Chief Nursing Officer

The Chief Nursing Officer is a volunteer who will report to the Chief Commissioner and be a key part of the National Volunteer Leadership Team, as well as working alongside the Medical Director, Associate Medical Directors and other Chief Clinical Officers (Medical & AHP). You will provide support to the Medical Director and be an active member of the Clinical Advisory Group including regular review of the Clinical Governance Framework. You will support assurance of clinical decision-making within SJA as well as provide a clearly identified line of authority through the clinical chain for our volunteer nurses.

As the Senior Nurse within the organisation, you will support the development of the nursing cadre within the current scope of practice as well as integrating new developments safely into St John Ambulance. As the Champion for our nurses, you will be able to establish a rapport such that our nurses are confident they have a voice at the trustee level Clinical Committee that reports into the Executive Leadership Committee. As an experienced, clinically active nurse, you will be able to provide high level scrutiny of the Clinical Governance Framework and support the development of best practice. Above all you will be a role model for nurses within St John Ambulance and you will promote the organisation with external partners and professional bodies.

Main duties of the job:

• Represent views, knowledge and skills of the nursing profession in the activities of St John.
• Support the Medical Director in development of clinical strategy and in introduction of new policies.
• Be an active presence at events attended by our volunteer nurses, to provide them with support and an opportunity for them to raise concerns or issues with the strategy.
• Manage a small team of Associate Clinical Directors, Community of Practice Leads.
• Work in partnership with the Medical Director and statutory and regulatory bodies and other agencies to promote and develop the use of first aid.
• Be part of the Chief Commissioners National Volunteer Leadership Network.
• Support our network of safeguarding volunteers, working collaboratively with our National Safeguarding Advisor and Head of Safeguarding and providing professional expertise in this area.
• Participate in recruitment and retention of Nurses and Clinical Leaders and encourage recruitment of clinical volunteers at all levels.
• Visit Regions and participate in Regional, National and International Conferences.
• Be an active member of the Clinical Committee and provide feedback on the Clinical Governance Framework and Reports.
• Support the Community of Practice of Clinical Leadership and Medical Director with interviews, revalidation issues and disciplinary issues related to Paramedics and Allied Health Professionals within the organisation.

We are looking for a leader with a passion for high quality, patient-centred care that responds to emerging societal health needs. We need someone who is up to date on developments across the health, social care and event healthcare landscapes who can use their professional knowledge and appetite to build and lead a community of operationally focused volunteers.

How to Apply:

Application is by CV and a covering letter that addresses your interest in the role and how your experience equips you to perform the role. We particularly welcome applications from women and younger applicants, as well as those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds and disabled candidates as they are under-represented in roles such as this. Your CV and covering letter should be uploaded through our online portal. Please ensure that you supply details of two referees with your application. If you have questions, please contact Rachael Humphries (Executive Assistant to the Chief Commissioner) - Rachael.Humphries@sja.org.uk.

Person Specification:

• Full registration on the NMC UK professional register (Required).
• Current NHS equivalent of Band 8b or above for professionals on NMC registers (Required).
• Minimum 5 years management experience - people and services (Required).
• Broad clinical experience preferably with experience in management and teaching (Required).
• Nationally recognised by the paramedicine profession, with experience in presenting papers at a national level (Required).
• Knowledge of St John Ambulance and practice of first aid (Desirable).
• Experience of embedding an understanding of clinical quality assurance and the requirements of external scrutiny by CQC or other body (Required).

Skills, knowledge and abilities:

• Possess exceptional level of interpersonal skills and the ability to relate to and lead Volunteers as well as paid professionals (Required).
• Ability to lead and manage people toward achieving desired goals (Required).
• Able to influence through clear, informed and logical argument and discussion (Required).
• Ability to address problems and issues in a systematic and structured fashion as well as the ability to analyse complex situations from different points of view (Required).

Motivation:

• Ability to work on own initiative (Required).
• Willing to adapt and learn new skills (Required).
• Willingness to travel around the district and occasionally region (Required).
• Pro-active/passionate about making a difference (Required).

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 (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.