Paediatric Cleft Clinical Nurse Specialist

NHS; Cambridge; Hybrid; GBP 47,000 - 55,000; Part time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in Cambridge is seeking a Clinical Nurse Specialist for its regional Cleft Centre. The role involves coordinating a comprehensive integrated service for children with clefts and collaborating with multidisciplinary teams. Candidates should possess a nursing degree, current NMC registration, and excellent communication skills. This position offers flexible working arrangements and opportunities for professional development.

Benefits

Career and development opportunities

Flexible working arrangements

Research experience opportunities

Qualifications

• Current NMC registration.
• Experience with acute and chronically ill children.
• Commitment to teaching and mentorship.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist clinical skills and liaise with professional groups.
• Coordinate a comprehensive integrated service with multidisciplinary teams.
• Engage and network with cleft professionals nationally.

Skills

Excellent written and oral communication skills

Skills of diplomacy and negotiation

Organisational and planning ability

Computer literate

Ability to manage performance of staff

Education

First Degree in nursing or health-related subject

RSCN/RN Child

Teaching and Assessing qualification

Job description

Job summary

Within children’s services at Cambridge University Hospitals we are dedicated to providing specialist, professional care to our patients and their families in a welcoming and committed atmosphere. Our work is wide ranging and we are respected both locally and as a regional specialist treatment centre.

CUH provides excellent care across both medical and surgical specialities. Our ethos of child centred care and multi‑professional collaboration drives our service, alongside a commitment to family focused teamwork.

We are seeking to recruit a clinical nurse specialist to join CleftNet.East – the regional Cleft Centre. The role will provide opportunities to work within a range of environments including but not limited to family homes, postnatal wards, neonatal units, children’s wards and outpatient clinics across our region.

We are a truly collaborative team, working with various members of the MDT both within Cleft and maternity and children’s services. Your role will include engaging and networking with cleft professionals nationally and participating in audit and research at a local and national level. Having a strong desire to improve patient experience and patient reported outcomes is essential.

Main duties of the job

The cleft care pathway starts during the antenatal period for some of our families right up to adulthood, so every day as a cleft nurse specialist can be varied but also challenging and rewarding. The nursing team provides both a proactive service and reactive service, ensuring that the national service specification indicators are met. In order to do this, a 7‑day a week service is provided, with the weekends being shared via on‑call rota between the nurse specialists. We are looking for an experienced, approachable and autonomous practitioner to join our team and would ensure a tailored training programme is supported on commencement of the post.

Main Duties

• Demonstrate excellent communication and organisational skills and the proven ability to lead and influence change.
• Motivate to make a positive difference to the child and family experience, maximising effective patient pathways and flow.
• Coordinate a comprehensive, integrated service working alongside the multidisciplinary teams at CUH and within our regional hospitals.
• Provide specialist clinical skills and liaise with all relevant professional groups and agencies within and outside the Trust to enhance the delivery of care to infants, children and young people born with a cleft, providing guidance, support and advice including attendance at safeguarding and social care meetings.

About us – Why choose Cambridge University Hospitals

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest teaching Trusts in the country. It comprises Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the Rosie Hospital. We provide accessible high‑quality health‑care for the local people of Cambridge and regional and national specialist services. It’s a great place to nurse, work and live.

You will work on a vibrant hospital campus with a friendly community feel; we have excellent facilities to practise your skills and to support your career pathway and development. Our values of Together – Safe, Kind, Excellent support the delivery of outstanding care. We have a fully electronic patient record system that is improving health‑care quality; this is transforming services, improving patient safety and clinical outcomes.

Our benefits include:

• Our values and reputation for outstanding care.
• Opportunities to experience a range of specialities.
• Career and development opportunities.
• Preceptorship and mentoring programmes delivered by a dedicated clinical education support team.
• Research experience and opportunities.
• Lovely location and quality of life.
• Excellent schools/colleges and transport links (road, rail and air).

Pay & contract details

Pay scheme: Agenda for change

Band: Band 7

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

Contract: Permanent

Working pattern: Part‑time, Flexible working

Reference number: 180‑E‑257280

Job locations: Addenbrookes Hospital – Division E, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached Applicant Information Pack (combined Job Description and Person Specification) for key duties and responsibilities. (Note: repeated content has been removed but the essential duties are listed above in “Main duties of the job”.)

Due to Home Office immigration rules, a full‑time permanent vacancy cannot be filled by individuals on a Student visa. Therefore, please be advised that if you are a Student visa holder, we will not be able to offer you a full‑time permanent contract unless you have – applied for a Graduate visa – or you will have successfully completed your course and have applied for a Graduate visa before the anticipated start date of your employment – or the Trust has agreed that they will sponsor you as a Skilled Worker and you will complete your studies within 3 months of the anticipated start.

This vacancy will close at midnight on 30 November 2025. Interviews are due to be held in the week commencing 8 December 2025.

We welcome applications from the Armed Forces.

Benefits to you

At Cambridge University Hospitals, we want to do all we can to support good working days. We offer development opportunities and a wide range of benefits, including on‑site leisure facilities, shopping concourse and day nurseries. Our good work programme currently includes providing reduced cost Stagecoach bus travel to and from Cambridge University Hospital site. Park and Ride bus journeys between Babraham Road and Trumpington sites are free, as is the route to and from Cambridge train station and our hospitals. We also subsidise the cost of parking on site for eligible staff.

On CUH campus, hot food is available 24/7 and at a reduced cost for colleagues. Recently we launched the first of our staff pod break spaces. Located in the Deakin Centre, we have a purpose‑created colleague‑only café, with free tea and coffee, a break space and private outside area for colleagues to rest, refuel and recharge.

CUH is committed to assisting employees in achieving a good work‑life balance irrespective of role or personal circumstances. Flexible arrangements may include, but are not limited to, part‑time working, job‑share, term‑time working and flexible start and finish times. Please note if you would like to discuss the required hours of this role further, you should approach the contact given. In some cases, alternative working hours will be considered.

We welcome applications from the Armed Forces.

Person Specification

Qualifications (Essential)

• RSCN/RN Child
• First Degree (or equivalent level) in nursing or health‑related subject
• Teaching and Assessing qualification
• Evidence of ongoing CPD

Qualifications (Desirable)

• Post‑graduate Diploma/ Degree/Masters
• QIS Neonates or Paediatric Intensive Care
• Attended recent Unicef BFI training
• Counselling qualification
• SCPHN

Experience (Essential)

• Working with acute and chronically ill children/ young people
• Evidence of having worked collaboratively in a multi‑disciplinary team
• Demonstrate a commitment to teaching colleagues/ students and to mentorship
• Community experience
• Safeguarding experience

Experience (Desirable)

• Experience in caring for children, & their families affected by Cleft.
• NICU/PICU/ENT/Respiratory experience
• Evidence of publications in nursing journals
• Experience as a Clinical Nurse Specialist

Knowledge (Essential)

• Demonstrate an understanding of the implications of the Children Act, National Service Framework, Every Child Matters, Working together to Safeguard Children, NHS Plan.

Knowledge (Desirable)

• Experience in developing care pathways and patient information.
• Understanding of MDT working.
• Experience of Service improvement.

Skills (Essential)

• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Skills of diplomacy and negotiation.
• Well‑developed organisational and planning ability, able to prioritise and delegate.
• Maintain a flexible attitude to change.
• Demonstrate an ability to work as part of a team and build good relationships.
• Computer literate.
• Ability to manage performance of staff, change management and conflict.

Skills (Desirable)

• Experience of managing conflict.
• Competent in use of databases, spreadsheets and PowerPoint.

Additional Requirements (Essential)

• The ability to understand and behave at all time towards patients, visitors and colleagues according to the Trust values of safe, kind and excellent.
• Ability to collaborate with a wide range of people at all levels within the organisation and external agencies.
• Committed to providing a high standard of clinical care.
• Able to motivate others.
• To work flexibly as the role demands.
• Able to travel as required for the role.
• Current NMC registration.

Additional Requirements (Desirable)

• Autonomous Practitioner.
• Experience of audit and research.

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 UK Visas and Immigration website. 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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

Employer details

Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Addenbrookes Hospital – Division E

Cambridge

CB2 0QQ

Website: https://www.cuh.nhs.uk