Divisional Director of Nursing for Medicine and Emergency Care
Divisional Director of Nursing - Medicine & Emergency Care (Secondment - 6 Months)
Division: MEC
Band: 9
Interviews: 6th February 2026
We are seeking an exceptional senior nursing leader for a secondment as DDN for MEC
The role is central to our ambition to deliver the Best of Care by the Best People ensuring that MEC services are safe, compassionate, responsive and well-led even during sustained operational pressure
The postholder will provide strong, visible, and credible professional leadership across acute medicine, emergency care & associated services with a focus on patient safety, quality improvement, workforce leadership & regulatory compliance
This is a hands on strategic leadership role, requiring presence, grip and the ability to lead complex improvement programmes while supporting and developing senior nursing leaders and multidisciplinary teams
You will be
* A senior registered nurse with significant leadership experience at the divisional, director or equivalent level
* Credible, visible and confident in leading in high-pressure clinical environments including emergency and acute care
* Experienced in quality improvement, patient safety, regulatory compliance and governance
* Values-driven, compassionate and committed to developing people and improving patient experience
* Able to balance operational reality with professional standards, providing calm decisive leadership during periods of challenge and change
Main duties of the job
Key Responsibilities
As Divisional Director of Nursing, you will:
* Provide professional and clinical leadership for nursing and allied health professional staff across the Medicine & Emergency Care Division.
* Lead and assure delivery of high-quality, safe and person-centred care, ensuring that the fundamentals of care are consistently delivered.
* Maintain and strengthen compliance with CQC regulations, including ongoing delivery of improvement actions relating to patient safety, dignity, medicines optimisation and flow.
* Act as a key divisional leader for quality, patient safety and experience, embedding learning from incidents, complaints, audits and mortality reviews.
* Work closely with the Divisional Director of Operations and Divisional Medical Director as part of the divisional triumvirate, providing balanced leadership across quality, performance and workforce.
* Ensure clinical competence, professional standards and workforce capability are maintained and developed, including education, training and succession planning.
* Lead and support a positive, inclusive and psychologically safe culture where staff feel able to raise concerns and contribute to improvement.
* Contribute to Trust-wide nursing and quality strategy, including delivery of the Professional Nursing Agenda and stabilisation and improvement priorities
About us
Accountability
* Professionally accountable to the Chief Nursing Officer for professional nursing standards, quality and the development of nursing services within the Division.
* Operationally accountable to the Divisional Director of Operations.
* Works closely with Trust executive colleagues and corporate teams to ensure alignment between divisional delivery and Trust priorities
Why Join Us?
This secondment offers a unique opportunity to:
* Lead one of the Trust's most complex and high-impact clinical divisions.
* Make a tangible difference to patient safety, experience and staff wellbeing.
* Work closely with an engaged executive team committed to improvement, transparency and learning.
* Further develop your executive leadership capability in a visible, influential role.
Job responsibilities
Key Responsibilities
As Divisional Director of Nursing, you will:
* Provide professional and clinical leadership for nursing and allied health professional staff across the Medicine & Emergency Care Division.
* Lead and assure delivery of high-quality, safe and person-centred care, ensuring that the fundamentals of care are consistently delivered.
* Maintain and strengthen compliance with CQC regulations, including ongoing delivery of improvement actions relating to patient safety, dignity, medicines optimisation and flow.
* Act as a key divisional leader for quality, patient safety and experience, embedding learning from incidents, complaints, audits and mortality reviews.
* Work closely with the Divisional Director of Operations and Divisional Medical Director as part of the divisional triumvirate, providing balanced leadership across quality, performance and workforce.
* Ensure clinical competence, professional standards and workforce capability are maintained and developed, including education, training and succession planning.
* Lead and support a positive, inclusive and psychologically safe culture where staff feel able to raise concerns and contribute to improvement.
* Contribute to Trust-wide nursing and quality strategy, including delivery of the Professional Nursing Agenda and stabilisation and improvement priorities
Person Specification
Qualifications
* Educated to Masters level or equivalent experience
* Professionally trained managerially either via a recognised management qualification or a recognised professional development programme
* Evidence of continued professional development
Knowledge
* Knowledge of finance & HR Policies and Procedures in the NHS
* Clear understanding of transformation programmes and service development and improvement
* Extensive specialist knowledge of the NHS & Social Care, equivalenet to doctorate level, including infrastructure and arrangements at national, regional and local levels
* Up-to-date knowledge of NHS system reform policy and other key policy drivers. (Performance Management, operating Framework, capacity planning, payment by results, independent sector development and Foundation Trust issues)
Experience
* Extensive experience in effective and supportive people management
* Expert working knowledge of performance management techniques and of using Business Intelligence solutions to work within a performance management framework
* Demonstrable and extensive experience of working at a Divisional Management Director level
* Extensive and broad ranging experience leading multiple clinical services
* Demonstrable, significant experience in implementing innovative clinically led services
* Evidence to support programme of personal and professional development
* Proven experience of successfully managing divisional-wide budgets and delivery of Trust-wide productivity and efficiency programmes
* Proven experience of leading change through people, by effective and engaging leadership
* Demonstrated capability to act upon incomplete information, using experience to make inferences and decision making.
Skills
* Demonstrable ability in inter-agency communication and negotiation; including collaborative working
* Ability to analyse highly complex and contentious issues where material is conflicting and drawn from multiple sources.
* Extensive demonstrable experience of strategic planning across divisions
* Ability to analyse numerical and written data, assess options and draw appropriate initiatives Leadership, vision, strategic thinking and planning with highly developed political skills
* Demonstrable ability in implementing change and evaluation (in complex and changing environments to deliver sustainable services)
* Ability to communicate highly complex, sensitive or contentious information orally and in writing, both internally and externally, to a range of audiences
* Ability to prepare and deliver presentations and reports to a high standard (Board level quality)
* Ability to analyse and interpret highly complex information and to make judgements regarding a range of highly complex management issues
* Ability to plan, manage, adjust and deliver complex projects, involving multiple agencies and individuals and a broad range of activities, to tight deadlines
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
£109,179 to £125,637 a yearper annum/pro rata
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