Job summary Salary: VSM - Competitive Lead with Compassion, Inspire Excellence - Become the Next Chief Nurse at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Join TeamMWL and Make a Difference TeamMWL is seeking an inspiring, compassionate, and strategic Chief Nurse to lead our nursing, midwifery, and allied health professional (AHP) workforce that will drive excellence in patient care and champion professional leadership and ensure that our values and vision translate into outstanding clinical practice. Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is committed to delivering 5-star patient care that is safe, effective, and compassionate through fostering a culture where our teams feel valued, supported and empowered to thrive. The person We seek an exceptional, values-driven leader with experience operating at a very senior level within a complex health or care environment. You will: - Be a strong and influential leader, capable of inspiring and developing our nursing, midwifery, and AHP workforce. - Have a passion for patient-centred care, with a commitment to innovation, integration, and collaboration across health and social care systems. - Be a strategic thinker, shaping and delivering quality, safety, and governance initiatives. Here at MWL, we are committed to fostering an inclusive culture and encourage applications from diverse backgrounds, particularly individuals with protected characteristics currently under-represented in our Trust. Main duties of the job As Chief Nurse, you will be a key member of the Trust Board and executive leadership team, playing a critical role in ensuring the delivery of outstanding, safe, and compassionate patient care. Your responsibilities will include: Providing expert professional leadership to nursing, midwifery, and AHP teams. Overseeing the implementation of patient safety, quality, and clinical governance strategies. Driving continuous quality improvement initiatives aligned with national and regional health priorities. Collaborating with system partners across Cheshire and Merseyside ICS and Lancashire and South Cumbria ICS to support integrated care delivery and reduce health inequalities. Further details of the role requirements are outlined in the Candidate Briefing Pack. Please note, this recruitment process will include an assessment centre featuring a focus group exercise, presentation, and interview. Date of Assessment Centre: 28th April 2025 About us On the 1st July 2023 St Helens & Knowsley Teaching Hospitals and Southport & Ormskirk Hospitals came together as a single organisation under the name Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Our vision to provide 5-star patient care remains the Trust's primary objective, so that patients and their carers receive services that are safe, person-centred and responsive, aiming for positive outcomes every time. The mission and vision have remained consistent and embedded in the everyday working practices of staff throughout the Trust, where delivering 5-star patient care is recognised as everyone's responsibility. We are privileged to deliver acute hospital care, intermediate care, community, and primary care services to a population of over 600,000 people with a combined workforce of around 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 locations including Newton, Ormskirk, St Helens, Southport and Whiston hospitals. The Trust also provides regional services for burns, plastic surgery and spinal injuries to more than 4 million people across Merseyside and West Lancashire, Cheshire, the Isle of Man and North Wales. Date posted 21 March 2025 Pay scheme Very senior manager (VSM) Salary Depending on experience Contract Permanent Working pattern Full-time Reference number 409-S7097879 Job locations Whiston Hospital Warrington Road Prescot L35 5DR Job description Job responsibilities The Trust is also the largest Lead Employer in the NHS of doctors, dentists, and specialists in public health in training totalling circa 13,000 trainees across 8 NHSE regions. We also provide payroll services to 13 NHS organisations across the country issuing 97,000 payslips per month. The Trust is immensely proud of its achievements and some of these are listed below:- - Outstanding rating awarded by the CQC, the best possible rating. This has remained unchanged following the formation of the new Trust in July 2023 and following recent maternity inspections. - Awarded the prestigious HSJ Trust of the Year (2019) - Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & HSJ) - Achieved the best scores in the NHS, in the Patient-led Assessments of the Care Environment - Awarded Freedom of the Borough in recognition for the Trusts work during the COVID-19 pandemic by St Helens, Knowsley and Sefton Councils - Received the Queens Award for the Trusts Voluntary Service the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK - Rated by staff as the best place to work in the and receive treatment in the North West (NHS Staff Survey 2022) - First NW Trust to receive the National Preceptorship for Nursing Quality Mark (NHS England 2022 Further details of the role requirements are outlined in the Candidate Briefing Pack. Please note, this recruitment process will include an assessment centre featuring a focus group exercise, presentation, and interview. Job description Job responsibilities The Trust is also the largest Lead Employer in the NHS of doctors, dentists, and specialists in public health in training totalling circa 13,000 trainees across 8 NHSE regions. We also provide payroll services to 13 NHS organisations across the country issuing 97,000 payslips per month. The Trust is immensely proud of its achievements and some of these are listed below:- - Outstanding rating awarded by the CQC, the best possible rating. This has remained unchanged following the formation of the new Trust in July 2023 and following recent maternity inspections. - Awarded the prestigious HSJ Trust of the Year (2019) - Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & HSJ) - Achieved the best scores in the NHS, in the Patient-led Assessments of the Care Environment - Awarded Freedom of the Borough in recognition for the Trusts work during the COVID-19 pandemic by St Helens, Knowsley and Sefton Councils - Received the Queens Award for the Trusts Voluntary Service the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK - Rated by staff as the best place to work in the and receive treatment in the North West (NHS Staff Survey 2022) - First NW Trust to receive the National Preceptorship for Nursing Quality Mark (NHS England 2022 Further details of the role requirements are outlined in the Candidate Briefing Pack. Please note, this recruitment process will include an assessment centre featuring a focus group exercise, presentation, and interview. Person Specification Qualifications Essential Masters qualification or equivalent/ proven post graduate level ability and experience Evidence of continuous professional and personal development in strategic leadership and management First level Registered Nurse (RN) Knowledge & Experience Essential Proven and successful experience as a Director of Nursing/ Chief Nurse at Board level in a similarly large, complex organisation or system Experienced and inclusive leader with a strong commitment to leadership and experience of building high performance, cohesive teams based on an open, kind and inclusive culture Broad ranging experience in different clinical services Extensive experience of working with NHS England, CQC and other professional regulatory regimes Extensive experience of working in collaboration with partners, across the healthcare systems to develop services which improve patient outcomes Demonstrable track record of achievement in the quality and patient safety agenda Sound understanding of current health issues, national policy and standards, as well as best practice locally, nationally and internationally Experience of improving the quality of patient experience Skills, personal effectiveness and behaviours Essential Excellent communication skills and ability to work effectively and co-operatively with colleagues and other partners Ability to demonstrate a strong desire to improve and enhance the patient experience and services across the organisation and system to make a difference. Person Specification Qualifications Essential Masters qualification or equivalent/ proven post graduate level ability and experience Evidence of continuous professional and personal development in strategic leadership and management First level Registered Nurse (RN) Knowledge & Experience Essential Proven and successful experience as a Director of Nursing/ Chief Nurse at Board level in a similarly large, complex organisation or system Experienced and inclusive leader with a strong commitment to leadership and experience of building high performance, cohesive teams based on an open, kind and inclusive culture Broad ranging experience in different clinical services Extensive experience of working with NHS England, CQC and other professional regulatory regimes Extensive experience of working in collaboration with partners, across the healthcare systems to develop services which improve patient outcomes Demonstrable track record of achievement in the quality and patient safety agenda Sound understanding of current health issues, national policy and standards, as well as best practice locally, nationally and internationally Experience of improving the quality of patient experience Skills, personal effectiveness and behaviours Essential Excellent communication skills and ability to work effectively and co-operatively with colleagues and other partners Ability to demonstrate a strong desire to improve and enhance the patient experience and services across the organisation and system to make a difference. Disclosure and Barring Service Check 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. Certificate of Sponsorship 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. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab). From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab). UK Registration Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window). Additional information Disclosure and Barring Service Check 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. Certificate of Sponsorship 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. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab). From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab). UK Registration Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window). Employer details Employer name Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Address Whiston Hospital Warrington Road Prescot L35 5DR Employer's website https://www.merseywestlancs.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)