Nursing Manager ( Service Level )

Nursing Manager (Service Level) — Lead Where Medicine and Culture Meet

Full-Time | Exempt | Nursing Department
Reports to: Director of Nursing | Location: Stamford, CT | Environment: 24/7 Emergency & Specialty Hospital

Why CUVS?

At CUVS, our standard of medicine is the operating baseline—high-acuity, evidence-driven, patient-centered care delivered with precision, teamwork, and respect. We’re building a nursing leadership bench that protects that standard of medicine every hour of every shift, while creating a workplace where people can bring their authentic selves to work and grow.

This is an excellent next-step role for a VTS (or experienced credentialed technician) ready to expand leadership scope—without losing clinical identity. If you want to lead teams, elevate systems, and still stay clinically connected to uphold the standard of medicine, this role was designed for you.

The Role

The Nursing Manager plays a pivotal leadership role in driving excellence in patient care, operational efficiency, and team engagement within the Nursing Department. You will oversee day-to-day nursing operations within assigned service(s) and directly manage and develop Nursing Team Leads to ensure consistent delivery of high-quality veterinary care and alignment with hospital goals.

This position maintains strong clinical credibility by functioning as a senior nurse on the floor ~40–60% of the time, serving as a role model while enabling accurate, real-time assessment of clinical operations. This dual focus ensures frontline realities inform leadership decisions—and ensures the standard of medicine is consistently executed, coached, and protected.

You will serve as both a strategic partner and operational leader, supporting the Director of Nursing and hospital leadership in advancing hospital-wide initiatives, strengthening nursing standards, and fostering a culture of accountability, communication, and collaboration. This role bridges hospital strategy with frontline execution so that workflows, protocols, and culture reflect CUVS’s mission, vision, values—and our uncompromising standard of medicine.

Responsibilities

Clinical nursing leadership (standard-of-medicine role modeling)

• Maintain Level III or Level IV nursing competency per CUVS standards.
• Provide direct patient care as needed based on patient acuity, staffing coverage, or mentorship demands.
• Demonstrate clinical and service excellence as a daily example of our standard of medicine.
• Mentor and coach in real time during patient care, reinforcing best practices and patient-centered medicine.
• Assess nursing quality, workflow efficiency, and staff performance through active floor leadership.
• Identify training needs and skill gaps through direct observation and hands-on partnership.
• Bridge communication between frontline teams and hospital administration to continuously elevate the standard of medicine.

Operational leadership (systems that protect the standard of medicine)

• Oversee nursing operations within assigned service(s): staffing, flow, and standards aligned to service goals.
• Maintain comprehensive understanding of hospital operations to enable seamless collaboration across departments.
• Partner with the Director of Nursing and other Nursing Managers to develop, implement, and evaluate protocols, procedures, and performance standards grounded in best practices and the standard of medicine.
• Lead daily operational problem-solving and troubleshooting; redirect to established protocols and escalate appropriately.
• Champion process improvement, quality, safety, and operational excellence initiatives with a nursing lens.
• Ensure compliance and accountability related to charge capture, inventory control, and responsible resource utilization.
• Plan service scheduling and staffing with the Scheduler and Team Leads to balance patient care, employee well-being, onboarding/training needs, and budget.

People leadership (developing leaders who carry the standard of medicine)

• Coach Nursing Team Leads to promote nursing excellence and patient-centered medicine.
• Build Team Lead confidence in decision-making, prioritization, and service-level management.
• Optimize nursing team structures to meet service needs (short-term adjustments through succession planning).
• Own productivity fundamentals: break coverage, overtime management, time management, and utilization.
• Support performance management: feedback, coaching, conflict resolution, evaluations, and development conversations.
• Lead consistent onboarding and training systems; identify, close, and track training/competency gaps.
• Participate in recruitment (selection, interviews, and recruiting events) and serve as a hospital ambassador.

Communication (continuity of care and high reliability)

• Ensure timely, effective communication within the service(s) and across the hospital.
• Evaluate and improve handoffs and rounds to strengthen continuity of care and minimize errors—protecting the standard of medicine.
• Provide regular updates to the Director of Nursing per CUVS standards; elevate concerns through established structure.
• Partner closely with nursing leaders and the Client Service Manager to support service performance and client experience.
• Organize and lead service-level nursing meetings; participate actively in hospital meetings.
• Maintain confidentiality, discretion, and responsiveness to email and other communication channels.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT/CVT/RVT) with emergency or specialty clinical experience
• 5+ years veterinary nursing experience with documented progression
• Strong leadership presence: lead-by-example, calm under pressure, accountable and supportive
• Excellent organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills
• Demonstrated cross-department collaboration and operational maturity
• Deep commitment to CUVS mission, vision, values—the highest standard of patient centered medicine

Physical Requirements

This role combines clinical and administrative work. Must be able to stand/walk for extended periods (up to 8–12 hours), lift 50 lbs unassisted / 75 lbs with assistance, safely restrain and handle patients, perform repetitive technical tasks, and work around typical veterinary workplace hazards. Reasonable accommodations may be provided.

If you’re a VTS (or on the path) and ready for your next step—this is a high-impact opportunity to lead at the level where culture, systems, and the standard of medicine meet.