Head Of Nursing Children'S And Neonatal Services

Bradford Teaching Hospitals Nhs Foundation Trust; Aberford; On-site; GBP 67,000 - 77,000; Full time

Job summary

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Head of Nursing for Children’s and Neonatal Services. The role leads paediatric and neonatal nursing across inpatient, emergency, community and outpatient settings, directing matrons, CNS and ACPs to ensure developmentally appropriate, safe care for children and families.

You will work with the Associate Director of Nursing and clinical leaders to deliver CSU and Trust objectives, fostering safety, quality, and staff engagement, while

Qualifications

• Significant senior Children’s nursing leadership experience at Matron/8a level or above in a complex healthcare setting.
• Experience in acute healthcare and leading across multiple services and clinical areas.
• Experience guiding staff through change with measurable patient safety and quality benefits.
• Governance, quality assurance and regulatory compliance experience.
• Leading senior nursing leaders including Matrons or equivalent.
• Using quality, workforce, financial and performance data to drive improvements.
• Workforce planning, rostering and establishment management expertise.
• Budget management and delivery of financial objectives.
• Leading quality improvement, transformation and service development.
• Coaching, mentoring and succession planning for future leaders.
• Collaborative working across professional boundaries.

Responsibilities

• The Head of Nursing will deliver delegated portfolios and programmes of work across the CSU on behalf of the Associate Director of Nursing.
• The role focuses on improvements in Paediatric Emergency Care and Children’s Clinical Decision Unit to support winter pressures and flow.
• Provide expert Children’s nursing advice and professional leadership across the CSU and ensure high-quality care.
• Work with multidisciplinary colleagues to align services with CSU and Trust priorities.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Operational leadership

Quality governance

Change management

Staff coaching

Succession planning

Workforce planning

Regulatory compliance

Budget management

Team development

Collaboration

Performance improvement

Education

NMC registered

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree

Leadership qualification

CPD relevant

Job description

Head of Nursing Children's and Neonatal Services

Company: Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Job ID: C9389-26-0581
Closing Date: 10 November 2026
Salary: £66,582 to £77,368 a year per annum
Band: Band 8b
Working pattern: Full-time

Are you a passionate and experienced Paediatric nursing leader ready to make an impact on the future of children's nursing care? We are seeking a Head of Nursing for Children and Neonatal Services to provide strategic and operational leadership across our Paediatric and Neonatal services.

As a key member of the CSU Leadership team, the post holder will be responsible for supporting the delivery of high standards of nursing care, professional practice, patient safety, patient experience and workforce performance across designated services.

The post holder will provide visible, compassionate and inclusive leadership, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, professional excellence and staff engagement.

Main duties of the job

This is a senior leadership position with responsibilities for nursing excellence across Inpatient Paediatric, Neonatal, Children's Emergency and Community and Outpatient services. You will lead a team of matrons, CNS and ACPs ensuring safe, compassionate and developmentally appropriate care is provided for children young people and their families.

Working in partnership with the Associate Director of Nursing for Children's and Neonates, Clinical Director, General Manager and multidisciplinary colleagues, the post holder will contribute to the development and delivery of the CSU and Trust objectives, ensuring services are safe and responsive, effective and aligned with organisational priorities.

About us

Our People Charter outlines the behaviours we can expect from one another and what you can expect from Bradford Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust:

• We value people
• We are one team
• We care

We're keen to meet people who share these values and are passionate about delivering the highest quality of care to our patients.

Job responsibilities

The Head of Nursing for Children's and Neonatal Services will be accountable for the delivery of delegated portfolios and programmes of work on behalf of the Associate Director of Nursing, contributing to the quality, safety, workforce and service improvement agenda across the CSU. The initial focus of work will be in relation to improvements in Paediatric Emergency Care and Children's Clinical Decision Unit to support winter pressures and flow.

The post holder will provide expert Children's nursing advice and professional leadership across all the CSU, ensuring nursing practice is delivered in accordance with statutory, regulatory and professional standards and that high-quality patient care remains at the centre of service delivery to children and their families.

Please see attached job description for primary duties and areas of responsibility.

Essential Experience

• Significant senior Children's nursing leadership experience at Matron/8a level or above within a complex healthcare environment
• Experience of working within an acute healthcare setting
• Experience of providing professional and operational leadership across multiple services and clinical areas
• Experience of leading staff through change, delivering service improvements with demonstrable positive impact on patient safety, patient experience and quality of care
• Experience of quality governance, quality assurance and regulatory compliance
• Experience of leading and developing senior nursing leaders, including Matrons, Lead Nurses or equivalent
• Experience of using quality, workforce, financial and performance data to drive improvement and provide assurance
• Experience of workforce planning, establishment management, safe staffing and workforce productivity improvement
• Experience of roster governance, workforce deployment and effective utilisation of staffing resources
• Experience of providing assurance against Care Quality Commission standards and regulatory requirements
• Experience of leading quality improvement, transformation and service development programmes
• Experience of budget management and delivery of financial objectives
• Experience of managing complex workforce issues and organisational change
• Experience of developing positive team cultures and leading staff through change
• Experience of working collaboratively across professional and organisational boundaries
• Experience of coaching, mentoring and succession planning for future leaders

Essential Skills

• Ability to provide strategic and operational leadership across a range of clinical services
• Ability to analyse and interpret quality, workforce, financial and performance data to support decision making and service improvement
• Ability to provide assurance and challenge regarding quality, workforce, patient safety and operational performance
• Ability to lead and manage senior nursing leaders across multiple services
• Excellent communication, negotiation and influencing skills
• Ability to build effective multidisciplinary and cross-organisational relationships
• Ability to motivate, coach, develop and support senior leaders and teams to achieve high standards of performance
• Ability to lead effectively within highly complex and challenging environments
• Advanced written and verbal communication skills, including report writing and presentation skills
• Ability to work effectively under pressure and make sound professional judgements whilst managing risk effectively
• Ability to utilise digital systems, workforce information and performance dashboards to support assurance, service improvement and operational decision-making
• Ability to analyse workforce productivity, establishment and rostering metrics and implement improvement actions
• Ability to lead quality improvement, service improvement and transformation initiatives
• Well-developed leadership and influencing skills with the ability to engage, motivate and empower individuals and teams to deliver organisational objectives
• Demonstrates a patient centred approach to care and service delivery
• Ability to foster inclusive teams culture, psychological safety and staff engagement
• Excellent interpersonal, including active listening and constructive feedback
• High level of work organisation, self-motivation, drive for performance and improvement, and flexibility in approach and attitude
• Strong sense of commitment to openness, integrity, accountability and professional standards
• Ability to undertake investigations relating to incidents, complaints and quality concerns and implement learning from outcomes

Essential Knowledge

• Understanding of Information Governance and Confidentiality
• Significant knowledge and understanding of the National Children and Neonates agenda and key National Maternity reports
• Detailed knowledge of current NHS priorities and healthcare policy
• Detailed knowledge of clinical governance, patient safety and risk management frameworks
• Knowledge of quality improvement methodologies and implementation within healthcare settings
• Knowledge of workforce planning, safe staffing methodologies and workforce assurance frameworks
• Knowledge of establishment management, workforce productivity measures and roster governance principles
• Knowledge of regulatory requirements including Care Quality Commission standards and the Single Assessment Framework
• Knowledge of professional nursing standards and the NMC Code
• Knowledge of quality, workforce and performance metrics and how they are used to support assurance and service improvement
• Knowledge of safeguarding children and adults legislation, policy and best practice
• Sound political judgement and astuteness in understanding and working with complex policy, and diverse interest groups, and common sense in knowing when to brief "up the line"
• Commitment to evidence-based practice, innovation and continuous improvement
• Understanding of organisational change, transformation and workforce sustainability strategies

Essential Qualifications

• First level Registered Children's Nurse with active NMC registration
• Degree or equivalent level of knowledge and experience gained in a relevant environment
• Master's Degree, Master's level study or equivalent experience operating at this level
• Leadership qualification or equivalent senior leadership experience
• Post-registration qualification or robust CPD in a relevant specialty
• Evidence of commitment to continuous professional development

Desirable Qualifications

• Quality Improvement Qualification
• Coaching, Mentoring or Executive Leadership qualification

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see the NHS Careers website.

Employer details

Employer name: Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Address: Bradford Teaching Hospitals, Duckworth Lane, Bradford West Yorkshire, BD9 6RJ, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.bradfordhospitals.nhs.uk

Contact for questions about the job:
Associate Director of Nursing Children's Neonates, Karen Bentley, [e-mail], 01274366891

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust's privacy notice is available on the Trust website.