Deputy Head of Nursing

NHS; St Albans; On-site; GBP 69,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is seeking an experienced Deputy Head of Nursing to provide senior professional leadership across the Adult Community Services Division, supporting delivery of nursing quality and patient-safety priorities.

You will strengthen clinical governance, drive quality improvement, and lead service development while collaborating with multidisciplinary teams, service users and carers.

Qualifications

• First level Registered Nurse (MH) in relevant field to the post.
• Teaching and assessing course Management or leadership development.
• Degree in Nursing or other health related study Master’s degree or Equivalent Experience.
• Evidence of education/training in specialist area (i.e., therapies, interventions, service-specialism).
• Postgraduate certificate in Education or equivalent

Responsibilities

• Provide senior professional nursing leadership across the Adult Community Services Division.
• Support delivery of nursing, quality and patient-safety priorities.
• Promote high standards of nursing practice and professional accountability.
• Deputise for the Head of Nursing and represent the Division when required.
• Lead quality improvement, innovation and service development.

Skills

Senior nursing leadership

Clinical governance

Quality improvement

Education/training

Education

First level Registered Nurse (MH)

Master's degree or equivalent experience

Postgraduate certificate in Education or equivalent

Education/training in specialist area

Teaching and assessing course Management or leadership development

Job description

Site 99 Waverly Road Town St Albans Salary £68,852 - £79,638 per annum, pro rata (Inclusive of 5% HCAS) Salary period Yearly Closing 12/11/2026 23:59

Values Based Screener

At Hertfordshire Partnership Foundation Trust we are looking for people to join us who share our values and those of the NHS. Before your application can be considered please take part on our online values questionnaire, which you can find below. When you have finished you will be sent a 'completion code' by email, which will be valid for 6 months and required to submit your application form.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and highly motivated senior mental health nurse to join the Adult Community Services Division as Deputy Head of Nursing.

Working with the Head of Nursing, Consultant Nurse, Community Matrons and wider leadership team, you will provide visible and influential professional nursing leadership, with a strong focus on safe, effective and high-quality care, professional standards, clinical governance and developing nursing practice.

This is an exciting time to join a Division where innovation and quality improvement are central to nursing practice. Our community nurses won the HSJ Early-Stage Patient Safety Innovation of the Year Award 2025, were runners-up for the HSJ Nurse-Led Patient Safety Award 2025, and shortlisted for the Nursing Times Awards 2026 - Nursing in Mental Health.

In 2026, the Division was also rated GOOD across all domains by the CQC.

We are looking for an inspiring senior nurse who can build on these strengths and help us continue to deliver excellent community mental health care.

Main duties of the job

The Deputy Head of Nursing will work alongside the Head of Nursing to provide senior professional nursing leadership across the Adult Community Services Division and support delivery of the Trust’s nursing, quality and patient-safety priorities.

The postholder will provide visible professional leadership and support to Community Matrons and senior nurses, promoting high standards of nursing practice, professional accountability and continuous improvement. They will strengthen clinical governance and assurance, using audit, evidence, benchmarking and quality-improvement approaches to improve the safety, effectiveness and quality of care.

The role will lead and support quality improvement, innovation and service development, ensuring learning from incidents, audits, complaints and service-user experience is translated into practice. The postholder will support nursing workforce development and work collaboratively with service users, carers, multidisciplinary teams and system partners.

They will deputise for the Head of Nursing as required and represent the Division at Trust and wider system forums.

Working for our organisation

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust are one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of 'Outstanding' from the Care Quality Commission

Our family of over 4,500 members of staff provide health and social care for people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. E verything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout:

Welcoming. Kind. Positive. Respectful. Professional.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Deputy Head of Nursing will work closely with the Head of Nursing to provide visible, effective professional nursing leadership across the Adult Community Services Division.

The postholder will:

• Provide professional leadership, support and challenge to Community Matrons and senior nursing teams, promoting high standards of practice and accountability.
• Strengthen nursing governance and assurance, with a focus on patient safety, quality, clinical effectiveness and service-user experience.
• Lead quality improvement, innovation and service development, using evidence, audit and benchmarking to improve care and reduce variation.
• Support nursing workforce development, professional supervision, leadership and succession planning.
• Work collaboratively with the Consultant Nurse, Community Matrons, Divisional Leadership, multidisciplinary teams, service users and carers to embed evidence-based practice.
• Contribute to divisional and Trust-wide nursing, quality and patient-safety priorities.
• Deputise for the Head of Nursing and represent the Division as required.

The role requires a credible and inclusive senior nurse who can inspire others, lead change and translate innovation into safe, effective and high-quality care.

Person specification

Qualifications

• First level Registered Nurse (MH) in relevant field to the post.
• teaching and assessing course Management or leadership development
• Degree in Nursing or other health related study Master’s degree or Equivalent Experience
• Evidence of education/training in specialist area (i.e., therapies, interventions, service-specialism)
• Postgraduate certificate in Education or equivalent

Experience

• Experience of working in a senior nursing post in complex mental health & learning disability settings
• Demonstrable knowledge of service issues & priorities facing mental health & learning disability services
• Experience of leading & facilitating change
• Experience of senior nursing leadership to achieve results across a broad range of outcomes, whilst providing senior nursing leadership, service user focus & personal integrity
• Experience of writing for publication and/or presenting to professionals and the public
• Experience of leading research/quality improvement initiatives, developing and evaluating new ways of working

Please note, we do not charge fees for job applications, recruitment processes, sponsorship arrangements, or employment offers. Please see the Trust careers vacancy webpage and Trac as the only authorised routes for recruitment communications, applications and verification of job offers.

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.

Name Hildah Jiah Job title Head of Nursing, Adult Community Services Division Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 07887722436 Additional information

If you need to discuss the job further, please contact Hildah Jiah, Head of Nursing, Adult Community Services Division by email: [e-mail]