Paediatric Senior Sister/ Ward Manager

Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust; Guildford; On-site; GBP 52,000 - 59,000; Full time

Job summary

Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust seeks a Paediatric Senior Sister/Ward Manager to lead Hascombe Children’s Ward (18 beds) for patients aged 0–16 years. You will drive safe, high-quality pediatric care, collaborate with the Paediatric Matron and Practice Development team, and develop the service while supporting staff through dynamic leadership.

The role requires registered nursing in pediatrics, leadership experience, and a commitment to continuous improvement within an acute hospital setting

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse (Children) with UK registration.
• Post-registration course related to the care of the unwell child.
• Enrolled or working towards a First level degree in nursing.
• ENB 998 mentorship or recognised teaching certificate.

Responsibilities

• Demonstrate clinical expertise in care of acutely unwell pediatric patients.
• Provide leadership and line management to ward staff.
• Ensure safe, efficient and quality care across the patient journey.
• Support clinical development and service transformation.
• Safeguard patient privacy, dignity and cultural needs.

Skills

Leadership

Team management

Clinical governance

Paediatrics

Staff mentoring

Education

Registered Nurse (Children)

First level degree in nursing

ENB 998 mentorship/training

Post-registration course in care of the unwell child

Job description

Employer Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Royal Surrey County Hospital Town Guildford Salary £51,657 - £58,785 per annum pro rata including HCAS Salary period Yearly Closing 11/10/2026 23:59 Interview date 19/10/2026

Paediatric Senior Sister/ Ward Manager

7

Job overview

Are you passionate about Paediatrics? Looking to inspire and share your knowledge and skills?

Are you able to lead a team and ensure service delivery and growth? Can you inspire the next generation of Children’s nurses and maintain standards whilst delivering expert care?

If so, we could be the team for you. Following restructuring, a new opportunity has arisen. We are looking for a Paediatric Senior sister to come join our team.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and highly motivated leader to manage Hascombe Children's Ward, Hascombe ward is our inpatient Children’s ward caring for children 0-16yrs. It consists of 18 inpatient beds and is collocated with our busy Paediatric Assessment Unit. We cover a variety of specialities including general medicine and surgery, orthopaedics, oncology, ENT and maxillofacial

You will be able to manage and lead the team effectively, providing support to staff and whilst ensuring the provision of safe, efficient and quality care to children, young people & their families, driving service development and transformation. You will work closely with the Paediatric Matron and the Practice development team to ensure the safe running of the unit

Main duties of the job

• Have continuing responsibility for the department based personnel service over a 24 hour period.
• Manage the department taking responsibility for the delivery and co-ordination of care delivery
• Ensure an effective, efficient and quality service is delivered.
• Develop a team culture of dynamic solution based thinking, working and behaving
• Understanding of care group objectives and assisting in the management of activity in line with key performance indicators
• In conjunction with the Matron , support and manage Clinical leaders and all staff to achieve excellence in all aspects of care delivery throughout the patient journey
• Provide effective leadership and line management to all grades of staff, directing and monitoring activities against defined objectives
• Planning service innovations and developments in conjunction with Matron and clinical Leaders to ensure an effective working and learning environment for the multidisciplinary team
• Ensure that the ward environment meets national, local and care group required standards
• Lead on patient safety and quality measures
• Developing successful working relationships with key users /MDT and other senior clinical and non-clinical managers
• Deputise for the Matron when required

Working for our organisation

Royal Surrey is a compassionate and collaborative acute and community Trust. Recognising that our 5,000 colleagues are our greatest strength, we offer a comprehensive health and wellbeing programme alongside a strong commitment to developing your career. Our diverse and welcoming Royal Surrey family ensures you feel valued from your initial interview and throughout your time with us.

We are clinically led and provide joined-up care by bridging hospital and community services, alongside delivering regional specialist cancer care. Our main acute hospital site is in Guildford, with community sites at Milford, Haslemere and Cranleigh, and services delivered in patients’ homes across Guildford and Waverley.

We work in partnership with Ashford & St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust through a collaborative Group Model, supporting joined-up services, workforce flexibility and development opportunities.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated us as Outstanding. We are proud of our achievements and continue to invest in our people and infrastructure.

To learn more about life at Royal Surrey, please watch our short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R96pMboIYdo

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Demonstrate clinical expertise in the care of acutely unwell patients and act as professional role model.
• Ensure patient’s privacy and dignity is maintained and religious and cultural beliefs are respected at all times
• To be responsible for the assessment of patient care and the development, implementation and evaluation of care, ensuring standards are evidence based.
• To ensure there is effective communication between patients, carers and staff.
• To ensure accurate and comprehensive nursing records are maintained using appropriate documentation.
• To establish effective working relationships with all members of the multi- disciplinary team to promote good communication and a multi-disciplinary approach to patient care and discharge planning
• To work with lead nurses, operational and site team managers, to ensure optimal bed utilization and patient flow.
• Be responsible for ensuring quality care delivery within the ward through the audit of nursing practice in conjunction with the matrons and implementation of evidence based research.
• To be responsible with the matron for carrying out risk assessments according to Trust clinical governance.
• To be responsible for the implementation of safe working practices as required by the Health & Safety at Work Act and the maintenance of training records.
• Ensure that prescribed medications are correctly and safely administered. Monitor and investigate all medication errors.
• Ensure competent to use and safe maintenance of all medical devices within the sphere of responsibility
• Report all incidents and near misses promptly and appropriately investigates and feeds back action plans to the ward team to reduce the risk in the future
• Keep up-to-date with safeguarding legislation and training.
• Facilitate the partnership approach between patient, parents/carers and all professional involved in their care to provide a positive patient experience. This includes listening to issues identified and ensuring is addressed.
• Promote a professional image at all times and be accountable for own clinical practice.
• Participate in a Senior Nurse on call rota for neonatal and paediatric areas out of hours (includes nights and weekends)

Person specification

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse ( Childrens)
• First level degree in relevant subject or working towards
• ENB 998, mentorship, Experienced Practice Assessor or recognised teaching certificate
• Post registration course related to the care of the unwell child

Skills, Knowledge & Experience

• Extensive experience in caring for ill child in the acute setting
• Proven leadership and management experience
• Experience of managing complex discharges
• Significant experience at Band 6 or above within an acute hospital setting.
• Evidence of advanced skills in practice i.e. IV additives
• Knowledge of clinical governance issues such as complaints handling, clinical risk management
• Financial or Budgetary responsibilities - Previously responsible for a budget, involved in budget setting and working knowledge of financial processes
• Experience of managing and motivating a team and reviewing performance of the individuals
• HDU/PICU experience

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.