Advice Line Team Lead

St Margaret's Hospice Care; Taunton; On-site; GBP 49,000 - 56,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Life assurance 2x salary

Health cash plan

EAP with GP access

On-site parking

Learning & development opportunities

Volunteer/fundraising opportunities

Job summary

St Margaret’s Hospice Care in Taunton/Yeovil is seeking an experienced senior nurse to lead two teams: Advice Line and Central Referral Centre, delivering specialist clinical advice and coordinated referrals. The role focuses on ensuring patients and families receive the right care at the right time and place.

You will guide a high-performing team through development, strengthening performance, and fostering a supportive, accountable culture with on-call duties and potential for part-time

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse with current NMC registration.
• Experience in palliative and end of life care.
• Proven experience in leading teams and delivering service improvement, innovation, quality improvement, or project initiatives.
• Strong clinical assessment, triage and decision-making skills.
• Excellent communication skills, including managing complex and sensitive conversations.
• Experience of leading teams through change, including coaching, managing performance and fostering a supportive, inclusive working environment.
• Ability to manage demand, prioritise and make autonomous decisions.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a high-performing team, driving service innovation while maintaining compassionate care.
• Oversee triage and referral process to ensure timely, safe responses.
• Provide clinical advice for palliative and end-of-life care needs.
• Manage team performance, rotas, recruitment and development.
• Use data and quality improvement methods to enhance service delivery and patient experience.
• Collaborate with internal teams and external healthcare services to ensure coordinated care.
• Support service transformation and ensure a sustainable, responsive model.

Skills

NMC Registration

Palliative & EOL care

Leadership & People management

Service improvement

Clinical assessment & triage

Complex communications

Change management

Autonomous decision-making

Job description

Make a difference at the most important time of life

We’re looking for a senior nurse ready to play a pivotal leadership role at the heart of our hospice services.

• Salary: £49,338.85 - £56,461.82 per annum
• Location: Taunton & Yeovil
• Hours: 37.5 hours full-time (with participation in on-call rota). Part time hours can be considered.
• Working Pattern: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday. There may occasionally be a need to work outside of these hours.

As Advice Line Team Lead, you will lead two complementary teams: the Advice Line, staffed by qualified nurses who provide specialist clinical advice, and the Central Referral Centre, where administrators screen incoming calls and referrals to ensure they reach the right service.

This is a role where you can make a meaningful impact - ensuring patients and families receive the right care, at the right time, in the right place.

You’ll also lead your team through a period of development, strengthening performance, and building a positive, accountable and supportive team culture.

What can you expect to be doing?

You will lead and develop a high-performing team, driving forward service innovation while maintaining responsive, compassionate care for patients and families.

Key aspects of the role include:

• Leading the triage and referral process, ensuring timely, safe and appropriate responses
• Providing clinical advice for palliative and end of life care needs
• Managing team performance, rotas, recruitment and development
• Using data and quality improvement methods to enhance service delivery and patient experience
• Working collaboratively with internal teams and other external healthcare services to ensure coordinated care

You will also play a key role in supporting service transformation and ensuring the new model is sustainable, effective, and responsive to demand.

What will you be good at?

We’re looking for an experienced clinician who combines strong leadership capability, experience managing teams at a senior level and palliative care expertise.

• Registered Nurse with current NMC registration
• Experience in palliative and end of life care
• Proven experience in leading teams and delivering service improvement, innovation, quality improvement, or project initiatives
• Strong clinical assessment, triage and decision-making skills
• Excellent communication skills, including managing complex and sensitive conversations
• Experience of leading teams through change, including coaching, managing performance and fostering a supportive, inclusive working environment.
• Ability to manage demand, prioritise and make autonomous decisions

Inclusive recruitment

We recognise that no candidate will meet every requirement.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce.

If you require any adjustments during the recruitment process, please contact [e-mail].

Why join us?

At St Margaret’s Hospice Care, you’ll be part of a compassionate, forward-thinking organisation where your work truly matters.

We offer:

• The opportunity to lead innovative service development
• Opportunities for community working, connecting directly with patients and their families
• A supportive, inclusive working culture focused on wellbeing
• Ongoing professional development and education opportunities
• The chance to make a real difference to patients and families at the most important time of their lives

Holiday entitlement

• 33 days including bank holidays, rising to 35 days after 1 year, and increasing with length of service (pro-rata if part-time)
• For Band 5+ clinical roles, annual leave entitlement may include reckonable service from previous clinical roles at Band 5 or above, where joining us directly from the NHS or another hospice.
• Ability to buy and sell annual leave

Pension scheme

• NHS pension continuation where applicable*
• 6% employer / 5% employee contribution for non-NHS staff

Additional Benefits

• Life assurance cover (2x salary)
• Health Cash Plans
• Employee Assistance Programme with 24/7 GP access, counselling, wellbeing support, and legal/financial advice
• Blue Light Discount Card
• Enhanced maternity leave*
• Excellent learning and development opportunities
• Free on-site parking in Yeovil and Taunton
• Opportunities to volunteer and support fundraising initiatives
• Eligibility criteria applies

Closing date: 14th October 2026

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer visa sponsorship at this time.

DBS Information

This role requires a criminal background check via the disclosure procedure.