Specialist Palliative Care Development Nurse

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust; East Midlands; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Development opportunities

Employee assistance programme

Discounted gym membership

Onsite fitness classes

Car schemes

Job summary

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a motivated Specialist Palliative Care Development Nurse (Band 6) for an 18-month rotational fixed-term or secondment across our specialist palliative care services, including inpatient units, hospital and community teams.

You will work as a supernumerary member, receiving structured development to become a specialist practitioner in palliative and end-of-life care.

Qualifications

• Experience of working with patients at the end of life and palliative care.
• Mentoring and supporting others using teaching/learning methods.
• IT literate and able to use clinical systems.

Responsibilities

• Assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating holistic, person-centred care for patients with specialist palliative and end-of-life care needs.
• Supporting patients, families and carers with information and emotional support.
• Developing specialist knowledge in symptom management and communication.
• Working with multidisciplinary teams across settings to ensure high-quality care.
• Acting as a patient advocate, maintaining dignity and compassion.
• Providing guidance and education to colleagues and families.
• Participating in triage, care coordination and service development.
• Contributing to audit, quality improvement, and research initiatives.
• Working across multiple sites within the service.

Skills

End-of-life care knowledge

Mentoring

IT literacy

Communication skills

Education

NMC registration (registered nurse)

Tools

Teaching/learning methods

Job description

Specialist Palliative Care Development Nurse

Band 6

Main area Palliative Medicine Grade Band 6 Contract 18 months (Secondment / fixed term) Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Monday - Sunday) Job ref 320-CDCS-4293

Site Cross site RDH / QHB / FNCH and Community Town Derby Salary £39,959 - £48,117 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 01/10/2026 23:59 Interview date 15/10/2026

As a trusted organisation at the heart of our communities, we recognise the important role we can play in supporting the public, patients, our own people and local partners in achieving the best of health for the local population and the communities in which they live by providing Exceptional Care Together.

Our fundamental Values of Compassion, Openness and Excellence underpin how we intend to work as a Trust and the associated behaviours are becoming embedded in all aspects of how we work.

With over 14,000 members of staff you can expect huge variety and new opportunities every day! Our staff go above and beyond and take pride in caring for our patients.

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust is fully committed to promoting inclusion, equality, diversity and human rights in employment and delivery of its services. The Trust is committed to providing an environment where all employees, patients, carers and visitors experience equality of opportunity by means of understanding and appreciating the value of diversity.

As a Trust we promote an inclusive environment and welcome applications from a diverse pool of talent and backgrounds. All individuals are valued and given every opportunity to succeed based on merit.

The Trust actively encourages applications from members of our Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities. These groups are under-represented in our organisation, and it’s important to us that our workforce reflects the diversity of our communities as much as possible.

Armed Forces and Disability Confident guaranteed interview scheme

To further support the pledges in the Armed Forces Covenant and to make a positive contribution to support ex-armed forces personnel (veterans) make the transition to civilian life, the Trust has introduced a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for veterans who meets the essential criteria set out in the person specification, to help them overcome barriers to find civilian employment. The scheme will operate for all external recruitment.

The Trust is a Disability Confident Employer and committed to both employing and retaining people with disabilities. This commitment is to guarantee an interview for any candidate that has disclosed a disability under the Equality Act 2010 and who meets the essential criteria set out in the person specification. Reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 will be considered upon request.

if you are blind or visually impaired and require application material in an alternative format- such as Braille, large print, audio or accessible electronic formats oryou require support/adjustments with your application please contact the recruitment team on 01332 788466

The Trust is proud to be a signatory of the Care Leavers Covenant and is committed to supporting care-experienced people into employment.

Applicants who identify as a care leaver and who meet the essential criteria for the role, as detailed in the person specification, will be guaranteed an interview.

If you wish to be considered under this scheme, please indicate this within your application.

Join us and help make a real difference to our Trust.

Here’s more about the role and what we’re looking for;

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a motivated and compassionate experienced registered nurse to join the Specialist Palliative Care Service at UHDB as a Specialist Palliative Care Development Nurse.

This developmental Band 6 role offers a unique 18-month rotational fixed term contract or secondment across our specialist palliative care services, including the Nightingale Macmillan Inpatient Unit, Ward 2 (EOLC ward) at FNCH, Hospital Palliative Care Team at RDH + QHB and Community Palliative Care Team across Derbyshire. As a supernumerary member of the team, you will receive structured support and development to build the knowledge, skills and confidence required to become a specialist practitioner in palliative and end-of-life care.

Working alongside experienced nursing and medical colleagues, you will contribute to the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of holistic, person-centred care for patients with complex palliative and supportive care needs. You will also provide advice, education and support to patients, families and multidisciplinary teams across a variety of healthcare settings.

The successful candidate will demonstrate excellent communication skills, resilience, professionalism and a commitment to ongoing learning and development.

Main duties of the job

• Assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating holistic, person-centred care for patients with specialist palliative and end-of-life care needs.
• Supporting patients, families and carers by providing expert advice, information and emotional support throughout their care journey.
• Developing specialist knowledge in symptom management, communication and complex palliative care, supported by a structured programme of education and mentorship.
• Working collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams across acute, community and hospice settings to ensure seamless, high-quality patient care.
• Acting as a patient advocate, maintaining dignity, respect and compassionate care at all times.
• Providing support, guidance and education to colleagues, patients and carers, contributing to the development of palliative and end-of-life care knowledge across services.
• Participating in nurse-led triage, care coordination and service development activities as your knowledge and competence develop.
• Contributing to audit, quality improvement, research and educational initiatives that enhance patient outcomes and service delivery.
• Working across multiple sites and clinical environments within the specialist palliative care service, supported by experienced clinical and professional leaders.

This role provides an excellent opportunity to support a future career as a Specialist Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist.

Closing date of applications: 1 October 2026

Interview date: 15 October 2026

Working for our organisation

As a trusted organisation at the heart of our communities, we recognise the important role we can play in supporting the public, patients, our own people and local partners in achieving the best of health for the local population and the communities in which they live by providing Exceptional Care Together

Our fundamental Values of Compassion, Openness and Excellence underpin how we intend to work as a Trust and the associated behaviours are becoming embedded in all aspects of how we work.

In return we will offer:

• Development opportunities, both professional and leadership development
• On-going support from recruitment to when you join our team and beyond.
• Staff benefits including employee assistance programme, discounted gym membership, onsite fitness classes, car schemes

Key Facts:

• We see on average 4810 OP appointments a day.
• We are the 4th busiest Trauma & Orthopaedic outpatients department in England – an average of 2077 per week.
• An average of 1115 patients are seen in A&Es across our network every day – 3rd largest in the country.
• Our hospitals admit an average of 195 emergency patients daily.
• Last year we undertook almost 33,700 planned surgical operations in our 57 operating theatres.
• We are one of only 7 Trusts nationally with more than 50 operating theatres.
• We carry out more than 140 elective procedures each working day.
• UHDB is a research active University Hospital with a large and varied portfolio of clinical trials and research opportunities for all staff.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

UHDB is committed to fair and transparent recruitment. We welcome authentic applications that reflect your own skills, experience and motivations for the role. While we understand that candidates may use AI tools for grammar, formatting or accessibility purposes, applications that appear to be substantially AI‑generated may be subject to additional review. If this applies to your submission, we will let you know and may ask for clarification. Please ensure your application accurately represents your experience and is written in your own words.

Following the recent update on UK immigration policy for those on a Health and Care Visa or Skilled Worker Visa, please click on the link to check your eligibility before applying for this post as we may be unable to provide sponsorship Skilled worker: Health and Care Visa | NHS Employers

Important visa information: Due to UK Home Office immigration rule changes effective from 22 July 2025, applicants sponsored under Occupation Code 6131 (Nursing Auxiliaries and Assistants) may not be eligible to bring dependants under the Skilled Worker route if their Certificate of Sponsorship is issued on or after this date. Applicants are responsible for understanding how these rules apply to their individual circumstances. The Trust cannot provide immigration advice. Further information is available on the Skilled Worker visa: Your partner and children - GOV.UK

Your application (for shortlisting purposes) is assessed based on the Person Specification in the job advert (below).

Skilled worker: Health and Care Visa

Read about the Health and Care Visa for employing overseas nationals (excluding Irish citizens) under the points-based immigration system.

If you are considering applying for an internal secondment, please ensure you have discussed this with your line manager and obtained their support prior to submitting your application.

Please be aware that there is no guarantee that you will be released from your substantive post, so you should seek approval before applying as you are applying or a Secondment.

If you have any questions or require further guidance, please contact the Recruitment Team.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Current NMC registration with significant post-registration experience.
• Qualified to degree level or willingness to work towards one.

Experience & knowledge

• Experience of working with patients at the end of their life and palliative.
• Comprehensive knowledge of basic symptom control.
• IT literate.
• Experience of working across a range of healthcare settings, including care of patients with non-malignant disease.
• Experience of mentoring and supporting others using a variety of teaching and learning methods.

Communication

• Ability to communicate highly sensitive and complex information with empathy and compassion
• Able to negotiate, persuade, motivate, influence and reassure others.

Other

• Holds a valid UK driving licence and has access to a vehicle.
• Able to manage the emotional demands associated with specialist palliative and end-of-life care.

Our Trust aims to provide the highest quality care to patients within Derbyshire and South East Staffordshire and we want the very best people to work with us.

Follow us on Twitter @UHDBTrust or find us on Facebook & LinkedIn - UHDBTrust

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

If we receive a high number of applications for this position we reserve the right to withdraw the post before the closing date, therefore it is advisable that you apply as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

At UHDB , we offer different ways to work flexibly to each and every one of our colleagues, many of whom already work flexibly at all sites of the Trust.

For our roles we are open to discussing the possibility of part-time/ reduced hours/ compressed hours/ flexible start and finish times/ fixed/ flexible shifts/annualised hours/term time hours/ hybrid working – working partly in the trust/partly at home.

Why don’t you talk to us at interview about the flexibility you would like to explore and what it means to you, and we will discuss what’s possible for the job and team, and the opportunities we might be able to create together.

We can’t promise to give you exactly what you want, but we do promise to work with you to look at all the available options.

Most of our posts are subject to a DBS check, however having a criminal record will not necessarily bar you from obtaining a position. Please be aware that all new employees starting work with us will be charged for the cost of their DBS check, if it is required for their role.

All correspondence relating to your application will be sent to you via our trac.system account. Please ensure that you regularly check your emails; this includes junk/spam, as your security settings may not recognise the sender.

Anyone from outside of the UK (excluding from the Republic of Ireland) will need permission from UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) to work in the UK and may also need entry clearance before travelling here.

UKVI is responsible for managing migration. To obtain a visa or entry clearance, you will need to meet certain requirements and demonstrate you have the right the work in the UK via:

• the points-based immigration system
• the EU settlement scheme
• eVisa

During the course of its employment activities, University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust collects, stores and processes personal information about prospective, current and former staff.

Our Privacy Notice includes applicants, employees (and former employees), workers (including agency, casual, honorary and contracted staff), volunteers, trainees and those carrying out work experience – please refer to our Privacy Notice available on our Trust website: https://www.uhdb.nhs.uk/information-governance

UHDB is committed to fair and transparent recruitment. We welcome authentic applications that reflect your own skills, experience and motivations for the role. While we understand that candidates may use AI tools for grammar, formatting or accessibility purposes, applications that appear to be substantially AI‑generated may be subject to additional review. If this applies to your submission, we will let you know and may ask for clarification. Please ensure your application accurately represents your experience and is written in your own words.

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.