Department Manager

ISLAB Wellbeing Consortium is recruiting a Head Nurse for a permanent public-service employment relationship starting on 4 January 2027 or by agreement. At the start of employment, the primary workplace is the Puijo Emergency Laboratory in Kuopio. The duties include internal mobility within the ISLAB area as needed and depending on the situation. As Head Nurse, you will supervise the laboratory nursing staff of an emergency laboratory operating around the clock (24/7). You will be responsible for personnel management, the unit’s daily operations and coordination. Your duties include organising work, assigning responsibilities, allocating resources, and planning, implementing, evaluating and developing operations. You will also maintain and develop the laboratory staff’s competence and plan and coordinate the induction process. You will be responsible for your unit’s operational and financial resources, implementing ISLAB’s strategy and achieving its objectives. Your duties include preparing the operating budget and the laboratory staff payroll budget, monitoring their implementation and participating in procurement processes. A key part of the role is developing operations and the operating environment and leading change in line with strategic objectives. You will actively promote a collaborative working culture, multidisciplinary cooperation, continuous development and improved effectiveness together with staff, experts and other stakeholders. You will be responsible for a safe working environment and for promoting staff wellbeing and ability to cope at work. You will help ensure the conditions for smooth daily operations and see that clinical laboratory work is carried out to a high standard, effectively and in accordance with current requirements. Success in the role requires the ability to lead a large staff group in a 24/7 unit and manage broad areas of responsibility. We expect strong personnel and change-management skills, a development-oriented and solution-focused approach, and the ability to lead operations towards their objectives in a changing environment. We value excellent interpersonal and collaboration skills, an independent and goal-oriented approach, and the ability to complete agreed tasks systematically and according to plan. The role calls for resilience under pressure and readiness to work in a demanding environment. As a successful Head Nurse, you lead with enthusiasm, consistency and determination and promote cooperation locally, regionally and across ISLAB. The role requires strong organisational and prioritisation skills, strategic thinking, and supervisory expertise grounded in participative and coaching-oriented leadership. The eligibility requirement for the post is a higher university degree in healthcare and professional authorisation under the Act on Health Care Professionals (559/1994). Experience as a supervisor in an emergency-oriented unit and in clinical emergency laboratory services is considered an advantage. Good spoken and written Finnish is required. Before employment begins, the selected candidate must provide a statement confirming attendance at a pre-employment health examination, documentation concerning respiratory tuberculosis under section 55 of the Communicable Diseases Act, and documentation of adequate vaccination protection under section 48. When recruiting for a public-service employment relationship, the employer may require a health assessment under section 7 of the Act on Municipal Officials (304/2003). The working-time arrangement for the post follows the general terms of the SOTE collective agreement for public-service employment and working hours. At the start of employment, the work is daytime work under a period-based working-time system. Pay follows the SOTE agreement and locally determined pay levels based on the collective agreement. The role-specific pay level at the start of employment is €4,231.69 per month. In addition, an experience-based increment of 3% or 8% of the role-specific pay level is paid. We have a staff reward programme and offer benefits including break-time coffee and tea, Epassi culture, sports and wellbeing benefits, and comprehensive occupational health services. We hope you can start as a new ISLAB employee on 4 January 2027 or by agreement. The probationary period is six months. Please submit your application electronically through www.kuntarekry.fi by 6 November 2016 at 15:00. For further information about the post, contact Chief Nursing Officer Merja Ålander, tel. 044 457 0777 or merja.alander@islab.fi. ISLAB is a responsible, effective and trusted partner. We ensure staff participation through, among other things, ISLAB’s suggestion scheme, and the results of our annual staff survey provide a basis for developing our working communities and the organisation as a whole. We ensure high-quality supervisory work through systematic supervisor induction and coaching. We are inspired, renew ourselves and work together. Read ISLAB employees’ career stories in the ‘Our employees tell their stories’ section under Careers at ISLAB on our website.