National Officer

here may be further flexibility to the locations advertised. Please contact the recruiting manager to discuss if alternative office locations are available.

Imagine being faced with a world of exciting possibilities that could ultimately enable you to support RCN members and help shape the health policies of the future. We’re a trade union with a membership of close to half a million nurses, midwives, nursing support workers and students. As the UK’s largest trade union and professional body for nursing, we represent and develop members, support their practice and lobby on their behalf to make a positive difference to their working lives.

As a National Officer in the Employment Relations Department you’ll use your positive attitude, your knowledge of employment/industrial relations, your ability to deliver bargaining and negotiations, your skills in influencing for change and engaging with, and on behalf of, RCN members, to protect and improve the working lives of RCN members and the nursing profession (including all aspects of pay, terms and conditions of their employment).

It's a job full of possibilities, you could get involved in anything from developing and delivering the RCN pay and bargaining strategy (relating to all aspects of pay, terms and conditions, including job evaluation, for RCN members) across the UK and a range of sectors. You could also be involved in contributing expertise and leadership to the creation/development and maintenance of resources to support collective bargaining for RCN members, representatives and staff.

Or monitoring and responding to developments in industrial/employment relations issues.

We'll look to you to coordinate collective bargaining and organising opportunities and responses to consultations, planning and coordinating/implementing necessary actions to ensure that RCN members are fully supported and activism is developed within workplaces. For example, you could be involved in developing appropriate guidance and materials, providing training sessions, information, for RCN members, representatives and/or staff, organising around workplace issues. You will seek to utilise an organising approach to the various aspects of industrial relations to help build member power and the RCN as the Voice of Nursing, particularly within the independent health and social care sectors.

It's a great way to build your knowledge of our work and develop your potential.

To join us you’ll need to be a passionate professional who has ambition for change in support of RCN members. We’re seeking an individual experienced in employment/industrial relations with trade unions, employers, employer organisations and statutory bodies. You’ll be expert in working with a wide range of stakeholders and in developing activism. You will bring an understanding and knowledge of nursing employment/industrial relations especially relating to bargaining and pay, terms and conditions.

You will also demonstrate employment/industrial relations knowledge across the breadth of different sectors where nursing staff are employed. You should have a degree or equivalent knowledge, skills and experience.

The ability to foster strong professional relationships and encourage close collaboration between internal and external stakeholders is at the heart of this role. Whatever your background, you'll be efficient, accurate and show a real focus on empowering RCN members in all you do.

To succeed at the Royal College of Nursing all you need to do is think bigger, better and brighter. And with an attitude like that, anything’s possible.