Charge Nurse

Oxford Health Nhs Foundation Trust; Swindon; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

Oxford Health NHS Trust requires a Charge Nurse for Marlborough House Adolescent Unit in Swindon. The post leads the ward, supports staff development, and ensures high-quality care for young people in a 12-bed inpatient setting, with senior nurse responsibilities during out-of-hours.

CAMHS experience and strong safeguarding knowledge are valued, along with a commitment to audits, governance, and improvement within the Trust's patient-centred model.

Qualifications

• Must be RMN qualified and registered in the UK.
• Desirable: additional management or relevant leadership training.
• Strong safeguarding and child protection knowledge.

Responsibilities

• Lead ward operations daily and cover senior nurse out-of-hours.
• Support staff development, recruitment, induction, training and supervision.
• Contribute to audits, clinical governance and service improvement.
• Ensure accurate documentation and maintain professional team relations.
• Oversee shift coordination, policy implementation and incident reporting.

Skills

Leadership

Safeguarding

Child protection

Inpatient care

Education

RMN qualification

Management training (desirable)

Job description

Are you looking for a leadership role within a specialist adolescent mental health service?

Marlborough House in Swindon, Wiltshire is seeking full and part time Charge Nurses to join our 12-bed inpatient unit for young people aged 11 to 18. The team provides evidence-based care using a stepped model tailored to individual needs, focusing on stabilisation, recovery, and early discharge planning with close involvement from families and community services.

As Charge Nurse, you will support day-to-day leadership of the ward, including acting as the senior nurse during out-of-hours shifts. You will work closely with the Modern Matron and Clinical Nurse Lead to support staff development, including recruitment, induction, training, and supervision. The role also involves contributing to audits, maintaining clinical standards, and supporting service improvement.

You’ll need strong clinical judgement, a calm and reflective approach, and experience in acute inpatient care. CAMHS experience and knowledge of the Mental Health Act are desirable.

Main duties of the job

• Provide high-quality nursing care within a therapeutic inpatient environment for young people, supporting care planning, treatment delivery, and family involvement while working as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• Support communication within the team by ensuring accurate documentation, maintaining professional relationships, sharing updates from senior staff, and keeping young people and families informed and involved in care decisions.
• Contribute to the education and development of the nursing team by delivering supervision, mentoring staff and students, assisting with appraisals, and supporting clinical training and governance initiatives.
• Take on leadership responsibilities including shift coordination, staff support, policy implementation, incident reporting, recruitment, and ensuring compliance with clinical and professional standards.
• Promote a safe environment by following health and safety policies, reporting incidents or equipment faults, assessing risks, and contributing to audits and continuous service improvement.

About us

Oxford Health is a great place to work and to be able to showcase the best of yourself when making an application please read the "candidate guide to making an application" and ensure your supporting statement is tailored to the role you are applying for and addresses any essential criteria. As a Trust we provide physical, mental health and social care for people of all ages across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Swindon, Wiltshire, Bath and Northeast Somerset. Our services are delivered at community bases, hospitals, clinics and people's homes, delivering care as close to home as possible. Our vision is that no matter who you are or where you are, you will tell us that you receive: "Outstanding care delivered by an outstanding team"

Our values are: "Caring, safe and excellent"

We offer a wide range of benefits designed to support your career and wellbeing. These include:

• Excellent opportunities for career progression
• Access to tailored individual and Trust wide learning and development
• 27 days annual leave, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days with continuous service
• NHS Discount across a wide range of shops, restaurants and retailers
• Competitive pension scheme
• Lease car scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Mental Health First Aiders
• Staff accommodation (please note waiting lists apply)
• Staff networking and support groups hosted by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team

Details

Date posted: 20 October 2026

Pay scheme: Agenda for change

Band: Band 6

Salary: £39,959 to £48,117 a year, per annum, pro rata

Contract: Permanent

Working pattern: Full-time

Reference number: 267-OC8201598-3A

Job locations: Marlborough House Adolescent Unit, Okus Road, Swindon, SN1 4JS, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities

We hope that the advert has given you a clear understanding of the skills we are seeking and the opportunity at hand. You will need to use the supporting statement element of your application form to demonstrate your suitability for this role and you should refer to the job description, person specification and the guidance notes attached to this role to help you tailor your application.

The essential and desirable criteria will be used to shortlist for interview and you should ensure that you refer to these within your application to increase your chances of being selected for interview.

Person Specification

Qualification

Essential

• Must have RMN qualification

Desirable

• Additional training in management or relevant specialism

Knowledge and skills

Essential

• Good level of understanding of child protection issues
• Understanding of evidence based interventions for treating of mental illness in young people
• Management/leadership ability and experience
• Experience and ability to work with complex family dynamics

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Must be able to demonstrate core values consistent with those of the Trust.
• Must also be able to demonstrate capacity for a proactive and reflective approach and resilience as required

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: Oxford Health NHS Trust

Address: Marlborough House Adolescent Unit, Okus Road, Swindon, SN1 4JS, United Kingdom

Employer's website: https://www.oxfordhealth.nhs.uk

For questions about the job, contact:

Modern Matron, Tom Waterfield, [e-mail], 01865903480