Nurse Consultant in Palliative Care

We care for you as much as you care for others. There’s a place for you at CNWL. We’re passionate about delivering first-class patient-centred, safe and effective care, whether it is in a hospital setting, in a community clinic or in the patient’s own home. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Providing top quality care depends on our ability to employ the best people. We’re always looking to recruit outstanding people who will go the extra mile to support our patients, colleagues, teams and the Trust.

With every new employee we’re hoping to find our future leaders and we’ll support our staff by providing opportunities to develop your career. With a diverse culture and equally diverse range of opportunities across mental health, community services, addictions, eating disorders, learning disabilities and more - whatever stage of your career you're at, there's always a place for you at CNWL.

Main area: Palliative care
Grade: NHS AfC: Band 8b
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Monday to Friday with 1:8 on-calls)
Job ref: 333-G-CC-1594
Site: University College Hospital
Town: London
Salary: £75,328 - £86,114 Per annum incl. HCAS
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 20/08/2026 23:59

CNWL (Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust) has almost 8,000 staff providing integrated healthcare to a third of London’s population, Milton Keynes and areas beyond. We involve service users, carers, the public, staff and partner organisations in the way that we are run. Our catchment area spans diverse communities, with over 100 first languages spoken. It contains areas of great affluence as well as areas of much deprivation. We are committed to providing services that meet the needs of the people who use them, and we actively encourage involvement from local people who can help make a difference.

We’re proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME and people with disabilities to promote good relations and understanding between our staff. We are recognised locally, nationally and internationally for providing high quality, innovative healthcare. We aim to employ only the best people, and our experts are frequently called upon to contribute to national health strategy and policy, and many models of our care have been adapted for use in other countries.

We offer a generous relocation package (subject to eligibility assessment) and flexible working options, including bank assignments for most roles. For more information on these and other benefits of working for us, see our Benefits, Reward and Wellbeing page.

This is an exciting opportunity to join an innovative integrated care model that is redefining the delivery of palliative care. CNWL NHS Foundation Trust, a leading community healthcare provider, partners with University College London Hospitals, one of the UK's most prestigious hospital networks, to deliver seamless, high-quality palliative care across hospital and community settings.

As Nurse Consultant in Symptom Control and Palliative Care, you will join a multidisciplinary team of clinical experts — working alongside medical consultants, clinical nurse specialists (CNSs), a psychologist and social worker in the hospital. The team is integrated with the community team which has a nurse consultant and medical consultants, CNSs and AHPs. You will help shape care across hospital and community boundaries, with your impact being felt across a wide range of specialisms, including oncology, haematology, teenage and young adult services, and neurology.

Why You’ll Love This Role

• Play a pioneering role in a unique integrated care model that bridges hospital and community services.
• Work at UCLH, an internationally renowned teaching hospital with access to leading-edge treatments and research.
• Help shape the future of palliative care alongside innovative multidisciplinary teams in one of London’s most dynamic healthcare environments.
• Join a supportive team looking forward to welcoming a further nurse consultant into their hospital service.

Main duties of the job

• Provide senior nursing leadership for hospital palliative care services, in line with CNWL and UCLH strategies.
• Deliver expert clinical care for patients with complex needs, managing your own caseload.
• Lead service development and quality improvement projects, driving innovation across the system.
• Champion education and training, inspiring staff and students to achieve excellence.
• Contribute to research, audit, and policy development, raising the profile of palliative care nationally and internationally.
• Act as a clinical consultant and advisor, supporting complex case management and safeguarding practice.

Why Join Us

• Work across prestigious central London hospitals as part of an innovative, community-led model.
• Access professional development opportunities, research involvement, and national networking.
• Benefit from competitive NHS terms, including the NHS Pension Scheme and flexible working options.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Palliative Care Nurse Consultant role primarily supports the ongoing development of the UCLH Palliative Care Service. The post holder may also be expected to support the Camden and Islington ELiPSe Palliative Care Service. The service has two teams in the inpatient setting across UCLH NHS Foundation Trust and community settings across the boroughs of South Camden and Islington. It is commissioned to provide expert advice and guidance, support and leadership in the care of people with specialist palliative care needs.

Whilst this role leads nursing across the service, the post holder will undertake their clinical sessions as part of the UCLH palliative care team and will act as the expert and is expected to support work and projects across Trusts as appropriate. The nursing clinical and leadership expertise of the post holder will facilitate a whole systems approach closely involved with strategic development and service improvement, as well as the advancement of relationships with key colleagues. In addition, quality improvement in the palliative care service across CNWL NHS FT will be a key aspect of the role, using a patient-focused and evidence-based approach. Co-production with experts by experience will be central to the role.

Responsibility for non-clinical work, i.e. service improvement, clinical governance, peer review, audit, education and research, is also done collaboratively with the other Nurse Consultant for Palliative Care, medical consultants and with the Operations Lead; and named individuals taking responsibility for different elements of the clinical governance portfolio and the education programme delivered by the service.

The postholder will have four main areas of responsibility:

• Expert practice
• Professional leadership
• Research and education

The post holder will provide strategic clinical leadership for palliative nursing and work with the operational management (in conjunction with the other Nurse Consultant, clinical leads, consultants, team leaders and the Head of Service) of the palliative care service and other Goodall services. The post will support the development of palliative and end of life nursing, linking closely with relevant ICB's as well as educational commissioners and providers when required. This will include promoting improved health outcomes and quality of life.

The postholder will take an active part in supporting the governance arrangements across palliative care to ensure the highest possible clinical standards are delivered and that the care is proactive, innovative and progressive. They are also expected to collaborate with the other nurse consultants and have an overview of competencies, and to deliver specialist training to ensure that nursing staff are clinically competent. We are therefore looking for a very strong leader who is visible, with a high level of emotional intelligence and an expert-level of palliative care knowledge, extensive drive and focus to be able to quickly deliver innovative solutions to the ambitious outcomes expected across the division.

Person specification

Knowledge, Training and Experience

• Educated to Masters level or working towards, and equivalent level of experience of working at a senior clinical level in specialist palliative care.
• Extensive community and hospital clinical experience working in an 8A/B in specialist palliative care in a community and acute hospital setting.
• Extensive knowledge of specialist areas, including oncology and haematology acquired through post graduate learning or equivalent experience or training plus further specialist knowledge or experience to master’s level equivalent.
• Evidence of post qualifying and continuing professional development.
• Must understand the background to and aims of current palliative and end of life care policy nationally and appreciate the implications of this on engagement.
• Member of relevant professional body.
• Have an appreciation of the relationship between the NHS England and individual provider and commissioning organisations.

Communication Skills

• Developed expert communication skills for delivering key messages to a range of stakeholders both internal and external (including outside the NHS) to the organisation, some at very senior level.
• Excellent presentational skills for conveying complex concepts.
• Ability to use informed persuasion to influence others.

Analytical

• Ability to identify risks, anticipate issues and create solutions and to resolve problems in relation to project or service delivery.
• Able to lead an integrated specialist team and lead complex MDT decisions.
• Ability to understand a broad range of complex information quickly and making decisions where opinions differ/no obvious solution.

Skills

• Evidence of planning and delivering programmes and projects and services on time.
• Abilities for financial and staff management.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office with intermediate keyboard skills.

Autonomy

• Ability to work without supervision, providing specialist advice to the organisation, working to tight and often changing timescales.
• Interpreting national policy for implementation.

Financial and Physical Resources

• Previously responsible for a budget, involved in budget setting and working knowledge of financial processes.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

• AI can be used as a support tool, not a replacement for the applicant’s own work.
• Applications must remain personal, accurate, and reflective of the candidate’s real experience.
• AI-generated content must not misrepresent skills, qualifications, or experience.
• Over reliance on AI-generated content is discouraged and may diminish the applicant's chances of success.
• We monitor applications for any behaviour that could create an unfair advantage, and we check all references carefully.
• You are likely to be tested on your experience at interview, so be honest and make sure all the information in your application is correct.

Please note that the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is prohibited during the interview process. The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.

Due to the high response levels we receive for some vacancies, we may expire any of them prior to the advertised closing date and advise you to submit your application as soon as possible. Applications from job seekers who require sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. Before submitting your application and to avoid disappointment please check that you are eligible under the UKVI points based system.

Our Agenda for Change employment contracts are subject to a contractual 13 week probationary period. If you are offered a job, information will be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

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.