Director of Nursing

Santa Cruz, CA 

 

📍 Location: Santa Cruz, California
📅 Schedule: Full-Time | Exempt | Monday - Friday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
💼 Department: Behavioral Health / Residential
📈 Reports To: Associate Division Director
💰 Pay Range: $130,000.00 - $145,000.00 Annually
🎁 Bonus: 

Up to $5K Relocation OR Hiring and Retention Bonus ($2,500)

✨ Make a Meaningful Impact

Aspiranet, a leading California-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting children, youth, and families, is seeking compassionate and committed Director of Nursing professionals to join our Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) and Children’s Crisis Psychiatric Program (CCPP). These specialized programs offer short-term, trauma-informed care for youth experiencing acute emotional and psychiatric crises, providing vital stabilization services to help them return safely to their homes, schools, or communities. If you’re passionate about helping youth navigate moments of crisis with dignity, empathy, and expert support, we invite you to join our mission of healing, resilience, and hope.

 

 

❤️ About Aspiranet

 

Aspiranet is a mission-driven social services agency with a proud legacy of supporting California communities since 1975. We are committed to ensuring that every child is loved, every family is supported, and every individual has the tools to succeed. Our services span the state and are delivered through six dedicated divisions: Foster Care and Adoption, providing support for children and families throughout the foster and adoption journey; Transitional Aged Youth (TAY), offering programs that guide young adults as they transition from foster care to independent living; Residential, delivering therapeutic care in structured, supportive environments to help youth thrive; Intensive Home-Based Services, focused on meeting individualized needs within the home, school, and community; Behavioral Health, delivering short-term, intensive mental health services for youth at risk; and Family and Community, emphasizing early intervention and family-strengthening supports. At Aspiranet, every role contributes to something greater—helping to create a future where opportunity, hope, and healing are within everyone’s reach.

 

📝️ Position Summary

The Director of Nursing (DON) provides strategic and operational leadership for all nursing and health services in the Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Program (STRTP) and Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) for youth. The DON ensures delivery of high-quality, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive healthcare services to youth, aligning with agency mission, state regulations (CCL, DHCS, Title 22), and best practices in residential behavioral health.

 

This role is primarily supervisory and managerial in nature, responsible for directing nursing staff, shaping healthcare policy and procedures, managing budgets, and coordinating integrated care systems. The DON also serves as the agency’s chief nursing officer, ensuring alignment between medical services and the behavioral health treatment model.

 

 

🔍Key Responsibilities - [Provide 4-5 subheading with list of responsibilities]  

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

1. Supervisory and Administrative Duties (Primary – 70–80%)

Leadership & Oversight

• Directly supervise all nursing personnel (RNs, LVNs, and medical support staff) assigned to STRTP and CSU programs.
• Establish performance expectations, conduct evaluations, and ensure clinical competency through supervision and training.
• Plan, organize, and oversee the daily nursing operations to ensure proper staffing, shift coverage, and continuity of care.
• Lead recruitment, onboarding, and mentoring of new nursing staff.
• Develop and manage nursing department budgets, staffing models, and supply inventory.

Clinical Governance & Policy

• Create, review, and update nursing policies, procedures, and clinical guidelines to ensure compliance with Title 22, CCL, DHCS, and Joint Commission standards.
• Serve as the nursing authority for internal audits, licensing inspections, and accreditation reviews.
• Oversee infection control, medication management, and clinical documentation protocols.
• Develop and monitor health and safety plans, ensuring adherence to agency and regulatory requirements.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration

• Collaborate with medical directors, psychiatrists, therapists, and administrators to promote holistic and coordinated care.
• Participate in leadership and treatment team meetings, providing expert consultation on medical and psychiatric care integration.
• Partner with external healthcare agencies, hospitals, and community providers to coordinate youth medical services.

Training, Development, and Quality Improvement

• Design and deliver health education and nursing competency training programs for nursing and non-nursing staff.
• Develop and track nursing quality improvement initiatives (e.g., medication error reduction, infection control, care outcomes).
• Maintain performance data, evaluate trends, and make evidence-based recommendations for program improvement.
• Provide leadership in trauma-informed and culturally responsive nursing practices.

Strategic and Compliance Leadership

• Serve as the primary liaison with licensing and regulatory entities.
• Ensure compliance with HIPAA, OSHA, and all professional nursing standards of practice.
• Participate in strategic planning and contribute to agency-wide initiatives related to health service delivery.
• Lead emergency preparedness and on-call response protocols for health-related situations.

 

1. Direct Care and Clinical Support Duties (Secondary – 20–30%)

Clinical Engagement

• Provide direct nursing care when staffing needs require, or to support youth during complex health or behavioral crises.
• Conduct nursing assessments and oversee the implementation of individualized healthcare plans.
• Monitor youth for medication side effects or acute medical changes and provide guidance to nursing staff in real time.
• Support youth education in wellness, medication adherence, nutrition, and preventive health practices.
• Maintain clinical documentation consistent with agency and state standards when providing direct services.

Crisis Response

• Act as the nursing lead during on-site medical or behavioral emergencies.
• Support de-escalation and crisis intervention teams in implementing safety and stabilization plans.
• Provide clinical consultation to program leadership on high-risk youth or incidents involving medical issues.

 

✅ Qualifications

Required:

• Current and valid Registered Nurse (RN) license in the State of California.
• Minimum five (5) years of nursing experience, with at least three (3) years in leadership within behavioral health, residential treatment, or pediatric/adolescent settings.
• Demonstrated experience with Title 22, CCL, and DHCS regulations governing STRTP or similar facilities.
• Strong leadership, organizational, and decision-making skills in dynamic, multidisciplinary environments.
• Knowledge of psychotropic medications, trauma-informed care, and adolescent development.
• Basic Life Support (BLS) certification; Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) preferred.
• Onsite attendance is required to meet client/patient need.

 

Preferred:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Nursing, Public Health, or Healthcare Administration.
• Experience managing nursing teams in residential or crisis stabilization programs.

 

Physical Skills and Abilities

1. Stand, walk, sit, and use hands to reach, handle and maneuver objects and equipment throughout the shift.
2. Lift and/or carry up to 50 pounds and walk up to a mile at a time.
3. May be required to place youth in physical holds utilizing Safety-Care protocols during crisis intervention situations to prevent youth from harming themselves or others.

 

Communication:

1. Communicates clearly and effectively, both verbally and in writing, with coworkers, supervisors, and youth.
2. Must be able to comprehend, follow, and clearly convey instructions to others.
3. Must be computer proficient and be able to work on a computer on daily basis.

 

💻 Work Environment & Schedule

Include details of the anticipated work environment, such as whether it will be a hybrid or on-site arrangement. Additionally, provide any unique scheduling requirements, including travel commitments or the needs for evening work. Being specific and transparent is key such as any expatiations for being on-site for two days each week.

 

❤️ Why Aspiranet?

*Only for Full Time, benefit-eligible roles. Please adjust to Part Time and On Call roles.

• Competitive compensation, comprehensive benefits package, and a 403(b) retirement plan with employer matching.
• Access to the free Aspiranet Employee Perks Program. Enjoy exclusive discounts on entertainment, travel, wellness, pet care, gym memberships, theme parks, and more
• Flexible Hybrid Schedule. Enjoy the mix of remote and in-office work, supporting work-life balance
• Flexible paid time off including 11 paid holidays, 10 vacation days, 10 sick leave days, two diversity days, and paid birthday time off.
• Access to our employee assistance program including 24/7 crisis line; up to 6 counseling sessions per issue.
• Training opportunities are available to support your ongoing development and career aspirations.
• Collaborate in a supportive, inclusive, and mission-aligned culture.
• Opportunity to lead meaningful initiatives that support employee wellbeing.

 

🏋️‍ Physical Demands: The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

This position typically operates in a standard office environment. The noise level is generally quiet and remains within OSHA’s established safety levels at all times.

 

⚖️ Equal Employment Opportunity

Aspiranet is an equal opportunity employer that recognizes the value of diversity. We believe a diverse workforce within a culture of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) increases creativity, innovation, problem-solving, and teamwork for the youth and families that we serve and the organization as a whole.  Aspiranet strives to provide our employees with a workplace that is welcoming, inclusive of differing world views, cultures, and lived experiences.

 

📝️ How to Apply

Join us in building brighter futures.

📝️ Ready to Apply?

Join us in building brighter futures.

Apply today through our career portal:

 👉 Click here to apply: www.aspiranet.org/careers

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