Infection Prevention & Control Practitioner | Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Oxford; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS trust in Oxford is seeking an experienced IPC band 7 registered nurse/healthcare practitioner. Your role will involve supporting infection prevention across multiple sites, providing specialist advice, and engaging in training initiatives. The position demands excellent communication and leadership skills, with a focus on quality improvement projects. The Trust emphasizes personal development, creating a supportive environment for professional growth. This role contributes significantly to enhancing safety for patients and staff.

Qualifications

• Experience in infection prevention and control.
• Ability to work independently in clinical settings.
• Willingness to engage in continual professional development.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist advice on infection prevention.
• Develop and review infection control policies.
• Deliver training and education across disciplines.
• Create quality improvement projects in IPC.

Skills

Infection prevention expertise

Excellent communication skills

Team collaboration

Leadership in healthcare

Education

Registered Nurse or Healthcare Practitioner

Job description

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

Covering four hospital sites and a number of satellite services across Oxfordshire with a huge range of specialties, the scope of learning is vast. The role of the IPC nurse has so many dimensions, from identifying infectious patients, the management advice to protect others, to ventilation, building works and water safety. You will also be involved in teaching and education and in advising clinical teams. The IPC service is a 7-day service and therefore 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 together with 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.

The post holder reports to the deputy Lead Nurse and Manager Infection Prevention & Control, with an overall purpose of supporting the Infection & Prevention Control Service across the OUHFT. The prevention of healthcare-associated infection (HCAI) is a corporate and national priority, and a core element of safe high-quality care that promotes patient dignity and positive experiences for patients and their families.

The post holder will be a role model for infection prevention and control, a visible IPC practitioner within clinical areas. They must be able to work independently across the setting, be an effective member of the wider team and demonstrate excellent communication skills. They will provide specialist advice and expertise to support the prevention, surveillance, and control of infection across OUHFT. Contributing to the day-to-day maintenance and further development of a high quality, proactive, responsive, and accessible infection prevention and control service.

Working in this team will also support you to work autonomously to create quality improvement projects in IPC, using your creative and leadership skills whilst having support from the team to allow you to achieve these goals. Personal development is important to the Oxford IPC team so you must be interested in your future and the future of our IPC team.

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 and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington and the Horton General Hospital in Banbury. For more information on OUH please view OUH At a Glance by OUHospitals - Issuu.

Our values, standards and behaviours define the quality of clinical care we offer and the professional relationships we make with our patients, colleagues and the wider community. We call this Delivering Compassionate Excellence and its focus is on our values of compassion, respect, learning, delivery, improvement and excellence. These values put patients at the heart of what we do and underpin the quality healthcare we would like for ourselves or a member of our family. Watch how we set out to deliver compassionate excellence via the OUH YouTube channel.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist advice and expertise to support the prevention, surveillance, and control of infection across OUHFT. The team provide a 7-day service to the Trust.
• Contribute to the day-to-day maintenance and further development of a high quality, proactive, responsive, and accessible infection prevention and control service.
• Assist in developing and reviewing specialist infection control policies and protocols, in order to promote and maintain the highest standards of infection prevention and control practice that is evidence and research based.
• Provide training and education to increase awareness of infection prevention and control issues amongst all disciplines and grades of staff within the Trust.
• Contribute to the Annual Infection Prevention and Control work programme on behalf of the Infection Prevention & Control Team (IPCT).
• Create quality improvement projects across a wide range of settings to support best evidence practice.

This advert closes on Monday 5 Jan 2026.