Senior sister / senior charge nurse

Leading your team in a fast‑moving and variable environment, this essential role in the collection of blood and blood products will directly contribute to saving and improving patients’ lives.

Our donors are very special people, and it is your job to make sure they feel safe, special and well‑cared for, creating an experience that they will want to return to time and time again. Without our donors we cannot ensure and deliver a safe and sufficient blood supply to hospitals. Your work links directly to saving and improving patients’ lives every day.

Your leadership skills are key to ensuring the blood your team collects is safe for the patient and the giving of their donation is safe for the donors – a unique challenge.

As part of the selection process, you will be invited to attend a blood donation session to gain an understanding of the requirements of this essential role.

You will undertake an extensive induction and training programme, with ongoing assessment, and receive ongoing development to support you in your role and to develop your leadership and management skills.

The majority of the role is worked in a standard Monday‑to‑Friday daytime pattern, but you may have to cover sessions on occasion, which may finish at 21:00 and could include a rare bank holiday or weekend day.

Main duties of the job

You will lead, manage and motivate a team of Healthcare Assistants, Donor Care Supervisors and Sister/Charge Nurses to deliver and maintain high standards of care to our donors and to meet our regulatory and governance requirements.

• Take clinical accountability and operational responsibility for ensuring the safe collection of blood products.
• Lead by example, promoting our core values and behaviours to deliver an excellent donation experience.
• Oversee and maintain the competency and skills of your team and yourself.
• Motivate your team to promote continuous improvement and staff development.
• Collaborate with a range of stakeholders to effectively plan and resource blood collection sessions.
• Work variable hours and cover blood collection sessions as needed. This may include evenings, weekends and bank holidays. Night shifts are not required in this role.

About us

It takes all types of people to deliver the kind of service that saves and improves lives. At NHS Blood and Transplant, you’ll join a team of more than 6,000 people who are making a genuine difference to communities, families, friends, relatives and more across the UK.

Our core values – Caring, Expert and Quality – guide and inspire everything we do. We strive to be caring, expertly meet the needs of our patients and people, and accept nothing less than the best quality.

We are committed to an inclusive workplace that reflects the diverse communities we serve and encourage applications from all sectors of the community.

Benefits

• Flexible working options – we promote flexible working where the role allows. We’re happy to discuss what flexibility might look like for you.
• Generous annual leave – 27 days annual leave (pro rata for part‑time) plus Bank Holidays, increasing to 29 days after 5 years’ service and to 33 days after 10 years.
• Inclusive pension scheme – the NHS Pension Scheme is a defined benefit scheme (not dependent on investment returns). Further details and outline of benefits can be found at: http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/information-about-nhs-pensions
• Supportive learning culture – we’ve fostered a culture of continuous learning where colleagues are well‑led, engaged and encouraged to grow. Our Thrive programme embodies our commitment to learning and development, offering a wide range of activities to support your personal and professional growth.
• Health and wellbeing support – we offer confidential services including occupational health, employee assistance programme and wellbeing resources. We endeavour to provide tailored workplace adjustments where possible.

Disability Confident Employer: We welcome applications from disabled candidates and will discuss adjustments that may help during the recruitment process.

Next Steps

This vacancy will close on 23:59 on Sunday 28 June 2026.

The assessment process for this role will include a single in‑person interview and a donation session tour.

Interviews are anticipated to be held on the afternoon of Wednesday 8 July 2026, subject to confirmation.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse with current Nursing and Midwifery Council registration (which must be maintained) as Registered Nurse Adult.
• Hold a full and valid UK driving licence with no more than 6 points.
• Evidence of continuous professional development.

Experience

• Experience of using Microsoft Office and iOS to prepare documents, deliver presentations and communicate.
• Experience of leadership and management in a clinical environment.
• Experience of recognising and implementing improvements and change management.
• Experience in monitoring and evaluation standards of clinical care and an understanding of clinical audit and research.
• Experience of initiating and supporting the professional development of colleagues.
• Experience of working to performance objectives and organisational targets.
• Awareness of patient safety initiatives and risk management.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and a submission for Disclosure will be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Salary: £49,387 to £56,515 a year, plus High Cost Area Supplement.