Paediatric Emergency Department Matron

Ekhuft; South Willesborough; Remote; GBP 60,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

East Kent Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is seeking an experienced Matron to lead the Children’s Emergency Department, delivering safe, high‑quality paediatric care. You will oversee staffing, governance and performance in a dynamic ED and work with senior colleagues to improve patient flow and experience.

The role requires strong clinical leadership, governance oversight and the ability to drive continuous improvement in a busy hospital environment.

Qualifications

• RN Child ENB 998/997 or equivalent.
• Post-registration degree-level education.
• IT training at intermediate level e.g. EDLC or equivalent.
• Master’s degree in relevant clinical/leadership subject, or working towards.

Responsibilities

• Provide visible, professional and operational nursing leadership for the Children’s Emergency Department.
• Lead day-to-day management and ensure safe staffing and appropriately skilled workforce.
• Support recruitment, retention and staff development; manage resources effectively.
• Oversee patient safety, safeguarding, governance, incidents, complaints and learning from incidents.
• Promote compassionate, inclusive and accountable culture to deliver excellent paediatric care.

Skills

Clinical leadership

Department leadership

Change management

Safeguarding leadership

Staff development

HR processes

Budgeting

Data and performance analysis

Presentation skills

Education

RN Child

ENB 998/997 equivalent

Degree level education

Master’s degree (or towards)

Tools

IT training (EDLC etc)

Job description

This is an exciting opportunity for a dynamic, experienced and highly motivated Registered Children’s Nurse to join our senior nursing leadership team as Matron for the Children’s Emergency Department.

The Matron will provide visible, professional and operational nursing leadership, ensuring children, young people and their families receive safe, effective, compassionate and high-quality emergency care.

Working closely with the Head of Nursing, senior medical colleagues and the wider multidisciplinary team, the postholder will lead the day-to‑day delivery of the Children’s Emergency Department, with a strong focus on patient safety, safeguarding, clinical quality, workforce, patient flow, performance and experience.

We are looking for an experienced and credible clinical leader who can lead effectively within a busy and rapidly changing emergency care environment. You will provide oversight of staffing, clinical standards, governance and risk, ensuring learning from incidents, complaints and patient feedback drives continuous improvement.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced Children’s Nurse with strong leadership skills and a passion for developing high-quality paediatric emergency care.

Main duties of the job

The Children’s Emergency Department Matron will provide visible, professional and operational nursing leadership, ensuring safe, effective and high-quality emergency care for children, young people and their families.

The postholder will lead the day‑to‑day management of the Children’s Emergency Department, working closely with the Head of Nursing, senior medical colleagues, operational teams and the wider multidisciplinary team.

Key responsibilities include providing clinical leadership and professional oversight; ensuring safe staffing and an appropriately skilled workforce; supporting recruitment, retention and staff development; and effective management of resources.

The Matron will oversee patient safety, safeguarding, clinical governance, incidents, complaints, risks and quality improvement, ensuring learning is embedded into practice.

The role will support safe patient flow and operational performance, responding to increased demand and escalating risks appropriately. The Matron will monitor quality and performance, ensure compliance with professional and regulatory standards, and lead continuous improvement.

As a senior nursing leader, the postholder will promote a compassionate, inclusive and accountable culture, supporting staff to deliver excellent care and experience for children and their families.

Working for our organisation

We are one of the largest hospital trusts in England, with five
hospitals and community clinics serving a local population of around 800,000 people. Our vision is 'great healthcare from great people'. Everything we do is guided by our values: 'People feel cared for, safe, respected and confident that we are making a difference’. We have a new way of working at East Kent Hospitals, called 'We care'. It's about empowering frontline staff to lead improvements day‑to‑day. We're looking for compassionate people to be part of our improvement journey for the patients, families and carers we care for every day.

Please note that if you require a Certificate of Sponsorship to work in the UK you must declare this on your application form, even if you currently have a certificate of sponsorship or a work permit for another role and are already working in the country. Please note we are only able to sponsor candidates on a Skilled Worker Visa applying for roles Band 5 and above.

Person specification

Experience

• RN Child ENB 998/997 or equivalent
• Evidence of post registration education at degree level
• IT training at intermediate level eg EDLC or equivalent experience
• Master’s degree in a relevant clinical/leadership subject, equivalent level of knowledge and experience, or evidence of working towards Master’s level study

Skills

• Substantial post‑registration experience in paediatric emergency/urgent care, including significant experience in a senior nursing leadership role at Band 7 or equivalent.
• Experience of working in partnership with multidisciplinary teams and across organisational/professional boundaries
• Demonstrable experience of leading and managing change and quality improvement within a clinical environment.
• Knowledge of current developments and national standards in paediatric urgent and emergency care.
• Experience of leading and developing a nursing workforce, including appraisal, recruitment, retention, performance and complex HR processes
• Experience of clinical governance, incident investigation, risk management, complaints and learning from patient safety events
• Experience of paediatric safeguarding leadership and application of safeguarding procedures in practice. Experience of workforce planning, safe staffing and effective use of temporary staffing
• Experience of budgetary/resource management and delivering services within available resources
• Ability to use data, audit, patient experience and performance information to identify variation, lead improvement and demonstrate impact
• Experience of contributing to research and audit programmes
• Experience of delivering presentations

Governance

• Comprehensive understanding of clinical governance, patient safety, risk assessment and quality improvement
• Clear and current understanding of safeguarding children and young people, including escalation and multi‑agency working
• Ability to provide assurance through audit, outcome measures, incident learning and improvement data
• Understanding of the needs of children and young people presenting with mental health crisis and the interfaces with CAMHS and safeguarding services

Personal and Professional Attributes

• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Ability to effectively prioritise and organise own workload and workload of others
• Excellent oral and written communication skills Leadership skills

Other Requirements

• Flexible to meet service needs
• Able to work collaboratively across organisational and professional boundaries, recognising changes in circumstances and to incorporate them into practice.
• Ability to work under pressure to meet deadlines
• Demonstrates awareness of priorities, deals with workload, adapts to changing requirements, and uses initiative

There are lots of great opportunities at East Kent Hospitals, where staff are caring and put patients first, innovation flourishes and you can develop your career. We’re on an exciting journey of transformation. With a local Medical School at the centre of our community, a focus on research, clinical leadership and making our trust a rewarding and friendly place to work,
there’s never been a better time to join us.

The Trust fully supports the SAS Doctors Charter and is committed to their development through its CPD Framework.

We have a relocation policy for eligible candidates, parking available at Trust sites but we encourage other options, like car sharing or public transport.

The Trust is committed to supporting flexible working to fulfil our pledge as part of The Trust’s People Strategy to help staff to achieve a healthy work/life balance.

The ability to converse easily and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for all customer facing roles.

Most positions require a Disclosure and Barring check and will be exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Posts working regularly or unsupervised with children or vulnerable adults require an enhanced check.

Applicants for eligible roles requiring Skilled Worker sponsorship must meet UK Visas and Immigration eligibility criteria.

We operate a no‑smoking policy on all our sites and grounds.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.