Nurse Unit Manager - Surgical

St John of God Berwick Hospital; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 135,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

12% superannuation

Salary packaging up to $18,550

Novated leasing options

Flexible leave options & wellbeing

Employee discounts

Job summary

St John of God Berwick Hospital in Berwick, Victoria, seeks a Nurse Unit Manager to provide clinical and operational leadership for the Orthopaedic, Spinal Surgery and Pain Management Unit within a busy surgical environment. You will lead a multidisciplinary team to deliver safe, high-quality, person-centred care and drive improvement across the unit.

The role reports to hospital leadership, with responsibilities for workforce planning, accreditation readiness, and service performance.

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse with AHPRA and current practice in an acute hospital setting.
• Experience leading orthopaedic/surgical units and perioperative care.
• Postgraduate qualification in leadership/management.
• Commitment to clinical governance and ACHS accreditation.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management abilities.

Responsibilities

• Provide visible clinical and operational leadership for the 4E Surgical Unit.
• Monitor standards and service performance against benchmarks and indicators.
• Identify opportunities for improvement and implement strategies.
• Support ACHS accreditation and broader quality and risk programs.
• Foster interdisciplinary collaboration and continuous improvement to achieve positive patient outcomes.
• Lead workforce planning and manage workforce models for safe, high-quality care.
• Build capability through leadership, performance management and caregiver engagement.

Skills

Senior nursing leadership

Orthopaedic nursing

Surgical nursing

Stakeholder management

Clinical governance

Communication skills

People management

Decision making

Education

AHPRA registered nurse

Postgraduate leadership/management qualification

Job description

St John of God Berwick Hospital – Berwick VIC

Permanent

St John of God Berwick Hospital has been a leading health care provider to the people of Berwick and the surrounding communities since 1910.

With more than 200 beds and over 900 caregivers, we provide an extensive range of healthcare services, including day surgery, cancer, cardiac, maternity and a range of specialist surgical services.

About St John of God Berwick Hospital

St John of God Berwick Hospital has been a leading health care provider to the people of Berwick and the surrounding communities since 1910.

With more than 200 beds and over 900 caregivers, we provide an extensive range of healthcare services, including day surgery, cancer, cardiac, maternity and a range of specialist surgical services.

Your role

An exciting opportunity is available to join the leadership team at St John of God Berwick Hospital as our Nurse Unit Manager, in a permanent, full-time capacity.

As Nurse Unit Manager, you will provide strong clinical and operational leadership across our Orthopaedic, Spinal Surgery and Pain Management Unit, supporting the delivery of safe, high-quality and person-centred care.

You will lead and support a dedicated multidisciplinary team, driving clinical excellence, workforce capability, operational performance and continuous improvement. Working collaboratively with medical practitioners and hospital leadership, you will play a key role in ensuring the effective delivery of services and positive outcomes for patients.

This is an excellent opportunity to make a genuine impact within a busy surgical environment, leading a team committed to clinical excellence and exceptional patient care.

The Position

Reporting to the relevant hospital leadership, you will be responsible for the effective leadership and management of our 4E Surgical Unit, with key responsibilities including:

• Providing visible clinical and operational leadership, ensuring the delivery of safe, high-quality and evidence-based nursing care.
• Monitoring clinical standards and service performance against relevant benchmarks, including nurse-sensitive indicators, incident management data, clinical indicators, and patient, medical practitioner and caregiver feedback.
• Identifying opportunities for improvement and developing, implementing and evaluating strategies where standards or benchmarks are not achieved.
• Supporting and participating in ACHS accreditation and regulatory assessments, as well as broader Quality and Clinical Risk Management programs.
• Fostering a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration and continuous improvement to achieve positive patient outcomes and experiences.
• Maintaining a clinical presence within the department as required, supporting caregivers and medical officers and ensuring the delivery of safe, person-centred care.
• Managing and monitoring the service cost centre, including productivity, activity and utilisation, in line with budgetary parameters and performance targets.
• Promoting innovation and service improvement to enhance the patient experience and quality of care.
• Working collaboratively with the Hospital Management Committee and key stakeholders to support the ongoing development and performance of the service.
• Leading workforce planning and supporting the implementation of appropriate workforce models and skill mix to maintain safe, high-quality care.
• Building capability within the team through effective leadership, performance management, professional development and caregiver engagement.

Skills and experience

You will be a Registered Nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (AHPRA) and bring contemporary clinical leadership and management experience within an acute hospital environment.

To succeed in this role, you will have:

• Proven senior nursing leadership and management experience within an acute hospital setting.
• Strong clinical knowledge and experience within orthopaedic and/or surgical nursing.
• Experience in spinal surgery and pain management services will be highly regarded.
• A sound understanding of contemporary perioperative and post-operative care, including the management of complex surgical patients.
• Relevant management, leadership and/or postgraduate qualifications.
• A demonstrated commitment to clinical governance, quality improvement and risk management, including experience with ACHS accreditation processes.
• The ability to exercise sound judgement when managing complex clinical, operational, ethical and people matters.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build effective relationships across multidisciplinary teams.
• A genuine commitment to delivering safe, compassionate and person-centred care.

Above all, you will be committed to putting patients and their families at the centre of everything you do and supporting the Mission and Values of St John of God Health Care.

We will offer you

• Permanent full-time position
• Salary of $147,618 per annum plus 12% superannuation.
• Salary packaging up to $18,550 across a range of benefits, including mortgage, rent, meal entertainment, holiday accommodation and everyday living expenses.
• Additional salary packaging options above the FBT cap, including novated leasing, work-related expenses, self-education and additional superannuation.
• Flexible work options purchased leave and wellbeing programs to support a healthy work-life balance.
• Employee discounts on St John of God Hospital & Medical Services and Private Health Insurance.
• The opportunity to work within a dynamic and collaborative multidisciplinary leadership team.
• The opportunity to lead and influence a specialist surgical service and support the delivery of exceptional patient care.

Enquiries

For further information about this opportunity, please contact Allison Merrigan – Director of Nursing and Midwifery, on (03) 8784 5***.

At St John of God Health Care, we celebrate diversity and warmly welcome applications from people of all backgrounds.

Our commitment is to create a safe and nurturing environment for all children and vulnerable individuals in our care and proactively take steps to protect them from abuse, ensuring their safety and well-being.

Our inclusive culture fosters an environment that is respectful and secure, welcoming and accessible, and unified through our diverse community.

All caregivers employed by St John of God Health Care are required to be vaccinated from Influenza in order to fulfil the requirements of the role.