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Job overview
Lead, Inspire, Transform
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and ambitious senior nursing leader to join Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust as Head of Nursing for Surgery at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
This is a pivotal leadership role within our Surgical Directorate, offering the opportunity to influence strategic decision-making, drive quality improvement and lead the delivery of outstanding surgical care across a diverse portfolio of inpatient, outpatient and perioperative services.
As Head of Nursing, you will provide professional, operational and strategic nursing leadership, ensuring the highest standards of patient care, safety, quality and experience. Working closely with the Clinical Director, General Manager, Matrons and multidisciplinary teams, you will play a key role in shaping and delivering the Directorate's vision, supporting service transformation and achieving excellence in clinical outcomes.
This role is ideal for an inspirational and compassionate leader who thrives in a complex environment and is passionate about developing services, supporting staff and achieving the best outcomes for patients.
Main duties of the job
Provide strategic and professional nursing leadership across Surgical Services.
Ensure the delivery of safe, effective, responsive and high-quality patient care.
Lead on nursing quality, patient safety, safeguarding, patient experience and clinical governance.
Drive continuous improvement and innovation across surgical pathways and services.
Support the development and implementation of directorate and Trust-wide strategies and objectives.
Work collaboratively with medical, operational and corporate colleagues to improve performance and patient outcomes.
Lead workforce planning, recruitment, retention and succession planning initiatives.
Foster a culture of compassionate leadership, inclusion, accountability and continuous learning.
Ensure effective management of quality indicators, regulatory requirements and performance standards.
Champion evidence-based practice, research, education and professional development.
Lead and support service redesign programmes that enhance efficiency, productivity and patient experience.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Current NMC registration.
Significant senior leadership experience within acute hospital services, ideally within Surgery or an associated clinical specialty.
A proven track record of leading quality improvement, service transformation and operational performance.
Strong experience in clinical governance, patient safety and workforce leadership.
The ability to influence and build effective relationships across multidisciplinary teams and organisational boundaries.
Excellent communication, leadership and organisational skills.
Experience of managing complex change within a large healthcare organisation.
A commitment to staff wellbeing, inclusion and professional development.
Educated to Master's level or equivalent senior leadership experience, with evidence of ongoing professional development.
Applicant requirements
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.
Person specification
Experience
Essential
- Minimum 3 years operational management in an acute NHS Trust, including senior level experience & management of specialist services
Qualifications and Training
Essential
- Post graduate training in Clinical Specialty, or Business or NHS Management in progress or completed
- Formal education to first degree level or equivalent ability
- RN part 1
- Master’s degree or equivalent ability/evidence of skill
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Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for Head of Nursing - Surgery with Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust in Queen Elizabeth Hospital. It is listed as a Band 8 Nurse (adult and children) role. The advertised salary is £79,504 - £91,609 per annum. The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 13 Sep 2026.
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