Sister/Charge Nurse

NHS Blood and Transplant; Crownhill; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working arrangements

Flexible working options

Generous annual leave

Inclusive pension scheme

Supportive learning culture

Job summary

NHS Blood and Transplant is seeking a Session Sister/Charge Nurse to lead donor-facing teams and blood collection activities, delivering a safe, high-quality donation experience. You will be a visible clinical leader, promoting compassionate care, regulatory compliance and continuous improvement across the donor centre.

You will support teams, oversee donor eligibility and care, manage risks and drive improvements while upholding NHSBT values and a commitment to saving lives through safe blood

Qualifications

• Substantial management and leadership experience within a clinical environment.
• Experience of leading and implementing change, while motivating teams.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong analytical, decision-making and problem-solving abilities with governance experience.
• Experience mentoring, coaching and developing colleagues.

Responsibilities

• Lead donor-facing teams and blood collection activities to ensure a safe, positive donation experience.
• Provide visible clinical leadership, set expectations and support attainment of objectives.
• Act as expert in donor eligibility, donor care and adverse donation events.
• Ensure regulatory compliance and governance processes are followed.
• Monitor performance, analyse data and support KPI delivery.
• Investigate incidents and quality concerns, implementing corrective actions.
• Coach, mentor and develop staff with training and competency assessments.
• Promote service improvements and engage in audits, research and innovation.
• Manage session resources, stock, equipment and workforce deployment.
• Deputise for Senior Sister/Senior Charge Nurse/Donor Centre Manager when required.

Skills

Leadership experience

Change management

Communication skills

Risk management

Staff coaching

Education

NMC registered nurse

Ongoing professional development

BSQR / GMP knowledge

UK driving licence

Job description

Sister/Charge Nurse

Job Summary

As a Session Sister/Charge Nurse, you will lead donor-facing teams and blood collection activities to deliver a safe, high-quality donation experience. You will play a vital role in ensuring donor and patient safety, maintaining regulatory compliance, and achieving operational targets while promoting excellent standards of care. As a visible clinical leader, you will support, motivate and develop colleagues, oversee donor eligibility and care, manage clinical risks, and drive continuous improvement. Working closely with multidisciplinary teams, you will champion NHS Blood and Transplant’s values, ensuring every donor receives a compassionate, professional and positive experience while helping to save and improve lives through the collection of safe blood products.

Main duties of the job

• Lead donor-facing teams and blood collection activities to ensure a safe, effective and positive donation experience.
• Provide visible clinical leadership, setting clear expectations and supporting teams to achieve operational and quality objectives.
• Act as the expert in donor eligibility, donor care and the management of adverse donation events.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, policies, standard operating procedures and clinical governance processes.
• Monitor performance, analyse clinical data, identify areas for improvement and support delivery of key performance indicators.
• Investigate incidents, complaints and quality concerns, implementing corrective actions and sharing learning with colleagues.
• Coach, mentor and develop staff, delivering training and supporting ongoing competency assessments and professional development.
• Promote service improvements, support change initiatives and contribute to audit, research and innovation activities.
• Manage session resources, stock, equipment and workforce deployment to maximise productivity and donor safety.
• Deputise for the Senior Sister/Senior Charge Nurse/Donor Centre Manager when required.

Your working hours will be:

The normal opening hours are 07:50-17:00; contractual hours are 07:30-17:20 (with a half-hour unpaid break), so 6 days per fortnight is 0.75 WTE.

‘On a shift basis but, the normal hours for this role are 6 days per fortnight. Shifts start at 07:30 and finish 17:20, with a half hour unpaid break.’

Weekend and bank holiday working will be required. You can expect to work some long hours, but you won’t be working more than five days a week.

About You

Experience and Knowledge

• Substantial management and leadership experience within a clinical environment.
• Experience of leading and implementing change, while motivating and supporting teams to deliver high standards of care.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to influence, negotiate and build effective working relationships.
• Strong analytical, decision-making and problem-solving skills, with experience of risk management, performance management and clinical governance.
• Experience of mentoring, coaching and developing colleagues, alongside a commitment to continuous learning and improvement.

Qualifications and Training

• Registered Nurse with current Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) registration (Part 1 Adult/General, Level 1 or 2).
• Evidence of ongoing professional development and commitment to continued learning.
• Experience of managing clinical environments within a regulatory framework such as Blood Safety and Quality Regulations (BSQR) and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP).
• Knowledge and understanding of BSQR and GMP requirements.
• Valid UK driving licence.

About Us

It takes all types of people to deliver the kind of service that saves and improves lives. At NHS Blood and Transplant, you’ll join a team of more than 6,000 people who are making a genuine difference to communities, families, friends, relatives and more across the UK. We play a unique and special role in the NHS by helping people do something extraordinary- donate blood, blood products, organs, tissues, or stem cells to save someone in need.

Our three core values are what set us apart. They guide and inspire everything we do.

By being caring, expertly meeting the needs of our patients and our people, and accepting nothing less than the best quality, we can do extraordinary work – and help our people to do something extraordinary in their career, too. Three small words, one big difference - Caring, Expert and Quality. Together we'll save and improve more lives than ever.

You will join us on our journey to create an inclusive workplace and aim to reflect the diverse communities we work with, and we positively encourage applications from all sectors of the community.

What we offer:

• Hybrid working arrangements – because NHSBT works nationally, we’re able to offer hybrid working options that give you more flexibility to balance work with life.
• Flexible working options – we promote flexible working where the role allows. We’re happy to discuss what flexibility might look like for you.
• Generous annual leave - 27 days annual leave (pro rata for part-time) plus Bank Holidays, increasing to 29 days after 5 years’ service and to 33 days after 10 years.
• Inclusive pension scheme - the NHS Pension Scheme is a defined benefit scheme (not dependent on investment returns). Further details and outline of benefits can be found at: http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/information-about-nhs-pensions
• Supportive learning culture - we’ve fostered a culture of continuous learning where colleagues are well-led, engaged, and encouraged to grow. We support you in reaching your full potential, both in your current role and future career. Our Thrive program embodies our commitment to learning and development, offering a wide range of activities to support your personal and professional growth. It’s open to everyone at NHSBT, ensuring you have the resources to succeed and shine in your role.
• Health and wellbeing support – we offer confidential services including occupational health, employee assistance programme, and wellbeing resources. Our support is available to all colleagues and we endeavour to provide tailored workplace adjustments where possible.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we welcome applications from disabled candidates. We will talk with you to explore any adjustments that may help you during the recruitment process.

You can find more information about accessibility, our culture, and how we support applicants on the NHSBT Careers website:

• Read about our application process
• Learn more about our culture at NHSBT

To learn more, please see the job description and person specification. These can be accessed via the link below, or by clicking ‘Apply’ if you are viewing this advert on another site.

Next steps

This vacancy will close at 23:59pm on Wednesday 21^st October.

The assessment process for this role will include: a single interview

Interviews are anticipated to be held on Tuesday 3^rd November 2026 at Plymouth Donor Centre – subject to confirmation.

For informal enquiries please contact –

Name: Mike Doswell

Job Title: Area Manager

Contact Details: [e-mail]