Job overview
Are you an experienced mental health or learning disability nurse looking to take the next step in your career?
We are recruiting for Ward Manager to join our team at, a unit for females with a diagnosis of mental illness and/or personality disorder based at our Littlemore Mental Health Centre in Oxford. This role offers a challenging yet rewarding environment where you can make a real difference.
is a low secure unit supporting women aged 18+ with mental health and forensic risks, aiming for rehabilitation and community reintegration. This role is based at Kestrel, a 10-bedded ward which includes an ICU consisting of 2 beds, a seclusion room, a separate lounge and garden area.
You'll be at the heart of our Forensic Mental Health Pathway, providing operational leadership and delivery of high-quality nursing care. You'll maintain a safe, structured, and therapeutic environment for both staff and service users, championing a collaborative approach to care. This role offers the opportunity to influence and shape forensic mental health services, working closely with the Head of Service, Service Manager, and Modern Matron.
We offer a supportive working environment with opportunities for continuous learning and career progression. You'll lead and develop a skilled nursing team and contribute to the ongoing improvement of our forensic services.
If you are ready to take on this pivotal role and drive positive change, we would love to hear from you!
Main duties of the job
1. Work as part of a highly skilled and knowledgeable multi-disciplinary team
2. Hold key responsibilities around promoting excellence and effective team working
3. Provide leadership and clinical management to the ward team
4. Effectively apply your knowledge, skills and experience to oversee and maintain the highest standards of care
5. Actively communicate and engage with other professionals (internal and external) as a senior clinical member of the team
6. Oversee the co-ordination and effective management of the ward clinical team within the Secure Psychiatric Service. This includes covering for the unit totalling 10 beds.
7. Ensure a safe, structured, and therapeutic environment for staff and service users.
8. Take the least restrictive approach to risk management is employed with an emphasis on collaboration with the patient.
9. Ensure that the nursing care in the service is of the highest standard, providing leadership and vision to the nursing team. To ensure adequate numbers of suitably skilled staff are working effectively.
10. Oversee security of the unit and all who use it and that policies and procedures are in place and followed.
11. Enable the strategic development of services across the Thames Valley, managing any necessary changes to the unit and it’s functioning.
12. Oversee recruitment, induction and team building of the staff group and the planning and organisation of therapeutic services
Please refer to the job description attached for a comprehensive list of duties
Working for our organisation
Oxford Health is a great place to work and to be able to showcase the best of yourself when making an application please read the “candidate guide to making an application” and ensure your supporting statement is tailored to the role you are applying for and addresses any essential criteria.
As a Trust we provide physical, mental health and social care for people of all ages across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Swindon, Wiltshire, Bath and North East Somerset. Our services are delivered at community bases, hospitals, clinics and people’s homes, delivering care as close to home as possible. Our vision is that no matter who you are or where you are, you will tell us that you receive: “Outstanding care delivered by an outstanding team”
Our values are: “Caring, safe and excellent”
At Oxford Health we offer a wide range of benefits designed to support your career and wellbeing. These include:
13. Excellent opportunities for career progression
14. Individual and Trust wide learning and development
15. 27 days annual leave, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days with continuous service
16. NHS Discount
17. Pension scheme
18. Lease car scheme
19. Employee Assistance Programme
20. Mental Health First Aiders
21. Staff accommodation (waiting lists may apply)
22. Staff networking and support groups
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
This role includes an RSU allowance of £1,446 per annum on top of your salary.
Please note if you are based outside of the UK you will need to be fully qualified, have already passed your OSCE and have an NMC pin number in order to be considered for this role.
The hours are 9:00-17:00, Monday to Friday with some flexibility expected to provide out of hours management oversight as part of the Forensic on call rota system.
The successful candidate needs to have experience and competence in utilising PEACE intervention to provide leadership and support in Managing violence and aggression.
This role will include effective liaison with capital project workers, project managers, builders and contractors, Human Resources, staff groups, members of all disciplines and service users, among others. All roles will be subject to a successful disclosure at an appropriate level from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), Access NI or Disclosure Scotland. We are an equal opportunities employer. You can also take advantage of clear career pathways and support around training and personal development. You will be surrounded by like-minded professionals who work well as a team to produce positive outcomes.
We hope that the advert has given you a clear understanding of the skills we are seeking and the opportunity at hand. You will need to use the “supporting statement” element of your application form to demonstrate your suitability for this role and you should refer to the job description, person specification and the guidance notes attached to this role to help you tailor your application.
The essential and desirable criteria will be used to shortlist for interview and you should ensure that you refer to these within your application to increase your chances of being selected for interview.
Person specification
Knowledge
Essential criteria
23. Excellent knowledge of the needs of the users of forensic mental health services
24. Knowledge of legal frameworks when supporting people with Mental Health Challenges
25. Thorough understanding of delivering mental health nursing within secure settings
26. Ability to identify the development needs of those in your team and Implement a plan to meet them.
Desirable criteria
27. Knowledge and Understanding of HR procedures
28. Evidence of Leadership skill
29. Training and experience of Quality Improvement
30. Competence in PEACE intervention
Skills
Essential criteria
31. Able to work on own initiative and time manage
32. Experience of Leading a Team
33. Physical capacity to complete control and restraint training
Desirable criteria
34. Ability to travel to different locations where needed
35. Experienced in Quality Improvement Projects
Training and experience
Essential criteria
36. Registered Mental Health Nurse/ Registered Learning Disability Nurse
37. At least three years post registration experience
38. At least two years post registration experience in a secure setting
39. Experience of dealing with management of change
Desirable criteria
40. Qualification in Leadership & Management.
41. Experienced in Quality Improvement Projects
42. All new starters have a thorough induction process, both local and Trust wide, which aims to create a positive supportive working environment allowing new employees to learn key elements of their role over a reasonable timescale.
43. Appointment to this post is subject to the trust receiving satisfactory references covering 3 years of employment or study. Please ask your referees to respond promptly to reference requests.
44. We’re advocates of flexible working and many of our roles offer a range of employment options to help you balance your work and personal life.
45. Employees are expected to undertake mandatory and statutory training related to their role.
46. We are ambitious in our pursuit of excellence, driven by the belief that a fair, just and fully inclusive organisational culture enables our teams to deliver the best quality of care and services possible and we work hard to ensure that our diverse workforce reflects the communities that we serve.
47. We welcome applications from all sections of the community, are an Equal Opportunities employer with a number of internal networking groups to support our employees and where possible will always look to make reasonable adjustments in order that you can fulfil the role to recognise your full potential. All our employees are committed to demonstrating through their behaviour our core values – safe, caring and excellent.
48. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, we expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
49. Oxford is a world-renowned centre of excellence for research. Oxford Health works closely with the University of Oxford department of Psychiatry and the Department of Primary care, has a Biomedical Research Centre dedicated to improving mental health and the NIHR Clinical Research Facility at the Warneford site. The Trust also hosts the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) which carries out applied research that directly impacts patient health and wellbeing