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Go back County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust

The closing date is 23 December 2025

The Associate Director of Nursing for Community Services at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust is responsible for all aspects of leading the community nursing services. They are the senior nurse in the Community Services Care Group, and provide professional leadership all on all areas of nursing practice. They are responsible for all operational and financial performance areas of a range of services, including District Nursing, Specialist Community Nursing and five Community Hospital wards. They are also jointly responsible for leading the clinical governance arrangements within the Care Group.

The postholder reports to the Associate Director Operations, and alongside the Associate Director of Therapies and the Medical Director, forms part of the Care Group Quadruvirate.

This is a senior post within the Trust, that requires someone with significant experience, skills and knowledge in Community Nursing services and can demonstrate their ability to lead by example in that specialist area. In return this post offers the opportunity to have the freedom to lead approximately 800 staff in supporting the NHS vision of moving care into the community.

Using their extensive experience and knowledge of working in community nursing, the postholder will lead all aspects of the community nursing services including professional leadership of nurses and healthcare support workers, and the operational and financial performance of those services.

The ADN will provide strategic and transformational leadership to support, guide and develop nursing staff and services in the Care Group for the benefit of patients, and to support the shift to community care.

By providing leadership to Clinical General Managers, they will manage the nursing workforce within an agreed budget having flexibility to alter the skill mix in accordance with the framework established by the Trust.

They will continually review the models of nursing provision alongside patient care pathways within the Care Group and implement best practice at all times.

They will work in partnership with the Associate Director of Therapies and the Medical Director for Community Services on all matters relating to clinical governance and take specific leadership responsibilities for the Governance team within the Care Group.

If you are being interviewed you must accept an interview slot in the system to continue, even if you have arranged with the manager.

You must be able to produce ALL certificates stated essential in the person specification or you will not be able to complete pre-employment checks.

We provide hospital services from two acute sites - Darlington Memorial Hospital and University Hospital of North Durham. We have a centre for planned care in Bishop Auckland and provide care from community hospitals in Chester-le-Street, Shotley Bridge, Barnard Castle, Sedgefield and Weardale as well as over 80 other community based settings and providing care in patients' homes.

We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME and disabled people are currently under-represented.

Full Job Descriptions can be found in the adverts supporting documents.

Over reliance on AI-generated content is discouraged and may diminish the applicant's chances of success.

For the most up-to-date information on visa requirements and eligibility, please check online to determine whether you can apply.

From April 9th 2025 - Healthcare assistants - You must have been employed for a minimum of two years as a HCA within the NHS for the Trust to consider sponsorship (we will only consider sponsorship if you meet this criteria and have a current visa expiring within 3 months).

• Provide strategic and transformational leadership to support, guide and develop nursing staff in the Care Group.
• Protect the safety and well-being of patients, serviceusers and colleagues taking any necessary preventative or corrective action as soon as appropriate to prevent any deterioration in service standards or effect on the safety and welfare of patients and staff.
• Through effective and responsive leaders at team level, ensure a safe and high performance patient flow at all times.
• Ensure effective communication with other disciplines enabling a positive working relationship with clinicians and managers to contribute to ensuring that the Trust is at the forefront of best professional practice and service delivery.
• Continually review the models of nursing provision alongside patient care pathways within the Care Group and implement best practice at all times.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of the strategy for nursing with the Director of Nursing & AHPs and ensure that AHP (within the Care Group) delivers improvement against an agreed set of performance indicators.
• Work in partnership with the ADT and the Medical Director all matters relating to clinical governance and take specific leadership responsibilities for the performance management framework within the Care Group.
• Manage the nursing workforce within an agreed budget having flexibility to alter the skill mix in accordance with the framework established by the Trust.
• Provide the nursing leadership within the Care Group on matters relating to emergency planning and the major incident plan.
• Work with colleagues within the Trust and with partners across the health and social care economy to ensure that patient care services are developed and managed seamlessly, particularly when transferring care from one provider to another or when receiving patients from other organisations.

• Work in the best interest of patients, service users and the wider organisation and act as an ambassador of the Trust in ensuring that self and others within the Care Group represent practice to the highest professional standards at all times.
• Be a visible professional role model. Provide strong experience in facilitative clinical leadership ensuring that preventative corrective action is taken as soon as possible to prevent any deterioration in service standards or effect on the safety and welfare on patients and staff. The ADN will promote the progression of nursing services within the CareGroup and ensure timely feedback is provided.
• Enable the development of Clinical General Managers, team leaders, or those in equivalent roles; ensuring that they have clarity of role and purpose and receive regular feedback and appraisal in relation to their role as leaders.
• Create a culture within the Care Group which strives for excellence and promotes the reputation of the profession and the Trust.
• Work with the Director of Nursing & AHPs to develop and implement a set of nursing metric performance indicators to monitor the safety, effectiveness and compassion of nursing care to provide assurance from Floor to Board.
• Lead by example by demonstrating that the Care Group listens to feedback from patients, service users and their families and ensure that the strategic objectives in relation to patient and public involvement are embedded within the culture of the Care Group.
• Take every reasonable step to maintain and expand knowledge and skills and competence.
• Be accountable for ensuring that all direct line report staff work in accordance with their job description, job banding and requirements and take necessary action to ensure through management and leadership structures that they are supported and developed accordingly.
• Ensure that direct line reports manage their workloads effectively and efficiently and take necessary corrective action where issues or concerns arise.
• Ensure personal development reviews are completed and documented for all direct line report staff and that action is taken on feedback from the NHS staff survey.
• Pro-actively encourage involvement in research and audit within the Care Group, ensuring that practice is evidence based.

• Provide expert leadership to matrons, team leaders, wardsisters or those in equivalent roles in the delivery of high performance processes for accommodating safe and effective patient care and efficient patient flow.
• Ensure that each ward and patient facing service within the Care Group complies with the standards for single gender accommodation, privacy and dignity and avoidance of preventable infection.
• Agree with the ADO a set of performance indicators for the Care Group which will be monitored through a dashboard and shared with leaders within the Care Group who are accountable for delivery. In addition the post holder will work with the ADO to agree a framework of performance management that is responsive to the results of such monitoring.
• Agree with the ADT and the Medical Director a programme for improvement in relation to compliance with Care Quality Commission and the NHS Litigation Authority requirements across the Care Group.
• Take joint lead responsibility for ensuring that the requirements of the Trust Quality Account, patient reported outcome measures and patient reported experience measures are delivered.
• Work with the ADT and the Medical Director to identify champions within the Care Group to lead on improvements in patient safety, maximizing the contribution of specialists in nursing practice.
• Work as a partner with the ADO, ADT and the Medical Director to accept accountability in the delivery of the full business agenda across the Care Group beyond nursing practice.
• Responsible for the development and implementation of appropriate policies within the Care Group.

• Work with the ADT to ensure that all serious and untoward incidents are reported in accordance with the Trusts Risk Management Strategy and investigated and lessons learned.
• Ensure that patients, service users and families have at a timely response to any concerns arising from services delivered by the CareGroup.
• Contribute to the risk register held within the Care Group by ensuring that risks relating to the specific areas of responsibility for the post holder are regularly reviewed and updated.
• Oversee any decisions taken by Clinical General Managers, team leaders or those in equivalent roles to suspend nurses and ensure that any investigation is undertaken fairly and within appropriate timescales.
• Hear conduct, capability and other such proceedings.

• Be accountable for the nursing workforce within the CareGroup and have autonomy to be able to flex that workforce within an agreed standard and funded establishment.
• Manage the use of temporary staff.
• Work in partnership with HR to develop plans to secure the retention and recruitment of the nursing workforce to ensure that it is sufficient to provide an effective and safe service.
• Develop and implement a workforce plan and a nursing development plan within the Care Group that ensures effective leadership, succession planning and development of new roles and ways of working.
• Promote and value diversity within the nursing workforce.
• Manage workforce issues for the Care Group including disciplinary, grievance procedures, agency arrangements, and compliance with mandatory training requirements, performance review and development of staff, in line with HR policies and procedures.
• Responsible for the nursing budget within the Care Group and ensuring that the nursing services are managed within the budget.
• Participate in and influence budget setting across the Care Group.
• Ensure compliance with standing financial instructions and financial governance.

• Knowledge of PSIRF process and evidence of leading incident reviews.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills both verbal and written.
• Strong leadership and team building skills.
• Strong management and organisational ability.
• Innovative and creative problem solving approach.
• Good delegation and empowerment skills.
• Ability to make logical operational and strategic decisions.
• Adaptable and flexible and able to deal with unpredictable situations and work patterns.
• Ability to negotiate and influence across all levels and disciplines.
• Self-starter and attention to detail; change agent.
• Assertive and decisive, able to work well under pressure and prioritise effectively.
• Good knowledge of NHS issues at the.
• Good knowledge of Microsoft packages, especially Word and Powerpoint, Excel and Access.

• Significant experience at a senior Community nurse level (band 8a and above).
• Experience of multi‑professional team working.
• Record of successful change management.
• Record of dealing with highly complex, emotive and sensitive information.

• Evidence of specialist knowledge in Community Nursing.
• Registered General Nurse with current NMC registration.
• Degree in Nursing/Health related subject.
• Equivalent demonstrable experience in Community Nursing.
• Management Qualification.
• Evidence of Financial and Performance Management.
• Ability to write reports and business Plans.
• Evidence of Continuing Professional Development.
• Sound knowledge of current Community Nursing issues both nationally, regionally and locally.
• Evidence of safeguarding knowledge and skills for children young people and.
• Knowledge of developments in healthcare which affect patient care.
• Evidence of implementing innovative practice.
• Evidence of professional leadership.
• Evidence of developing new roles.
• Evidence of working with external stakeholders to improve patient care.
• Ability to analyse, interpret and manage financial, service and manpower data and respond accordingly.

• Current NMC Registration.

• Ability to fulfill the requirement to join the Trust Tactical on-call rota.
• Ability to travel independently across Trust sites and attend meetings nationwide.

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.

County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust