Theatre Team Leader

St. Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; Sefton; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is seeking an experienced Theatre Team Leader to drive clinical leadership within the Trauma and Orthopaedic Theatre. You will coordinate daily theatre operations, optimise patient flow and maintain high standards of care in a busy surgical environment.

Working with surgeons, anaesthetists and staff, you will develop the team, ensure governance and infection control compliance, and lead service improvement initiatives while promoting a

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse or ODP with current NMC/HCPC registration.
• Evidence of post registration study/development.
• Recognised teaching qualification, or equivalent experience.
• Recognised leadership qualification/training, or equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

• Provide effective clinical and operational leadership to the Trauma and Orthopaedic Theatre team, ensuring the delivery of safe, high-quality patient care.
• Coordinate the day-to-day running of trauma theatre services, ensuring efficient patient flow, effective use of resources, and achievement of performance targets.
• Act as a clinical role model, maintaining high standards of professional practice and ensuring compliance with policies, procedures, and national standards.
• Lead, support, and develop a multidisciplinary team through supervision, appraisal, mentorship, and performance management.
• Ensure the availability and safe use of specialist trauma and orthopaedic equipment, implants, and instrumentation.
• Work collaboratively with surgeons, anaesthetists, ward teams, and other departments to ensure the smooth delivery of elective and emergency trauma services.
• Monitor standards of patient safety, infection prevention and control, documentation, and clinical governance, taking action where improvements are required.
• Participate in service development initiatives, quality improvement projects, audits, and the implementation of evidence-based practice.
• Support workforce planning, rota management, recruitment, induction, and staff training to maintain a skilled and competent workforce.
• Promote a positive, inclusive, and patient-centred culture, ensuring excellent patient experience and staff wellbeing.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Time management

Clinical governance

Staff development

Team collaboration

Infection control

Education

Registered Nurse or ODP

NMC/HCPC Registration

Teaching qualification

Tools

IT skills

Robotic Surgery knowledge

Job description

After applying via NHS Jobs, your submitted application will be imported into our preferred Third-party recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs. You will not be able to track the progress of your application or receive messages through the NHS Jobs website, and furthermore, as an employer, we will not be able to respond to any e-mails sent to us via the NHS Jobs website. By applying for this post you are agreeing to "name of trust" transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are appointed to a post information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

Job overview

Permanent - Full Time

We are seeking an experienced, motivated, and dynamic registered practitioner to join our Trauma and Orthopaedic Theatre team as a Theatre Team Leader. The successful candidate will provide visible clinical leadership, coordinate the daily running of trauma theatre services, and support the delivery of safe, high-quality patient care.

Working closely with the multidisciplinary team, you will be responsible for leading and developing staff, ensuring efficient utilisation of theatre resources, maintaining clinical standards, and driving continuous service improvement. You will play a key role in supporting staff development, promoting a positive team culture, and ensuring compliance with governance, safety, and infection prevention standards.

Due to current service demands, we are only able to consider applicants who have relevant UK experience. Candidates must also be available to commence employment immediately or within a very short timeframe. We regret that we cannot progress applications that do not meet these essential requirements.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced Scrub Nurse or ODP with a passion for trauma and orthopaedics to further develop their leadership skills within a busy and rewarding theatre environment.

Main duties of the job

• Provide effective clinical and operational leadership to the Trauma and Orthopaedic Theatre team, ensuring the delivery of safe, high-quality patient care.
• Coordinate the day-to-day running of trauma theatre services, ensuring efficient patient flow, effective use of resources, and achievement of performance targets.
• Act as a clinical role model, maintaining high standards of professional practice and ensuring compliance with policies, procedures, and national standards.
• Lead, support, and develop a multidisciplinary team through supervision, appraisal, mentorship, and performance management.
• Ensure the availability and safe use of specialist trauma and orthopaedic equipment, implants, and instrumentation.
• Work collaboratively with surgeons, anaesthetists, ward teams, and other departments to ensure the smooth delivery of elective and emergency trauma services.
• Monitor standards of patient safety, infection prevention and control, documentation, and clinical governance, taking action where improvements are required.
• Participate in service development initiatives, quality improvement projects, audits, and the implementation of evidence-based practice.
• Support workforce planning, rota management, recruitment, induction, and staff training to maintain a skilled and competent workforce.
• Promote a positive, inclusive, and patient-centred culture, ensuring excellent patient experience and staff wellbeing.

Working for our organisation

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.

Acute Care

Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.

Primary Care

Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Community Services

Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.

Specialist Regional Services

We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements:

• Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
• National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please ensure you have read through the attached Job Description and Person Specification before submitting your application.

Advertising date: 16th September 2026

Closing date: 2nd October 2026

Shortlisting date: 5th October 2026

Proposed Interview date: 12th October 2026

Please note, this post may close earlier than advertised if a sufficient number of applications are received.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Registered General Nurse or Operating Department Practitioner, with current NMC/HCPC Registration
• Evidence of post registration study/development
• Recognised teaching qualification, or equivalent experience
• Recognised leadership qualification/training, or equivalent experience

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Knowledge of clinical skills required to undertake the role
• Knowledge of current professional & clinical issues
• Knowledge of Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults procedures
• Substantial years post registration experience
• Knowledge of clinical skills required to undertake the role
• Experience and evidence of quality improvement in patient care

Desirable criteria

• Facilitated staff professional development
• Knowledge and experience of Robotic Surgery

Skills

Essential criteria

• Excellent communication skills
• Excellent time management, record management and organisational skills
• Leadership skills
• Good IT skills
• Ability to work autonomously and as part of a multi-disciplinary team

Other

Essential criteria

• Motivated individual, commitment to personal & professional development.

Thank you for considering an application to work for Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust. MWL is an exciting and forward-thinking NHS Trust who are one of the best places to work for in England.

The Trust may contact you during the recruitment process for your feedback on your experience. We always aim for continuous improvement in our practice.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

We actively cultivate a professional environment of fairness, equality, dignity, and respect for all individuals. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and value the unique skills, perspective and experience you bring. We are grounded in the belief that diversity enhances our collective strength, fostering innovation and excellence within our workforce. We welcome all applications irrespective of people's race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion/belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.

As a Disability Confident Leader, we commit to offering an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.

If you are having difficulty completing an online application, or require any disability reasonable adjustments, to the application process, please contact