Lead Practitioner

Transformation Unit; East Midlands; On-site; GBP 49,000 - 57,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Development opportunities

Staff benefits

Discount gym membership

Onsite fitness classes

Car schemes

Job summary

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust is offering a Band 7 Lead Practitioner role within the Surgical Theatre Suite at Royal Derby Hospital. You will lead the development and delivery of our surgical theatre service, guiding a multidisciplinary team across multiple theatres.

The successful candidate will have senior leadership experience in a theatre environment, with strong communication and organisational skills, and a commitment to high standards of patient care and

Qualifications

• Registered Practitioner NMC or HCPC registration.
• Leadership qualification or working toward leadership role.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and professional oversight of the Surgical Theatre Suite.
• Manage operational demands and improve theatre utilisation.
• Oversee departmental budget and financial governance.
• Ensure compliance with national standards, infection control and audit requirements.

Skills

NMC/HCPC registered

Leadership qualification

Job description

Main area Theatres Grade Band 7 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Days and nights) Job ref 320-SURG-1487

Employer University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Royal Derby Hospital Town Derby Salary £49,387 - £56,515 pa Salary period Yearly Closing 15/10/2026 23:59 Interview date 29/10/2026

Band 7

As a trusted organisation at the heart of our communities, we recognise the important role we can play in supporting the public, patients, our own people and local partners in achieving the best of health for the local population and the communities in which they live by providing Exceptional Care Together.

Our fundamental Values of Compassion, Openness and Excellence underpin how we intend to work as a Trust and the associated behaviours are becoming embedded in all aspects of how we work.

With over 14,000 members of staff you can expect huge variety and new opportunities every day! Our staff go above and beyond and take pride in caring for our patients.

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust is fully committed to promoting inclusion, equality, diversity and human rights in employment and delivery of its services. The Trust is committed to providing an environment where all employees, patients, carers and visitors experience equality of opportunity by means of understanding and appreciating the value of diversity.

As a Trust we promote an inclusive environment and welcome applications from a diverse pool of talent and backgrounds. All individuals are valued and given every opportunity to succeed based on merit.

The Trust actively encourages applications from members of our Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities. These groups are under-represented in our organisation, and it’s important to us that our workforce reflects the diversity of our communities as much as possible.

Armed Forces and Disability Confident guaranteed interview scheme

To further support the pledges in the Armed Forces Covenant and to make a positive contribution to support ex-armed forces personnel (veterans) make the transition to civilian life, the Trust has introduced a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for veterans who meets the essential criteria set out in the person specification, to help them overcome barriers to find civilian employment. The scheme will operate for all external recruitment.

The Trust is a Disability Confident Employer and committed to both employing and retaining people with disabilities. This commitment is to guarantee an interview for any candidate that has disclosed a disability under the Equality Act 2010 and who meets the essential criteria set out in the person specification. Reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 will be considered upon request.

if you are blind or visually impaired and require application material in an alternative format- such as Braille, large print, audio or accessible electronic formats oryou require support/adjustments with your application please contact the recruitment team on 01332 788466

The Trust is proud to be a signatory of the Care Leavers Covenant and is committed to supporting care-experienced people into employment.

Applicants who identify as a care leaver and who meet the essential criteria for the role, as detailed in the person specification, will be guaranteed an interview.

Join us and help make a real difference to our Trust.

Here’s more about the role and what we’re looking for;

Job overview

We are delighted to offer an exciting Band 7 Lead Practitioner opportunity within the Surgical Theatre Suite at Royal Derby Hospital. We are seeking a professional and experienced individual to support the development and delivery of our surgical theatre service.

Our Surgical Theatre Suite provides care across a range of specialties, including ENT, OMF, Vascular Surgery, Bariatric Surgery, Urology, Colorectal Surgery, Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery and Emergency Surgery.

The successful candidate will play a key leadership role within the multidisciplinary team, contributing clinically and operationally. The department comprises 10 theatres, including a state-of-the-art Vascular/Radiology Hybrid Theatre, a dedicated Robotic Theatre and a 24-hour emergency service.

Applicants should possess experience within a surgical theatre environment and demonstrate excellent communication, organisational and interpersonal skills. As a senior leader, you will provide visible and enthusiastic leadership, fostering a positive team culture while driving high standards of patient care, safety and service delivery.

You will have the ability to inspire and lead theatre teams, support staff development, manage challenges effectively and contribute to the strategic development of the service. This is an excellent opportunity for a forward-thinking practitioner seeking to further develop their leadership career within a progressive theatre environment.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will work in partnership with the Theatre Manager to provide effective leadership, operational management and professional oversight of the Surgical Theatre Suite, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, patient-centred care.

The role will involve managing operational demands, resolving service issues and working with multidisciplinary teams to optimise theatre utilisation and service efficiency. The successful candidate will demonstrate a commitment to innovation and continuous improvement, with enthusiasm for driving the ongoing development of the Surgical Theatre service.

The post holder will be responsible for departmental budget management, working closely with the Finance Team to ensure effective financial governance.

A key aspect of the role will be ensuring compliance with national standards, Trust policies, infection prevention measures, quality assurance frameworks and audit requirements. Through the analysis of audit findings, performance metrics and quality indicators, the successful candidate will lead the implementation of evidence-based improvements, ensuring practice is embedded and sustained.

The successful candidate will provide visible and inspiring leadership, promoting a culture of safety, quality, accountability and continuous learning, while supporting staff development and maintaining the highest standards of patient care.

Closing Date of Applications: 15 October 2026

Interview Date: 29 October 2026

Working for our organisation

As a trusted organisation at the heart of our communities, we recognise the important role we can play in supporting the public, patients, our own people and local partners in achieving the best of health for the local population and the communities in which they live by providing Exceptional Care Together

Our fundamental Values of Compassion, Openness and Excellence underpin how we intend to work as a Trust and the associated behaviours are becoming embedded in all aspects of how we work.

In return we will offer:

• Development opportunities, both professional and leadership development
• On-going support from recruitment to when you join our team and beyond.
• Staff benefits including employee assistance programme, discounted gym membership, onsite fitness classes, car schemes

Key Facts:

• We see on average 4810 OP appointments a day.
• We are the 4th busiest Trauma & Orthopaedic outpatients department in England – an average of 2077 per week.
• An average of 1115 patients are seen in A&Es across our network every day – 3rd largest in the country.
• Our hospitals admit an average of 195 emergency patients daily.
• Last year we undertook almost 33,700 planned surgical operations in our 57 operating theatres.
• We are one of only 7 Trusts nationally with more than 50 operating theatres.
• We carry out more than 140 elective procedures each working day.
• UHDB is a research active University Hospital with a large and varied portfolio of clinical trials and research opportunities for all staff.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

UHDB is committed to fair and transparent recruitment. We welcome authentic applications that reflect your own skills, experience and motivations for the role. While we understand that candidates may use AI tools for grammar, formatting or accessibility purposes, applications that appear to be substantially AI‑generated may be subject to additional review. If this applies to your submission, we will let you know and may ask for clarification. Please ensure your application accurately represents your experience and is written in your own words.

Following the recent update on UK immigration policy for those on a Health and Care Visa or Skilled Worker Visa, we may be unable to provide sponsorship Skilled worker: Health and Care Visa | NHS Employers

Important visa information: Due to UK Home Office immigration rule changes effective from 22 July 2025, applicants sponsored under Occupation Code 6131 (Nursing Auxiliaries and Assistants) may not be eligible to bring dependants under the Skilled Worker route if their Certificate of Sponsorship is issued on or after this date. Applicants are responsible for understanding how these rules apply to their individual circumstances. The Trust cannot provide immigration advice. Further information is available on the Skilled Worker visa: Your partner and children - GOV.UK

Your application (for shortlisting purposes) is assessed based on the Person Specification in the job advert (below).

Skilled worker: Health and Care Visa

Read about the Health and Care Visa for employing overseas nationals (excluding Irish citizens) under the points-based immigration system.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Registered Practitioner NMC or HCPC
• Leadership qualification or working toward

Experience and Knowledge

• Has significant clinical theatre experience
• Mentors students and staff members
• Experience at a senior level
• Has a wide range of scrub and or anaesthetic experience within a Surgical Theatre speciality
• Has experience of coordinating an emergency theatre/service

Skills and Ability

• Demonstrates problem solving activates
• Able to plan, organise and delegateAble to assess and manage risks within the operating theatre

Communication

• Ability to communicate, has evidence of managing difficult conversations
• Demonstrates interpersonal skills
• Able to facilitate situations and show influencing skills
• Evidence of communication with a wide multidisciplinary team

Our Trust aims to provide the highest quality care to patients within Derbyshire and South East Staffordshire and we want the very best people to work with us.

At UHDB , we offer different ways to work flexibly to each and every one of our colleagues, many of whom already work flexibly at all sites of the Trust.

For our roles we are open to discussing the possibility of part-time/ reduced hours/ compressed hours/ flexible start and finish times/ fixed/flexible shifts/annualised hours/ term time hours/ hybrid working – working partly in the trust/partly at home.

Why don’t you talk to us at interview about the flexibility you would like to explore and what it means to you, and we will discuss what’s possible for the job and team, and the opportunities we might be able to create together.

We can’t promise to give you exactly what you want, but we do promise to work with you to look at all the available options.

Most of our posts are subject to a DBS check, however having a criminal record will not necessarily bar you from obtaining a position. Please be aware that all new employees starting work with us will be charged for the cost of their DBS check, if it is required for their role.

All correspondence relating to your application will be sent to you via our trac.system account. Please ensure that you regularly check your emails; this includes junk/spam, as your security settings may not recognise the sender.

Anyone from outside of the UK (excluding from the Republic of Ireland) will need permission from UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) to work in the UK and may also need entry clearance before travelling here.

UKVI is responsible for managing migration. To obtain a visa or entry clearance, you will need to meet certain requirements and demonstrate you have the right to work in the UK via:

• the points-based immigration system
• the EU settlement scheme
• eVisa

During the course of its employment activities, University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust collects, stores and processes personal information about prospective, current and former staff.

Our Privacy Notice includes applicants, employees (and former employees), workers (including agency, casual, honorary and contracted staff), volunteers, trainees and those carrying out work experience – please refer to our Privacy Notice available on our Trust website: https://www.uhdb.nhs.uk/information-governance

UHDB is committed to fair and transparent recruitment. We welcome authentic applications that reflect your own skills, experience and motivations for the role. While we understand that candidates may use AI tools for grammar, formatting or accessibility purposes, applications that appear to be substantially AI‑generated may be subject to additional review. If this applies to your submission, we will let you know and may ask for clarification. Please ensure your application accurately represents your experience and is written in your own words.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.