Head of Nursing Clinical Quality and Improvement
Band 8d
Main area Head of Nursing - Corporate Services Grade Band 8d Contract Permanent Hours
37.5 hours per week (Full Time or Part Time / Flexible working hours may be considered)
* Full time
* Part time
* Flexible working
Salary £91,342 - £105,337 p.a. pro rata
Employer Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Site Addenbrooke’s Hospital-Corporate | Town Cambridge
Job ref 180-F-257194
Job overview
The Head of Nursing for Clinical Quality and Improvement is an integral member of the Quality and Safety team, working collaboratively to ensure the delivery of consistently high-quality care across the organisation. In this role, a key responsibility is to provide assurance from ward to board, establishing transparent and robust processes that demonstrate the organisation’s commitment to exceptional standards at every level.
A central focus is on fostering harm-free care, actively supporting initiatives that reduce incidents and ensure patient safety is prioritised throughout all clinical areas. The Head of Nursing for Clinical Quality and Improvement also plays a pivotal part in driving accreditation efforts and supporting the organisation’s journey along the Pathway to Excellence, embedding recognised best practices and celebrating achievements as milestones of progress.
By championing a culture of continuous improvement, this position encourages innovation and ongoing learning, ensuring that the values of quality, safety, and excellence are deeply rooted and continually enhanced across all teams and services. The Head of Nursing for Clinical Quality and Improvement is tasked with leading the development and integration of quality initiatives, applying data and insights to drive consistent, incremental enhancements in clinical care. This approach establishes an organisational environment where exemplary patient outcomes and collective achievement are the standard.
Main duties of the job
* Establish and maintain ward to board oversight and assurance, ensuring robust governance and visibility of clinical quality and safety at all organisational levels.
* Lead on the Pathway to Excellence fostering a culture that prioritises positive staff experience and continuous improvement, and empowering teams to deliver their very best for patients and each other.
* Champion and deliver consistently harm-free care every day, with a clear focus on the prevention of falls, hospital-acquired pressure ulcers (HAPUs) and other avoidable incidents embedding a culture where patient safety and the reduction of harm are at the heart of practice.
* Work collaboratively with the Quality and Safety team to establish a unified approach to monitoring and enhancing clinical standards.
* Actively contribute to the design and implementation of quality improvement projects, using evidence, feedback and digital resources to inform decision-making and drive continuous improvement.
* Foster a culture of continuous learning and innovation, encouraging team members at all levels to share experiences and insights that shape better outcomes and embed accreditation standards in daily practice.
* Promote open, constructive communication within multidisciplinary groups, ensuring collective expertise is leveraged to deliver safe and high-quality care.
* Collaborate with nursing teams, clinicians and other stakeholders to triangulate information from multiple sources for a comprehensive understanding of care quality.
Working for our organisation
Come Nurse with us…
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest teaching Trusts in the country. It comprises Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the Rosie Hospital. We provide accessible high-quality healthcare for the local people of Cambridge and regional and national specialist services. It’s a great place to nurse, work and live.
You will work on a vibrant hospital campus with a friendly community feel; we have excellent facilities to practise your skills and abilities to support your career pathway and development. Our values of Together – Safe, Kind, Excellent support the delivery of outstanding care. We have a fully electronic patient record system that is improving health-care quality; this is transforming services, improving patient safety and clinical outcomes.
Why choose Cambridge University Hospitals?
• Our values and reputation for outstanding care
• Opportunities to experience a range of specialities
• Career and development opportunities
• Preceptorship and mentoring programmes delivered by a dedicated clinical education support team
• Research experience and opportunities
• Lovely location and quality of life
• Excellent schools/colleges and transport links (road, rail and air)
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the attached Applicant Information Pack (combined Job Description and Person Specification) for key duties and responsibilities.
Due to Home Office immigration rules, a full time permanent vacancy cannot be filled by individuals on a Student visa. Therefore, please be advised that if you are a Student visa holder, we will not be able to offer you a full time permanent contract unless you have: a) applied for a Graduate visa; b) or you will have successfully completed your course and have applied for a Graduate visa before the anticipated start date of your employment; c) or the Trust has agreed that they will sponsor you as a Skilled Worker and you will complete your studies within 3 months of the anticipated start.
For NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough based roles, all applicants from NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough who have identified that they are at risk of redundancy will be prioritised over those not at risk. However, interviews cannot be guaranteed.
This vacancy will close at midnight on 18 September 2025
Interviews are due to be held on 1 October 2025
Benefits
Benefits to you
We offer development opportunities and a wide range of benefits, including on-site leisure facilities, shopping concourse and day nurseries. Our good work programme includes reduced-cost Stagecoach bus travel to and from the Cambridge University Hospital site, free Park and Ride between Babraham Road and Trumpington, and free routes to Cambridge train station and our hospitals. We also subsidise parking on site for eligible staff.
On CUH campus, hot food is available 24/7 at a reduced cost. We launched staff pod break spaces in the Deakin Centre, including a colleague-only café with free tea/coffee, a break space and private outside area.
CUH is committed to supporting good work-life balance with flexible arrangements such as part-time working, job-share, term-time working and flexible start/end times. Please discuss hours with the contact. We welcome applications from Armed Forces.
Person specification
Qualifications
* Educated to Master’s level or equivalent leadership experience.
* Formal Quality Improvement qualification, or relevant experience
* Registered Nurse (NMC)
* Evidence of continuous professional development
* Teaching or mentoring qualification
* Postgraduate management or similar relevant qualification or experience
Experience
* Significant NHS senior clinical experience in acute hospital settings.
* Extensive experience in governance, compliance, or risk management at a senior level within a large or complex healthcare organization.
* Significant experience in clinical quality, assurance, and change management, demonstrating a strong record of leading improvements in clinical standards and patient outcomes.
* Have a demonstrable track record of improving quality or reducing risk
* Have experience of successfully managing healthcare related accreditation or inspection requirements (particularly CQC)
* Significant experience of managing staff
* Experience of formal and informal teaching and mentoring
* Experience of leading or supporting patient safety investigation processes.
* Experience in trust board development
* Experience of undertaking patient accreditation/regulatory visits
Knowledge
* Extensive knowledge of NHS clinical governance systems and statutory frameworks.
* Knowledge of national and international standards related to the speciality
* Budgetary management and business planning; including workforce planning.
* Quality Improvement models & Experience of interpreting Statistical Process Control charts
* Understanding of patient safety principles of systems thinking, psychological safety, and just culture
* Understanding of patient safety, quality improvement, and clinical risk.
* Familiarity with NHSE’s Well-Led Framework and CQC inspection standards.
* The commissioning process, Quality Account requirements
Skills
* Collaborative, with excellent influencing and communication skills.
* Politically astute and emotionally intelligent.
* Strong analytical skills with the ability to understand issues rapidly and explain them clearly and succinctly
* Proven interpersonal skills with the ability to influence change in a rapidly changing environment
* High level report writing
* Able to establish positive relationships and mutual respect with people at all levels, including patients, services users and carers
Additional Requirements
* The ability to understand and behave at all times, towards patients, visitors and colleagues according to the Trust values of safe, kind, excellent.
* Embodies the NHS Constitution and Trust values.
* Demonstrates integrity, transparency, and a commitment to improvement.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Name Darren Darby
Job title Deputy Chief Nurse
Email address darren.darby4@nhs.net
Telephone number 01223 257143
Additional information
Darren's PA: Mandy Todd - amanda.todd11@nhs.net
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