Job overview
Are you a passionate nurse looking to transition into a leadership and education-focused role? Cedar Ward is seeking a Practice Facilitator to join our outstanding Acute Surgical Unit (ASU). You will act as a bedside clinical expert, leading high-standard care while driving the professional development of our nursing team. Reporting to the Band 7 Practice Educator, you will bridge the gap between clinical excellence and educational growth, supporting staff development, managing operational issues, and deputising in complex or emergency situations.
Cedar Ward is a core component of the ASU—alongside Maple and Juniper—which boasts an “Outstanding” CQC rating. We specialize in heart and lung surgery, managing emergency admissions and complex lung cancer treatments. Our ward is a fast-paced environment dedicated to enhancing fast-track surgery from admission to discharge. As a leading specialist tertiary hospital, Harefield receives patients globally for sophisticated care.
In this role, you will be an integral member of the ASU Education team. Your responsibilities include facilitating study days, delivering lectures for University-accredited in-house courses, and providing resuscitation training. You will work directly at the bedside to mentor staff and students, ensuring high standards while fostering the next generation of cardiac specialists.
Interview Date: w/c 26th April 2026 (subject to change)
Main duties of the job
The post holder will be a visible leader at the bedside, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, individualized care to patients and their families. Key responsibilities include:
Clinical Leadership: Act as a role model, delivering direct and indirect patient care while supervising both qualified and unqualified staff.
Education & Assessment: Lead the ward's educational needs in the absence of the Practice Educator and act as a Practice Assessor for nursing students under the new standards.
Staff Development: Be responsible for the continuing professional development (CPD) and overall performance of staff on Cedar Ward, including conducting appraisals and 1:1s.
Service & Policy Development: Contribute to local policy implementation and participate in the Trust-wide Educator forum to share best practices.
Management Support: Assist the Ward Manager in monitoring nursing standards, conducting audits, and managing staff attendance or performance issues.
Collaboration: Work alongside the ASU education team to support staff across all surgical wards at Harefield, facilitating study days and delivering lectures for in-house courses.
Working for our organisation
Join Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, one of the UK’s busiest and most successful foundation trusts. We are a family of five renowned hospitals—Guy’s, St Thomas’, Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Royal Brompton, and Harefield—with a long and proud history of high-quality care, clinical excellence, research, and innovation.
Our values are at the heart of our culture and guide how we work:
1. Caring: We put patients first.
2. Ambitious: We innovate and strive for excellence.
3. Inclusive: We respect each other and work collaboratively.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Clinical Practice & Patient Care Working within the NMC Code of Professional Conduct, you will develop and evaluate individual patient care programmes in partnership with the multidisciplinary team. You will ensure nursing documentation meets Trust standards and apply evidence-based practice to all day-to-day clinical issues.
Education and Staff Support You will create a positive learning environment by identifying staff who require further support and arranging bedside teaching. You will facilitate staff team days, provide written feedback to learners, and ensure new staff are effectively inducted and paired with appropriate buddies or preceptors.
Quality and Risk Management You will be active in the Trust’s clinical governance framework, conducting audits to monitor care quality and actioning results to improve standards. You are responsible for identifying clinical risks and reporting incidents or complaints promptly in accordance with Trust policy.
Professional Leadership As a senior member of the team, you will manage your own professional profile while helping others develop their skills as mentors and assessors. You will also participate in the recruitment and selection of new staff, ensuring the team remains strong and patient-focused.
Person specification
Professional/ Statutory Registration
Essential criteria
4. RN1/ RN2/ RN12 or RN Child Registered Nurse on the NMC register. To hold the appropriate level for the area of speciality.
EDUCATION & QUALIFICATIONS
Essential criteria
5. BSC/1st degree (health related) or equivalent qualification/training and experience
6. Post registration qualification in or demonstrate relevant experience and competence (appropriate area of speciality)
Desirable criteria
7. Teaching Qualification or willing to work towards
Previous experience
Essential criteria
8. Previous post registration experience within the relevant specialty
9. Experience of teaching/ assessing/ supervising and/or training other healthcare professionals in a formal education or clinical setting
Desirable criteria
10. experience of change management
Skills/Knowledge/ Ability
Essential criteria
11. Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
12. Understanding of Health and Safety policies and regulations.
13. Evidence of and willingness to participate in continuing professional development
14. Understanding of professional accountability and patient advocacy
15. Leadership skills.
Desirable criteria
16. IT skills, including use of EPR systems
Additional Information
Essential criteria
17. Ability to work within a team and independently.
18. Flexible Able to work to pressure
19. Punctual Reliable work attendance record
20. Clean, tidy professional appearance
Guy’s and St Thomas’ celebrates, respects and values the diversity of its staff and patients. We review our policies, procedures and practices to ensure that all employees, patients and carers are treated equitable according to their needs. We are actively committed to ensuring that no one who applies for a job, works or study’s at the Trust, or accesses our services is discriminated against on the grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, religion or belief, age, gender identity, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity/paternity, or marital/civil partnership.