Hospice Lead Nurse in Chester

Salary between £51,000 - £60,000 (dependent on experience)

Are you an experienced senior nurse leader looking for an opportunity to make a meaningful difference in hospice care?

Hospice of the Good Shepherd is seeking a Hospice Lead Nurse to provide senior clinical leadership across our In-Patient Unit (IPU) and Living Well Centre (LWC). This is an exciting opportunity for a credible, compassionate and motivated nurse leader to help shape high-quality specialist palliative and end of life care within a supportive, values-driven organisation.

About the role

As Hospice Lead Nurse, you will provide visible and effective leadership to nursing and ancillary teams, ensuring services are safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led. You will play a key role in operational management, quality assurance, workforce development and clinical governance, supporting the delivery of outstanding care for patients and those important to them.

You will also work closely with the Director of Clinical Services, contributing to service development, CQC readiness, quality improvement and clinical leadership across the hospice.

We are looking for a current NMC-registered nurse with substantial senior nursing experience, ideally at Band 7 level or equivalent, and a strong track record of leading clinical teams. You will bring clinical credibility, professional accountability, and sound knowledge of clinical governance, audit, incident management, quality improvement and CQC standards, alongside excellent communication, leadership and people management skills. Above all, you will be committed to compassionate, person-centred care and continuous improvement, and will be a visible role model who can inspire others, build strong multidisciplinary relationships, and lead with professionalism, compassion and integrity in a regulated environment. In addition, we would particularly welcome applicants who are working towards or hold an Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) qualification, or who can demonstrate equivalent advanced clinical experience.

Why join us?

At Hospice of the Good Shepherd, you will be part of a dedicated team delivering specialist care with compassion and excellence. This role offers the opportunity to:

• Influence and shape clinical practice and service development
• Lead and support a skilled and committed nursing team
• Contribute to quality improvement and organisational assurance
• Develop your own leadership and specialist palliative care expertise within a supportive environment

We offer a comprehensive package of support, wellbeing, and development opportunities to help you thrive in your role, including:

• Competitive salary
• Generous annual leave entitlement
• Continuation of the NHS Pension Scheme for existing members, or the opportunity to join the hospice pension scheme
• Excellent development opportunities, including a broad range of in-house education and support to access external training
• A staff support programme, including clinical supervision, confidential counselling, and occupational health services

Apply now

If you are an experienced nurse leader with the passion, resilience and vision to help deliver exceptional hospice care, we would love to hear from you.

If you would like an informal discussion about the post, please contact Claire Royce, Director of Clinical Services (claire.royce@hospicegs.com).

The Hospice is a great place to work and volunteer. Based in Backford, Chester (with retail shops in Chester and Ellesmere Port), the Hospice provides specialist palliative and end-of-life care in a welcoming and compassionate environment.

Our specialist team of medical and nursing staff deliver end of life care to our patients and support their families, carers and friends but our services are varied across a number of disciplines and reflect the diverse nature of our care and support. In addition to Doctors, Nurses and Health care roles, we employ staff in a wide range of roles including Fundraising and Retail in our charity shops, Housekeeping and Catering, Social Work and Family Support such as Counselling and Spiritual Care, Living Well / Day Services as well as Business Support functions such as Administration, People & Development and Finance.

We also have a large number of Volunteer roles in all these service areas. We have been supported by our volunteers ever since the hospice was established and we now have over 400 people contributing their time in so many different ways. Every hour volunteered allows us to continue providing specialist care and we are always welcoming applications for new volunteers so please get in touch.

We believe that equality of opportunity and freedom from discrimination is a fundamental right for everyone, and that diversity within our organisation and our community is a strength to be valued, promoted and developed.

Being a part of and supporting such a diverse community, it is vital that our staff and volunteer team represents the community in which we work. We welcome applications from people from all walks of life and backgrounds irrespective of people’s age, disability, sex, gender identity and gender expression, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or other personal circumstances.

We understand that people perform better when they can be themselves and that by creating an environment that includes everyone, our staff will perform to their full potential.

We do not discriminate against employees and volunteers or applicants and select the best person for each job or role based on relevant skills and experience.