Ward Leader (RGN)

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust; England; Remote; GBP 49,000 - 57,000; Full time

Job summary

The Ward Leader role at Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is to lead daily operations and ensure high-quality care and rehabilitation within a community inpatient ward. The post holder provides clinical leadership, people management and operational oversight to deliver safe, person-centred care aligned with professional standards and Trust values.

The role requires hands-on leadership, quality assurance, staff development and the ability to rotate across community sites to support

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse with current professional registration.
• Postgraduate qualification in rehabilitation or equivalent experience.
• Experience in facilitating student placements.
• Leadership qualification or relevant leadership experience.

Responsibilities

• Provide clinical leadership and operational oversight on the ward.
• Lead day-to-day leadership, management and delivery of high-quality care.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary team to meet service objectives.
• Work rota including weekends/bank holidays and service resilience.

Skills

Leadership

Inpatient care

Multi-disciplinary

Nursing leadership

Education

Registered Nurse

Rehabilitation qualification

Leadership qualification

Job description

Main area Community Hospitals Grade Band 7 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (7 day working covering 1 in 10 weekends plus bank holidays on a rotational basis) Job ref 270-TH464-AD

Site Turn Furlong Town Kingsthorpe Salary £49,387 - £56,515 pa pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 02/11/2026 23:59

Job overview

The Ward Leader is responsible for the day‑to‑day leadership, management and delivery of high‑quality care and rehabilitation within a community inpatient ward or clinical area.

The post holder provides clinical leadership, people management and operational oversight, ensuring that care is safe, effective, person‑centred and delivered in line with professional standards, Trust values and national guidance. The role has direct accountability for patient experience, quality of care, staff performance, patient flow and efficient use of ward resources.

Main duties of the job

Working closely with the Clinical Matron, AHP Clinical Lead, Service Manager, Practice Development Lead, Head of Nursing & AHPs, medical staff and the wider multidisciplinary team, the Ward Leader provides a visible, accessible leadership presence on the ward and contributes to wider service objectives.

The role requires hands‑on leadership, with a strong focus on quality assurance, staff development, operational grip and continuous improvement within the ward environment. The post holder may be required to rotate across community inpatient sites to support service delivery and resilience.

The post holder will be required to work weekends and bank holidays as part of a rota. Tasks required at weekends/bank holidays will include attending the system calls to represent NHFT.

Working for our organisation

NHFT is an integrated primary care and mental health Trust, providing physical, mental health and specialty services in both hospital settings and out in the community. Because we put the person at the centre of all we do, we focus on delivering care that is as easy to access as possible. This means many of our services can be provided at home, work or in schools.We also provide health services to various prisons and detention centres in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For further information on the advertised role, please refer to the job description located under the Supporting Documents heading. The full person specification can be accessed under the ‘About You’ Section of the document.

Person specification

Experience

• Experience of working within an inpatient setting
• Experience of working within a leadership role
• Experience of working as part of a multi-disciplinary team
• Previous use of NHFT's systems such as systmone and e-rostering

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse
• Post graduate qualification in rehabilitation or relevant experience.
• Experience of facilitating student placements
• Leadership qualification or relevant experience

By completing an application you are giving authorisation for the transfer of your data. In submitting an application form, you authorise us to confirm any previous NHS service details via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process. Including factual reference, occupational health clearance and statutory and mandatory training records and full service history.

You must ensure that your application, including supporting statements and behaviour examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Please note plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.

Correspondence regarding your application will be sent to you via a TRAC system account.

We are an equal opportunities employer, which aims to employ a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons from all backgrounds.

All roles are subject to the home office immigration rules and therefore eligibility must meet certain requirements for any sponsorship to be considered. Please visit the government website for more information regarding eligibility,

At NHFT we support many of our colleagues to work flexibly and we will consider requests for flexible working from day one. For this role, we are open to discussing a range of options including flexible hours, agile/home working, compressed hours and part time hours. Please have a conversation with the recruiting manager about the flexibility you need and we will promise to explore what is possible with you.

Applicants who have a disability and meet the essential criteria for the job will be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme. If you require a reasonable adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process please make the recruitment services team aware as soon as possible.

All posts that are engaged in a regulated activity will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and a DBS re-check on a three yearly basis whilst employed in such a role. Staff employed in these posts will therefore be asked to register with the DBS Automatic Update Service upon receipt of their DBS certificate and must update yearly , the annual fee will be reimbursed subject to Trust policy. For further information please visit: DBS Update Service: applicant guide - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Please note if a DBS is applicable for the position then a charge will be deducted from your first salary.

Please note that all new starters to the trustare subject to a probationary period.

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.