Lead Nurse

Change Grow Live; Greater London; On-site; Confidential; Full time

Job summary

Change Grow Live (CGL) is hiring a Lead Nurse to oversee nursing services within a complex addiction care setting at our Lewisham site. You will lead clinical practice, supervision, and governance to ensure high-quality care aligned with best practice and national guidelines.

You will drive CPD, support senior leadership, and collaborate with partners to promote our clinical services while maintaining regulatory compliance and safeguarding principles.

Qualifications

• First level registered nurse with a current PIN.
• Qualified in phlebotomy and substance misuse.
• Leadership/management skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide clinical and managerial supervision to the nursing team.
• Lead the nursing team with vision and accountability within a senior leadership context.
• Ensure clinical governance and CPD activities are embedded across the service.
• Support audits and service improvement to meet CQC standards.
• Work with stakeholders to promote CGL clinical services to commissioners and health boards.

Skills

Leadership

Clinical governance

Supervision

CPD

Stakeholder liaison

Team development

Education

Nursing registration (PIN)

Phlebotomy

Substance misuse qualification

Leadership/management training

Job description

Job summary
Change Grow Live (CGL) is one of the UKs leading health and social care charities and the Lead Nurse role is a varied one. You will be supporting people with multi-faceted issues related to the impact of substance use on their physical and mental health.
Nurses are an integral member of our multidisciplinary teams, offering specialist clinical interventions to people who use our services. Every person who comes into our service is treated as an individual, so understanding the importance of a whole person approach along with being curious, a good listener, a clinically robust practitioner and having a flexible approach are essential skills.
At CGL we want to support you to recognise and achieve your goals:

• We hold regular national nurse and HCA forums, and you will have regular 1:1s and appraisals
• We actively support our nurses to revalidate with protected continuing professional development time, which totals up to 6 days per year.
• We also have a wide range of educational opportunities including free access to the RCNi learning platform and we pay for your NMC fee
• We offer you the opportunity to use the government backed Apprenticeship Levy fund to develop nursing practice in line with your specific role
• All our staff are encouraged to take a wellbeing hour every week and access personal well -being resources

Main duties of the job
Demonstrate the skills of a motivated leader. Be enthusiastic, inspirational, creative and committed to leading the nursing team.
Demonstrate a sound understanding of clinical governance. Maintaining own continuous professional development by keeping up to date with clinical practice, national guidelines, and developments, and incorporate them as necessary into your work.
Provide clinical and managerial supervision to the nursing team.
Contribute to service development to ensure that all who use our services consistently receive high quality interventions that adhere to best practice guidelines.
Demonstrate excellent clinical skills. Monitor, audit and sustain best practice across the service.
Provide peer support to other lead nurses/cluster lead nurses in your region.
Being an integral member of the services senior leadership team. Informing and supporting with implementation of new clinical initiatives.
Support the services CQC registered manager to maintain compliance through assurance audits.
Work in partnership with stakeholders and promote Change Grow Live clinical service to commissioners and health & wellbeing boards alongside the services manager.
Attend, organise & chair (as required) clinical advisory groups, committees and partnership meetings to ensure appropriate representation of services.
About us
Believe in people
At Change Grow Live, above all else we believe in people. It's the one thing that acts as a foundation for all our work.
If you use our services: we understand what you're going through. We won't judge. We believe you can make positive changes in your life.
If you work or volunteer for us: we believe in your potential. We believe you can do brilliant, life-changing work.
Our mission and vision
Our mission is to help people change the direction of their lives, grow as individuals, and live life to its full potential.
The vision we're working towards is to develop, deliver and share a whole person approach that changes society.
We believe that having diverse people working as part of our team makes us the organisation that we are.
We actively encourage applications from people from all backgrounds to help us to provide the best possible experience for the people who use our services and to make Change Grow Live a great place to work.
The safety of vulnerable children, young people and adults is our absolute priority. We will support you in your role to make sure that you are equipped to support the safety of people who use our services and those around them, to the highest standard possible.

Details
Date posted: 08 September 2026
Pay scheme: Other
Salary: £45,583.51 to £50,128.89 a year
Inner London Weighting (£4,236.47)
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: U0080-26-20682
Job locations: 410 Lewisham High Street, Lewisham, Greater London, SE13 6LJ, United Kingdom
Job responsibilities
Main purpose of the role
The Lead Nurse will form part of the senior management team within the service, working closely with the Service Manager and Lead Doctor to provide and develop high quality clinical service provision, with specific responsibility for Nursing Services.

Reporting and working relationships
The role will report directly to the Services manager, who will provide operational line management and supervision. All clinical supervision will be provided by the Regional Lead Nurse (RLN). The Lead Nurse will provide Clinical Supervision & operational line management to Nurses and HCAs within the Service. Reporting relationships may change

Clinical Practice
Assure that integrated pathways are in place for service users who require treatment for their health needs related to their addiction.
Ensure that the services clinical model is functioning, effective and in line with CGL policy and national guidance.
Implement/maintain an immunisation and vaccination scheme to help combat blood borne virus (BBV) and other infectious diseases and provide advice and information to other professionals on BBV and the care of individuals with drug and alcohol issues.
To ensure all programmes, i.e., immunisation programmes, are adequately staffed so that contractual requirements are always met.
Undertake regular CPD and create an environment that encourages your team to learn and develop.

Communication
Work in partnership with stakeholders and promote CGL clinical service to commissioners and health and wellbeing boards alongside the Services Manager.
Disseminate information to your team from the senior operational and clinical management teams.

Delivering a Quality Service
To be involved in clinical audit of the service under the direction of the RLN.
Contribute to the overall performance of the service to ensure that contractual output targets are achieved.
To ensure that all clinical services are delivered to a high standard in line with national guidance, CGL policies, procedures and best practice, and in line with CQC Essential Standards. Ensure that procedures are constantly reviewed to promote effective evidenced based practice.

Leadership
Work closely with HR to ensure the appropriate people and change management skills, knowledge and capabilities are in place within line management structures and teams.
To manage the clinical aspects of implementations of new clinical developments within the service as required.
Ensure that all legislative requirements are explained to employees in particular the legislation governing the clinical and social care/community field.
Engage proactively with both participating and providing line management and clinical supervision and maintain a current knowledge of appropriate interventions.
Effectively manage and develop all nursing staff and participate in the core training programme as and when required.

Team Working
Attend, organise and chair (as required) relevant clinical advisory groups and committees and partnership meetings, to ensure appropriate representation of services.
Spend time in other regions and localities in order to teach, develop and share specialist knowledge with other colleagues, projects and teams.
Work alongside the Lead Doctor and or the Non-Medical Prescriber (NMP) to formulate, plan and implement individual treatment programmes to ensure safety and optimise outcomes for service users. This will include supporting nurses assisting detoxifications from substances across operational sites.
An active support for your peers within the region/organisation.

Risk Management
To undertake regular performance reviews, identify areas of risk and take appropriate action.

Managing Information
Assist in the development and implementation of clinical standard operational policies so that services are effectively delivered, controlled, monitored and reported.
Ensure that all data requirements in relation to service users are met within defined deadlines.
The above is an outline of the post holders duties and responsibilities. It is not intended as an exhaustive list and may change from time to time to meet the changing needs of CGL. You will work with your RLN to personalise the standard roles and responsibilities template. Staff will need to work flexibly across operational sites as required and to work flexibly within an agreed number of hours to maintain the most appropriate level of service provision. This role may involve evening, weekend and bank holiday working.

Person Specification
Experience
Essential

• Significant experience of working in the health/social care field or the ability to demonstrate sufficient experience in similar fields. An in-depth knowledge of clinical interventions for use with a range of individuals who use our services. Understanding of UK Drug Strategy and Social Policy reforms. Knowledge of different treatment models and harm minimisation interventions. In depth knowledge of the regulatory framework within which the clinical services and the organisation operate. Awareness of, and ability to work within, clinical legislation in relation to individuals who use our services. Ability to manage in a facilitative and coaching style. Ability to implement and develop effective monitoring mechanisms. Able to present complex information to groups of people. Computer literate in a range of software packages. Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills. Ability to build and lead effective, productive, and motivated multi-skilled teams, managing change as necessary. A commitment to engaging with, understanding, and promoting CGLs values and vision. An understanding of and commitment to safeguarding best practice. An understanding of the importance of professional integrity in relationships with individuals who use our services, peers, and other relevant professionals. A responsibility for your own health, safety, and wellbeing as well as those around you (e.g., colleagues and individuals who use our services). An understanding of and commitment to treating all information acquired through the course of your employment as confidential. An understanding of information governance processes and a commitment to follow and apply all necessary safeguards. A commitment to seek learning opportunities to improve and broaden your own professional knowledge and skills and to contribute to and where relevant oversee the learning of others.
• Experience of working and managing people/teams in the clinical services and substance misuse, social care fields. Relevant additional qualification/s in social care, clinical services, substance misuse or equivalent. Knowledge of local resources and geography. Budget management experience.

Qualifications
Essential

• First level registered nurse and with a current PIN
• Trained in phlebotomy. Qualification in substance misuse. Qualification in leadership/management skills.

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 (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).