Weare pleased to be able to recruit to the role of Director of Nursing (DoN) atLeeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, and warmly welcome applications fromexperienced nursing and midwifery leaders who are passionate about theprofession, valuing high standards of patient care, workforce development andinnovation.
Therole of the Director of Nursing is to provide support to the Trust Heads ofNursing and Midwifery within the Clinical Service Units (CSUs), developingcapacity and capability within these teams whilst providing support for thedaily operational management of the hospital.
Togetherwith the Chief Nurse (CN) and Deputy Chief Nurse (DCN) they will lead thedevelopment and implementation of quality initiatives to improve patientoutcomes and patient satisfaction. In realising this ambition, the DoN willensure that there are structures in place to support the engagement ofclinical staff across the organisation to deliver effective and efficientservices to our patients. They will develop a culture that encouragesexcellence in clinical practice, facilitates team working and multiprofessional care delivery.
Expected ShortlistingDate
24/03/2026
Planned InterviewDate
02/04/2026
Main duties of the job
Provideexpert leadership, knowledge, and advice to all areas of the portfolio.
Workingclosely with the DCN and Heads of Nursing, the post holder will be pivotal inensuring the provision of an effective, high quality nursing service and willadvise on nursing standards and practice within available resources, takingfull regard of all professional views and facilitating the development ofclinical strategies that ensure the Trusts continued success.
TheDoN will work with the DCN and wider Nursing, Midwifery and Allied HealthProfessional Leadership team to lead the nursing, midwifery, and AlliedHealth Professional workforce to aspire towards excellence through developingand valuing our talented workforce.
TheDoN will support the delivery of our strategic Quality objectives, supportedby our values which set the standards of behaviour for all staff, activelypromoting a culture aligned to our values.
TheDCN will work with the Deputy Director of Operations and Deputy MedicalDirector of Operations to provide professional support and oversight of CSUsoverseen by the portfolio.
About us
LeedsTeaching Hospitals Trust is a large and complex organisation, providingservices from five sites, serving the large and diverse population of Leeds.We employ approximately 22,000 staff, who are dedicated to the LeedsImprovement Method and our Leeds Way Values.
Weare committed to providing the best care possible, ensuring research,innovation and quality improvement methodology is engrained in everything wedo. Our facilities are some of the best in the country.
Thanksto the continued extraordinary efforts of our staff we remain one of the topperforming health providers in the country. It has never been more evidentthat, to provide excellent care to our patients, we must also provideexcellent support to the people who work within the Trust to deliver ouraspirations for excellence.
LeedsTeaching Hospitals is committed to our process of redeploying 'at risk'members of our existing workforce to new roles. As such, all our job advertsare subject to this policy and we reserve the right to close, delay or removeadverts while this process is completed. If you do experience a delay in theshortlisting stage of the recruitment cycle, please bear with us while thisprocess is completed, and contact the named contact if you have anyquestions.
Job responsibilities
TheDirector of Nursing as a key member of the Chief Nurse team will:
provide professional leadershipacross the Trust to Heads of Nursing and Midwifery within the ClinicalService Units (CSUs) developing capacity and capability within theseteams.
through their professionalleadership be responsible for the implementation of relevant national andTrust nursing and midwifery policies and clinical practice standards in theCSUs to secure continuous improvement in the patient experience.
be responsible for ensuring thatwhere nursing and midwifery practice standards fall short of requiredstandards CSUs teams are held to account ensuring appropriate plans andsupport are in place to secure improvement.
ensure that nursing and midwiferycontribute to the development and delivery of the Trust vision, StrategicObjectives and Business Plan and their delivery on a daily basis.
provide support for the dailyoperational management of the hospital ensuring appropriate sharing of staffresources across CSUs to provide safe care for all patients.
Jobdimensions:
TheDirector of Nursing provides professional leadership to Heads of Nursing andMidwifery, Matrons and Nursing and Midwifery Staff within 19 CSUs.
TheLeeds Way Values:
Ourvalues are part of what make us different from other trusts, so we see thisas a strength, as well as a responsibility. They have been developed by ourstaff and set out what they see as important to how we work. Our five values are:
Accountable
Empowered
Allour actions and endeavours will be guided and evaluated through these values.
Principalduties and areas of responsibility:
Lead in operational issues as partof COO team
Professional Leadership
TheDirector of Nursing provides visible and accessible professional leadershipacross the Trust to Heads of Nursing and Midwifery within the ClinicalService Units (CSUs) developing capacity and capability within these teams.The Director of Nursing is a key member of the Chief Nurse team and one ofthree key posts supporting the Chief Nurse.
TheDirector of Nursing will:
ensure that at all levels withinthe CSUs there is clear and visible nursing leadership that is botheffective and meaningful to staff and patients and provide assurance to theChief Nurse in this regard.
be responsible for the provision ofprofessional nursing advice to Heads of Nursing within the CSUs ensuing thatHeads of Nursing and Midwifery adhere to the N&M standards requiredwithin the Trust.
be responsible as required fordecisions at final stages of discipline, grievance and performance cases forN&M staff across the Trust.
where required attend professionalforums and committees within the Trust on behalf of the Chief Nurse.
Support CSUs in the delivery ofappropriate staffing levels to provide safe cover to patients and beresponsible for the deployment of nursing staff between CSUs.
contribute to CSU performancemanagement
oversee and approve nursingestablishments and budgets across the Trust.
be responsible for the developmentand implementation of the nursing component of Trust wide operationalpolicies and procedures
Patient Care, Safety and ExperienceThe Director of Nursing is:
responsible through theirprofessional leadership for ensuring the implementation in CSUs of relevantnational and Trust nursing and midwifery policies and clinical practicestandards to secure continuous improvement in the patient experience.
responsible for ensuring that wherenursing and midwifery practice fall short of required standards CSU teams areheld to account. The Director of Nursing is responsible for ensuringappropriate plans and support is in place to secure improvement.
responsible for ensuring that Headsof Nursing implement the Trust requirements to provide assurance againstnational quality standards regarding nursing and midwifery care.
with the other members of the ChiefNurse team be accountable and responsible for the implementation of nationalsafety and professional standards across the CSUs and ensuring that there isa documented audit trail to evidence the systems and processes taken to gainassurance. The Director of Nursing will in partnership with the MedicalDirector (Operations) be responsible for ensuring that services which areplanned and delivered meet the performance standards for quality and safetyas agreed by the Chief Nurse and CMO.
responsible for ensuring theeffective implementation and achievement of the Trust standards for systemsand processes to seek feedback, learning and improvement from patientfeedback including FFT, complaints and PALs.
responsible for promoting a cultureof openness and transparency in line with the duty of candour and that allincidents of poor nursing care and harm are investigated openly, reportedwidely and clear changes and improvements to practice are implemented withinthe agreed governance framework.
responsible for leading theimplementation on a Trust wide basis the delivery of organisationalpriorities determined by the Chief Nurse.
TheDirector of Nursing will have a regular presence in clinical areas for thepurpose of observing and assuring standards of clinical practice,communicating with clinical staff and will undertake clinical practice shiftswhere required.
Service Management and Leadership
Asa member of the COO team the Director of Nursing will ensure that nursing andmidwifery contribute to the development and delivery of the Trust vision,Strategic Objectives and Business Plan.
TheDirector of Nursing:
is responsible for leading theTrust wide development and implementation of projects relating to nursingcare and service delivery as determined by the Chief Nurse.
will ensure that quality andservice delivery information is triangulated against financial data to ensurethat CSUs are providing both a clinical and financially sustainable serviceand is responsible in partnership with the Medical Director (Operations) forensuring that all service developments are subject to a Quality ImpactAssessment.
will work with triumviratecolleagues to set appropriate budgets for services each year and will ensurethat there is a robust process in place for monitoring the compliance ofservices against these.
The Director of Nursing willparticipate in the Trust on call rota (Director on call)
Communication
TheDirector of Nursing will ensure effective communication and partnershipworking is established with the Medical Director (Operations), Deputy ChiefNurse and with Clinical Directors.
TheDirector of Nursing will develop and establish effective communicationmechanisms and forums for Nursing and Midwifery to ensure clear delivery ofoperational information to CSUs.
Therole requires the post-holder to discuss, in detail complex service-relatedinformation with senior managers, staff, and external agencies providing andreceiving highly complex, sensitive or contentious information.
Education, training anddevelopment:
TheDirector of Nursing:
is responsible through theirprofessional leadership for ensuring the implementation in CSUs of Trustnursing and midwifery policies and clinical practice standards to securecontinuous improvement in the experience of preregistration students.
is responsible for ensuring thatwhere the learning environment falls short of required standards or thestudent experience is poor appropriate plans and support are in place tosecure improvement.
will promote a culture ofcontinuous learning and development within nursing and midwifery staff withinthe Trust.
is responsible for working inpartnership with the Director of Nursing (Corporate) to ensure that theidentified training and development needs of Trust nursing and midwiferystaff are reflected in education and training commissioning.
Workforce
TheDirector of Nursing:
is responsible through theirprofessional leadership for ensuring the implementation in CSUs of relevantnational and Trust nursing and midwifery policies to secure safe andeffective nurse and midwifery staffing.
Is responsible for ensuring thatwhere nursing and midwifery staffing falls short of required policy orstandards that Heads of Nursing have appropriate plans and support are inplace to secure improvement.
is responsible for ensuringcollaborative and partnership working across CSU Heads of Nursing with regardto dealing with short and medium term staffing pressures facilitating theachievement of solutions to operational challenges where required.
is responsible for scrutinising CSUservice plans with regard to Nursing and Midwifery Staffing and ensuring thatany planned changes are subject to appropriate Quality Impact Assessmentprior to their consideration by the Chief Nurse.
for providing professional adviceto Heads of Nursing regarding issues of professional conduct.
responsible for promoting a cultureof openness and transparency in line with the duty of candour and that allincidents of poor nursing care and harm are investigated openly, reportedwidely and clear changes and improvements to practice are implemented withinthe agreed governance framework.
TheDirector of Nursing is responsible for supporting and enabling nurses andmidwives within the CSUs to become research active and that researchundertaken by Trust staff as part of undergraduate and post graduate studyhas relevance to Trust practice.
Person Specification
Skills & behaviours
* Patient and person centred
* Commitment to NHS values
* Strategic thinker
* Able to develop effective working relationships and networks
* Politically aware
* Personal integrity, able to demonstrate tact and diplomacy
* Able to communicate effectively to a wide range of audiences using a range of different approaches
* Able to communicate complex and contentious information to individuals and groups
* Able to effectively influence and negotiate
Additional Requirements
* Evidence of sustained and continuous professional development
* Extensive, expert and in depth knowledge of professional nursing issues and current national nursing and health policy
* In depth knowledge of the national clinical governance, quality and patient safety agendas
* Understanding of role and functioning of Trust Board, governance arrangements and regulators.
* Able to deliver to deadlines and manage a diverse and complex workload to competing timescales
* Able to analyse and interpret highly complex facts and situations
* Able to use computerised systems and media including Microsoft office and health related tools
* Able to fulfil the Occupational Health requirements for the post (with reasonable adjustments if necessary) including clearance on blood borne viruses in compliance with Trust Policy
Experience
* Extensive experience of senior professional leadership and operational management across a range of clinical specialities and care settings
* Extensive experience of leading operational delivery of safe, effective and compassionate care across a large and complex organisation.
* Extensive senior experience in an acute trust.
* Experience of leading change and improvement on a trust wide basis
* Experience leading and managing staff and teams and budgets
* Experience of working with Executive and Non Executive Directors
Qualifications
* Current NMC registration : Registered Nurse (Adult) level 1
* First degree in Nursing or evidence of practical application of expertise at this level
* Masters degree in Nursing leadership or management or relevant subject or evidence of practical application of expertise at this level
* Post-graduate management qualification or evidence of practical application of expertise at this level
* Post registration qualifications relevant to role
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.
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