Practice Developmental Neonatal Nurse

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust; Bedford; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare organization in Bedford is looking for an experienced Neonatal Nurse to join their team. This role involves clinical duties in the Neonatal Unit, developing care plans, providing education, and supporting healthcare practitioners. Ideal candidates should be registered nurses with a degree and substantial experience in neonatal care. A passion for patient-centered care and continuous learning is essential.

Benefits

Access to high-quality training and development

Inclusive recruitment practices

Support for personal development

Qualifications

• Minimum of 3 years experience in a Neonatal unit.
• Experience facilitating training for others.
• Familiarity with National Neonatal policies & guidelines.

Responsibilities

• Assess care needs and develop care programs for infants.
• Lead educational programs for staff and ensure compliance with standards.
• Participate in research projects to enhance clinical practices.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Communication skills

Project leadership

NLS training

Education

Registered Midwife or Nurse

Educated to degree level

Job description

Social network you want to login/join with:

col-narrow-left

Client:

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

Location:

Bedford, United Kingdom

Job Category:

Other

-

EU work permit required:

Yes

col-narrow-right

Job Reference:

4be32bba7d69

Job Views:

5

Posted:

12.08.2025

Expiry Date:

26.09.2025

col-wide

Job Description:

Job overview

Join Our Neonatal Nursing Team and Make a Lasting Impact!

Are you an experienced Neonatal Nurse who thrives on making a difference every day? We’re looking for a passionate, dynamic, and enthusiastic professional who’s eager to drive education, inspire staff, and champion the growth of our Neonatal Services. Whether you love collaborating closely with a team or working independently, if you’re committed to continuous learning and personal development, this is the perfect role for you.

As part of the Bedfordshire Foundation Trust’s Level 1 Neonatal Unit, integrated within the East of England ODN Neonatal Network, you’ll be at the heart of pioneering care. Here, your expertise will help shape the future of neonatal health — delivering compassionate, cutting-edge care backed by the latest technology and clinical knowledge.

Join us in our mission to provide exceptional, kind, and understanding care to every patient and family, every day. Together, let’s make a real difference in the lives of the tiniest patients and their families.

Main duties of the job

• Working clinically the post holder will support healthcare practitioners to develop appropriate clinical patient safety knowledge and skills, with achievement of competencies.
• Ensure optimisation of resources for provision and development of clinical education
• Act as a clinical expert, visionary, role model and deliver the education and learning for all staff, in a variety of settings, including the clinical area, working alongside the staff.
• Use of a blended learning approach to ensure maximum benefit from learning opportunities
• Utilise effective methods of assessment, evaluation and impact of competence in clinical and patient safety education.

Working for our organisation

Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides hospital services to a growing population of around 700,000 people living across Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas across two busy hospital sites in Bedford and Luton. Both hospital sites offer key services such as A&E, Obstetrics-led Maternity and Paediatrics. You will be joining a friendly, high performing Trust committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of staff. As one of the largest NHS Trusts in our region you will have access to a programme of high quality training and development to help you grow your career. The Trust continues to be committed to delivering the best patient care using the best clinical knowledge and technology available.

Our values

We not only recruit based on qualifications and experience - we recruit individuals who demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our Trusts core values. We achieve this by using values based recruitment. We are dedicated to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone, we are committed to promoting equality and diversity, and creating a culture that values differences.

Please note that vacancies may close prior to the advertised closing date when sufficient number of applications have been received. All new staff will be subject to a probationary period covering first 6 months in post. Travel between hospital sites may be required. Please review all documents attached to ensure you familiarize yourself with all requirements of the job

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical Responsibilities

• Take responsibility for the assessment of care needs, the development, implementation and evaluation of programmes of care and rehabilitation for children and their families.

2.Explore more efficient and effective ways of providing a high standard of family centred care and utilisation of resources.

3. In conjunction with the staff develop a mechanism for setting goals and benchmarking standards of care. Develop tools to improve the quality of the service and co-ordinate clinical services across the ward/dept.

• Support systems for sharing good practice within the ward/dept and trust wide.
• Pilot clinical programmes.
• Plan and implement a programme for clinical supervision for all registered nurses working in the ward/dept.
• Rotational to transitional care

PDN Responsibilities

• Will create a sound culture of learning, throughout the department by using a training needs analysis approach, developing educational programmes to all clinical staff via a clinical governance pathway.
• Will be responsible for the continuing development of evolving competency-based frameworks for all bands of clinical staff, monitoring and evaluating their effectiveness, and will support all clinical staff in their delivery of nursing care in collaboration with the multi-disciplinary team.
• Will provide educational direction, guidance and access to range of learning opportunities for all students, learners and new members for maximum learning, by enhancing personal development, through framework of knowledge skills, educational programmes and support, of those who assume the role of mentor/co-mentor.
• Will participate in student nurse/learner/new staff teaching and support.

13. Will keep updated a database for all mandatory training, continued professional development and degree training, with attendance, completion and feedback.

14. Will ensure that agreed Standards are followed to provide a safe environment for both babies and families/relatives and staff

15. Will facilitate and participate in research projects, sharing and comparing evidence based best practice and use findings to change practice where appropriate.

16. Will deliver educational programmes in relation to clinical practice and professional development to support service delivery.

Managerial Responsibilities

1. Lead the ward/dept team by an appropriate management style to maintain good morale and a team approach to work:

-Deploy/book staff to meet the workload with an appropriate skill mix for 24 hour cover.

-Hold and maintain the designated budget.

-Influence control of overall ward/dept expenditure.

-Ensure regular risk assessments are carried out to identify clinical risks and prevent incidents.

-Monitor the capability, competence, sickness and absence of staff.

-Ensure compliance to trust policies and procedures amongst the multi-disciplinary team

-Obtain and analyse statistical information for the area of practice.

-Ensure the accurate input of data to I.T. systems.

-Manage stores and supplies for the area of practice.

-Ensure the proper use of and maintenance of equipment.

2. Lead in the selection, interviewing and monitoring of staff.

3.Attend and contribute actively to relevant meetings (e.g. ward manager and unit meetings) and working parties.

4.Act up for the Lead nurse

5.Take responsibility and lead on designate tasks in key areas care

6.Support band 6 staff with shift leadership and professional development.

Education, Training and Development of Staff

• Guide and support staff in their professional development and clinical competence.
• Reviewing and managing the performance of all staff by identifying their educational and other needs, annual IPR and objectives.
• Will ensure competency based educational programmes are in place, regarding the safe use/cleaning/storage/repair and proper use of equipment by all members of the clinical staff.
• Will work in collaboration with Senior Nurse, Senior Clinical Ward Sisters, medical staff and the wider multidisciplinary team in providing professional support and advice for regular review of local guidelines, Trust policies and standards in relation to practice.
• Will work in partnership with the Senior Nursing Team to identify and facilitate nursing research audits within the department. Use results to facilitate improvements in practice and documentation by all staff.
• Will be proactive in identifying, preventing, recording, documenting, reflecting, evaluating, action planning risk/incidents and above all promoting a culture of practiced risk assessment, within the department via a clinical governance pathway.
• Ensuring the orientation of staff and preceptorship in in-service training.
• Promote, encourage and participate in research, audit and studies related to the area of practice.
• Implement ward teaching programmes.
• Guide and support staff in the monitoring and assessment for all learners in the clinical area.
• In liaison with universities, provide a successful learning environment for students.
• Participate in a ‘shadowing’ programme of the senior nurse.

Professional and Legal Responsibilities

1. Be familiar with and to observe ward, department, hospital and district policies, the NMC Rules and Code of Practice.

• Update own knowledge and skills in order to develop professionally and to contribute to the improvement of the service.
• Take responsibility for the safe storage of records and the maintenance of confidentiality

CARE AND COMPASSION:

The post holder must be able to demonstrate and proactively deliver effective and personal care, which is safe, in a calm and compassionate manner to every patient, every time. This should be at the core of all planning which actively involves the patient and where appropriate their significant others.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Registered Midwife or Nurse.
• QIS trained with at least 3 years consolidation of learning
• Current NLS training
• Educated to degree level
• Research experience
• Good inter-personal and Communication skills, including clear, concise written skills
• Good level of IT ie Email/Internet
• Project leadership skills

Experience

• Substantial time working in Neonatal unit
• Facilitating training for others
• Ability to effectively lead change
• Evidence of involvement in project management

Knowledge

• Knowledge of teaching and learning
• Able to evaluate and analyse results of audit in order to improve the service
• Experience in change management and/or quality improvement initiatives
• Knowledge of National Neonatal policies & guidelines

Skills

• Ability to work and communicate as part of the multidisciplinary team
• Ability to train others
• Ability to prioritise in order to meet deadlines when writing report
• Effectively carries out tasks related to audit and evaluating services
• Ability to plan, allocate and supervise others
• Ability to deal with operational issues

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.