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Job overview
Are you an ambitious nursing leader ready to shape the future of trauma care?
Do you want to lead highly skilled teams, influence strategic decision-making, drive service improvement and maintain a meaningful clinical presence within one of Europe's leading Major Trauma Centres?
This is a unique 12-month opportunity to take on a senior leadership role within a world-leading Major Trauma Centre, gaining significant experience in service leadership, transformation and operational management.
At the Royal London Hospital, we provide some of the most complex orthopaedic and plastic surgery care in the country. Every day, our teams deliver life-changing and life-saving care to patients with complex injuries from across London and beyond.
We are seeking an exceptional Lead Nurse to provide strategic, professional and operational leadership across our Orthopaedic and Plastic Surgery services.
Whether you are an experienced Band 8 leader looking to broaden your portfolio or a high-performing Band 7 ready for your next leadership challenge, this role offers the opportunity to gain experience across operational management, specialist nursing leadership, trauma pathway development, quality improvement and strategic service delivery.
The successful candidate will have the opportunity to make a tangible impact on patient care, staff experience and service performance while developing their own leadership skills within a supportive senior leadership team.
Main duties of the job
The Lead Nurse for Trauma & Orthopaedics and Plastic Surgery is responsible for providing strategic, professional and operational nursing leadership across the services at the Royal London Hospital.
The post holder will lead the delivery of high-quality, safe and effective patient care through visible clinical leadership, workforce development, service improvement and robust governance processes. They will provide direct line management and professional leadership to the Orthopaedic and Plastic Surgery Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) teams and the Orthopaedic and Plastic Surgery Trauma Coordinators, ensuring these services deliver outstanding patient care, effective pathway management and positive patient outcomes.
As a key member of the senior leadership team, the post holder will contribute to the development and delivery of divisional and organisational objectives, supporting innovation, operational performance, patient safety and continuous improvement.
In addition to leadership responsibilities, the post holder will maintain a clinical presence within the Orthopaedic and Plastic Surgery Trauma Coordination Service for up to one to two days per week, supporting the coordination of complex trauma pathways, maintaining clinical credibility and ensuring service developments remain grounded in frontline practice.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment/s below.
Person specification
Skills
Essential
- • Ability to influence, negotiate and build effective multidisciplinary relationships
- • Ability to prioritise, manage complexity and make decisions under pressure
Desirable
- • Strong organisational, analytical and problem-solving skills
Knowledge
Essential
- • Knowledge of trauma, orthopaedic and plastic surgery pathways
Desirable
- • Knowledge of Major Trauma Networks, GIRFT recommendations and national standards
Experience
Essential
- • Significant post-registration experience within Trauma, Orthopaedics, Plastic Surgery, Major Trauma or related acute services
- • Demonstrable experience of leading teams, including workforce management and staff development
Qualifications
Essential
- • Registered Nurse with current NMC registration
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Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for Lead Nurse with Barts Health NHS Trust in London, London, England. It is listed as a Band 8 Nurse (adult and children) role. The advertised salary is £66,274 - £73,496 per annum inc. The contract type is 12 months (Although this position is a 12 months fixed-term contract, the actual contract duration will be adjusted to account for the time taken to advertise the post, complete the hiring process, and finalise pre-employment checks. This means the contract will begin when the candidate starts the role and may be slightly shorter than 12 months.). The application deadline is 22 Jul 2026.
Before you apply, compare the job description with the person specification and mirror the employer's essential criteria in your supporting information. Use the vacancy title, employer, location, salary, contract type, closing date and posted date (08 Jul 2026) to decide whether this role fits your current NHS job search. If the employer can close applications early, prepare the application before the stated deadline rather than waiting for the final day.
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