Head of the RCN Foundation Centre for Compassionate Leadership in Nursing and Midwifery

| RCN UK HQ with hybrid working | £72,003- pro rata (including inner London weighting of £5094)

Contract type: Permanent

Head of the RCN Foundation Centre for Compassionate Leadership in Nursing and Midwifery

RCN London HQ, Permanent, 28 hours per week

Salary per annum £66,909, plus London Weighting £5,094 per annum

At the RCN Foundation, we are committed to supporting, strengthening and championing the nursing and midwifery professions. As a charity and grant-maker, we do this by funding research and projects, as well as education and hardship, which support nurses, midwives, nursing associates and healthcare support workers in times of need, and to innovate and progress their careers.

We’re accredited with Investors in People Silver Standard. Our people are our greatest asset, and we want people who can contribute to our purpose in line with our values.

In 2020, we funded and worked with The King’s Fund on the development of the seminal report, The Courage of Compassion, which demonstrated the positive impact that compassionate leadership can have on the morale, motivation and retention of nursing and midwifery staff. As the Head of the RCN Foundation Centre for Compassionate Leadership, you will build on this work in a practical way, developing projects and programmes that promote cultures of person-centred care and address retention issues within the professions.

In this new role as the Head of the Centre, you will work with the RCN Foundation Director to set out the future direction of the Centre. This will be a hub for research, projects and initiatives that will aim to transform organisational cultures within health and social care, ultimately improving health and wellbeing outcomes for nursing and midwifery staff and leading to better patient outcomes.

You will draw upon your significant experience of leadership to combine the strategic management of the work with more operational/hands-on delivery. This pivotal role will help the Foundation to grow and demonstrate the impact of the Centre on nursing and midwifery retention rates and the impact that compassionate leadership has on high quality nursing and person-centred care.

You will have experience at a senior level of working in a nursing or midwifery environment, and of implementing transformational change programmes.

As well as an understanding of compassionate leadership theory within the nursing, midwifery, and health and social care landscape, you will need demonstrable experience of leading with compassion in a health or social care environment. As well as the ability to work at a strategic level, you will also feel comfortable with taking a hands-on approach to delivery.

You will use your excellent interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills to engage with key stakeholders and to adapt your style to suit different audiences.

To succeed at the RCN Foundation, all you need to do is think bigger, better and brighter. And with an attitude like that, anything’s possible.

What we offer you

We expect you to look after beneficiaries. And we expect you to be rewarded for it. We offer an impressive range of benefits, a broad range of learning development opportunities and an award-winning health and wellbeing programme. We offer annual leave up to 32 days plus bank holidays and three additional days for the Christmas break plus generous maternity, adoption, paternity, and shared parental leave packages.

We are a diverse organisation and understand everyone has different needs and many of our employees enjoy flexible working enabling them to deliver results whilst having a good work-life balance. Our hybrid working model allows for up to 60% of your working time to be carried out from home. At least 40% of your working time will be spent working in person.

Our selection process

Please click the ‘apply now’ button to submit a CV and answer the supporting questions online demonstrating how you meet the criteria for this role. You may not be shortlisted if you don’t. Please ensure your CV is in a simple format with minimal tables and sections. Any identifying information in your application will automatically be anonymised for shortlisting purposes.

We want your experience applying for a job with us to be the best it can be. We may hold our interviews and assessments in person or by video call. If you foresee any problems, please let us know.

Equal opportunities for everyone

Equity, diversity and inclusion are a priority for us, and we aim to foster an inclusive environment so our people can bring their authentic selves to work. This is integral to our mission to enable you to support our members and ensure their voice is heard by all UK governments to get the best outcomes for them and their patients.

As a proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme, we actively encourage applications from people with disabilities.

Contact details

For more information or for an informal discussion about the role please contact Deepa Korea, Director of the RCN Foundation on 020 7647 3497.

For more information about the recruitment and selection process please contact

Closing date: 16 March 2025.

Assessment: 26 March 2025.

Interview and stakeholder panel: 27 March 2025.

Interview date: 27 March 2025.

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