Lead Nurse

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust; Broomfield, Chelmsford; On-site; GBP 56,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in the United Kingdom is seeking a passionate Lead Nurse to oversee clinical and management responsibilities in a dedicated Breast Unit. This role involves leading a team of Clinical Nurse Specialists, enhancing patient care, and implementing quality improvement strategies. Candidates must be registered nurses with substantial experience, including teaching qualifications. A blend of clinical expertise and leadership skills is necessary for this impactful position, with a salary of £55,690 per annum.

Qualifications

• Registered nurse with extensive experience required for leadership roles.
• Teaching and assessing qualification is essential for this position.

Responsibilities

• Lead and support a team of Clinical Nurse Specialists.
• Foster a culture of high performance and staff empowerment.
• Manage nurse-led clinics and oversee staff development.

Skills

Leadership

Clinical expertise

Education and mentorship

Education

Registered nurse with extensive experience

Teaching and assessing qualification

Job description

Lead Nurse

Go back Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust

The closing date is 30 December 2025

We're looking for an experienced and passionate leader to help shape the future of care across Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust. In this role, you'll work closely with Consultants, Clinical Nurse Specialists, and other healthcare professionals to develop and expand an expert nurse‑led service that truly puts patients first. You'll play a key part in ensuring care is seamless, coordinated, and timely for your patient group.

• Leading and supporting a dedicated team of Clinical Nurse Specialists
• Driving improvements through education, research, and auditProviding expert clinical leadership while managing service development
• Supporting training and development for your team and wider colleagues

This is a hands‑on role with a strong clinical focus — 70% clinical, 30% management — giving you the chance to make a real impact both at the bedside and at a strategic level.

Main duties of the job

• Provide visible line management and professional leadership to the Breast Team, overseeing recruitment, induction, supervision, appraisal, and the ongoing development of staff at all levels.
• Foster a culture of high performance, collaboration, and staff empowerment, ensuring alignment with the Trust's values and behaviours framework. Implement effective human resource processes, including workforce planning absence management, succession planning, and support for health and wellbeing in the team.
• Lead the strategic development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the Breast Service, always ensuring a clear focus on continuous quality improvement and patient safety.
• To run nurse‑led clinics; accept, assess and interpret referrals; making referrals; improve and maintain standards of care within the speciality; carry a caseload and organise own specialist workload.
• Design, deliver, and evaluate evidence‑based educational programmes and training packages to enhance clinical knowledge, skills, and competencies in tissue viability throughout the Trust.
• Promote shared learning, mentorship, and ongoing professional development within the nursing workforce and the wider multidisciplinary teams.
• Manage allocated staff in the Breast unit, ensuring regular check‑ins and appraisals are all undertaken in line with local policies, ensuring mandatory training is completed.

About us

Our ambition is to deliver excellent local and specialist services, to improve the health and well being of our patients, and provide a vibrant place for staff to develop, innovate and build careers.

We aim to make the most of our skills and experiences so we can become the best we can be. As one organisation we will recruit the finest and retain more specialist staff due to more employment opportunities across our Trust.

Job responsibilities

Are you looking for an exciting role using your unique qualities, then we want to hear from you. For full details about this varied and rewarding role, please see attached job description.

Please be aware that we reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a suitable number of applications.

We look forward to your application.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Registered nurse with extensive experience
• Teaching and assessing qualification

Experience

• Experience at a similar post
• Experience of undertaking nurse‑led clinics

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.

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust

£55,690 a yearPer Annum (Pro Rata for Part Time)