Band 7 Neonatal Ward Manager

Transformation Unit; Chipping Barnet; Hybrid; GBP 56,000 - 63,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible hours

Training opportunities

Career development

Job summary

Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust is seeking an experienced Band 7 Neonatal Ward Manager to lead the Neonatal Unit. You will provide visible clinical and operational leadership, ensuring safe, compassionate, high-quality care for babies and families.

The role covers governance, workforce planning, staff development and service improvement, working closely with multidisciplinary teams. The post requires strong leadership, excellent communication and a commitment to excellence in neonatal

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse with NMC registration and neonatal qualification.
• Degree in Nursing or equivalent with ongoing professional development.
• Experience in leadership roles within neonatal care.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day operational management of the neonatal unit.
• Provide governance, risk management and quality initiatives.
• Oversee workforce planning, staff development and performance.
• Collaborate with MDTs to deliver safe, family-centred care.

Skills

Leadership

Clinical governance

Workforce planning

Staff development

Interprofessional collaboration

Quality improvement

Data interpretation

Communication skills

Education

Registered Nurse

Neonatal qualification

Degree in Nursing

Master’s qualification / studying

Job description

Employer Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Barnet Hospital Town Barnet Salary £55,524 - £62,652 per annum inclusive of HCAS (pro rata) Salary period Yearly Closing 02/11/2026 23:59

Band 7 Neonatal Ward Manager

Band 7

Our trust has over 17,000 staff serving 2 million patients every year. It comprises Barnet Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital, the Royal Free Hospital, North Middlesex University Hospital and more than 30 services in the community. This larger scale organisation provides an unprecedented opportunity for us to continue our pioneering work, particularly in finding ways to deliver even better care to our patients.

Our mission is to deliver world class care and expertise in our clinical services, underpinned by world class teaching and research and we will continue to measure our progress against our five governing objectives: excellent outcomes, excellent patient and staff experience, excellent value for taxpayers’ money, being safe and meeting our external duties, and building a strong organisation.

Everyone is welcome at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. We're proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME, gender equality, staff carers and people with disabilities and lived experiences to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a set of technology that can perform various tasks that typically required human intelligence. Your application is your opportunity to demonstrate to us how you meet the requirements of the role. We recognise that AI tools can support accessibility, equity and confidence for applicants.However, it’s important that examples and responses genuinely reflect your own experience and abilities, as these will be explored further during the selection process. AI must not be used to provide misleading or false information during any stage of the application journey. Further guidance can be found in the NLPSS Applicant Toolkit https://royalfree.pagetiger.com/cuuomnr/1 .

Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust is committed to ensuring that its recruitment processes are carried out with integrity, transparency, and fairness for all applicants. To help maintain these standards, we ask candidates to provide accurate and truthful information throughout the recruitment process.

If incorrect or misleading information is identified, this may affect the progression of an application, any employment offer, or continued employment. As part of our due diligence, the company may verify the information provided by applicants and take appropriate act ion where necessary.

We do not charge applicants any fees at any stage of the recruitment process, including applications, interviews, sponsorship arrangements, pre-employment checks, or employment offers. All vacancies are advertised through TRAC/NHS Jobs and candidates are assessed solely on their skills, qualifications, experience, and suitability for the role. If you are asked to make a payment in connection with an NHS job opportunity, please treat this as suspicious and contact the organisation directly using the details published on our official career's website

We are seeking an experienced, dynamic and compassionate neonatal nursing leader to join our team and play a pivotal role in delivering outstanding care for babies and their families. The successful candidate will provide visible clinical and operational leadership within the neonatal service, ensuring the delivery of safe, effective and family-centred care in line with Royal Free London’s World Class Values.

The postholder will be responsible for leading and developing nursing practice, maintaining high standards of quality, safety and patient experience, and supporting staff to deliver evidence-based care. They will oversee workforce planning, staff development, performance management and service improvement initiatives, while promoting a positive culture of learning, inclusion and continuous improvement. The role will also contribute to governance, patient safety, quality assurance, education and research activities that improve outcomes for babies and families.

The ideal candidate will be an effective team player who can work collaboratively across multidisciplinary teams, inspire and develop others, manage change and drive improvements in patient safety and service delivery. They will demonstrate strong leadership, sound professional judgement and a commitment to excellence, innovation and compassionate care.

Main duties of the job

The Neonatal Unit Ward Manager is a senior clinical leader responsible for the day-to-day operational management of the neonatal unit, ensuring babies and their families receive safe, effective, compassionate and high-quality care.

Working closely with the Neonatal Matron, Head of Nursing, Consultant Neonatologists and multidisciplinary teams, the postholder provides visible leadership, maintains clinical standards and supports the delivery of patient safety, quality improvement and service development priorities. The role includes workforce management, staff supervision, education, recruitment, wellbeing and professional development, fostering a positive culture of learning, accountability and continuous improvement.

The Ward Manager will lead on governance, risk management, audit and quality initiatives while supporting the implementation of evidence-based practice and family-centred care. They will collaborate across neonatal services and sites to promote consistency, shared learning and best practice. The ideal candidate will be a compassionate, resilient and highly motivated neonatal nurse with excellent leadership, communication, organisational and people management skills.

Working for our organisation

The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s biggest and most innovative trusts. Across three main hospitals, our dedicated army of staff care for over 1.6million patients, treat more than 200,000 in A&E, deliver over 8,000 babies and carry out more than 17million tests.

Our size, scale and influence offer you unrivalled career opportunities and a forward-thinking approach to working that works around your lifestyle. From flexible hours and generous benefits, to next level training, we make it easier to take your career to the top.

For more information please follow link https://www.royalfreelondonjobs.co.uk/

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached job description for more information about this role and working at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust.

Education & Qualifications

• Registered Children’s Nurse / RGN NMC Registration Neonatal Qualification in Specialty (QIS)
• Degree in Nursing or equivalent evidence of academic achievement; evidence of ongoing professional development relevant to neonatal care and leadership
• Current neonatal clinical competence, including Neonatal Advanced Life Support or equivalent relevant training.
• Mentorship, practice assessor/supervisor or equivalent educational qualification
• Master’s qualification or equivalent or working towards qualification
• Excellent written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to communicate sensitively and effectively in complex situations
• Highly organised, able to prioritise competing demands, manage deadlines and work effectively under pressure
• Demonstrates analytical and problem-solving skills
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to inspire, develop, support and motivate staff and articulate a clear vision for high-quality neonatal care
• Confident use of Microsoft Word, Outlook and Excel, with accurate documentation and datahandling skills.
• Able to use initiative, make sound decisions and work with appropriate autonomy while recognising when escalation is required

Experience

• Experience of working in neonates, some of which is at a junior managerial level.
• Experience managing competing priorities, changing workloads, staffing pressures and operational demands within a complex clinical environment
• Experience of managing staff performance, appraisal, attendance and wellbeing in line with Trust policies
• Experience of working within a team and of developing good working relationships with internal and external staff at all levels
• Experience of managing safeguarding concerns and referrals and applying safeguarding children policies and procedures.
• Experience collecting, interpreting and presenting data, with strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Experience leading or contributing to change management, quality improvement, audit, service development or improvement initiatives
• Experience of workforce planning, roster management, sickness absence management and safe staffing escalation.
• Experience supporting staff development, supervision and appraisal processes
• Experience of managing safety events and knowledge of patient safety systems including PSIRF and escalation processes.
• Experience managing resources, budgets or delegated financial responsibilities

Personal Qualities & Attributes

• Demonstrates commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Compassionate, approachable and family-centred
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and influencing skills.
• Resilient and able to work effectively under pressure.
• Positive role model with professional credibility and integrity
• Flexible, adaptable and able to lead change effectively
• Committed to quality improvement, patient safety and service excellence
• AT* - Apprenticeship Training. Where AT* is entered next to the job title indicates that this vacancy is for an apprenticeship role.
• By applying for this role, you accept if successful, that your personal data may be transferred from the Trust to another NHS organisation where your employment transfers within the NHS.This is in accordance with the streamlining programme which aims at saving you time and improving efficiencies within the NHS when your employment transfers.Therefore we require you to complete your stat and Man e-learning modules prior to joining our organisation.
• EU/EEA citizen who does not have EU Settlement or Pre-Settled status, you will require a visa to work in the UK.
• You must already have the right to work in the United Kingdom or fully meet the eligibility criteria for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa route. We welcome applications from candidates who require visa sponsorship; however, we can only consider these where all UKVI requirements are met. Before applying, please ensure that both you and the role satisfy the relevant UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) points‑based system criteria, as applications that do not meet these requirements cannot be progressed. For more information about the criteria, please click here
• If you are offered a role with one of the NLPSS partner trusts, as part of pre-employment checks youridentity and right to work documentation will be verifiedremotely (in most circumstances), using a certified identity verification service provider TrustID. You will be asked to capture an image of the relevant documents as well as a “selfie” using your smartphone/tablet (if available) for facial matching. TrustID will also perform a digital address check using Trunarrative and Equifax, which is a soft check and does not leave a footprint on your credit rating. For more information, visit www.trustid.co.uk
• The Trust uses electronic new starter forms on Trac to collect personal details. Information collected is securely stored and used to set up the employee record on the ESR HR system.
• The Trust will request a DBS(CRB) if post involves regulated activities. The Trust is compliant with the Disclosure and Barring Service Codes of practice and the Rehabilitation of offenders act.
• By applying for this post you are agreeing to Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

Applications are welcome from people wishing to job share or work flexible patterns. We are committed to equal opportunities.

Please note:

• Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts we may close this vacancy before the advertised closing date. Therefore please apply for this post as soon as you can, if you are interested and you meet the requirements of the Person Specification
• Only those candidates who clearly demonstrate how they meet the person specification will be shortlisted for this job.
• Interview arrangements will be communicated via email so please check your email regularly following the closing date.

Please be advised that due to exceptionally high demand, all Royal Free accommodation is at full capacity and waiting lists are being held. Average waiting times are 12 months. Please do not rely on Trust accommodation when you commence your role and ensure you investigate alternative accommodation for your arrival.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Application numbers

This vacancy may close early if it receives a high number of applications. Please complete and submit your application in good time to avoid disappointment.

Name Claire Hart Job title Matron - Neonatal Services Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 02082165161

If you have problems applying, contact

Address Service Excellence Team
Telephone If you have any queries, please contact NLPSS Recruitment Helpdesk tel. [phone]