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Job summary

Main area
Neonatal
Grade
Band 8a
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
164-7722812-A
Employer
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Neonatal Unit City Hospital
Town
Nottingham
Salary
£57,528 - £64,750 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
26/04/2026 23:59

Employer heading

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust logo

Education Lead Nurse for Neonates

Band 8a

Job overview

Education Lead Nurse – Neonates (Band 8a)

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
Neonatal Services

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) is a large teaching trust providing tertiary neonatal care within the East Midlands Neonatal Operational Delivery Network (EMNODN).  We are seeking an experienced and highly motivated Education Lead Nurse for Neonates to provide strategic leadership for education, training, and professional development across neonatal services.

NUH’s newly expanded Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Queen’s Medical Centre is now the largest in the East Midlands, providing 38 cots across intensive, high-dependency, and special care. In its first year, the unit cared for over 590 babies, reflecting the scale and complexity of care delivered to some of the region’s most vulnerable newborns. Care is delivered by a large, highly skilled neonatal nursing workforce working across City and QMC sites, ensuring safe staffing, continuity of care, and consistent implementation of evidence-based practice.

Increased capacity has reduced out-of-area transfers, enhanced family involvement, and improved outcomes and experience for babies and parents. This large tertiary environment offers exceptional opportunities for education, leadership, and professional development, supporting a highly competent and resilient neonatal workforce across NUH and EMNODN.

Main duties of the job

The Role

The Education Lead Nurse will have responsibility for the strategic planning, coordination, delivery, and evaluation of neonatal education and training across NUH Neonatal Services. The post holder will work collaboratively with senior nursing and medical leaders, practice development teams, and the EMNODN to ensure education provision is aligned with national standards, regional network priorities, and local service needs.

The role will support workforce development across all neonatal care settings, including NICU, LNU, and SCU, and will play a key role in supporting workforce transformation initiatives and service sustainability.

Key responsibilities include:

  • Providing professional and strategic leadership for neonatal education and training across NUH

  • Working in partnership with the EMNODN to support regional education priorities, standardisation of training, and network-wide workforce development

  • Ensuring compliance with national and regional standards, including NMC requirements, QIS, GIRFT, and network education frameworks

  • Leading the development, implementation, and evaluation of neonatal competency frameworks and educational pathways

  • Supporting the education and development of the neonatal workforce, including registered nurses, Neonatal Nurse Associates, Advanced Neonatal Practitioners, and the wider multidisciplinary team

  • Contributing to quality improvement, patient safety, and service development initiatives through education and training

Working for our organisation

With over 19,000 staff, we are one of the biggest employers in the city with a central role in supporting the health and wellbeing of our local population. We play a leading role in research, education and innovation.

Come and join our wonderful team at NUH. We are big believers in diversity and welcome new ideas to help develop our team in order to deliver world class healthcare to the vast patient populations we serve. With endless personal development opportunities available, at NUH we will endeavour to turn your job into a career!

We particularly welcome applications from people who identify as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, or Disabled, as we are striving to be better represented at NUH.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The successful candidate will be an experienced neonatal nurse with substantial leadership experience and a strong background in education and workforce development.

Essential criteria:

  • Registered Nurse with current NMC registration (Child or Adult)

  • Significant post-registration experience within neonatal services

  • Postgraduate qualification in education or evidence of working towards

  • Demonstrable experience of leading education and training at a senior level

  • In-depth knowledge of neonatal education standards, competency frameworks, and workforce development

  • Excellent leadership, communication, and organisational skills

Desirable criteria:

  • Master’s level qualification or equivalent experience

  • Experience of working across a neonatal network or with an Operational Delivery Network

  • Experience within a tertiary neonatal unit and teaching trust environment

For full details please see Person Specification and Job description attached:

 

Person specification

Training & qualifications

Essential criteria
  • • Current 1st level NMC Registered Nurse
  • • Degree level in nursing.
  • • QIS trained nurse/ or equivalent
  • • Working towards Masters qualification/ or have completed experience at level 7 education.
  • • SSA training
  • • Worked in tertiary level of care of neonatal care
Desirable criteria
  • • Evidence of change management
  • • Evidence of improvement to patient care.
  • • Post graduate qualification in teaching
  • • NLS- GIC instructor

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Evidence of management and leadership experience
  • Practical experience of teaching small groups and multiprofessional teams
  • Evidence of leading change and able to demonstrate implementation of new ways of working within the team
  • Involvement in clinical audits and the development of action plans
  • Knowledge of patient safety programmes, Root Cause Analysis and Datix investigations Able to manage time effectively
Desirable criteria
  • Experience of working in an office environment

Communication and Relationship Skills

Essential criteria
  • Ability to prioritise own workload
  • Ability to work under pressure
  • Good people skill
  • Able to communicate information using a variety of written and verbal communication skills
  • Understands and practices the principles of confidentiality
  • Able to minimise interpersonal conflict
  • Demonstrable negotiating and influencing skills
  • Assertiveness skills with people at all levels
  • The ability to deal with interpersonal conflict
  • Team player who can initiate, delegate and complete projects
  • Experience of supporting individuals and the team to achieve objectives of the organisation
  • Able to present and receive complex information to a multi-professional audience
Desirable criteria
  • Experience of dealing with customers

Analytical and Judgement Skills

Essential criteria
  • Ability to respond to, prioritise and analyse complex problems/situations and ensure effective interventions are put in place
  • Ability to generate and present Trust and directorate level reports and documents
  • Deal effectively with clinical issues within defined procedures/guidelines
  • Participation in audit and/or research projects
  • Evidence of data collection, evaluation and analysis
  • Application and interpretation of quality standards benchmarks
  • Able to use judgement in straightforward situations.
  • Awareness of limitations and when to seek advice to solve problems

Planning and Organisation Skills

Essential criteria
  • Ability to prioritise own workload.
  • Can formulate short and long term objectives
  • Experience of operational management and leadership
  • Ability to lead and remodel professional development and education programmes across the directorate
  • Experience of audit management Provide training and education in a range of subjects

Physical Skills

Essential criteria
  • Manual dexterity required to perform tasks
  • Able to undertake clinical duties
  • Updated in manual handling
  • Able to transfer relevant teaching aids and materials as necessary for the delivery of educational programmes
  • Able to deliver core and expanded clinical skills Keyboard skills

Other requirements specific to the role

Essential criteria
  • Flexibility in shift/working patterns to meet the needs of the service
  • Is able to participate as a team member
  • Is of good health and good character as per NMC requirements
  • Willing to accept additional responsibilities as delegated by senior staff
  • Displays NUH trust values:
  • Ability to support staff/ colleague, patients, relatives/ carers in distressing circumstances.
  • To help with recruitment and selection of staff.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Trust IDApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyAge positiveDisability confident leaderArmed Forces Covenant Gold AwardMindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Care Leaver CovenantNHS Rainbow badgeCareLeaver Covenantadded for NUH

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Cheryl Griffiths
Job title
Head of Nursing & Professions - Neonatal
Email address
[email protected]