate regulations and clinical expectations into practical, understandable guidance for staff.

• Values dignity, independence, choice, and inclusion for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Why LARC?

At LARC, our work is grounded in a simple but powerful belief: people with disabilities should have the opportunity and support to live their own lives, make decisions, participate in their communities, and pursue goals that matter to them.

Our nursing team plays an essential role in making that possible.

As Director of Nursing Services, you won't simply oversee healthcare—you will help shape an environment where health, dignity, independence, safety, and quality of life go hand in hand.

If you are ready to bring your clinical expertise and leadership experience to an organization where your work can have a meaningful impact every day, we'd love to hear from you.

Join LARC and help us build a Community for All.

LARC is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. We are also a drug free workplace. Substance use testing is a condition of becoming employed.