Head of Nursing Women and Children's division

We are seeking an experienced, forward-thinking and values-driven Head of Nursing for Women’s and Children’s Services to provide visible, compassionate and strategic leadership across our paediatric, neonatal and gynaecology services.

You will be an experienced senior nurse with an understanding of both paediatric and women’s healthcare, alongside the leadership skills to work across a diverse range of services. We recognise that candidates may bring experience from different clinical backgrounds and may not have worked across every area of the portfolio. We are looking for someone who can build strong relationships, navigate complex services, bring teams together and provide confident and supportive professional leadership across acute and community settings.

This senior role holds professional accountability for nursing and midwifery practice across paediatric, neonatal and gynaecology services, ensuring the delivery of safe, effective, responsive and well-led care in line with CQC fundamental standards, the NHS Patient Safety Strategy and relevant national clinical guidance.

Working as part of the senior leadership team, you will champion strong clinical leadership, professional standards, quality and governance. You will support and develop our teams, help shape the future of our services and promote collaboration across pathways, with a shared focus on delivering high-quality and equitable care for women, children, young people and their families.

You will play a pivotal role in translating national priorities into local delivery, including:

• Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) recommendations for paediatrics, neonates and gynaecology.
• National Patient Safety Alerts and Learning from Patient Safety Events (LFPSE).
• NICE guidance and best practice standards.
• Royal College standards (RCPCH, RCN, RCOG) and relevant safeguarding frameworks.

Provide leadership for nursing workforce and professional practice, ensuring safe staffing, skill mix and workforce sustainability across paediatrics, neonates and gynaecology.

Lead on quality assurance, patient safety and experience, driving a culture of continuous learning, transparency, and improvement.

Ensure robust systems are in place to meet statutory safeguarding responsibilities for children and vulnerable groups.

Work in partnership with midwifery, medical, AHP and corporate teams to ensure integrated pathways across maternity, neonatal and paediatric care.

Support delivery of key performance indicators including waiting times, flow, harm reduction, and patient outcomes.

The role requires a highly visible leader who can operate with credibility across complex systems, balancing strategic priorities with operational delivery, and driving improvement across interfaces between children’s, neonatal, and women’s health services.

A wide range of staff benefits are available to our staff including staff development, enrolment in the NHS pension scheme, auto-enrolment to our Temporary Workforce Service, access to onsite nurseries. staff restaurants and accommodation.

In addition to an internal Occupational Health department, all staff also have access to free psychological support through our confidential Employee Assistance Programme.

Onsite parking is available from only £50 a year.

There has never been a better time to join East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust.

We value the individuality that each candidate brings to the application process. While we understand that AI tools are widely available, we strongly discourage applicants from using AI-generated content when applying for jobs with us. We believe that your application should reflect your true skills, experiences, and motivations, which are best conveyed through your own words and unique perspective.

Using AI for your application may not accurately represent your knowledge, skills, and experience and may result in a disconnect between your qualifications and our assessment of your application.

We encourage applicants to take the time to thoughtfully complete their applications; by doing so, you allow us to better understand your true potential and ensure a fair and transparent evaluation of your application. Over reliance on AI-generated content may diminish your chance of success.

For further details / informal visits contact:
Name:
Mark Standen

Job title:

Divisional Director of Nursing Email address:  Telephone number: