Job summary
Are you a dedicated and experienced nurse passionate about delivering high-quality, personalised care to people living with cancer and other life-limiting illnesses?
At St Lukes Hospice, we are looking for a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) to provide expert support, coordination, and leadership in patient care.
The post holder will be expected to work as part of a provision of a 7-day service and will be expected to work as part of an 8am-8pm rota as part of service development in line with the NWL ICB New Model of Care.
Note:This job description reflects the present requirements of the post. As duties and responsibilities change and develop, the job description will be reviewed and is subject to amendment in consultation with the post holder.
Main duties of the job
The Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) is a key worker role, providing expert support to individuals living with life-limiting illnesses. Acting as a keyworker, the CNS engages in regular, supported conversations with patients, conducting holistic needs assessments to identify a wide range of physical, emotional, and practical needs.
Through these assessments, the CNS develops comprehensive care and support plans, addressing health concerns while promoting wellbeing, independence, and quality of life.
With specialist knowledge in cancer and palliative care, the CNS delivers high standards of personalised care, offering both physical and emotional support. They play a crucial role in coordinating care services, ensuring seamless patient journeys, and providing informed clinical and practical advice to empower patients in managing their condition.
This compassionate, patient-centered approach leads to improved experiences and outcomes for those in need.
About us
St Lukes Hospice cares for people approaching the end of their life in Harrow and Brent. We aim to give the people we care for the best possible quality of life, every day. Supporting local people and their families is at the heart of what we do focusing on what matters the most to them is at the centre of our care.
Founded by local communities in 1987, we have been providing free expert end of life care and support to local people both in the community and from our beautiful Kenton Grange building, surrounded by tranquil gardens.
Two thirds of our care is provided in the comfort of peoples homes, as we respect that this is where most people would like to be looked after. Our specialist community team of nurses helps people to manage more complex needs whilst our Hospice at Home team supports people to remain in their own homes by providing practical care and support.
Our inpatient unit (IPU) at Kenton Grange cares for people in their final days, providing intensive care to help get symptoms under control or give respite care. Many of the people who are cared for in our IPU go home again.
Details
Date posted
23 February 2026
Pay scheme
Other
Salary
£49,955.35 to £52,588.83 a year pro rata pa, plus London allowance (depending on experience)
Contract
Permanent
Working pattern
Part-time
Reference number
B
Job locations
Kenton Grange
Kenton Road
Harrow
Middlesex
HA3 0YG
Job description
Job responsibilities
1. Job Purpose and scope The clinical nurse specialist is a key worker role. The clinical nurse specialist acts as a keyworker for the person living with cancer and other life-limiting illnesses. They hold regular supported conversations with the person, identifying their wide range of needs through a holistic needs assessment. They develop a comprehensive care and support plan for the person living with cancer and other diseases, addressing their health concerns and promoting their health, well-being, and independence. Using their skills and expertise in cancer/palliative care, the clinical nurse specialist delivers high standards of personalised care, providing physical and emotional support to patients, coordinating care services, and informing and advising them on clinical and practical issues related to their illness. This leads to better outcomes for patients. Leadership Demonstrate leadership through clinical expertise, delivering high standards of personalised care by acting as a key worker, identifying needs through a holistic needs assessment and co-creating a care and support plan with people living with cancer and other life-limiting illnesses. Provides a recognisable experience by ensuring people living with cancer /limited life expectancy are aware they are interacting with a specialist professional and know the full range of resources and services available through, navigating and coordinating where necessary. Works in collaboration with services across the cancer/and other disease pathways, to implement plans and to monitor their effectiveness in improving service delivery and meeting the needs of people living with cancer and other palliative diagnoses. Job Description Leads, by example, contribute to the delivery of specialist education and training to other professionals involved in patient care; promotes best practice; supports and coaches less experienced colleagues to achieve high-quality, personalised care for people living with cancer and other life-limiting illnesses. Supports in demonstrating the impact of the post, contributing to progress reviews and regularly capturing and returning outcome and performance metrics. Act as a role model, demonstrating high standards of care and providing clinical leadership to others. Promotes a culture that supports and enables self-management. Supports St Lukes strategy and vision by leading the development, management and promotion of services, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective care. Embeds patient and public involvement within the sphere of practice. Leads on the implementation and monitoring of adherence to relevant clinical guidelines. Takes professional responsibility for ensuring effective communication between all service providers across the care pathway. Actively participates in multi-professional meetings, acting as patient advocate and representing nursing views. Acts as a role model for excellent advanced communication skills and expertise. Demonstrates skills in conflict resolution and negotiation skills when dealing with difficult or challenging situations. Leads the development of patient-focused education, including training to selfmanage ongoing consequences of treatment. Develop new skills in response to emerging knowledge and techniques. Works across professional boundaries using creative reasoning and problemsolving. Instigates and manages change within a complex environment. Perform duties according to the values of St Lukes Hospice, acting at all times to safeguard the interests of the individual patients, and their families. Influences the development of others through education and training. Promotes patient and public experience feedback through local initiatives to drive innovation and change. Expertise Takes personal responsibility for life-long learning and personal development through clinical supervision, appraisal, and Knowledge & Skills Framework, and actively engages with the learning and development opportunities offered by St Lukes Hospice. Demonstrates high level clinical, technical and research skills through breadth and depth of knowledge. Uses creative reasoning, experience and vision to advance care. Attending relevant CCG/ locality meetings, using expert knowledge to support and advise on the development of patient services and pathways. Demonstrates continuous evaluation of nursing practice and makes changes where appropriate. Act as practice assessor/supervisor for learner nurses. Contribute to the hospice education program liaising with the Education and Professional Development Managers to ensure this is current and addresses the needs of our own staff and those who work in external teams and organisations Provide mentorship and support when required to junior staff, staff undertaking the hospice development program, and student nurses allocated to the hospice from our local partner Higher Education Institutes, ensuring timely assessment and completion of clinical competencies. Clinical Excellence Delivers personalised care through regular supported conversations with the person living with a palliative diagnosis, identifying needs through a holistic needs assessment, and addressing the patients health care needs. Following a holistic needs assessment, develops a comprehensive care and support plan with the person living with a terminal illness. Reviews and updates the plan every time a supportive conversation takes place, which should be regular, and evaluates the impact of care interventions. Actively integrates theory and practice. Act as a key worker for a clinical caseload, working to coordinate care and provide easy access for ongoing support for patients. Participates in a 7-day service as part of a rota. Assesses peoples information needs and provides information to determine their own future. Enables people to access, identify, appraise and interpret complex technical information to help them to determine their own future. Provides clinical expertise, specialist advice and support across service boundaries. Leads the nursing contribution to service development, ensuring the pursuit of excellence in care. Defines a clear care pathway, refers to other professionals and signposts to other agencies as appropriate. Promotes the service and clinical excellence by contributing to publishing and presenting innovations, audit and research locally, regionally and nationally. Influences and develops policy and clinical guidelines internally and externally. Promotes self-management, risk-stratifying patients into those who can selfmanage following education, those who will need guided support to self-manage and those who will require ongoing, face-to-face support, to support people to live with their diagnosis and the choices available to them.
This role forms part of a seven-day service. The post holder will work on a rota basis between 8.00 am and 8.00 pm to support service delivery and future service development in line with the NWL ICB New Model of Care
Job description
Job responsibilities
1. Job Purpose and scope The clinical nurse specialist is a key worker role. The clinical nurse specialist acts as a keyworker for the person living with cancer and other life-limiting illnesses. They hold regular supported conversations with the person, identifying their wide range of needs through a holistic needs assessment. They develop a comprehensive care and support plan for the person living with cancer and other diseases, addressing their health concerns and promoting their health, well-being, and independence. Using their skills and expertise in cancer/palliative care, the clinical nurse specialist delivers high standards of personalised care, providing physical and emotional support to patients, coordinating care services, and informing and advising them on clinical and practical issues related to their illness. This leads to better outcomes for patients. Leadership Demonstrate leadership through clinical expertise, delivering high standards of personalised care by acting as a key worker, identifying needs through a holistic needs assessment and co-creating a care and support plan with people living with cancer and other life-limiting illnesses. Provides a recognisable experience by ensuring people living with cancer /limited life expectancy are aware they are interacting with a specialist professional and know the full range of resources and services available through, navigating and coordinating where necessary. Works in collaboration with services across the cancer/and other disease pathways, to implement plans and to monitor their effectiveness in improving service delivery and meeting the needs of people living with cancer and other palliative diagnoses. Job Description Leads, by example, contribute to the delivery of specialist education and training to other professionals involved in patient care; promotes best practice; supports and coaches less experienced colleagues to achieve high-quality, personalised care for people living with cancer and other life-limiting illnesses. Supports in demonstrating the impact of the post, contributing to progress reviews and regularly capturing and returning outcome and performance metrics. Act as a role model, demonstrating high standards of care and providing clinical leadership to others. Promotes a culture that supports and enables self-management. Supports St Lukes strategy and vision by leading the development, management and promotion of services, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective care. Embeds patient and public involvement within the sphere of practice. Leads on the implementation and monitoring of adherence to relevant clinical guidelines. Takes professional responsibility for ensuring effective communication between all service providers across the care pathway. Actively participates in multi-professional meetings, acting as patient advocate and representing nursing views. Acts as a role model for excellent advanced communication skills and expertise. Demonstrates skills in conflict resolution and negotiation skills when dealing with difficult or challenging situations. Leads the development of patient-focused education, including training to selfmanage ongoing consequences of treatment. Develop new skills in response to emerging knowledge and techniques. Works across professional boundaries using creative reasoning and problemsolving. Instigates and manages change within a complex environment. Perform duties according to the values of St Lukes Hospice, acting at all times to safeguard the interests of the individual patients, and their families. Influences the development of others through education and training. Promotes patient and public experience feedback through local initiatives to drive innovation and change. Expertise Takes personal responsibility for life-long learning and personal development through clinical supervision, appraisal, and Knowledge & Skills Framework, and actively engages with the learning and development opportunities offered by St Lukes Hospice. Demonstrates high level clinical, technical and research skills through breadth and depth of knowledge. Uses creative reasoning, experience and vision to advance care. Attending relevant CCG/ locality meetings, using expert knowledge to support and advise on the development of patient services and pathways. Demonstrates continuous evaluation of nursing practice and makes changes where appropriate. Act as practice assessor/supervisor for learner nurses. Contribute to the hospice education program liaising with the Education and Professional Development Managers to ensure this is current and addresses the needs of our own staff and those who work in external teams and organisations Provide mentorship and support when required to junior staff, staff undertaking the hospice development program, and student nurses allocated to the hospice from our local partner Higher Education Institutes, ensuring timely assessment and completion of clinical competencies. Clinical Excellence Delivers personalised care through regular supported conversations with the person living with a palliative diagnosis, identifying needs through a holistic needs assessment, and addressing the patients health care needs. Following a holistic needs assessment, develops a comprehensive care and support plan with the person living with a terminal illness. Reviews and updates the plan every time a supportive conversation takes place, which should be regular, and evaluates the impact of care interventions. Actively integrates theory and practice. Act as a key worker for a clinical caseload, working to coordinate care and provide easy access for ongoing support for patients. Participates in a 7-day service as part of a rota. Assesses peoples information needs and provides information to determine their own future. Enables people to access, identify, appraise and interpret complex technical information to help them to determine their own future. Provides clinical expertise, specialist advice and support across service boundaries. Leads the nursing contribution to service development, ensuring the pursuit of excellence in care. Defines a clear care pathway, refers to other professionals and signposts to other agencies as appropriate. Promotes the service and clinical excellence by contributing to publishing and presenting innovations, audit and research locally, regionally and nationally. Influences and develops policy and clinical guidelines internally and externally. Promotes self-management, risk-stratifying patients into those who can selfmanage following education, those who will need guided support to self-manage and those who will require ongoing, face-to-face support, to support people to live with their diagnosis and the choices available to them.
This role forms part of a seven-day service. The post holder will work on a rota basis between 8.00 am and 8.00 pm to support service delivery and future service development in line with the NWL ICB New Model of Care
Person Specification
Skills / Personal Attributes
Essential
* Ability to communicate effectively
* and sensitively
* Ability to work as part of a team
* Effective time management skills
* Ability to manage conflict
* Ability to demonstrate organisational
* skills
* Ability to manage time
* Excellent written and verbal
* communication skills
* Personal
* characteristics
* Ability to work in a confident and
* professional manner
* Self-aware, reflective and proactive,
* identifying and meeting own
* development needs
* Ability to practice safely and
* autonomously
* Be resourceful, flexible, and resilient.
* Demonstrate the ability to innovate
* and motivate others
* Car owner/driver
* Willingness to work to meet the
* demands of the service
Qualifications
Essential
* NMC Registration RGN/RN Level 1
* Degree/Master's level of study in
* Health related topic (or willing to work
* towards)
* Post-registration qualification in
* palliative care and or
* oncology/dementia / (or willing to
* work towards appropriate levels )
* Independent Nurse Prescribing
* (or willing to work towards)
Desirable
* MSC in related Health Topic
* Teaching Qualification
* Leadership training course
* Advanced communication
* skills training
Experience
Essential
* Knowledge of palliative care and
* symptom management, and the
* ability to use in care planning
* Experience of working at Band 6 or
* above
* Experience in leading and managing
* Experience of working as part of a
* multi-professional team
* Experience of mentorship and
* teaching
* Evidence of Holistic assessment
* skills and clear decision-making skills
* IT skills
* Education/ presentation skills
* A working knowledge of clinical
* governance and evidence-based
* practice
Desirable
* Experience in Oncology /
* Dementia / chronic conditions
* and or palliative care
* Specialist knowledge of
* palliative care and symptom
* management
* Experience of clinical
* supervision
* Experience of Community
* Nursing
* Awareness of the use of
* clinical supervision in practice
* Experience of working as a
* Specialist Palliative Care CNS
* Experience of audit and
* research
Person Specification
Skills / Personal Attributes
Essential
* Ability to communicate effectively
* and sensitively
* Ability to work as part of a team
* Effective time management skills
* Ability to manage conflict
* Ability to demonstrate organisational
* skills
* Ability to manage time
* Excellent written and verbal
* communication skills
* Personal
* characteristics
* Ability to work in a confident and
* professional manner
* Self-aware, reflective and proactive,
* identifying and meeting own
* development needs
* Ability to practice safely and
* autonomously
* Be resourceful, flexible, and resilient.
* Demonstrate the ability to innovate
* and motivate others
* Car owner/driver
* Willingness to work to meet the
* demands of the service
Qualifications
Essential
* NMC Registration RGN/RN Level 1
* Degree/Master's level of study in
* Health related topic (or willing to work
* towards)
* Post-registration qualification in
* palliative care and or
* oncology/dementia / (or willing to
* work towards appropriate levels )
* Independent Nurse Prescribing
* (or willing to work towards)
Desirable
* MSC in related Health Topic
* Teaching Qualification
* Leadership training course
* Advanced communication
* skills training
Experience
Essential
* Knowledge of palliative care and
* symptom management, and the
* ability to use in care planning
* Experience of working at Band 6 or
* above
* Experience in leading and managing
* Experience of working as part of a
* multi-professional team
* Experience of mentorship and
* teaching
* Evidence of Holistic assessment
* skills and clear decision-making skills
* IT skills
* Education/ presentation skills
* A working knowledge of clinical
* governance and evidence-based
* practice
Desirable
* Experience in Oncology /
* Dementia / chronic conditions
* and or palliative care
* Specialist knowledge of
* palliative care and symptom
* management
* Experience of clinical
* supervision
* Experience of Community
* Nursing
* Awareness of the use of
* clinical supervision in practice
* Experience of working as a
* Specialist Palliative Care CNS
* Experience of audit and
* research
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.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
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.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details
Employer name
St Luke's Hospice
Address
Kenton Grange
Kenton Road
Harrow
Middlesex
HA3 0YG
Employer's website
https://www.stlukes- (Opens in a new tab)
Employer details
Employer name
St Luke's Hospice
Address
Kenton Grange
Kenton Road
Harrow
Middlesex
HA3 0YG
Employer's website
https://www.stlukes- (Opens in a new tab)