Pediatric Occupational Therapist Team Lead

Discover Vanderbilt University Medical Center:  Located in Nashville, Tennessee, and operating at a global crossroads of teaching, discovery, and patient care, VUMC is a community of individuals who come to work each day with the simple aim of changing the world. It is a place where your expertise will be valued, your knowledge expanded, and your abilities challenged. Vanderbilt Health is committed to an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and where your uniqueness is sought and celebrated. It is a place where employees know they are part of something that is bigger than themselves, take exceptional pride in their work and never settle for what was good enough yesterday. Vanderbilt’s mission is to advance health and wellness through preeminent programs in patient care, education, and research.

Organization:

Physical Therapy Out

Job Summary:

JOB SUMMARY
Leads a team of assigned staff members and actively participates in overall management of the department, development of clinical practice standards, and provision of patient-focused delivery of care and services with accountabilities for implementation and outcomes for people leadership, quality, service, compliance, finance, throughput and scheduling. Ensure the department's optimal performance during each assigned shift and within their team of direct reports by engaging in effective problem solving with lab staff and where appropriate, and other departments, assuring performance standards for patient care are met, and developing/leading the assigned team. Provides feedback and coaching to staff members, recognizing them for their contributions while fostering a high performance culture.

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Pediatric Occupational Therapist Team Lead

Location: Vanderbilt Health One Hundred Oaks | Nashville, TN

Schedule: Primarily Monday-Friday

Setting: Pediatric Outpatient Rehabilitation

Lead with Experience. Inspire Growth. Shape the Future of Pediatric Rehabilitation.

Vanderbilt Health is seeking an experienced Pediatric Occupational Therapist Team Lead to guide a growing outpatient rehabilitation team and help shape the future of pediatric therapy services.

This role is ideal for a leader who is passionate about developing others and creating an environment where therapists thrive. With a team that includes many early-career clinicians, we're looking for someone who can provide mentorship, build confidence, support clinical growth, and foster a culture of learning and collaboration.

You'll balance patient care, leadership, and staff development while making a lasting impact on both the therapists you support and the children and families they serve.

Why This Leadership Opportunity Stands Out

• Lead and develop a talented team that includes early-career Occupational Therapists

• Make a meaningful impact through mentorship and professional development

• Help therapists build confidence and grow into skilled pediatric clinicians

• Foster a culture of learning, collaboration, and clinical excellence

• Partner with rehabilitation leadership on workforce development initiatives

• Remain clinically engaged while expanding your leadership influence

• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams across Vanderbilt Children's services

• Support evidence-based practice, innovation, and quality improvement

• Enjoy support from experienced leaders invested in your success

• Primarily Monday-Friday schedule

• Benefits Day One!

About the Pediatric Outpatient Rehabilitation Team

The Pediatric Outpatient Rehabilitation team at Vanderbilt Health One Hundred Oaks provides comprehensive, family-centered care for children with developmental, neurological, orthopedic, genetic, and complex medical conditions.

The team includes both experienced therapists and newer clinicians eager to learn and grow. As Team Lead, you'll play a key role in developing clinical expertise, supporting professional growth, and helping therapists deliver exceptional care.

Occupational Therapists collaborate closely with physicians, physical therapists, speech-language pathologists, psychologists, social workers, educators, and families to help children maximize function, independence, and participation in daily life.

What You'll Do

As the Pediatric Occupational Therapist Team Lead, you will serve as a clinical expert, mentor, coach, and operational leader while maintaining the highest standards of patient care.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide direct pediatric outpatient occupational therapy services

• Lead, mentor, and support staff and PRN Occupational Therapists

• Create a supportive environment for therapists, especially early-career clinicians

• Guide clinical development through coaching and ongoing education

• Support onboarding, competency development, and professional growth

• Foster collaboration, accountability, and continuous learning

• Conduct performance evaluations and provide meaningful feedback

• Partner with leadership on staffing, workflow, and operational needs

• Support evidence-based practice, quality initiatives, and program development

• Promote transparent communication and strong team engagement

• Help drive exceptional patient experiences and clinical outcomes

What We're Looking For

Required Qualifications

• Licensed Occupational Therapist (or eligible for Tennessee licensure)

• Significant Pediatric Outpatient Occupational Therapy experience

• Demonstrated success in a formal or informal leadership role

• Passion for mentoring, teaching, and developing clinicians

• Strong coaching, relationship-building, and communication skills

• Ability to foster confidence and engagement among newer therapists

• Commitment to family-centered care and interdisciplinary collaboration

• Strong clinical, organizational, and operational decision-making skills

What Sets This Role Apart

• Influence the next generation of Pediatric Occupational Therapists

• Make a lasting impact through mentorship and leadership

• Help create a culture where therapists feel supported and empowered

• Balance clinical practice with meaningful leadership responsibilities

• Shape the future of Pediatric Occupational Therapy services at Vanderbilt Health

• Build future clinical leaders and strengthen team excellence

• Access leadership development and continuing education opportunities

• Make a difference in the lives of children, families, and fellow clinicians

Why Vanderbilt Health?

Where Pediatric Rehabilitation Leaders Thrive

At Vanderbilt Health, our therapists make a meaningful difference every day through collaboration, innovation, compassion, and clinical excellence.

As a Pediatric Occupational Therapist Team Lead, you'll work alongside nationally recognized specialists dedicated to helping children achieve their fullest potential.

Benefits of Joining Vanderbilt Health

• Benefits Day One

• Competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits package

• Leadership development and continuing education opportunities

• Collaborative, mission-driven culture

• Nationally recognized pediatric and rehabilitation programs

• Opportunities for professional growth and career advancement

• Support from an organization committed to innovation and patient-centered care

Ready to Lead, Mentor, and Inspire?

If you're an experienced Pediatric Occupational Therapist who enjoys developing others, building confidence in emerging clinicians, and creating a culture where therapists thrive, we invite you to bring your leadership to Vanderbilt Health.

Join a team where your experience will help shape careers, strengthen clinical excellence, and influence the future of pediatric rehabilitation.

Apply today and help develop exceptional therapists, elevate patient outcomes, and make a lasting difference for children, families, and fellow clinicians

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
• Supervises day to day performance of staff through ongoing assessment and coaching to achieve goals.
• Completes formal evaluation of direct reports.
• Supports leadership team in development of staff members by providing substantive feedback.
• Demonstrates clinical/technical knowledge needed to coach staff on day-to-day activities.
• Implements rehab specific policies and practice guidelines in accordance with VUMC policy and regulatory standards using standardized tools and instruments.
• The responsibilities listed are a general overview of the position and additional duties may be assigned.

TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES
• Quality Management (Novice): Has provided continuous analysis and evaluation of assignment work processes, constantly striving for improvement in the way tasks and activities are accomplished by questioning their value to the process and contributing creative solutions. Has participated in the process of establishing, communicating and monitoring standards for quality and excellence. Demonstrates the ability to actually work on and improve a current business process, product or service.
• Business Results (Fundamental Awareness): Implements appropriate measures for attaining business results and tracks progress in meeting goals and objectives. Demonstrates the ability to deliver products and services on time, within budget, and in accordance with organizational standards and goals. Continuously demonstrates a strong focus on quality. Responds effectively to customer or client needs. Recognizes incipient problems and communicates them to management.
• People Management (Novice): Conducts performance reviews. Effectively delegates tasks to others. Coaches subordinates on technical and interpersonal topics, as well as professional development. Demonstrates team building techniques and provides leadership through personal example of good work habits, open communication and effective people relationships. Involves subordinates in decisions which affect them. Demonstrates self-reliance and resourcefulness as an example to others.
• Operations Planning (Novice): Demonstrates ability to realistically anticipate resource needs, identify discrete tasks, set priorities, define dependencies, schedule activities, meet deadlines, and organize work within areas of direct responsibility. Appropriately matches equipment and capital resources to task demands. Achieves results within budget. Competently handles multiple assignments simultaneously. Reshapes project during life-cycle evolution, if needed. Demonstrates ability to break down work into manageable and measurable units. Accepts changes to assignments with minimal disruption and loss of productivity. Able to absorb changes to major assignments while maintaining a high level of performance. Uses available time efficiently. Follows up to assure problems and issues are resolved.
• Compliance (Novice): Can explain and apply basic statutory instructions in normal situations on the job. Understands the principles upon which the rules and regulations are based. Appropriately escalates problems relating to rules and regulations in timely and effective manner.
• Leadership (Novice): Sets the example in challenging and difficult situations. Can demonstrate different leadership styles, such as supportive and authoritative, as individuals and situations require it. Communicates team and unit goals clearly and effectively. Is receptive to ideas and suggestions from team members. Shows leadership and initiative in situations where supervision is not present or required.

Allied health is among the fastest growing occupations in healthcare today. This area can be defined as credentialed professionals who perform supportive, diagnostic, and therapeutic health care services to promote health and prevent disease in a variety of settings.

These areas are crucial to Vanderbilt Health’s reputation for excellence in these areas that has made us a major center for patient referrals from throughout the Mid-South.

Each year, people throughout Tennessee and the southeast choose Vanderbilt Health for their health care because of our leadership in medical science and our dedication to treating patients with dignity and compassion.

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Core Accountabilities:

* Organizational Impact: Plans and sets day-to-day objectives for the team that have a direct effect on the results of the department or area that the job is in. * Problem Solving/ Complexity of work: Resolves technical and operational problems within provided guideline. * Breadth of Knowledge: Applies advanced subject matter knowledge within a specific technical area and basic management knowledge to support the team. * Team Interaction: Leads/supervises a unit within a department or a small department. Typically without budget or hire/fire authority. Role is typically a 'working' supervisor.

Core Capabilities :

Supporting Colleagues: - Develops Self and Others: Invests time, energy, and enthusiasm in developing self/others to help improve performance e and gain knowledge in new areas. - Builds and Maintains Relationships: Maintains regular contact with key colleagues and stakeholders using formal and informal opportunities to expand and strengthen relationships. - Communicates Effectively: Recognizes group interactions and modifies one's own communication style to suit different situations and audiences.Delivering Excellent Services: - Serves Others with Compassion: Seeks to understand current and future needs of relevant stakeholders and customizes services to better address them. - Solves Complex Problems: Approaches problems from different angles; Identifies new possibilities to interpret opportunities and develop concrete solutions. - Offers Meaningful Advice and Support: Provides ongoing support and coaching in a constructive manner to increase employees' effectiveness.Ensuring High Quality: - Performs Excellent Work: Engages regularly in formal and informal dialogue about quality; directly addresses quality issues promptly. - Ensures Continuous Improvement: Applies various learning experiences by looking beyond symptoms to uncover underlying causes of problems and identifies ways to resolve them. - Fulfills Safety and Regulatory Requirements: Understands all aspects of providing a safe environment and performs routine safety checks to prevent safety hazards from occurring. Managing Resources Effectively: - Demonstrates Accountability: Demonstrates a sense of ownership, focusing on and driving critical issues to closure. - Stewards Organizational Resources: Applies understanding of the departmental work to effectively manage resources for a department/area. - Makes Data Driven Decisions: Demonstrates strong understanding of the information or data to identify and elevate opportunities. Fostering Innovation: - Generates New Ideas: Proactively identifies new ideas/opportunities from multiple sources or methods to improve processes beyond conventional approaches. - Applies Technology: Demonstrates an enthusiasm for learning new technologies, tools, and procedures to address short-term challenges. - Adapts to Change: Views difficult situations and/or problems as opportunities for improvement; actively embraces change instead of emphasizing negative elements.

Position Qualifications:

Responsibilities:

Certifications:

Work Experience:

Relevant Work Experience

Experience Level :

5 years

Education:

Bachelor's

This role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact within Vanderbilt Health, supported by a comprehensive benefits package which may include health, disability, retirement and/or wellness offerings to enhance your well-being and professional growth.

Vanderbilt Health is committed to fostering an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and is committed to the principles of equal opportunity.  EOE/Vets/Disabled.