Infection Prevention & Control Practitioner

NHS; Oxford; On-site; GBP 47,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS teaching hospital in Oxford is seeking an Infection Prevention & Control Practitioner to enhance patient safety and manage infection control measures. The role involves providing specialist advice, conducting audits, and delivering training across multiple sites. The ideal candidate will be a qualified healthcare professional with a Master's in IPC or a commitment to attain one. The position requires weekend work and offers a competitive salary of £47,810 to £54,710 pro-rata.

Qualifications

• Qualified Registered Nurse / Biomedical Scientist or other registered healthcare professional.
• Recent clinical experience in infection prevention & control.
• Willingness to work weekends and bank holidays.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist advice to prevent, surveillance and control infection.
• Deliver training and education on IPC issues.
• Contribute to the Annual IPC work programme.

Skills

Infection Prevention & Control

Leadership skills

Audit and data analysis

Clinical reasoning

Relationship building

Education

Qualified Registered Nurse / Biomedical Scientist

Teaching qualification or teaching experience

Master's in Infection Prevention and Control

Job description

The closing date is 09 February 2026.

Infection Prevention & Control Practitioner

Infection Prevention and Control is a top priority at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. We currently have an opportunity for an experienced IPC band 7 registered nurse / healthcare practitioner to join our team. We are looking for someone who firmly believes in improving safety for patients and staff. The role will challenge and develop many of the skills you already possess while creating and identifying new initiatives.

The IPC nurse covers four hospital sites and a number of satellite services across Oxfordshire, offering a wide range of specialties. The role has many dimensions: identifying infectious patients, providing management advice to protect others, and working on ventilation, building works and water safety. You will also be involved in teaching, education and advising clinical teams. The IPC service operates 7 days a week, so employees will be required to work weekends and bank holidays.

The IPC team has unique access to the combined expertise of the ID/Microbiology Consultant team, the Modernising Medical Microbiology and Big Infection Diagnostics – NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre – to investigate healthcare‑associated infection and manage outbreaks in collaboration with Oxford University. OUH is an airborne HCID regional facility as part of the national HCID network since July 2025.

Main duties of the job

The post holder reports to the Deputy Lead Nurse and Manager IPC and supports the IPC service across OUHFT. Key responsibilities include:

• Providing specialist advice and expertise to support prevention, surveillance and control of infection.
• Contributing to the day‑to‑day maintenance and further development of a high‑quality, proactive, responsive and accessible IPC service.
• Assisting in developing and reviewing specialist IPC policies and protocols to promote and maintain the highest standards of IPC practice, evidence‑ and research‑based.
• Delivering training and education to increase awareness of IPC issues among all disciplines and grades of staff within the Trust.
• Contributing to the Annual IPC work programme on behalf of the IPC Team.
• Creating quality improvement projects across a wide range of settings to support best‑evidence practice.

About us

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the country. It provides a wide range of general and specialist clinical services and is a base for medical education, training and research. The Trust comprises four hospitals – the John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington and Horton General Hospital in Banbury.

Our values, standards and behaviours define the quality of clinical care we offer and the professional relationships we build with our patients, colleagues and the wider community.

We call this Delivering Compassionate Excellence – a focus on compassion, respect, learning, delivery, improvement and excellence.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Qualified Registered Nurse / Biomedical Scientist / Healthcare Scientist or other registered healthcare professional.
• Recognised teaching qualification or equivalent teaching experience.
• IPC CPD, specialist training or short courses (or working towards) to masters degree level or equivalent.
• Full registration with the appropriate professional body.
• Master's in Infection Prevention and Control or willingness to work towards one.
• Infection Prevention Society Competencies completed or in progress.

Knowledge, Training and Experience

• Recent clinical experience in infection prevention & control.
• In‑depth knowledge of IPC principles and practice.
• Knowledge of a wide range of clinical conditions and procedures.
• Leadership skills across a range of complex interactions.
• Experience conducting audit and data analysis.

Personal

• Availability to work weekends and bank holidays.
• Willingness to travel between hospital sites and satellite units.

Planning and Organisational Skills and Aptitudes

• Ability to develop positive working relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to prepare & present reports.
• Use of initiative and ingenuity to solve complex problems.
• Leadership, management and supervisory skills.
• Advanced clinical reasoning skills.
• Advanced leadership skills.

Responsibility for Policy/Service Improvement

• Experience writing policies or guidelines.
• Experience of quality improvement processes.

Responsibility for Research and Development

• Contributing to the implementation of research findings into clinical practice and service development.
• Involvement with research projects.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and requires submission for a Disclosure and Barring Service check to verify no previous criminal convictions.

Salary: £47,810 to £54,710 a year pro‑rata.