Nursery Director

Description

Imagine contributing your talent where you can make a meaningful difference in the lives of families and communities. Our vision is a world where every child thrives in a safe and loving family. Our mission is building families through adoption; supporting families through life’s challenges; and strengthening communities through education. At The Cradle you will find a legacy of excellence and a reputation for quality education that helps to inform adoption decisions.

The Cradle is a 100-year-old not-for-profit, non-sectarian adoption agency, providing lifelong support to individuals and families touched by adoption -- birthparents, adopted persons, and adoptive parents. Renowned as one of the foremost adoption agencies in the country, since opening in 1923 The Cradle has helped place more than 16,000 children into permanent, loving homes.

The Cradle is the only adoption agency in the country with an on-site nursery. It is a safe, neutral place for infants to stay while their parents take the time they need to decide if adoption will be the plan for their child. The nursery also enables The Cradle to place infants whose special medical needs may mean that it takes a bit longer to find them a home that is prepared to help them thrive. We are committed to finding a loving home for every child entrusted to our care.

Our goal is to attract, develop and retain a talented, diverse workforce where all employees feel a sense of belonging and contribute to a culture that values our unique differences and life experiences. Working at The Cradle is a rewarding experience, and we invite you to consider our current opportunity for a Nursery Manager.

The Opportunity  

The Cradle’s Nursery Director is responsible for the overall functioning of our 24/7 Nursery. This includes oversight of admission and discharge of infants, interfacing with social service staff and medical providers, managing the Nursery staff, and the overall supervision of child care provided in the unit. The Nursery Director is also responsible for creating and maintaining a collaborative working environment and ensuring performance expectations of staff are being met.

The Nursery Director, in collaboration with the Co-Director of Adoption & Family Support, is responsible for developing and maintaining care standards, procedures, and policies for the Nursery consistent with best practice infant care standards and DCFS requirements for Child Care Institutions.

Essential Functions:

•  Oversees all care provided to infants in the Nursery and ensures all recommended follow-up care is arranged for or provided to infants in the Nursery.
• Ensures Nursery staff follow all job requirements including but not limited to blood borne pathogen awareness, universal precautions, safe sleep positioning, CPR certification and other applicable health, safety, and child care institution requirements. 
• Maintains Nursery staff in partnership with Human Resources by recruiting, hiring, orienting and training staff specific to their role.
• Primary staff member to receive infants at hospital discharge. 
• Primary staff member responsible for communication with hospital personnel when infants have extended stays or cannot be cared for at the Nursery.
• Oversees creation and maintenance of child records according to required DCFS standards. 
• Participates with Adoption and Family Support Team on discharge planning for infants.
• Maintains current knowledge of recommended newborn/infant standards of care and trains Nursery staff accordingly.
• Collaborates with Co-Director of Adoption and Family Support and The Cradle’s Medical Director on maintenance of Nursery Training Manual.
• Lead and develop the Nursery staff team comprised of licensed nurses, Infant Aides and on-call drivers by communicating expectations, providing feedback and identifying areas for professional development.
• Ensures adequate coverage on all shifts by creating and maintaining shift and on-call schedules.
• Participates in rotating on-call schedule for urgent, afterhours matters. 

Requirements

The following requirements are necessary to perform the essential functions of the job:

• The following requirements are necessary for jobholders to perform the essential functions of the job:
• Commitment to The Cradle’s mission and values. 
• Nursing Degree (Associates or Bachelors). 
• Current Illinois Registered Nursing license.
• Have or will obtain CPR, BLS or ACLS certification.
• Experience with neonatology or pediatrics is strongly preferred.
• 3-5 years’ experience managing nurses or other healthcare professionals.
• Intermediate proficiency level with Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word and Excel)

Highly skilled in the following areas:

• Organization and attention to detail
• Leadership
• Written and verbal communication 
• Interpersonal skills 

Working Conditions

• Works in a sterile infant nursery environment within a DCFS licensed child welfare agency.
• Generally, this role works typical business hours in the Nursery. Schedule will be determined in consultation with supervisor. Must also be available for afterhours calls and urgent matters in rotation with other managers.

Physical Requirements

• Some heavy lifting required. Must be able to care for infants through 2 years of age.
• Must be able to bend, stand, and have mobility up and down stairs.

Additional Requirements

• Staff must be fully vaccinated, have at least one booster shot, and provide evidence of COVID-19 vaccination status. Masks are required in the Nursery.
• All staff are required to undergo a background check, fingerprinting, and medical exam to meet DCFS requirements.
• Flu vaccine required.

Direct reports     

• Licensed Nurses, Infant Aides, On-Call Drivers (combination of full-time, part-time and flex staff).
• Responsible for conducting required performance reviews of all Nursery staff.