Director of Care and Transformation | St Nicholas Hospice Care

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Director of Care and Transformation St Nicholas Hospice Care

Lead the next chapter of clinical care at St Nicholas Hospice Care, strengthening quality, inspiring teams and shaping services for the future.

St Nicholas Hospice Care is seeking an experienced and inspiring Director of Care and Transformation to lead its clinical services through a significant period in the organisation’s development.

This is a pivotal appointment, offering the opportunity to strengthen clinical leadership, drive improvements in quality and safety, and play a defining role in shaping the hospice’s future approach to care.

Working closely with the Chief Executive, Board and wider leadership team, you will provide both strategic direction and visible operational leadership, building confidence, strengthening accountability and creating the conditions for services and colleagues to thrive.

We are looking for a credible, values-led clinical leader who combines professional expertise with sound judgement, a commitment to excellence and the ability to deliver meaningful, sustainable change.

Who we are

St Nicholas Hospice Care is a much-valued charity providing specialist palliative and end-of-life care and support to people living with life-limiting conditions, and to their families, across West Suffolk and Thetford.

With compassion and dignity at the heart of its work, the hospice supports people to live as well as possible, offering care that responds to their individual needs, wishes and circumstances.

The organisation has a strong connection to its local communities and a committed team of staff and volunteers who are passionate about making a difference.

Looking ahead, St Nicholas Hospice Care is entering an important period of development, with an ambition to strengthen its services, broaden its impact and ensure it can continue meeting the needs of its communities for years to come.

About the role

As Director of Care and Transformation, you will provide strategic and operational leadership across the hospice’s clinical services, with responsibility for ensuring consistently high standards of care, effective governance and a culture in which quality and safety are everyone’s priority.

You will play a central role in strengthening clinical oversight, safeguarding and regulatory compliance, ensuring the hospice has the systems, processes and assurance needed to deliver safe and effective services. As the hospice’s Registered Manager, you will hold significant responsibility for maintaining regulatory standards and providing confidence to the Board and wider organisation.

Alongside this, you will lead the development and transformation of clinical services, working closely with colleagues to identify opportunities for improvement, strengthen leadership capability and ensure services remain responsive and sustainable. Your approach will be visible, collaborative and empowering, bringing teams with you while maintaining clear expectations and accountability.

Who we are looking for

We are seeking an accomplished and compassionate clinical leader who brings the professional credibility, strategic perspective and operational experience to lead complex services and deliver lasting improvements in care.

You will have substantial senior leadership experience within a clinical or care environment, supported by a relevant professional qualification and a strong understanding of clinical governance, safeguarding, regulatory compliance and quality assurance. You will have a track record of leading multidisciplinary teams, strengthening performance and successfully delivering service improvement or organisational change.

Shape the future of care through the development of innovative, responsive models of support that reflect the changing needs of patients, families and communities, whilst identifying opportunities to improve and extend existing services.

Equally important will be your ability to balance clinical excellence with operational and financial sustainability, make well-informed decisions and provide effective assurance to senior colleagues and trustees. You will be confident navigating complexity, managing risk and building productive relationships with regulators and external partners.

Above all, you will be a visible, inclusive and resilient leader who inspires trust, supports and develops others, and has the confidence to challenge where necessary. You will combine ambition with pragmatism, recognising what needs to be protected, what needs to improve and how to bring people with you on that journey.

St Nicholas Hospice Care is a registered charity in England and Wales (No. 287773).

If you would like to know more about this role please contact Lucy Kennedy-Mavers

Thank you for your interest in joining St Nicholas Hospice Care as our next Director of Care and Transformation.

We are incredibly proud of the care and support we provide to people and families across West Suffolk and Thetford, and of the dedication, compassion and expertise of our staff and volunteers who make this possible every day.

While the wider hospice sector continues to face significant challenges, we are fortunate to have a stable financial foundation and healthy reserves that allow us to plan for the future with confidence. This has enabled us to continue investing in and developing our services at a time when many organisations are sadly having to make difficult decisions about reducing provision. We recognise the responsibility that comes with this position and are ambitious about how we can build on our strengths to reach more people and make an even greater difference across our communities.

This is therefore an important time to join St Nicholas Hospice Care, and the appointment of our Director of Care and Transformation will be central to the next chapter of our development.

We are looking for someone who can bring both strategic vision and strong operational leadership, helping us to strengthen clinical governance, quality and assurance while developing services that are safe, effective and sustainable. This is a role that will require sound judgement, professional credibility and the confidence to lead change, but equally someone who understands the importance of listening, building trust and bringing colleagues with them.

You will be joining a committed and passionate team, with the opportunity to build on our strengths, support and develop our people, and help shape how we deliver care for years to come. As a member of our senior leadership team, you will also play an important role in the wider direction and success of the hospice.

We know that the right person will bring more than their professional experience. We are looking for someone who shares our values, who cares deeply about the quality of the services we provide and who will approach this opportunity with curiosity, ambition and compassion.

I hope the information on this site gives you a sense of both the opportunity and what makes St Nicholas Hospice Care such a special organisation. If you feel you have the experience, qualities and motivation to make a difference, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Thank you again for your interest, and I very much hope you will consider joining us.

Best wishes,

Our story and impact

Founded in 1983, St Nicholas Hospice Care has been supporting people across West Suffolk and Thetford for more than 40 years. Established through a belief that there should be ‘something better’ for people facing terminal illness and their loved ones, that founding ambition continues to shape the organisation today.

Based in Bury St Edmunds, the hospice supports around 1,800 patients and their families each year through a broad range of services. These include specialist inpatient care on Sylvan Ward, community nursing and hospice care in people’s homes, alongside emotional, practical and bereavement support. Its work also extends to children and young people through Nicky’s Way, and to local communities through education, partnerships and volunteer-led initiatives.

Our people and resource

It costs approximately £9.7 million annually to deliver the hospice’s services, with statutory funding meeting around 32% of expenditure. The remainder is generated through the generosity of local communities, including fundraising, donations, retail, lottery income and gifts in Wills.

The hospice benefits from a committed workforce, dedicated volunteers and strong relationships with local healthcare providers and community partners, all of whom play an important role in ensuring people receive the support they need.

Looking to the future

At a time when many hospices are facing significant financial pressures and difficult decisions about service provision, St Nicholas Hospice Care is fortunate to have a stable financial foundation and healthy reserves. This provides an opportunity to continue investing in and developing services, while remaining mindful of the importance of long-term sustainability.

Learn more about St Nicholas Hospice Care

We understand that different members of the community have different access needs and have made some modifications to the way we do business to accommodate people from diverse communities and abilities.

We offer the following amenities:

• Step free access to the building, all key meeting rooms and bathrooms, and an accessible workstation
• Accessibility dogs are welcome
• Papers and materials can be presented in different formats
• Working patterns and locations can be adjusted

As a sector-leading executive search consultancy, we know the importance of creating recruitment processes that are fair, inclusive and free from bias. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a process that values differences.

If you require any job information in an alternative format (e.g. large print), please contact the lead consultant. Please also let us know if you would like to submit your application in an alternative format.

Applicants with disabilities are welcome to contact us in confidence at any stage of the recruitment process to discuss any reasonable adjustments or support that may be required to ensure fair and equal participation.

Recruitment selection processes are based on evidence of competence stated in the person specification and in relation to our values.

Timetable

Closing date: 9 a.m. Wednesday 18th November 2026
Candidates informed of outcome: Tuesday 24th November 2026
First stage interviews: Wednesday 2nd and Thursday 3rd December 2026
Psychometric testing: Monday 8th and Tuesday 9th December 2026
Second stage interviews: Tuesday 15th December 2026

Peridot and St Nicholas Hospice Care are committed to promoting equality and diversity. To help us raise awareness and support a culture that is diverse and recognises and develops the potential of all, we need to appreciate the profile of candidates who apply for positions.We will send you an equality monitoring survey at the point of receiving your application and at the time of placement. This ensures that our processes remain inclusive and equitable throughout, and provides us with important data to help us showcase our impact.

The information will be treated confidentially and anonymously and will help us to support our commitment to fair recruitment practice. All information provided will be held in the strictest confidence and will not be shared with anyone, in line with the Data Protection Act 2018.

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