Lead Practice Nurse

Job summary

The Lead Nurse works with clinical and non-clinical teams to deliver the best healthcare to our patients while providing leadership and oversight of the nursing service across Penrose Health.

The Lead Nurse is responsible for:

• Leading the nursing team and nursing service across Penrose Health
• Overseeing clinical governance within the nursing function
• Working with the Central Management Team to ensure the nursing service operates efficiently and effectively
• Continuing to work as a Practice Nurse and provide direct patient care for the majority of the working week.

Specific protected time will be allocated for leadership responsibilities. However, the Lead Nurse is expected to provide visible leadership and fulfil the responsibilities of the role across all their working hours.

Main duties of the job

• Leading and line-managing Practice Nurses, Healthcare Assistants and Phlebotomists including inductions, mentoring, supervision and performance reviews
• Setting clear priorities, giving timely feedback and coaching colleagues to remove barriers to performance
• Overseeing clinical governance, safety and quality including audits, significant events, complaints and incident learning
• Leading on safeguarding, infection prevention, medicines management and clinical risk within the nursing team
• Working with the Central Management Team on rotas, cover, recruitment and retention
• Ensuring key clinical programmes run safely and on target long-term condition reviews, cervical screening, immunisations, wound care and NHS Health Checks
• Monitoring performance against QOF, contractual and internal targets, and driving improvement plans where needed
• Continuing to deliver hands-on Practice Nurse duties across the working week, including long-term condition management, screening, immunisations and patient education

About us

Penrose Health is on a mission to deliver outstanding healthcare to every patient we serve.

We care for 75,000+ people across 9 sites in South East London, supported by a team of 200+ clinicians and staff. Our model is built on permanent, diverse teams, strong governance, and a clear focus on continuity, quality, and access.

We work closely with NHS partners to deliver a full range of services from routine checks to complex, long-term care backed by robust systems and a culture of continuous improvement.

We're proud to hold a CQC "Good" rating and consistently receive strong feedback from patients.

Learn more at penrosehealth.co.uk.

Details

• Date posted: 09 September 2026
• Pay scheme: Other
• Salary: £52,000 to £58,000 a year
• Contract: Permanent
• Working pattern: Full-time
• Reference number: 575615
• Job locations: Kingfisher Medical Centre, London, London, SE8 5DA, United Kingdom, Lewisham Medical Centre, London, London, SE13 5PJ, United Kingdom, Knights Hill Surgery, London, London, SE27 0DF, United Kingdom, Penrose Surgery, London, London, SE17 3DW, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities

We're looking for an experienced Lead Practice Nurse to provide clinical leadership across our nursing service. Someone ready to shape how nursing care is delivered, while still doing the hands-on clinical work that drew them into nursing in the first place.

This is a genuinely blended role. You'll continue to work as a Practice Nurse, delivering direct patient care for the majority of your working week, while also leading and supporting our Practice Nurses, Healthcare Assistants and Phlebotomists - mentoring, coaching and developing the team around you. You'll oversee clinical governance and quality across the nursing function, working closely with our Central Management Team to make sure the service runs safely, efficiently, and to a consistently high standard for every patient we see.

We know that stepping into leadership often means stepping away from the patient care you love, that's not the case here. Protected time is built into your week specifically for leadership responsibilities, so you're never trying to squeeze it in around a full clinical caseload. But this isn't a desk-bound management role either: you'll be a visible, trusted presence on the floor, someone your team can turn to, learn from, and lean on when it matters.

If you're an Experienced Practice Nurse who enjoys leadership without giving up the clinical work, and you want a genuine say in how nursing is delivered across a growing, multi-site organisation - we'd love to hear from you.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).