Director of Nursing Surgical Services – (day shift, full-time)

• Our client, a 128-bed acute care hospital, retained us to identify a high-impact Director of Nursing Surgical Services to lead and transform a growing surgical services program.
• This is a hands-on clinical and operational leadership role with full 24/7 accountability across the perioperative platform, including the OR, PACU, same day surgery, sterile processing, endoscopy, and a pre-op optimization clinic.

• This position is open due to a leadership transition and comes at a critical time of rapid growth and operational evolution. The hospital has invested heavily in advanced surgical technology and is positioned to significantly expand surgical volume—but requires the right leader to unlock that capacity.
• Currently, the OR has 6 rooms but has only been consistently running 4, creating access issues for surgeons and limiting growth. The expectation is to scale to full 6-room utilization with daily case volumes increasing from ~6–10 cases/day to 20–30 cases/day, aligning with competitive market benchmarks.

• Driving OR throughput and block utilization optimization
• Updating and standardizing preference cards
• Reducing reliance on travel staff and stabilizing core teams
• Transitioning staff to a more metrics-driven, high-volume environment
• Partnering with physicians who may be resistant to operational changes
• Expanding OR hours and improving scheduling access

• General surgery
• Orthopedics (high volume)
• Women’s health
• Urology
• Robotic surgery

• DaVinci robotic system
• Mako orthopedic platforms (2 units)
• Globus system

• We are seeking a true OR operator and change leader who can command credibility with both staff and physicians.
• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) or actively enrolled/the ability to enroll in a BSN program with mandatory completion within 24 months- required.
• Current New Jersey RN license required.
• Strong perioperative leadership experience (OR required)
• Proven ability to lead teams through growth, change, and increased volume
• Comfortable working in a KPI-driven environment (block utilization, turnover times, etc.)
• Hands-on, visible leader who can engage frontline staff and rebuild morale
• Able to balance clinical quality, operational efficiency, and physician relationships
• BLS certification must be obtained within 14 days of hire or transfer into the role and prior to providing direct patient care.
• 2-3 years of demonstrated nursing leadership experience

• Master’s degree in nursing, Healthcare Administration, or related field.
• Acute care experience

• Ideal: ~5–7 years of leadership experience in surgical services
• Open to high-potential candidates with 2–3 years of leadership if they have strong OR depth
• Not targeting very junior or late-career candidates

• Oversees ~47 FTEs (currently includes a heavy traveler mix)
• Direct reports include charge nurses and departmental leads across perioperative services
• Will play a key role in right-sizing staffing and reducing premium labor reliance

• Historically limited hours (7 AM – 3 PM), now expanding significantly
• Current model includes extended room utilization into evening hours
• Goal is to reduce call burden by improving daytime throughput and scheduling

• Consistently running all 6 ORs at target utilization
• Increased daily case volume and surgeon satisfaction
• Improved staff engagement and reduced turnover/travel dependency
• Strong performance against perioperative KPIs
• A more efficient, scalable surgical services operation

• MS WORD Resume
• required compensation.
• Contact information.
• Availability

Salary : $157,000 - $220,000