Are you a dedicated and empathetic children's nurse ready to take on a new challenge in your career? Do you thrive in a dynamic specialist setting where you can lead and inspire and make a difference? Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust are looking for a experienced team lead for nursing services at Chailey Heritage Foundation. This is an opportunity for you to lead a skilled team, drive excellence and make a meaningful difference to children and young people with complex care needs.
The nursing team delivers across two key services:
Clinical support to pupils in a formal partnership agreement with Chailey Heritage Foundation. This is provided within Chailey Heritage Foundation School for pupils aged 3-19 years and within Chailey Heritage Foundation residential bungalows for those aged up to aged up to 25 years.
This role will require you to:
• Provide overarching day to day, operational leadership and management to the specialist Nursing Team.
• Ensure that the service is safe, efficient, effective and responsive within the resources available and escalate any issues regarding this promptly and succinctly within Trust processes
• Understand and contribute to the development of clinical nursing practice and service strategies within Chailey Clinical Services, ensuring evidence base practice is embedded across the service
• Promote professional nursing accountability and responsibilities of the Specialist Nursing Team.
• Promote the health and wellbeing of children and their families and to ensure the provision of high quality, safe nursing care.
• Work closely with other health professionals within the Trust and across the wider health economy, as well as across statutory and third sector agencies.
• Work pro-actively with Chailey Heritage Foundation colleagues to maintain effective partnership working and ensure processes are in place, followed and evolved as necessary to manage arising issues and concerns, such as incidents, complaints and quality of care concerns. In addition, ensure effective partnership working monitors and supports quality improvement initiatives across both services.
We are the main provider of NHS community services across East and West Sussex, with 6,000 staff serving 1.3 million people. We deliver essential care to adults and children, helping them manage their health, avoid hospital admissions, and reduce hospital stays.
Our Trust vision is to provide excellent care at the heart of the community. We offer opportunities across medical, clinical, support, and corporate services.
Why work for us?
• Positive 2023 NHS Staff Survey results, highlighting compassionate leadership and wellbeing
• Varied environments: community hospitals, patients’ homes, and bases across Sussex
• Flexible working options: part-time, flexi-time, annualised hours, and flexi-retirement
• Excellent training, development, and research opportunities
• Cost-effective workplace nurseries in Crawley, Hove, and Brighton
• Active EMBRACE, Disability & Wellbeing, LGBTQIA+, and Religion & Belief networks
• Level 3 Disability Confident Leader and Veteran Aware Trust
• Beautiful Sussex location near the South Downs and coast
Our values—Compassionate Care, Working Together, Achieving Ambitions, Delivering Excellence—guide everything we do.
We embrace diversity and encourage applications from all backgrounds, particularly from ethnically diverse, disabled, and LGBTQIA+ individuals. We aim to create an inclusive environment and support reasonable adjustments during recruitment.
This post may close early if sufficient applications are received.
Main duties of the role:
Developing and maintaining excellent standards of clinical nursing practice across the Specialist Nursing service
Participate with the development and implementation of clinical policies and standards; adhere to national standards and clinical policies in line with National and SCFT requirements
Ensuring the service rota is completed in a timely way to safely manage Chailey Heritage Foundation partnership work and CCS Short Breaks packages
Responsible for attending all mandatory and statutory training and ensuring you and the team remain in date with Trust requirements
Responsible for ensuring you and the team attend regular clinical supervision, safeguarding supervision and an annual personal development review.
Overarching responsibility for ensuring safe use of clinical and non-clinical equipment used within the team.
Support professional development and on-going education of team members, including student nurses and medical students in all areas of specialist clinical knowledge and skills.
Participate in peer supervision and education sessions. Take the lead, develop and contribute to a specialist area of expertise within peer review and reflective practice as part of the MDT.
Protect, safeguard and promote the well-being of children in line with the most up to date government legislation.
Participate with the development and implementation of clinical policies and standards; adhere to national standards and clinical policies in line with National and SCFT requirements
Report any concerns re child and adult safeguarding through the appropriate routes as per Trust guidance.
Support and participate in nursing research and audit projects as required.
Liaise with statutory agencies regarding the nursing/ health needs of the young people.
Work with the Matron to manage the specialist nursing budget, including recruitment and retention of staff and have responsibility for petty cash and valuables.
Develop plans and strategies for the development and promotion of the service, working alongside senior managers, the MDT and stakeholders.
Please see JD and PS for detailed description of roles and responsibilities.
This advert closes on Friday 11 Apr 2025