Director of Nursing - Group Clinical Services

We are seeking an exceptional and inspiring Director of Nursing to join the leadership team of our Group Clinical Services Health Unit at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. Reporting to the Health Unit Chief Executive Officer, with professional accountability to the Group Chief Nurse, you will provide strategic and operational leadership across nursing and allied health professional services within a diverse portfolio including Pharmacy, Pathology, Imaging, Community Diagnostic Centres, Breast Screening Services, Mortuary and Bereavement Services, and Elective Access Services.

As a key executive leader, you will be responsible for driving excellence in patient safety, patient and staff experience, quality improvement, safeguarding, infection prevention and control, and clinical governance. You will lead the development of a high-performing nursing and AHP workforce, fostering a culture of compassionate, inclusive leadership, continuous improvement, and innovation.

Working closely with clinical, operational, and executive colleagues across the Trust and wider health system, you will play a pivotal role in delivering the Royal Free London clinical strategy, service transformation, embedding quality improvement methodology, and ensuring the highest standards of care, safety, and regulatory compliance. This is an outstanding opportunity for a visionary nursing leader to influence care delivery across one of the UK's largest and most ambitious NHS groups.

This role offers an exceptional opportunity to influence care quality and service transformation across a diverse portfolio of specialist and diagnostic services within one of the UK's largest NHS organisations.

• Provide visible and inspirational leadership for nursing and allied health professional (AHP) services across the Group Clinical Services Health Unit, promoting a culture of excellence, inclusion, innovation and continuous improvement.
• Lead on patient safety, patient experience, safeguarding, infection prevention and control, and clinical governance, ensuring the highest standards of quality, safety and regulatory compliance.
• Work closely with the Health Unit Chief Executive, Medical Director and senior leaders to develop and deliver strategic priorities, service transformation programmes and quality improvement initiatives.
• Oversee performance against quality, operational and workforce objectives, ensuring services are safe, effective, financially sustainable and deliver excellent patient outcomes and experiences.
• Lead the Health Unit's approach to Care Quality Commission (CQC) preparedness and inspections, ensuring robust assurance processes and continuous improvement.
• Act as a senior ambassador for the Trust, championing its values, strategic objectives and commitment to delivering world-class care.

The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK's biggest and most innovative trusts. Across three main hospitals, our dedicated army of staff care for over 1.6 million patients, treat more than 200,000 in A&E, deliver over 8,000 babies and carry out more than 17 million tests.

Our size, scale and influence offer you unrivalled career opportunities and a forward-thinking approach to working that works around your lifestyle. From flexible hours and generous benefits, to next level training, we make it easier to take your career to the top.

Essential qualifications include:

• Current NMC Registration
• Masters degree or equivalent level experience
• Evidence of continuous personal and professional development

Desirable qualifications include:

• Management qualification

Essential experience includes:

• Significant senior nursing experience in an NHS Acute trust
• Experience of increasing staff engagement
• Experience of leading transformational service change
• Experience of managing complex problems
• Successful achievement of projects of a significant scale including close working with clinicians

Essential skills and aptitudes include:

• Demonstrable track record of successful delivery
• Strong understanding of, and responsiveness to the complexities and dynamics of the NHS including the importance of clinical governance
• Demonstrate effective partnership working with internal and external stakeholders
• Ability to influence, negotiate and persuade regarding complex or sensitive issues
• Motivational skills to lead staff
• Highly developed communication and interpersonal skills
• Determination to achieve high standards and strive to deliver improvements in patient care within the framework of the Trust

Essential personal qualities and attributes include:

• Passion, enthusiasm and pride for the profession
• Ability to command confidence of medical and other Trust colleagues
• Ability to plan strategically, tactically and creatively
• Ability to take an innovative approach
• Proactive, versatile and problem-solving approach
• Robust and persistent in the pursuit of objectives whilst responding to short term challenges and priorities
• Able to maintain personal credibility
• Able to prioritise and work under pressure

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.

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications.