Deputy Sister/Charge Nurse - OPAU in Bournemouth

Main area: OPAU

Grade: Band 6

Contract: Secondment for 12 months (Contract will end after 12 months)

Hours: Full time/Part time, 37.5 hours per week (Full Flexibility Required)

Salary: £38,682 - £46,580 pa/pro rata

Salary period: Yearly

Closing date: 29/01/2026 23:59

Interview date: 04/02/2026

As University Hospitals Dorset, we are a three-site acute trust with ‘university hospital’ status through our partnership with Bournemouth University, working with an annual budget of £730m. We offer highly regarded health services, employing some 10,000 staff. Our ambitious £500m transformation programme is well on the way to delivering state-of-the-art facilities over the next two years to meet the current and future healthcare needs of the populations we serve.

In an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with over seven miles of sandy beaches, you’ll find inspirational opportunities to achieve your perfect work/life balance. With the New Forest and the Purbecks on our doorstep, we’re also less than three hours from London by road or train. The thriving towns of Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch give way to idyllic villages and unspoilt landscapes just minutes from our hospitals.

We believe that having a diverse workforce, and allowing people to be themselves, is essential in ensuring we offer an inclusive, welcoming and productive place to work. We especially welcome applications from minority groups in the community who may be underrepresented in our workforce.

At UHD, our active staff network groups are the Women’s Network, Black Asian Minority Ethnic Group (BAME), Pride Network, European (EU), Pro Ability Staff Network, and the Armed Forces Support Group. As a Trust, we are proudly signed up to the Disability Confident and Armed Forces Covenant guaranteed interview schemes.

Job overview: Are you dynamic, and do you enjoy a fast-paced environment that offers you daily challenges? Would you thrive in the exposure to medical emergencies when caring for medical speciality patient groups, alongside the elderly Frailty patient group that we specialise in? We are looking for motivated individuals who want to develop as leaders to join our senior nursing team on the Older Persons Assessment Unit. This is an exciting time to join OPAU with future developments. You will enjoy a challenge where no two days are the same and join a team that is committed to providing the best possible patient care at the front door.

You will be responsible for co-ordinating the Unit, managing flow through the department, whilst supporting the team to deliver quality care in meeting the acute and changing needs of our patients, deputising in the absence of the clinical leaders, and performing admin-based tasks in support of the clinical environment, governance, and team members. This role requires an active UK NMC Registration.

Base Location: Bournemouth

Interview Date: 16th January 2026

Main duties of the job: To understand the role in more detail please read the full job description and person specification documents which are attached to this advert.

Person specification:

• Qualifications: NMC Registered Nurse
• Experience: Medicine for the Elderly experience, previous experience of working as a Deputy clinical lead/Band 6 within admissions and also a general ward area
• Knowledge: Understanding of team dynamics and appropriate management to ensure effective team working, planning and prioritisation skills, project and change management skills, ability to motivate and develop team, male catheterisation, venepuncture and cannulation, interpersonal skills, commitment to development of others, ability to work unsupervised and on own initiative and as part of a multi-disciplinary team, demonstrate effective communication skills when receiving highly complex, sensitive and contentious information using a range of methods, ability to undertake audits and plan development of issues identified.
• Other requirements specific to the role: Excellent organisational skills, able to manage clinical concerns and delays in patient care, escalating appropriately when required, a frequent requirement to work within close/intimate contact with patients (e.g. direct contact with bodily fluids, emptying bed pans and urinals, catheter bags).
• Personal Attributes: Highly motivated, flexible to the needs of the service, supportive of staff/team members, professional approach, ability to work under pressure and with frequent interruptions, problem-solving and decision-making skills, recognises stress in self and others.
• Language Requirement: Be able to speak English as necessary to undertake the role.

Please note: Staff recruited are expected to be available to work flexibly across all our Trust locations to meet service demands. This advert may be closed early if sufficient applications are received. COVID-19 vaccination remains the best way to protect yourself and our patients from the virus when working in our healthcare settings. Whilst this vaccination is not a condition of employment, we do encourage our staff to get vaccinated.

Internal Candidates: Staff employed prior to merger who voluntarily change jobs will be appointed to UHD terms and conditions.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.