Clinical Team Leader – Specialist School Nursing Team

NHS; Guildford; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare organization is seeking an experienced Clinical Team Lead for their Specialist School Nursing Service. This role entails overseeing day-to-day clinical and operational management to deliver high-quality care for children with diverse needs. The candidate will lead a team, ensure compliance with standards, and promote evidence-based practice while fostering strong relationships with education and health partners. This position offers a Band 7 salary, NHS Pension, and a flexible working environment.

Benefits

NHS Pension

Discounts via My Reward Hub

Access to ongoing professional development

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse (Children’s, LD, or Adult) required.
• Experience as a specialist practitioner necessary.
• Broad clinical skills and team leadership must be demonstrated.

Responsibilities

• Lead clinical and operational management of the service.
• Communicate effectively with families and multi-agency staff.
• Ensure compliance with health and safety standards.

Skills

Strong understanding of community health services

Effective workload management

Excellent interpersonal communication

Education

Master’s degree or equivalent experience

Mentorship qualification (ENB 998 or equivalent)

Management/leadership qualification

Job description

Job summary

We are seeking an experienced, motivated, and forward‑thinking Clinical Team Lead to join our Specialist School Nursing Service. As a Clinical Team leader, you will hold continuing responsibility for the day‑to‑day clinical and operational management of the service across designated special schools, ensuring high‑quality, safe, and responsive care for children and young people with diverse and complex needs.

You will lead and support a team of skilled practitioners, overseeing the delivery of both clinical and non‑clinical interventions within the school environment.

Working in partnership with the Named Nurse for Safeguarding, you will also provide safeguarding advice and guidance, maintaining strong professional standards and ensuring compliance with NMC Codes, national policy, and Children and Family Health Surrey (CFHS) procedures.

A key part of this role is championing evidence‑based practice and embedding the principles of clinical governance to deliver an equitable, effective, and efficient service. You will promote the involvement of children, young people, and their families in shaping service development, while fostering excellent working relationships with colleagues across Education, Health, and Social Care.

Flexibility is central to how we work: while an office base will be provided, HCRG Care Group operates a flexible‑first approach, supporting agile and hybrid working to meet the needs of both staff and the communities we serve.

Main duties of the job

• Lead day‑to‑day clinical and operational management of the Special School Nursing Service, ensuring high‑quality, evidence‑based care.
• Communicate effectively with families, staff, and multi‑agency partners, providing professional advice on clinical governance, safeguarding, and quality standards.
• Analyse service data, investigate incidents, and use professional judgment to drive continuous improvement.
• Provide clinical leadership, supporting a skilled workforce through supervision, appraisals, training, recruitment, and performance management.
• Ensure compliance with health, safety, safeguarding, equality, and data protection standards.
• Develop and implement policies, contribute to audits and service redesign, and promote user involvement.
• Maintain a clinical caseload, offering expert guidance in complex care and emergency situations.
• Manage delegated budgets, resources, and specialist equipment effectively.
• Lead service planning, innovation, and integration with education and social care partners.
• Support team development, workload allocation, and ongoing workforce planning.

Benefits and rewards

• Band 7 AfC Salary with NHS Pension and full Agenda for Change terms and conditions.
• Membership of My Reward Hub, providing discounts on everyday purchases, cashback, and voucher offers.
• Access to wages as earned to cover emergencies and avoid overdraft or high‑interest liabilities.
• Online and face‑to‑face support for mental and physical wellbeing, including healthy recipes, activity challenges, post‑trauma support, legal, debt, and life management help, and career coaching and counselling.
• Access to eLearning, bespoke career pathways, and continuing professional development opportunities.
• An open, just culture encouraging the implementation of ideas to deliver our purpose: changing lives through transforming health and care, backed by at least £100,000 of ring‑fenced innovation funding each year.
• Pride of working for an organisation committed to the highest clinical and quality standards, with most services holding good or outstanding ratings from the Care Quality Commission.

Eligibility and requirements

Essential

• Qualifications – Registered Nurse (Children’s, LD, or Adult); mentorship qualification (ENB 998 or equivalent); clinical supervision facilitator; Master’s degree or equivalent experience; management/leadership qualification.
• Professional Experience – Experience as a specialist practitioner; staff and service management; evidence of CPD; clinical audit and service development experience.
• Knowledge & Skills – Strong understanding of community health services, nursing workforce issues, health & safety, and risk management.
• Broad clinical skills, team leadership, effective workload management, and ability to prioritise and delegate.
• Communication & IT – Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication; computer literate.
• Personal Attributes – Judgement, resilience under pressure, flexibility, reliability, assertiveness, innovation, and commitment.
• Other Requirements – Ability to travel within the county; ability to work across professional boundaries; occasional moderate physical effort.
• Other requirements – Valid UK driving licence and access to a car insured for business use.

Desirable

• Qualification in clinical audit and/or clinical research.
• Child protection supervisor.
• Masters degree or equivalent experience gained through ongoing personal development and training.
• Ability to interpret and illustrate data.
• Experience of involvement in clinical practice development / guideline development.
• Experience of undertaking clinical research.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

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

Employer details

HCRG Care Group – Guildford, Surrey, GU3 1LR