Hospital director of human resources job description
A rural hospital's HR director keeps every department staffed and every license current, from ER nurses and lab techs to cooks and housekeepers. The job also covers exclusion checks, health records, pay and benefits, and helping recruits find housing and child care.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
We're hiring a director of human resources to keep our hospital staffed and compliant. In a rural community, every open nursing or tech job matters, and housing, child care and drive time can decide whether someone says yes. You'll run recruiting, onboarding, license tracking, employee health, pay, benefits and employee relations for every department.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Recruit for every department, from nurses and techs to cooks and housekeepers, using job boards, schools, referrals and local events.
Verify licenses and certifications at hire and track renewals, using primary sources such as Nursys for nurses.
Run background checks under state law, and OIG and state Medicaid exclusion checks for employees and contractors [monthly].
Run employee health with the infection preventionist: TB screening, immunization records and respirator fit testing.
Manage pay scales, benefits enrollment and market pay reviews for hard-to-fill roles.
Handle employee relations, investigations, leave and accommodation requests under federal and state law.
Keep personnel files, I-9 forms and the OSHA 300 log ready for audits and surveys.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review applicants and open positions with hiring managers, starting with nursing and night shifts.
Call candidates, schedule interviews and send offers.
Answer employee questions on pay, benefits, leave and schedules.
Check upcoming license, certification and BLS expirations, and follow up before they lapse.
Meet with managers on attendance, performance or conduct issues.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Time to fill for nursing roles: [your target].
First-year turnover: [your target].
Licenses and certifications current: [your target].
Agency and traveler spend: [your target].
Employee engagement score: [your target].
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor's degree in human resources, business or a related field, or equal experience.
[5+] years of HR experience, including [2+] years in a hospital or other healthcare setting.
Working knowledge of FMLA, FLSA, ADA, EEO and state employment law.
Experience with license verification, exclusion screening and employee health records.
Discretion with confidential employee and medical information.
6. Preferred Experience
SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR or SPHR certification.
Experience recruiting nurses and allied health staff in a rural market.
Experience with travel nurse and staffing agency contracts.
Experience with [your HRIS and payroll system].
7. Physical Requirements
Sit and work at a computer for much of the day.
Walk the hospital to meet staff on all shifts, and drive to schools and job fairs.
With or without reasonable accommodation.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Hospital office, Monday through Friday: [hours].
Some early-morning or evening hours to meet night and weekend staff.
Local travel to schools, colleges and job fairs: [frequency].
9. Compensation and Benefits
Pay: [range and hourly or salary basis].
Additional pay: [overtime, bonus or incentive terms, or none].
Benefits: [health, dental, vision, retirement, paid time off, and when they start].
10. Company Culture and Overview
[Two or three sentences on what your company does, the area you serve, and the support a new director of human resources gets in the first 90 days.]
11. How to Apply
[Apply link or email]. Our process: [phone interview, in-person interview, and next steps]. Contact [hiring contact] if you need an accommodation during the application process.
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What makes HR in a critical access hospital different
HR in any business hires, pays and protects people. A small rural hospital adds license checks, federal exclusion rules, employee health and hospital overtime rules, with a thin local job market to hire from.
Licenses get checked at the source
Nurse licenses can be checked in Nursys. The boards of nursing that take part name it a primary source equivalent, so a Nursys check counts like asking the board itself. Check pharmacist, therapist and other licenses with the board that issues them. Track every renewal and basic life support (BLS) card date, and follow up before one runs out. Source: Nursys: QuickConfirm license verification terms.
Exclusion checks cover everyone you pay
Hiring someone on the federal exclusion list can bring civil money penalties. The HHS Inspector General tells health care employers to check the list routinely for new hires and current employees, and it posts monthly updates. Run contractors through it too, and check your state's Medicaid list if it keeps one. Source: HHS OIG: Exclusions and the List of Excluded Individuals/Entities.
Employee health runs through HR
CDC says every health care worker should get TB screening at hire, with no routine yearly retest unless there is a known exposure or ongoing spread. Workers still get TB education every year. State rules can differ from CDC's, so the HR director checks both and keeps the records ready for surveyors. Source: CDC: Frequency of tuberculosis screening and testing for health care personnel.
Hospitals can use the 8 and 80 overtime plan
Federal wage law lets hospitals figure overtime on a fixed 14-day period instead of a workweek, if employees agree before the work starts. Overtime is then due for hours past 8 in a day and past 80 in the period. With 12-hour shifts, that means overtime on every shift, so run the numbers before you choose it. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 778.601, special overtime provisions for hospitals.
Hospitals file injury data with OSHA each year
A hospital can't skip the OSHA injury log the way some low-risk businesses can. Each year by March 2, a hospital site with 20 or more employees enters its 300A summary on OSHA's website, and one with 100 or more adds the 300 log and 301 incident reports. Public hospitals are covered only where a state plan covers public workers. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR Part 1904, recording and reporting occupational injuries and illnesses.
How much hospital directors of human resources make
The closest BLS group for hospital directors of human resources is human resources managers. Human resources managers who work for general medical and surgical hospitals earned a median of $144,100 a year ($69.28 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $149,280 median for human resources managers in all industries. About 5,970 of the 220,660 human resources managers in that survey work for general hospitals.
Salaried. In a small hospital this job may also cover payroll, employee health or license tracking, so set pay for the whole scope rather than the title.
General hospitals
$144,100$144,100 median Middle half $117,200–$182,280 10th–90th $97,570–$255,490
All industries
$149,280$149,280 median Middle half $111,110–$199,290 10th–90th $88,200–$267,810
$50k$100k$150k$200k$250k$300k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
General hospitals
$97,570
$117,200
$144,100
$182,280
$255,490
All industries
$88,200
$111,110
$149,280
$199,290
$267,810
These figures cover general medical and surgical hospitals of every size. Rural hospitals often pay less than city hospitals. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Has recruited nurses or allied health staff, ideally people who had to move for the job
Knows hospital compliance work: license checks, exclusion screening and employee health files
Keeps medical, investigation and pay information private, even in a town where everyone knows everyone
Can look into a patient's complaint about an employee with the CNO and compliance officer, and keep a careful record
Builds ties with nursing programs, high schools and community colleges
Teach these on the job
Your HR system, payroll and license tracking tools
Your county or district civil service rules, if you're a public hospital
Your state's background check rules for health care workers
Your pay grades and the salary surveys you buy
Your travel nurse agency contracts and rate sheets
The HR director works in payroll and HR software, an applicant tracking system, a license tracking tool, the OIG exclusion database, Nursys and OSHA's online injury filing site. Tell candidates whether HR also runs payroll and employee health, since that changes the workload a lot.
Hospital director of human resources interview questions
They have their own page: 6 questions that test this job, what strong and weak answers sound like, and a work exercise to run with your finalists.
Base the hiring and turnover targets on last year's numbers, and agree on the nursing ones with the CNO.
Time to fill for nursing roles
Days from approved opening to accepted offer for RN and LPN jobs. Track start dates too, since rural hires who have to move can take weeks to arrive.
First-year turnover
Count everyone hired in a year who is gone by their first anniversary, against all hires that year, by department, shift and whether they moved here. Code exit reasons.
Licenses and certifications current
The share of required licenses, certifications and basic life support cards that are current on the first of each month, with any lapse reported the same day.
Agency and traveler spend
Agency and travel staff cost each pay period by department, next to the open jobs it covers, so the CFO and CNO see what each opening costs.
Employee engagement score
Survey results by department, with response rates shown. Where a department is tiny, roll it into a larger group so answers stay anonymous.
Career path
HR assistant or payroll specialistLearns hospital pay rules, benefits enrollment and personnel files.
HR generalist or recruiterHandles hiring, onboarding and benefits questions at a hospital or clinic.
Director of Human ResourcesRuns HR for every department of a rural hospital, nurses to cooks.
Vice president of human resourcesMoves to a health system's HR team, often over several hospitals.
When can a hospital require TB tests and other health checks?
After a job offer, not before. Under the ADA you may require medical exams and health questions once you make a conditional offer, as long as everyone starting in the same job category gets them. Before the offer you can't, even if you plan to look at results later. So TB screening and other health checks come after the offer and before the person starts work.
How much does a hospital director of human resources make?
Human resources managers who work for general medical and surgical hospitals earned a median of $144,100 a year ($69.28 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $117,200 and $182,280 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
Are employee referral bonuses allowed in a hospital?
A bonus for an employee whose friend gets hired as a nurse is a reward for recruiting, not for patient business. Keep it that way. In federal health programs, paying anything of value for patient referrals is a crime. Never tie anyone's bonus to admissions, tests or patient referrals. Have a healthcare lawyer review any referral bonus plan before you launch it.
How can a rural hospital use fewer travel nurses?
Start with the openings that cost the most to cover. Offer local nurses the schedules travelers get, build a path from aide to LPN to RN with a nearby school, and line up housing help for recruits who have to move. Track travel spend next to each opening so leaders see what waiting costs.
Should HR or the CNO lead nurse recruiting?
Both. The CNO knows which shifts and skills are missing and should meet every finalist. HR runs the pipeline: postings, school ties, referrals, offers, license and exclusion checks, and the start date. Agree on who calls candidates back and how fast, because nurses with several offers take the first good one.
