Nursing Supervisor Job Description Template

Nursing supervisors oversee and manage nursing care across entire units. They perform a mix of administrative and clinical duties, from finalizing hiring decisions to evaluating quality improvement initiatives. Fundamentally, they serve as an important link between clinical care and hospital management, making strong communication, leadership, and organization skills essential. This is why creating a targeted nursing supervisor job description is crucial when hiring for this role.

To help you effectively advertise your opening, we’ll outline an example nurse supervisor job description with key information for prospective applicants. Tailor this template and pair it with thoughtful interview questions to select the best candidate for your team. Seeking more insights? Explore what other facilities are putting in their nursing supervisor job postings and learn how to make your organization stand out from the crowd.

Nursing Supervisor

Tips: In the introductory section of your job description, you’ll want to provide an overview of both the role and your facility. Think of ways to make your organization stand out from others. Consider listing any notable awards or distinctions that your facility has received, and share information about your mission or work culture. You may also want to briefly mention any essential qualifications (such as licenses or degrees) to make sure that the right people continue reading your posting.

While this example is for a hospital nursing supervisor job description, you can easily tailor the introduction to accommodate a post-acute care setting as well. Customization is key for catering to the specific needs of your facility.

Template:

[Facility name] is looking for an experienced registered nurse (RN) supervisor to lead and support the inpatient nursing team at our beautiful downtown campus. As a proudly Magnet-designated organization, we are known for our commitment to clinical excellence and for delivering the highest quality, patient-centered care.

We achieve this by fostering a healthy work culture, with competitive benefits and training opportunities, designed to help staff thrive. If you’re interested in joining a top-tier healthcare organization that cares about you, we invite you to further explore this opportunity and its many perks, outlined below.

Benefits

Tips: Now that you’ve piqued the candidate’s interest, you’ll want to elaborate on all of the great benefits of working at your facility. This section of your nursing supervisor job description should highlight the most notable offers within your employment package. If your unit offers any special training programs or career development opportunities for nurse leaders, you should also list them here.

Template:

• 401(k) plans with employer match
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Generous PTO and paid holidays
• Tuition reimbursement
• Continuing education (CE) credits

Duties and Responsibilities

Tips: This section of the job description should list all of the most important nursing supervisor duties and responsibilities, detailing how prospective applicants are expected to contribute to clinical oversight and compliance. Because nurse supervisor responsibilities are so far reaching, it’s best to use broad language, saving highly specific expectations for key priorities alone.

It’s also important to note that this position is sometimes split into two separate tracks: clinical and administrative. Depending on a facility’s size and operational structure, a clinical nursing supervisor may be employed alongside an administrative nursing supervisor (rather than combining both responsibilities into one singular role).

In those cases, a clinical nurse supervisor job description might list duties more closely related to day-to-day operations like care standards, mentorship, or workflow maintenance (through conflict resolution, for example). On the other hand, an administrative nursing supervisor job description might focus more on hiring, scheduling, and supply management.

Template:

• Supervise nursing staff while ensuring effective implementation of clinical guidelines and institutional policies
• Assign, educate, and oversee the activity of nursing staff during assigned shifts
• Facilitate performance evaluations of staff and provide constructive feedback
• Assess patient care needs and develop appropriate assignments
• Evaluate the effectiveness of nursing care and identify areas for improvement
• Aid in the hiring, training, and development of nursing staff and implement policy changes to improve workflow and care quality

Compensation and Schedule

Tips: Prospective applicants will also need to know logistical job details, such as the expected pay, hours, and work location. While not all job postings include a prospective nursing supervisor salary figure, studies have shown that providing this information does help promote transparency and may even determine whether candidates apply to a role. This makes the inclusion of a pay range an easy, beneficial method of building a stronger pool of applicants.

Template:

• Pay: $85,000 – $90,000 annual salary range (actual compensation based on experience)
• Hours: Full Time, Days (7am – 7pm)
• Location: Chicago, IL

Skills and Qualifications

Tips: In this section, you should list the essential nursing supervisor skills and qualifications that are needed for the job. Indicate whether each skill is required or preferred to encourage all qualified candidates to apply.

Template:

• Graduate from an accredited school of nursing (required)
• Active RN license in the state of [insert state] (required)
• BLS certification from the AHA obtained within 30 days of hire date (required)
• At least 2 years of RN experience (required)
• 1 year of experience in a managerial or leadership role (preferred)

Call to Action

Tips: Finally, it’s time to invite interested candidates to take the next steps. This last section of your job description should include a concise and catchy call to action, which provides a link to your application portal. If you don’t use an application portal, provide clear instructions on how candidates should submit their resumes and cover letters.

Template:

Ready to take your career as a nursing supervisor to the next level and lead a top-performing team? Click here to start your application today. We look forward to hearing from you!

Get Your Job Posting in Front of the Right People

Writing a strong nursing supervisor job description is the first step to finding the best leader for your team. Ready to put your job posting into action? Our nursing-only job board can help you reach over 1 million nursing professionals who are eager to advance their careers today.