Safe Staffing and Workforce Assurance Matron- Band 8a

United Lincolnshire Hospitals; Boston; Hybrid; GBP 58,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

NHS Pension

Annual Leave 27-33 days + bank hols

Job summary

United Lincolnshire Hospitals seeks a Safe Staffing & Workforce Assurance Matron (Band 8a) to lead safe staffing across the Trust. You will work with matrons, senior nurses and operational leaders to drive evidence-based workforce deployment and continuous improvement.

You will develop capability across nursing teams, apply safe staffing principles, and influence governance forums to benefit patients and staff across Lincolnshire.

Qualifications

• Degree in nursing or equivalent; CPD preferred.
• Master's level study in nursing is advantageous.
• Experience in leadership roles within nursing is expected.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert professional nursing leadership for safe staffing.
• Lead and support complex workforce decisions with operational leaders.
• Coach nursing leaders and ensure staffing decisions are evidence-based.
• Communicate across governance forums to improve staffing and outcomes.

Skills

Nursing leadership

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Digital literacy

Project management

Education

Nursing degree or equivalent

Master's level study (nursing)

Tools

SafeCare

e-Rostering

Job description

Safe Staffing and Workforce Assurance Matron- Band 8a

NHS AfC: Band 8a

Main area Nursing leadership Grade NHS AfC: Band 8a Contract Permanent Hours

• Full time
• Part time
• Job share

37.5 hours per week Job ref 357-LN-646-26-B

Site Lincoln County Hospital or Pilgrim Hospital Boston Town Lincoln or Boston Salary £57,528 - £64,750 Per Annum Salary period Yearly Closing 18/10/2026 23:59

We recognise that outstanding care can only be delivered through our people. We want to attract people who can help us deliver our vision. We want in return to help people achieve what they wish in their careers in the NHS at ULTH.

We are always keen to welcome highly skilled, committed and compassionate individuals to our hospitals – people who put patients at the heart of everything they do and are ready to help us achieve our vision.

Our Group values guide everything we do. They are:

Compassionate - We care about people - Compassionate is the act of showing empathy, kindness, and respect to others, recognising their individual needs and circumstances. It involves listening, understanding, and supporting others in a way that makes them feel valued, safe, and cared for.

Collaborative - We work together as a team - Collaborative is working inclusively and respectfully with others to achieve shared goals. It involves open communication, valuing diverse perspectives, and building trust to create a supportive and effective team environment.

Innovative - We strive to improve - Innovative is the process of exploring new ideas, approaches, and technologies to improve care, services, and working practices. It involves creativity, curiosity, and a willingness to take risks in a safe and supportive environment.

If you believe in them too, then you are ready to join the ULTH team.

We’ve taken great pride in building working environments where staff always feel valued, cared for and part of a team. Without doubt this is a challenging yet very rewarding job that is at the centre of health and care in Lincolnshire - making a positive difference to our patients.

Our Trust is situated in the beautiful county of Lincolnshire and is one of the biggest acute hospital trusts in England, serving a population of more than 700,000 people. We provide acute and specialist services to people in Lincolnshire and neighbouring counties. We have an annual income of £710 million (22/23) and we employ nearly 8,600 people.

Our Group Board have recently agreed a new vision statement – “Caring and building a healthier future for all” – stating their ambition for our Trust and the wider group to be among the best.

We also have a five year Integrated Improvement Plan setting out how we will achieve our strategic objectives, for patients, services, people and partners, the last recognising that our future success depends on our ability to ensure the Lincolnshire healthcare system is successful in achieving its ambition to help people live healthier lives and provide care closer to where people live.

Our latest CQC report increased our ratings for being effective and well-led from ‘Requires Improvement’ to ‘Good’. Our rating for caring remained as ‘Good’.

This is in recognition of the huge amount of work that our amazing staff have done to improve the quality of care for our patients in recent years.

We are committed to helping our staff balance their work and home lives and ensure they feel supported, valued and appreciative.

So,what is in it for you?

• Flexible working: Depending on the needs of your role, we will consider requests for flexible and/or part-time working for whatever reason you should need it. We recognise flexible working will not look the same for everyone, because it depends on the nature of the role and the needs of the individual.

Types of flexibility could include:

• Part-time - less than 37.5 hours per week.
• Off-site/remote working - working from home or other sites for part or all the week.
• Compressed hours – usually full-time hours but over fewer days or shifts.
• Staggered hours – having different start and finish times.
• Set shift patterns – to allow for predictability
• NHS Pension:A generous and flexible pension scheme with contributions from us as your employer fully protected against inflation and guaranteed by the government
• Annual Leave: Starting at 27 days a year, rising to 33 days after 10 years plus eight bank holidays (for staff covered by Agenda for Change) For Medical Workforce positions (Consultant and Specialty Doctor), the full-time entitlement commences from 32 days per annum. For all other Medical Workforce positions, the full-time entitlement commences from 27 days per annum.
• Bank working:The chance to work extra hours at enhanced rates and we will pay you weekly too, ideal if your income needs a quick boost.

In addition, there ismore.

• Family & Childcare: Including on-site nurseries at Lincoln County Hospital and Pilgrim Hospital Boston, maternity, paternity, adoption & shared parental leave following a set period of employment.
• Health & Wellbeing including counselling, mental health first aid, physiotherapy, eye tests.
• Learning & Development including Lincolnshire Talent Academy, leadership training, medical education, clinical education, Lincolnshire clinical research
• Financial support and benefits including Cycle2Work, car lease scheme, home electronics. Free on-site parking and free tea and coffee and the ability to save and borrow through your salary.
• Rewards & Recognition including staff awards, long service awards, retirement awards, examples of excellence and staff lottery.

Enjoy a better quality of life in one of the UK’s most welcoming counties. Whether you’re taking the first exciting steps in your career, itching for a new challenge or searching for a better place to raise a family, Lincolnshire welcomes everyone. Discover a range of rewarding health and social care careers in a county that’s friendly, fascinating, affordable and brimming with everything you need to live a happy life.

Job overview

Staffing is about people.

Every decision we make about staffing has an impact on people.

It affects the care our patients receive, the experience of the staff delivering that care and the confidence of the nursing leaders making those decisions.

Safe staffing isn't simply about numbers. It's about professional judgement, compassion, collaboration and ensuring we have the right people, in the right place, at the right time to deliver safe, effective and high quality care.

We're creating a brand new Safe Staffing & Workforce Assurance Team, and we're looking for exceptional senior nurses who want to help shape the future of nursing workforce leadership, this is a unique opportunity to be part of something new.

Main duties of the job

About the role

As a Safe Staffing & Workforce Assurance Matron, you'll provide expert professional nursing leadership for safe staffing across our organisation.

Working alongside matrons, senior nurses and operational leaders, you'll lead and support complex workforce decisions, provide professional advice during periods of operational pressure and help ensure staffing decisions remain safe, evidence based and centred on delivering the very best care for our patients whilst supporting our nursing teams.

You’ll develop a unique organisation wide perspective, using workforce intelligence, professional judgement and operational insight to identify emerging risks, support nursing leaders and continuously improve how safe staffing is understood, delivered and assured across our Organisation. You'll help build capability across our nursing teams, supporting leaders to apply safe staffing principles consistently and confidently in practice.

No two days will be the same.

One day you may be supporting complex staffing decisions across multiple services. Another day you may be reviewing workforce trends, coaching senior nursing leaders, developing new approaches to workforce deployment or using workforce intelligence to identify emerging risks and providing professional assurance and recommendations through our nursing and governance forums. Throughout it all, you'll use your experience to influence positive change that benefits both patients and staff.

Working for our organisation

Lincoln Hospital is a thriving university city and with the opening of the medical school, it provides all major specialties and a 24-hour major accident and emergency service.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust has been granted teaching hospital status, after demonstrating evidence to significant teaching commitment. From now on it will be known as United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Pilgrim Hospital is situated in beautiful countryside and serves the communities in the South Lincolnshire area. It provides all major specialties and a 24-hour major accident and emergency service.

Grantham and District Hospital serves the communities of Grantham and the local area. It provides ambulatory paediatric and accident and emergency services.

Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust (LCHS) and United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT) have come together in a Group arrangement, with the goal of improving the care provided to patients across the county.

This will not constitute a formal merger of the two organisations, but will bring the Trusts together under a single Board and Executive Leadership Team, with the goal of improving the care that is provided to patients both in the community and in hospitals across Lincolnshire. Both Trusts will retain their separate statutory names and legal obligations.

The Group will be known as Lincolnshire Community and Hospitals NHS Group (LCHG).

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

This is far more than a new role.

It's an opportunity to help shape a new approach to safe staffing across our organisation and become part of a team committed to supporting nursing leaders, strengthening workforce decision making and improving outcomes for both patients and staff.

You’ll be part of the Nursing Workforce Team, working closely with the Associate Director of Nursing Workforce, Deputy Director of Nursing Workforce and senior nursing leaders across the organisation, helping embed a consistent, evidence based approach to safe staffing that reflects national best practice whilst remaining grounded in the realities of daily operational nursing. There will be opportunities to collaborate across the wider Group as our approaches to safe staffing and workforce assurance continue to develop.

Together, we’ll create an environment where our patients receive the safe, high quality care and our nursing teams feel supported, valued and empowered to deliver their very best every day.

We know that diverse teams make better decisions and deliver better care. We welcome applications from nurses with different experiences, backgrounds and perspectives. We’re looking for people who bring strong professional judgement, credible leadership and a genuine desire to make safe staffing better for our patients, our staff and the teams we work alongside.

These are organisation wide roles, and post holders will be required to work flexibly across ULTH sites as part of the seven day safe staffing service.

• Degree in Nursing or equivalent level qualification/experience
• Evidence of ongoing continuous professional development
• Evidence of leadership development through completion of a recognised leadership development programme or equivalent leadership qualification.
• Master's level study, or equivalent experience in a relevant nursing field.
• Demonstrates expert professional judgement and the ability to make autonomous decisions in complex and unpredictable situations where there are competing operational priorities and no immediately obvious solution.
• Ability to lead operational safe staffing arrangements and support evidence based workforce deployment across multiple clinical services
• Highly developed analytical skills with the ability to interpret, triangulate and present complex workforce information to support organisational decision making.
• Excellent communication, influencing and negotiation skills with the ability to build credibility and challenge constructively across all levels of the organisation.
• Ability to lead service improvement and implement sustainable change using workforce intelligence, quality indicators and operational learning.
• Ability to develop and maintain effective collaborative relationships across professional and organisational boundaries.
• Ability to coach, support and develop nursing leaders, embedding consistent approaches to safe staffing and workforce decision making.
• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple competing priorities whilst maintaining organisational oversight.
• Highly developed digital literacy with experience of using workforce information systems and Microsoft Office applications to analyse, interpret and present information.
• Ability to establish professional credibility and influence at all levels of the organisation.
• Experience of workforce planning or safe staffing systems.
• Project or programme management skills.

Knowledge

• Knowledge of national guidance, professional standards and best practice relating to safe staffing, workforce deployment and workforce assurance.
• Knowledge of evidence based workforce planning methodologies and the principles of professional judgement in workforce decision making.
• Understanding of nursing workforce governance, organisational risk management and patient safety. Knowledge of quality improvement methodologies and service redesign.
• Understanding of nursing establishments, workforce utilisation and workforce metrics. Knowledge of professional accountability associated with leading safe staffing and workforce deployment.
• Understanding of organisational change and the factors influencing successful implementation.
• Knowledge of the principles of nursing workforce assurance and governance.
• Knowledge of national nursing workforce policy.
• Knowledge of workforce information systems such as SafeCare, e-Rostering or equivalent.

Experience

• Significant post registration experience within senior nursing leadership, including responsibility for operational decision making, workforce deployment or workforce assurance within a complex healthcare environment.
• Experience of leading operational safe staffing, workforce deployment or workforce assurance within a complex healthcare environment.
• Experience of making autonomous decisions in complex operational situations involving competing priorities and organisational risk
• Experience of interpreting and analysing complex workforce information to support decision making.
• Experience of leading or contributing to workforce improvement, service redesign or quality improvement initiatives.
• Experience of developing, implementing or reviewing policies, procedures or workforce guidance.
• Experience of providing professional advice and support to senior nursing leaders.
• Experience of presenting complex information and recommendations to senior leaders, committees or governance groups.
• Experience of working collaboratively across organisational and professional boundaries to achieve shared objectives
• Experience of nursing establishment reviews.
• Experience of workforce assurance or committee reporting.
• Experience of project or programme management.

Specific Requirements

• Ability to work flexibly to meet the operational needs of the service.
• Ability to travel between organisational sites.
• Ability to exercise a high degree of professional autonomy.
• Demonstrates resilience when working under sustained operational pressure.
• Ability to influence, negotiate and challenge constructively whilst maintaining positive professional relationships
• Commitment to embedding the principles of safe staffing across the organisation.
• Commitment to continuous professional development and lifelong learning.
• Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

Personal Qualities

• Demonstrates the Lincolnshire Community and Hospitals NHS Group (LCHG) Values in all aspects of professional practice.
• Acts with integrity, professionalism and compassion.
• Demonstrates visible, credible and inclusive nursing leadership.
• Builds effective relationships and works collaboratively across organisational boundaries. Demonstrates resilience, sound professional judgement and personal accountability.
• Committed to delivering safe, effective and high quality patient care through evidence based workforce deployment.
• Champions continuous improvement, innovation and organisational learning.
• Committed to personal and professional development.

ULTH recognises that everyone is different, and values the unique contribution that individual experiences, knowledge and skills make in delivering quality healthcare and becoming a model employer. We are committed to transforming our organisational culture by actively committing to implementing the Trust Single Equality Scheme, and other policies, such as the Dignity in Care policy and the Dignity at Work policy. We will continue to promote equality and challenge discrimination in all service provision, recognising and meeting the needs of the diverse communities we serve. We will strive to provide an environment in which people want to work and to be a model employer leading in good employment practice.

Due to the high volume of applications we receive, ULTH reserves the right to close this advert prior to the closing date.

We welcome applications from the UK Armed Forces Community. On the application form please tick “Member of the Armed Forces Community” if the below applies to you.

You are:

• A Veteran
• A Military Reserve
• Partner/Spouse of those Serving NB: partners/spouses are only eligible whilst their partner is serving in the Armed Forces

All new employees will be subject to a charge for the DBS check that is required for the post. The Disclosure & Barring Service application form (formerly CRB) will be provided by ULTH and the fee will be deducted from your salary over a 3 month period.

Candidates are advised to read the attached guidance on using AI technology. When you complete your application, you are required to declare that the information in your application form is true and complete.

Please note, for applicants with previous NHS service: If successful at interview, we will initiate an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR). This retrieves key data from your current or previous NHS employer to support onboarding, including competency status, Continuous Service Dates (CSD), and annual leave entitlement.

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.