Head of Neonatal Nursing

Are you an experienced neonatal nursing leader with a commitment to safe, compassionate care and improving outcomes and experiences for babies and their families? Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Head of Neonatal Nursing to provide professional and strategic leadership across the neonatal pathway.

This senior role offers the opportunity to shape nursing practice, strengthen quality and safety, and lead workforce and service improvements across neonatal services. As part of the Accountable Care Group’s midwifery, nursing and quality leadership team, you will work closely with clinical, operational and corporate colleagues to deliver safe, effective care, placing babies and families at the centre of service delivery.

You will provide visible, credible and compassionate leadership to neonatal nursing teams, directly line managing Matrons and Advanced Neonatal Practitioners. Your portfolio will also include leadership and managerial oversight of the Paediatric and Neonatal Decision Support and Retrieval Service (PaNDR).

Leading nursing standards, clinical governance and patient safety, you will use quality, workforce, operational and family experience data to identify priorities and deliver measurable improvements. You will oversee safe staffing, workforce planning and professional development, manage delegated nursing budgets, and support effective use of resources without compromising quality or safety.

You will represent neonatal services in regional and system-wide partnerships, including the Operational Delivery Network and the wider regional Maternity and Neonatal System, influencing service development and improvement across organisational boundaries. You will also champion evidence-based practice, education, research, innovation and the effective use of digital tools and data.

• Registered Nurse or Midwife with current Nursing and Midwifery Council registration.
• Educated to master’s degree level or equivalent level of knowledge and experience.
• Evidence of recent and relevant continuing professional development.
• Qualification in Speciality. (QIS)
• Evidence of management, leadership, governance or quality improvement development relevant to a senior perinatal leadership role.
• Significant senior neonatal nursing leadership experience within an acute NHS provider or comparable complex healthcare organisation.
• Experience of leading nursing standards, patient and family experience, quality improvement and professional practice across a complex clinical service or group of services.
• Experience of line managing matrons, senior nurses or equivalent clinical leaders.
• Experience of working with clinical and operational teams to improve quality, safety, patient flow, patient & family experience and workforce effectiveness.
• Experience of using quality, safety, workforce, operational and patient & family experience data to identify risk and drive improvement.
• Experience of supporting incident response, complaints management, risk management, clinical governance and assurance processes.
• Experience of contributing to safe staffing reviews, workforce planning, skill mix assessment, recruitment, retention and professional development.
• Experience of supporting service change, pathway redesign or transformation while maintaining a focus on quality, safety and patient experience.
• Strong understanding of nursing professional standards, NMC requirements, revalidation and professional practice governance.
• Understanding of NHS quality governance, patient safety, PSIRF, risk management, complaints, clinical effectiveness and CQC regulatory requirements.
• Knowledge of safeguarding, infection prevention and control, patient & family experience and equality, diversity and inclusion requirements in clinical services.
• Understanding of nursing workforce planning, safe staffing, acuity and dependency, skill mix, temporary staffing controls and professional escalation.
• Understanding of how quality, workforce, operational and financial information is used to inform safe and effective service delivery.
• Able to build effective relationships with nursing, medical, operational, corporate and professional colleagues.
• Able to influence, negotiate and build consensus across professional and organisational boundaries. (
• Able to analyse and triangulate quality, safety, workforce, operational and patient & family experience information, identify risk and secure appropriate action.
• Able to translate Trust and ACG priorities into practical delivery plans for matrons and nursing teams.
• Able to lead and support teams through change, ambiguity and operational pressure.
• Able to chair meetings, present reports and provide assurance to governance forums.
• Able to write clear, evidence-based reports, briefings, improvement plans and assurance updates.
• Skilled in coaching, developing and holding senior nursing staff to account.
• Able to use improvement methodology to deliver measurable and sustained change.
• The ability to understand and always behave, towards patients, visitors, and colleagues according to the Trust values of safe, kind, excellent.
• Committed to improving patient care, patient & family experience and staff experience.
• Able to work flexibly to meet service and organisational needs.
• Able to travel between Trust sites and to external meetings as required.
• Able to participate in escalation, resilience or on-call arrangements

• Formal leadership, management, quality improvement or patient safety qualification, or equivalent applied experience.
• Experience in a large acute teaching hospital or specialist tertiary provider.
• Experience of working in a clinical group, care group, divisional or similarly devolved operating model.
• Experience relevant to the specialty portfolio.
• Experience of supporting research, innovation, clinical academic practice or education within nursing services.
• Knowledge of CUH services, specialist tertiary care or academic health science environments.
• Knowledge of digital, education, research, clinical academic or innovation opportunities relevant to nursing, quality improvement and patient outcomes.
• Able to apply recognised quality improvement, transformation or programme management methods.
• Able to contribute to research, innovation, education or clinical academic development.
• Experience of presenting to senior governance forums or external stakeholders.
• Active participation in relevant professional networks.

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

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.