Children's Emergency Department Charge Nurse

NHS; Leicester; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare trust in Leicester is seeking an experienced Sister / Charge Nurse for the Children's Emergency Department. This pivotal role involves providing leadership and support to the nursing team, ensuring high-quality care in a dynamic environment. Candidates must be registered nurses with significant experience in a children's ED setting and possess excellent communication skills. The role offers a chance to lead clinical practice and support the development of team members.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Professional development opportunities

Qualifications

• Significant post-registration experience including at senior level.
• Experience in a Children’s ED setting.
• Evidence of supporting learners in the workplace.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and support to the nursing team.
• Ensure the smooth running of shifts in the department.
• Monitor patient care quality and implement performance improvement strategies.

Skills

Excellent communication skills

Leadership in a clinical setting

Clinical risk management knowledge

Ability to inspire confidence

Education

Registered Nurse (RN)

Life Support Course – APLS/EPLS

Master's degree in nursing or health-related subject

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

Virtual Teams

Job description

Go back University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust

Children's Emergency Department Sister / Charge Nurse

The closing date is 02 February 2026

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our Children’s ED nursing team. The role of the Sister / Charge Nurse is pivotal in providing leadership and support to our nursing team, ensuring the smooth running of a shift in a challenging, busy environment.

We have a purpose‑built department for children that includes a high dependency area, resuscitation bays, a sensory room and vulnerable persons cubicles. A 12‑bed Children’s Short Stay Unit (CSSU) is co‑located within Children’s ED. A children’s ED educator and a simulation pod support learning in a safe, fully equipped environment with the MDT.

We are looking to recruit enthusiastic, confident and self‑motivated nurses who possess excellent communication skills and enjoy a challenge. Applicants must thrive in a fast‑paced acute environment and have a keen interest in ensuring high quality nursing standards are delivered.

Responsibilities

Leadership

• Visible, accessible and assertive figure to whom patients, relatives and staff can turn for assistance, advice and support.
• Lead the ward team and build successful links between nursing and other professions to support and promote effective multi‑disciplinary team working.
• Lead and support the ward team through change, demonstrating tenacity, drive, professional integrity, balance and perspective.
• Develop the role other team members, supporting them in gaining the appropriate competencies to achieve the required standards of care.
• Motivate all team members and lead innovation and expertise in clinical practice by example.
• Through effective communication, disseminate information across the health care teams.
• Resolve conflict and ensure feedback and planning for the future occur.

Care Delivery

• Practice clinically in the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of care for a defined caseload, ensuring at least 50% of working time is spent in clinical practice.
• Monitor the quality of patient care and participate in the regular evaluation of patient satisfaction, identifying areas of poor performance and implementing strategies to improve performance.
• Build working relationships with other departments, referring hospitals and community services, facilitating communication regarding shared care and meeting the needs of patients and carers.
• Identify opportunities to expand roles, working with Professional Development Nurses to devise protocols together with the senior nurse/midwife and head of nursing.
• Develop auditable standards of care, supporting the national benchmarking scheme.
• Act at all times in accordance with the NMC Code of Professional Standards of Practice and Behaviour for nurses, midwives and nursing associates.

About us

Our new strategy, developed with the support and feedback of colleagues, patients and partners, is our compass for the next seven years (2023‑2030). We have four primary goals:

• High‑quality care for all
• Being a great place to work
• Partnerships for impact
• Research and education excellence

We will embed health equality in all we do – taking active steps to reduce avoidable differences in healthcare that some people face, working in partnership with communities.

Our strategy is underpinned by new values and we will work to ensure they are an everyday reality for all:

• We are compassionate
• We are proud
• We are inclusive
• We are one team

This is an exciting moment as we look to the future with clarity on what we already do well and where we need to focus our energies to make an even bigger difference for the people we serve.

Person Specification

Education and Qualifications

• RN (level relevant to field of practice – e.g. adult/child/MH or LD)
• Competent with relevant extended ED skills – e.g. Plastering, Suturing, Minor Injuries Competencies
• Life Support Course – APLS/EPLS
• First degree in nursing or health‑related subject
• Recognised NMC Teaching and Assessing qualification and a Practice Assessor preparation day
• Formal post‑registration education (accredited or non‑accredited) relevant to speciality
• Master’s degree in nursing or health‑related subject

Experience

• Significant post‑registration experience including at senior level
• Extensive experience working in a Children’s ED setting
• Evidence of innovation and achievements in Clinical Practice
• Recent experience in supporting learners in your workplace and supervising their progress and assessing their practice
• Development of multi‑disciplinary working practices
• Demonstrates knowledge of clinical risk management
• Demonstrates knowledge of ward/clinical accreditation processes

Leadership and Education

• Evidence of leading successful change management processes
• Effective communicator and negotiator; acts as a clinical role model and supports all multi‑disciplinary learners within Children’s ED
• Ability to prioritise
• Use initiative and ability to lead and coordinate a multi‑disciplinary team
• Dynamic individual, able to challenge constructively and to lead a team
• Good verbal and written skills; able to influence other professional groups
• Ability to inspire confidence in others, demonstrating strong leadership qualities and acting as a positive role model to other members of the team
• Flexible and adaptable in approach
• Ability to work flexibly to meet service needs
• Leadership course / LEO Programme
• Microsoft Word, Excel, Virtual Teams

Professional Development

• Evidence of recent or continuous post‑registration professional development
• Participates in formal and informal teaching
• Recognises own limitations

Clinical Skills, Knowledge and Ability

• Demonstrates a high level of clinical competence and expertise relevant to speciality
• Good understanding of clinical governance and application to quality and safety
• Awareness of national and local issues that affect Nursing/midwifery and the NHS as a whole
• Up‑to‑date knowledge of nursing policy and practice relevant to speciality
• Experience of Patient and Public Involvement in Service Delivery
• Demonstrates efficient and effective use of resources where workload can be unpredictable
• Demonstrates the ability to prioritise and implement new ways of working
• Knowledge of budgetary management

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

• Demonstrates commitment to and understanding of the importance of treating all individuals with dignity and respect appropriate to their individual needs
• All staff engage in compassionate and inclusive leadership in the provision of high‑quality care and interactions with others

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and requires a submission to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Contact Details

For further details or informal visits:
Name: Aimee Pook
Job Title: Children’s ED Matron
Email: [e-mail]
Telephone: [phone]