Band 9
Main area
Director
Grade
Band 9
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time hours per week
Job ref
Site
Carew House
Town
Bodmin
Salary
£109,179 - £125,637 Per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
12/10/2025 23:59
Thank you for your interest in joining us at Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
We pride ourselves in striving to be an employer of choice.
Strategic Themes
Great Care
* Care based on what matters to people.
* Care provided at home or close to home.
* Improvement through learning, research and innovation.
* Prevention and alternatives to hospital.
Great Organisation
* Buildings that support health and wellbeing.
* Technology enabled care.
* Care teams are supported by responsive corporate services.
* Safe, efficient, effective and productive.
Great People
* A place people love to work and feel valued.
* Living our values with staff (all voices count).
* Attract, grow and develop talent.
* Leaders with compassion, who continuously learn and listen.
Great Partner
* Encourage and enable effective partnerships.
* Joined-up community services.
* Work with others to maximise workforce opportunities.
* Reduce our impact on the environment.
At the NHS, we are reminded every day of how important life is. As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that's job share, part time or another flexible pattern. In addition, although the role advertised may have a 'home' office base indicated, we remain committed to supporting flexibility around workplace locations. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.
The successful applicant will be an NHS employee and may therefore have contact with vulnerable service users. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been necessary to take significant steps to protect the health and safety of our staff, service users and those attending our sites. Unless exempt, we encourage and support staff to be vaccinated as this remains the best line of defence against COVID-19.
Job overview
Are you an inspirational nursing leader ready to shape the future of community and mental health care in Cornwall?
We're seeking a Director of Nursing to provide strategic and professional leadership across our Nursing and Allied Health Professions. Reporting to the Dual Chief Nursing Officer (CFT & RCHT), you'll drive quality, safety, and patient experience initiatives, champion compassionate leadership, and lead transformational change across adult and children's community services, mental health, and learning disability services.
This is a pivotal role, ideal for someone with a strong track record in senior NHS leadership, passionate about equity, innovation, and delivering outstanding care.
Interviews will take place on Monday 20th October.
This job is currently only open to people who already work for the NHS in Cornwall or the Isles of Scilly.
We are committed to supporting our dedicated staff, so only current employees of the following organisations can apply:
* Cornwall Foundation Trust
* Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust
* Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board
If you do not currently work for one of these NHS organisations, your application will not be considered at this time.
Main duties of the job
The Director of Nursing is responsible for the professional leadership of the Nursing and Allied Health Professions (AHP) in CFT. They will have delegated responsibility for the delivery of the Trust's safety; quality improvement and patient experience priorities. They will also be expected to lead on some priorities across the Trust both providers and or system (Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board ‐ CIOS) as agreed by the Dual Chief Nursing Officer.
The role will require close working with our associate directors, matrons and heads of nursing / integrated professions to ensure that professional standards are met and maintained and that the delivery of care is recovery focused, patient centred and to the highest quality. Confident, compassionate and competent practitioners are paramount.
As a senior leader you will attend the Executive Team and the Board and act as a strong role model for all colleagues by demonstrating credibility and visibility, strong commitment to improving practice, celebrating success and encouraging creativity, innovation and excellence.
Working for our organisation
We're an NHS community and mental health provider Trust based in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. We deliver community and hospital-based care to improve people's physical and mental health. We also provide specialist support to people with dementia or a learning disability.
We are a people organisation and people matter to us. As part of the team, you'll help support the health and wellbeing of the people who live and visit this beautiful part of the UK.
Over 4,000 people make up the Trust. This includes doctors, nurses, therapists, plus admin and support staff.
We work in people's homes, in community clinics and bases. Some staff work from one of our 13 community hospitals. Our aspiration is to have great people, provide great care, be a great place to work and a great partner.
Approximately 568,000 people live here. A third of people who live in Cornwall are supported by acute hospital services in Devon. As a result, we also work closely with our partners in Devon. In the summer, and during other holidays lots of people choose to visit the area. This increase the numbers of people who use out services.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
To view a detailed job description and person specification including the main responsibilities of this role please see 'supporting documents'.
Person specification
Education, Qualifications and Relevant Experience
Essential criteria
* Registered Nurse with evidence of extensive complex health organisation knowledge
* Experience of working within community services, and/or mental health, learning disability or forensic settings
* Masters degree in relevant subject area or equivalent experience
* Breadth of experience of working at board or sub board level in an NHS or care organisation
* Knowledge of safeguarding, risk management, governance, and patient/carer collaboration within a regulated environment
Desirable criteria
* Doctorate in relevant subject area
Skills and Aptitude
Essential criteria
* Skilled in strategic thinking and able to translate strategy into action, articulating and adjusting to fit the audience
* Highly developed leadership, negotiation and influencing skills with the ability to motivate, challenge and engage individuals and teams
* Ability to set out a clear strategic direction, motivate others and assume a leadership position, together with an ability to transfer strategic objectives into deliverable operational plans
* Ability to develop effective working relationships with partners and influence a range of internal and external stakeholders, bringing about positive change
At Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust we are proud to prioritise the development of our people. To support this, the following opportunities are available:
* Career conversations and individual development plans for succession planning and talent management
* Protected CPD time for registered staff
* Access to a dedicated central development fund supporting CPD for all staff
* Leadership and Management development programmes
* Coaching and mentoring opportunities
* A full clinical induction programme for operational skills
* Access to a care certificate programme for our band 1-4 clinical staff
* A bespoke and robust preceptorship programme to support newly qualified staff
* Individual professional development programmes
Being part of a successful NHS Foundation Trust brings a portfolio of rewards and benefits for our staff. These include:
* Suite of health and wellbeing initiatives to support our colleagues physical and mental health
* Free access to individual HARP portfolios to support revalidation for nursing staff
* Free DBS checks where required
* Discounts available from retailers, UK hotels and main attractions
* NHS Pension Scheme
* Salary sacrifice car scheme
* Cycle to work scheme
* The Trust reimburses all application costs for staff eligible to apply for EU settlement status.
The Trust reserves the right to close this advert once a sufficient number of applications have been submitted. It is encouraged that you complete the application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.
If you are successful at the shortlisting stage of the recruitment process you will be contacted via email regarding interview details.
Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust welcomes and values individuals with lived experience of mental or physical ill health joining our workforce. We aspire to have a culture that develops, promotes and supports lived experience roles - throughout the organisation.
If you are successful, you agree to Occupational Health accessing your health records from your current or previous employer to check the status of your inoculations and screening tests. Appointments are subject to full three year satisfactory references therefore please ensure you include correct contact details for your nominated referees including email addresses.
Any general recruitment queries, please contact our recruitment team on