Senior Sister/Charge Nurse - Paediatric ICU

NHS; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading teaching hospital in Cambridge is looking for a Senior Sister/Charge Nurse for the Paediatric ICU. The role involves providing expert care to critically ill children and leading the PICU team. Ideal candidates should have strong qualifications in paediatric nursing and proven leadership skills. A wide range of benefits and a vibrant community atmosphere enhance the working environment at the trust.

Benefits

Development opportunities

On-site leisure facilities

Flexible working arrangements

Qualifications

• Must be a compassionate leader with innovative ideas in paediatric intensive care.
• Evidence of continuing professional development at degree level.
• Mentorship experience with paediatric critical care course learners.

Responsibilities

• Provide safe and effective care to critically ill children.
• Demonstrate effective decision making to develop the PICU team.
• Facilitate integration of theory into practice for learners.

Skills

Leadership

Child care

Critical thinking

Communication

Teamwork

Education

First level registration (part 8 or 15)

Post registration paediatric critical care qualification

Evidence of master's degree level study

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Go back Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Senior Sister/Charge Nurse - Paediatric ICU

The closing date is 05 October 2025

If you are a compassionate leader, innovative and an experienced paediatric intensive care nurse we would welcome you to join our combined paediatric intensive and high dependency care unit. You will be joining a well-established team within a large teaching hospital. Working in collaboration with the PaNDR (Paediatric and Neonatal Decision Support and Retrieval Service) we provide a regional service as the only PICU in the East of England, delivering excellent specialist care to children, young people and their families.

Cambridge University Hospitals has a diverse child admission criteria and is a tertiary centre for oncology, major trauma, neurology and many paediatric surgical & medical subspecialties, with the exception of cardiac surgery. Many children make their way to us via a specialist Children's Transport Service, including the recently established PaNDR (Paediatric and Neonatal Decision, support and Retrieval service), which operates out of Addenbrooke's, and with whom we work in partnership.

The city of Cambridge itself is a vibrant, exciting place to live and work. Addenbrooke's Hospital is part of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, one of the largest Teaching Trusts in the country, benefiting from close ties with Cambridge University and sitting within Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

Excitingly, planning for the new Cambridge Children's Hospital is well under way.

Main duties of the job

We have Our Trust values of Together - Safe, Kind, and Excellent to support the delivery of outstanding care. Our ethos of child centred care and multi-professional collaboration drives our service, alongside a commitment to family focused teamwork. We believe in supporting our patients, their families and our staff, and we offer a diverse range of dedicated psychosocial and clinical support services for all groups.

The post holder will be responsible for being a clinical expert, providing safe and effective care to all levels of critically ill and/or injured children requiring intensive care. You will demonstrate effective and safe decision making in the development of the PICU team and our service provision.

About us

Come Nurse with us...

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 healthcare 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 abilities 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.

Why choose Cambridge University Hospitals?

o Our values and reputation for outstanding careo Opportunities to experience a range of specialitieso Career and development opportunitieso Preceptorship and mentoring programmes delivered by a dedicated clinical education support teamo Research experience and opportunitieso Lovely location and quality of lifeo Excellent schools/colleges and transport links (road, rail and air)

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached Applicant Information Pack (combined Job Description and Person Specification) for key duties and responsibilities.

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

For NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough based roles, all applicants from NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough who have identified that they are at risk of redundancy will be prioritised over those not at risk. However, interviews cannot be guaranteed.

This vacancy will close at midnight on 5 October 2025

Interviews are due to be held in the week commencing 13 October 2025

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 caf, with free tea and coffee, a break space and private outside area for colleagues to rest, refuel and recharge. Just one of the ways we are working hard to support good working days at CUH.

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

• First level registration (part 8 or 15)
• Post registration paediatric critical care qualification (equivalent to ENB 415/100/ 405)
• Teaching and assessing qualification
• Evidence of master's degree level study
• Level 3 Child protection training
• Leadership Training
• Evidence of continuing professional development at degree level
• Evidence of Certified Management Training programme

Experience

• Amassed a level of band 6 grade experience with demonstrated competence in leading others in advanced intensive care therapies.
• Continuing experience as a mentor to paediatric critical care course learners
• Experience of providing and co-ordinating a paediatric retrieval service.
• Evidence of professional networking beyond organisational level.
• Experience in the supervision of others in the delivery of advanced intensive care therapies

Knowledge

• Global awareness of current professional issues related to nursing, PIC, DoH and the NHS
• Has an in-depth paediatric nursing knowledge, demonstrating ability to facilitate the integration of theory into practice for learners.
• Understand the developmental needs of individuals and groups of nurses in a large competitive team setting.

Skills

• Competent to care for and supervise staff providing care to all levels of intensive care children in a safe and effective manner without supervision
• Ability to meet the unexpected demands of the intensive patient and HR management issues in a professional manner
• Effectively manage complex operational situations on a shift by shift basis
• Act as a clinical expert/resource
• Work flexibly within a multi professional team
• Ability to initiate and support change
• Evidence of participation in research and audit projects
• Evidence of developing guidelines / policies or procedures

Additional Requirements

• The ability to understand and behave at all times, towards patients, visitors and colleagues according to the Trust values of safe, kind and excellent.
• Evidence of effective communication and decision making skills
• Evidence of a forward thinking and progressive work ethos
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint)

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.

Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust