Specialist Practice Lead Nurse in Barnsley

We are seeking a dedicated and experienced Specialist Practice Lead Nurse holding a Health Visitor registration, to join our team. The post will provide Specialist Community Public Health Nurse expertise, leadership, and supervision to team members, ensuring quality assessment and implementation of structured and evidence-based interventions that improve outcomes for children and families with complex needs, including the appropriate management of risks. The post is pivotal in providing evidence‑based public health nursing practice to promote and improve health, addressing inequalities among the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children, young people, and families within the borough.

Main Duties of the Job

• The role will provide visible, values‑based leadership and operational management for a team of Specialist Community Public Health Nurses (Health Visiting or School Nursing) and skill‑mix staff.
• The postholder will set clear direction and standards, support staff wellbeing and development, and ensure high‑quality delivery of the Healthy Child Programme working in our Penistone Area Team.
• Through expert clinical leadership, they will lead a team to identify and assess the health needs of vulnerable individuals and families, and will work in partnership with key stakeholders to drive integrated, coordinated approaches that improve outcomes for vulnerable children, young people, and families.
• Responsibilities include holding a small clinical caseload, leading and assuring the oversight of the team's clinical caseload, providing specialist knowledge, supervision, advice, and support to Public Health Nursing staff working with communities, families, and individuals with vulnerability, complexity, and safeguarding needs.
• The postholder will engage with service improvement by gathering and using data to evidence performance, quality, and impact for vulnerable children and families.
• This role will provide leadership in complex situations by assessing and managing high levels of risk, escalating concerns appropriately, and ensuring effective continuity of care within the service.

Person Specification

• Demonstrate a full commitment to develop information technology skills as appropriate to undertake public health nursing duties.
• Ability to undertake travel in connection with the post duties.
• Willing to undertake training and continuous professional development in connection with the post.
• Willing to work flexibly in accordance with the policies and procedures to meet the operational needs of the service and the council.
• Work in accordance with the Councils vision, priorities, values and behaviours.

Qualifications

• Registered Specialist Community Public Health Nurse.
• Recorded Nurse Prescriber.
• Training in providing clinical and restorative supervision and/or coaching and/or mentoring.
• Evidence of continuous professional development.
• SCPHN Extended Practice.
• Willing to undertake SCPHN additional field of practice (extended practice course).

Experience

• Significant experience of working in the community and with vulnerable children and families.
• Extensive experience in managing care for safeguarding and complex cases using risk assessment and analysis to plan care.
• Substantial experience of working collaboratively with other agencies.
• Experience of supervising and mentoring staff.
• Experience of producing high quality reports.
• Experience of leading and managing skill‑mix staff.
• Experience of managing staff and operational management processes.
• Experience of providing education and training in Child Protection.

General and Special Knowledge

• Knowledge and understanding of the Healthy Child Programme and related policies and pathways.
• Knowledge and understanding of principles and benefits of reflection and use of models and tools to enhance understanding of complex clinical practice and safeguarding supervision.
• Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of clinical governance and its implications for practice.
• Demonstrate in depth knowledge and understanding of the impact of long‑term health and social issues and safeguarding.
• Theoretical knowledge in child abuse and safeguarding children and its application into practice.
• Expert Knowledge of national statutory and local child protection safeguarding guidance, policies, and procedures and assessment and analysis of vulnerable families.

Skills and Abilities

• Able to contribute the health perspective at multi‑agency meetings, and confidently challenge decision making and articulate rationale effectively.
• Ability to plan and prioritise own and team workloads within a changing and flexible work environment.
• Highly developed skills in health needs assessment, planning and evaluating interventions with the ability to manage complex health needs.
• Ability to lead and line manage and supervise other team members, organising and delegating as appropriate and develop innovative practice.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to establish effective working relationships with a range of internal and external stakeholders as well as ability to constructively challenge when required.
• Ability to take lead role in complex child protection, child in need and looked after children and direct, support and supervise the other teams members to support those families.
• Ability to analyse complex issues where material is conflicting and drawn from multiple sources.
• Demonstrate capability to act upon information received, using experience to make inferences and decision making.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

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.