Deputy Ward Leader - Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

The closing date is 15 July 2026

We are looking for a compassionate, experienced and motivated Deputy Sister/Charge Nurse to join our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. In this role you will play a key part in delivering exceptional care to premature and critically ill newborns and supporting their families during some of their most challenging moments.

Working alongside the Ward Sister you will provide clinical leadership and help coordinate the everyday running of the unit, ensuring the highest standards of safe, evidence‑based, family‑centred care are consistently delivered. You will lead by example, providing expert clinical support while mentoring and developing junior colleagues, students and healthcare support workers to build a skilled and confident team.

This role offers the opportunity to work in a fast‑paced, highly specialised environment where no two days are the same. You will care for babies requiring intensive, high‑dependency and special care, using advanced neonatal equipment and working closely with multidisciplinary teams to achieve the best possible outcomes. As part of a forward‑thinking neonatal service you will also contribute to service improvement initiatives, quality assurance and the implementation of national and local standards, helping to shape the future of neonatal care.

If you are an experienced neonatal nurse with excellent clinical skills, a passion for leadership and a commitment to delivering outstanding care for babies and their families we would love to hear from you.

We are an award‑winning NHS Foundation Trust working alongside health and social care colleagues across the county to provide acute and community healthcare services to more than 420,000 people in Mansfield, Ashfield, Newark, Sherwood and parts of Derbyshire and Lincolnshire. We put the patient at the heart of everything we do and expect our staff to be caring, kind, courteous and supportive of each other.

We are a clinically‑led organisation recognised for outstanding care by the Care Quality Commission and the NHS Staff Survey.

Not all of our roles are eligible for visa sponsorship. To find out which roles are eligible please refer to the shortage occupation list found here:

Skilled Worker visa: eligible healthcare and education jobs -

Home Office guidance has changed as of 9th April. Anyone that requires switching visa type may not be eligible for sponsorship even if the role is on the shortage occupation list.

• Awareness of BAPM Guidelines and the East Midlands Neonatal Operational Delivery Network
• Ability to apply evidence‑based practice in the neonatal environment

• Registered with NMC (RSCN – Registered Sick Children’s Nurse, or RN – Registered Nurse – Child or RN Registered Nurse)
• First‑level Degree in Nursing

• Qualified in Speciality Neonates (QIS)
• Mentorship Qualification or equivalent
• Extended Skills (e.g., Cannulation)
• Current National Laryngoscopy and Resuscitation (NLS) Course

• Experience of neonatal nursing at Band 5
• Consolidation with Qualified in Speciality (QIS)
• Band 6 experience in neonates

• Good understanding of IT and systems
• Occupational Health clearance
• Ability to work in a hospital environment and flexible within the 24‑hour rota period

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and will require a submission for Disclosure to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

£39,959 to £48,117 a year pro‑rata per annum