Chief Nurse

Barnsley Healthcare Federation is seeking an exceptional Chief Nurse to provide senior professional leadership across nursing, quality, safeguarding, and patient experience. This is a pivotal executive role, shaping the strategic direction of clinical governance and ensuring the delivery of safe, high-quality care for our communities.

Main Duties of the Job

As our most senior nursing leader, the Chief Nurse will:

• Provide executive leadership for nursing, quality, safeguarding, and patient experience.
• Lead the development and delivery of clinical and quality strategies aligned with national policy and regulatory requirements.
• Act as Executive Lead for Quality, Patient Safety, Safeguarding, and Infection Prevention & Control.
• Ensure robust clinical governance, risk management, incident reporting, and continuous improvement.
• Offer visible professional leadership to nursing and clinical teams across all sites.
• Support workforce planning, recruitment, retention, and professional development.
• Provide expert clinical advice to the Board and executive leadership team.
• Undertake a defined level of clinical practice to maintain professional credibility and support frontline teams - 3 sessions per week.

Part-time considered for those who do not wish to undertake clinical sessions in primary care.

About Us

Barnsley Healthcare Federation has been delivering innovative primary care services for more than 10 years. Operating from our award-winning, purpose-built Priory Campus, we are a thriving, forward-thinking organisation committed to improving healthcare across Barnsley.

Job Responsibilities

Clinical Responsibilities and Patient Experience

• Accountable for the Clinical direction of BHF taking the lead in preparing the organisation for inspection and audit.
• As the Safeguarding Lead for BHF, you will lead on all aspects of the adult and child safeguarding agenda maintaining clinical/professional competence and credibility across the service.
• Be accountable together with the Medical Director for medicine management and provide processes for all colleagues to support better and more cost-effective prescribing.
• Support the Medical Director to reduce the likelihood of medication errors and patient harm.
• Act as Clinical Lead for vaccination services, supporting both the wider team and the national booster agenda.
• Monitor Federation performance against activity plans, standards, targets and budgets and intervene where appropriate.
• Lead on public and patient engagement and experience, developing a culture where this is valued and fostered across all specialities and disciplines.
• Promote the delivery of effective strategies and action for the recruitment and retention of nursing staff.
• Be the Caldicott Guardian for the organisation ensuring confidentiality.
• Advise, support and provide information to the Board and senior management teams on the quality and safety of care relating to nursing.

Leadership, Management and Administration

• Provide strong and visible leadership to the workforce and wider community.
• Responsible for promoting professional standards and development of those standards.
• Managing staff and holding individuals to account, in line with Federation policies.
• Contribute and provide advice, guidance, information, training and support to BHF at all levels.
• Accountable for the Organisations compliments and complaints procedures and processes.
• Support student nurses on their placements.

Clinical Governance

• Ensure that effective quality governance systems and structures are in place.
• Maximise the contribution of all colleagues in the development and implementation of the quality governance agenda.
• Drive service improvement by encouraging learning from benchmarking surveys.
• Ensure delivery of a robust risk management system that identifies risk and manages it accordingly.

Organisational Development

• Promote the integration services across sites.
• Establish mechanisms that facilitate open discussion leading to sound operational management.
• Lead and support the development of management skills and capabilities throughout the organisation.

Infection Prevention and Control

• Provide assurance to the Board that Infection Prevention & Control policies are fit for purpose.
• Lead the development and oversee the implementation of BHF annual prevention and control of infection audit programme.

Quality

• Act as a BHF CIC Lead with Medical Director for Quality Agenda.
• Ensure mechanisms are in place for improving the Patient Experience.
• Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions.

This job description is not meant to be exhaustive and simply gives a broad outline of the duties involved. The post holder will be expected to take on other duties and responsibilities in accordance with the salary.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Current NMC registration as a Registered Nurse.
• Masters degree or equivalent senior level experience.

Experience

• Extensive senior nursing leadership experience.
• Strong background in clinical governance, quality improvement, and regulatory compliance.
• In-depth knowledge of safeguarding, IPC, NHS policy, and professional standards.
• Highly developed leadership, communication, negotiation, and analytical skills.
• Ability to lead through complexity, change, and challenging clinical environments.
• Emotional intelligence, resilience, and a commitment to continuous improvement.

Additional Information

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 to check for any previous criminal convictions. Applicants must have current UK professional registration.