Job overview
We are seeking an experienced, dynamic, and compassionate leader to join our 0-19 Children's Community Universal Service as the Lead Nurse. This is an exciting opportunity to shape and transform community services for children, young people and families while leading high-quality, integrated care across the system.
As part of the senior leadership team, you will drive strategic priorities, lead key transformation programmes, particularly the Universal Service redesign, and work collaboratively with NHS and Local Authority partners to improve outcomes and reduce health inequalities. You will also deputise for the Head of Nursing and provide visible professional leadership across the Directorate.
We are looking for a motivated leader with strong experience in operational management, workforce leadership, service improvement, financial oversight and partnership working. The successful candidate will be an excellent communicator, able to lead change, inspire teams, and deliver results in a complex environment.
This role offers an excellent opportunity to further develop strategic leadership experience within a supportive and ambitious team committed to innovation, collaboration and continuous improvement. We welcome applications from candidates from all backgrounds and are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce.
Main duties of the job
The successful candidate will provide expert nursing leadership and strategic oversight for Health Visiting and School Nursing services across the Trust. They will lead key programmes of work, collaborating with stakeholders to deliver high-quality, integrated, and family-centred services for children and young people.
The post holder will lead on clinical governance, patient safety, risk management and quality improvement, working closely with the Evelina Lead for Quality and Safety to support delivery of the Trust’s patient safety strategy. They will ensure that children, young people and families are actively involved in shaping services and that robust quality indicators and KPIs are used to improve outcomes.
Working alongside the Head of Nursing, General Manager, and Clinical Director, the post holder will drive service development and transformation, using improvement methodologies and data to identify opportunities for innovation and prepare business cases where appropriate.
The role also includes working in partnership with commissioners and system partners to develop effective and sustainable care pathways, ensuring children and families receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time.
Working for our organisation
The Children’s Community Services Directorate forms part of the renowned Evelina London Children's Hospital Clinical Group, delivering a wide range of high-quality community health services to more than 121,000 children and young people across Lambeth and Southwark. Our services are designed to support children, young people and families from pregnancy through adolescence, improving health outcomes and reducing inequalities across our diverse communities.
Our universal services include health visiting, school nursing, nutrition and dietetics, and the newborn hearing screening programme. Alongside these, we provide a broad range of specialist services, including community paediatrics, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, complex needs nursing, sickle cell services and audiology. We also deliver key statutory services, including safeguarding, child protection, looked-after children services, and adoption and fostering support.
Care is delivered across a wide range of community settings to ensure services are accessible, responsive and family-centred. While our main bases are the Mary Sheridan Centre in Lambeth and Sunshine House in Southwark, our teams work extensively in schools, children’s centres, community venues, family homes and, where appropriate, hospital settings.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The Lead Nurse – 0–19 Universal Services will work closely with a wide range of multidisciplinary colleagues and system partners, including the Director of Nursing, Clinical Director, General Managers, Service Managers, nursing and allied health professional teams, corporate and administrative colleagues, and commissioners across the NHS and Local Authorities in Lambeth and Southwark. This role offers the opportunity to influence service strategy, strengthen partnerships and lead transformational change across integrated children’s services.
For full details of the role and responsibilities, please refer to the attached job description and person specification.
Person specification
Qualifications/ Education Professional/ Statutory Registration
Essential criteria
1. RN1 or RN Child Registered Nurse on the NMC register. To hold the appropriate level for the area of speciality.
2. BSc/1st degree (health related) or equivalent qualification/training and experience
3. Specialist Practitioner qualification in Children’s Community Nursing
4. Broad clinical experience relevant to the post.
5. A proven track record of operational service management at a senior level in Children’s Community nursing including staff management, financial management and change management.
6. A good understanding of the changing NHS environment.
7. Evidence of ongoing professional development.
Desirable criteria
8. Leadership qualification
9. Master’s Level qualification or equivalent experience
10. RCA training
11. Teaching and Assessing course
Previous experience
Essential criteria
12. Demonstrable levels of recent experience at Band 8a leading a Community Nursing team
13. Proven management & leadership roles.
14. Experience of managing groups of staff including the management of poor performance
15. Experience and competence in the use of data systems.
16. Experience of working across professions and change management skills.
17. Able to produce and present high quality written reports and presentations for Evelina Executive.
18. A proven track record of operational service management at a senior level in community children’s nursing, including staff management, financial management and change management.
19. Proven ability to analyse complex problems and to lead strategy development.
20. Able to develop and successfully implement solutions with measurable KPI’s.
21. A strong sense of personal and team accountability coupled with a clear understanding of the boundaries around delegated authority.
Desirable criteria
22. Experience of working across an organisation
23. Experience of leading change Management
24. Evidence of research activity or utilisation
25. Experience of representing the profession / organisation at national level.
Skills/Knowledge/ Ability
Essential criteria
26. Ability to effectively prioritise work within a busy environment with multiple demands.
27. Ability to build and lead an effective integrated team.
28. Able to successfully lead significant change
29. Ability to influence and negotiate with colleagues to achieve change locally and nationally.
30. Ability to competently and confidently handle, analyse and present data.
31. Excellent communication & interpersonal skills, Organisational and problem solving skills
32. Knowledge of contemporary issues appropriate to the specialist area locally and nationally.
33. Understanding of development business plans relating to nursing workforce.
34. The ability to develop and maintain standards, initiate and lead evidence based practice.
35. A commitment to improving patient services through an ability to sustain a clear performance focus on achieving demanding goals.
36. Able to translate complex strategic demands into measurable goals.
37. Ability to think and plan strategically, tactically and creatively, and to prioritise work programs in the face of competing demands.
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.