Charge Nurse

NHS; St Albans; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 49,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading mental health trust is seeking a Charge Nurse to join their team in St Albans. The successful candidate will be responsible for leading clinical care, ensuring high standards of practice, and providing support to junior staff. This full-time permanent position offers a salary range from £40,617 to £48,778 per annum. Ideal for candidates with RMN/RLDN qualifications and relevant experience in mental health settings. Join a compassionate team committed to empowering service users on their recovery journey.

Qualifications

• Post registration experience in a relevant field.
• Evidence of continuing professional development.
• Experience in clinical settings.

Responsibilities

• Act as a clinical expert in care delivery.
• Coordinate shift operations and staffing.
• Support and mentor junior staff.
• Contribute to multidisciplinary care planning.
• Promote recovery-focused practice.

Skills

Effective communication

Autonomous decision-making

Risk assessment and management

Cognitive therapy skills

Leadership and mentoring

Education

RMN/RLDN or Dip/ Bsc (Hons) in Mental Health/Learning Disability Nursing

Job description

Charge Nurse

The closing date is 23 January 2026

Would you like to join a hardworking, compassionate team dedicated to providing the highest standard of care to our service users?

The Beacon is seeking a kind, passionate, and motivated Charge Nurse to join our Mental Health Rehabilitation Service in St Albans.

As part of our innovative, recovery‑focused team, you will play a key role in delivering exceptional care and supporting individuals on their journey toward independence. At The Beacon, we provide person‑centred, recovery‑focused inpatient rehabilitation for people with complex and enduring mental health needs—empowering them to rebuild confidence, develop new skills, and thrive through multidisciplinary care, therapeutic interventions, and personalised recovery planning.

Main duties of the job

As our new Charge Nurse, you will be welcomed into a safe and supportive staff team who empower and encourage one another to be the best version of ourselves—for the benefit of those we care for.

At The Beacon, we provide person‑centred, recovery‑focused inpatient rehabilitation for individuals with complex and enduring mental health needs. As Charge Nurse, you will play a pivotal role in leading this care, ensuring high standards of clinical practice and fostering a culture of safety, compassion, and continuous improvement.

This opportunity is perfect for someone seeking a new challenge in a dynamic and fulfilling environment where no two days are the same. Under the direction of the Team Leader, you will provide comprehensive professional and effective leadership, as well as clinical advice and expertise. You will oversee shift coordination, support junior staff, and contribute to multidisciplinary care planning. Working hours involve shifts, including nights, weekends, and bank holidays.

Our service‑users are our number one priority, and the multidisciplinary team is committed to creating a safe, supportive environment in which we can deliver the best quality bespoke care.

Candidates looking to work within an outstanding trust will benefit from a well‑established support programme across HPFT and the local system, including an enhanced induction programme, training, and pastoral care.

Please contact the Interim Team Leader for more details.

About us

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) is an outstanding organisation with ambitions to match. We are one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of ’Outstanding’ from the Care Quality Commission, and our aim is to be the leading provider of mental health and specialist learning disability services in the country.

Our family of over 4000 members of staff provides health and social care for over 400,000 people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. We also deliver a range of nationally commissioned specialist services including Tier 4 services for children and young people, perinatal services, plus medium and low secure learning disabilities services.

The care we provide makes a fantastic difference to the lives of our service users, their families and carers—everything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout.

Our Trust values are:

Welcoming. Kind. Positive. Respectful. Professional.

These values are at the core of who we are, everything we do, and how we do it!

Would you like to be part of the HPFT family? Would you like work with us to ensure our service users live the fullest lives possible they can? Would you like to be supported in your career to be the best that you can be?

Job responsibilities

In your new role you will:

• Act as a clinical expert in your service area, providing guidance and support to ensure high standards of care and evidence‑based practice.
• Identify and assess the individual care needs of allocated service users, contributing to personalised, recovery‑focused care planning.
• Maintain clinical standards and team systems under the direction of the Team Leader, ensuring safe, effective, and compassionate service delivery.
• Coordinate shift operations, ensuring appropriate staffing, continuity of care, and timely escalation of concerns.
• Support, supervise, and mentor newly qualified nurses, students, and junior staff, fostering a positive and inclusive learning environment.
• Lead on innovations and quality improvement initiatives, promoting a culture of continuous development, safety, and service excellence.
• Contribute to multidisciplinary care planning, working collaboratively with colleagues across disciplines to deliver holistic care.
• Represent the unit in the absence of the Team Leader, demonstrating confident leadership, sound clinical judgment, and effective decision‑making.
• Promote recovery‑focused practice, ensuring that service users are actively involved in their care and supported to achieve their goals.
• Uphold and model HPFT values, contributing to a supportive team culture that prioritises dignity, respect, and person‑centred care.

Person Specification

Qualifications/Training

• RMN/RLDN or Dip/ Bsc (Hons) in Mental Health/Learning Disability Nursing ENB 998 / Preceptorship and Mentorship. ENB

Experience

• Evidence of post registration experience
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• Experience of working in other clinical settings

Job related aptitude and skills

• Ability to communicate effectively within a multiprofessional team
• Confidence to work autonomously in the and use own initiative, and make decisions in complex situations
• Ability to provide and receive complex, sensitive or contentious information, where persuasive, motivational, negotiating, training, empathic or reassuring skills are required.
• Ability to deal with distressing circumstances and challenging behaviour
• Experience of risk assessment and management.
• Ability to cope with an unpredictable work pattern and frequent interruptions
• Understanding of legal framework MHA, MCA, DoL, safeguarding and social factors involved in care
• Specific clinical skills applicable e.g brief therapy, cognitive therapy and anxiety management.
• Implementing quality improvement initiatives

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.

Address

The Beacon, 26 King Harry Lane, St Albans. AL3 4AU

£40,617 to £48,778 a year per annum, pro rata (inclusive of 5% HCAS)

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full‑time

Reference number

367‑LD&F‑9979

Job locations

The Beacon, 26 King Harry Lane, St Albans. AL3 4AU