Ward Leader, Ray of Sunshine

We are looking for a highly motivated, flexible and enthusiastic individual to recruit into a Band 7 Ward Leader position within our leading paediatric liver, gastrointestinal and nutrition inpatient service - Rays of Sunshine Ward. As a Ward Leader, you will work closely with the multi professional team members to enhance service delivery. This is an exciting opportunity to develop and build on your skills in the management of people and demonstrate your leadership qualities. As an individual new to this role, you will be well supported and offered training and guidance to develop the skills required for this role. As the Ward Leader of an 18 bedded inpatient unit specialising in paediatric liver disease and liver and small bowel transplantation, you will have the responsibility for setting standards and qualities in the development, implementation and evaluation of patient care. You will also be responsible for staff training and education in conjunction with the education team.
This exciting opportunity requires a confident, dynamic paediatric nurse to lead and manage the nursing team. You will be able to influence change and improvement within this service, in conjunction with the current team. You must be a registered children's nurse, with extensive clinical experience within a comparable paediatric setting. You will have excellent communication and leadership skills and be able to work independently and as part of a team., · To be responsible for the day-to-day management of the nursing service on Rays of Sunshine Ward.
· Ensuring the nursing care delivered is of a high standard.
· Appropriate and effective utilization of human and physical resources.
· The demonstration of effective leadership and motivation of staff.
· To be an effective role model.
In Kings, particular emphasis is placed on the need to ensure that all staff recognize their responsibility to deliver services in a high quality, courteous, patient focused manner maintaining patient confidentiality at all times., · To have advanced holistic patient assessment skills (e.g. history taking and physical examination skills) so that clinical decision-making leads to prompt and appropriate action in the best interests of the patient's wellbeing.
· Good verbal and written communication skills so that professional advice or care guidance and instructions are well understood by patients, their relatives and/or carers, and members of the multi-disciplinary team.
· Ensures continuity of patient care through effective staff deployment.
· Ensures good discharge planning so that individual patient's needs are met with an appropriate plan of action and involving the multi-professional team as required.
· Regularly checks patient care documentation to see that all aspects of care have been considered, individual patients' needs identified and that an appropriate care plan exists in relation to meeting the identified needs.
· To work in accordance with the NMC Code of Professional Conduct, and Trust Policies and Procedures.
· Communicates effectively with patients and their carers, colleagues and students.
· Works effectively as part of the multi-professional, inter-disciplinary team.
· Is clinically and professionally up-to-date with current trends and developments in the clinical specialty.
· Functions as an effective role model in the clinical setting in demonstrating the application of breadth and depth of nursing knowledge and skills, and in advising and supporting members of the multi-disciplinary team.
· Helps facilitate the professional development of other nurses.
· To facilitate the cascade of information ensuring awareness of Care Group, Trust and NHS initiatives, supporting staff discussion and responding to feedback.
· To ensure compliance with the Trust's Equality and Diversity Policy, supporting the delivery of the Trusts Race Equality Scheme and the Trust's duty to positively promote race equality and equality of opportunity for disabled people ensuring services are responsive to the needs of equality groups.
· To have full knowledge of the Trust Major Incident Plan and your role within it.
· To be aware of the Trust's safeguarding policies and procedures and demonstrate ability to raise concerns and work with other agencies to protect children
Research, Education & Service Development
+ Works collaboratively with the Practice Development Nurse so that staff receive appropriate education and staff development.
+ Manages the ward's allocated education and staff training budget in accordance with the Trust's corporate need and the Care Group's business objectives.
+ Ensures the development and provision of a good quality clinical learning environment that supports pre-registration nursing students and continuing professional development.
+ Participates in trust approved research studies, keeping the Assistant Director of Nursing (Education and Research) informed of the progress of these if the fieldwork is being undertaken within the ward/department.
Management
+ Facilitates and supports nurses in working collaboratively with all other members of the multi-disciplinary team.
+ Adopts an appropriate management style in accordance with changing circumstances
+ Deploys nursing staff and physical resources appropriately. Reviews the duty rota, and negotiates skill mix levels ensuring that they most appropriately meet service needs.
+ Works with the Human Resources Manager on the resolution of complex HR issues.
+ Keeps the Matron / Head of Nursing informed of any untoward incidents and complaints.
+ Discusses with the Matron and Head of Nursing any plans in relation to service development, service improvement, and the resolution of any on-going problems.
+ Undertakes certain grades of nursing staff's annual appraisal and to ensure they have a Personal Development Plan, and to assist with the appraisal of other staff in liaison with the Matron and Head of Nursing.
+ Provides effective leadership and acts as a positive role model.
+ Delegates appropriately, and encourages staff to develop and advance their skills.
+ Communicates well with staff, holding regular ward meetings.
+ Plays an active role in the recruitment and retention of staff.
+ Ensures safe storage of the patients' records at ward/departmental level so that confidentiality is maintained.
+ Participates in benchmark and quality audits, and observations of care.
+ Ensures that staff receive feedback on the results of audits, and that where necessary action is taken to improve standards.
+ Manages the allocated ward budget effectively, maximizing the use of resources and reducing any wastage in accordance with Trust and Care Group objectives.
+ Acts up, and across suitable roles, as required by management for service need, or as part of an agreed personal development plan.
+ Is pro-active in the management of change and can support staff through times of change.
+ Investigates complaints and adverse incidents as required by Matron and the Head of Nursing, Taking appropriate action in dealing with any situations that could result in the need for a disciplinary procedure.
+ Ensures Health and Safety regulations compliance.
+ Ensures that staff are aware of the Trust Policy on Adverse Incident reporting and that the Adverse Incident Forms are completed,
+ Ensure that staff are aware of the Trust's policies, procedures, and the need to comply with these.
Personal Professional Development
· Has an annual appraisal and produces agreed performance objectives and a Personal Development Plan.
· Is an active member of the Ward Leaders Forum.
· Reflects on own practice and keeps a personal learning portfolio
· Works in accordance with the Trust's documented standards on nursing skills and required competences.
· Undertakes other in-house training as required.
People Management and Performance
+ Lead, coach and manage the performance of the team in line with good people management practices. Ensuring excellence is recognised and under performance is addressed.
+ Participate in regular performance appraisal meetings and ensure each member of the team has a clear set of objectives and development plans.
+ Ensure the team is compliance with all statutory, mandatory training together with any professional training requirements, ensuring they are up to date and fully compliant.
+ Manage team absences including sickness in line with Trust policy ensuring the appropriate return to work meetings occur, e-roster is updated and productivity is at keep to the highest possible level.
+ Identify and fill any vacancies that arise within the team in line with the Trust's recruitment policy and process.
+ Identify talent and support the internal talent management process in order attract and retain and succession plan for your people.
+ Review skills mix at regular intervals in order to identify any potential opportunities to maximise resource utilisation / allocation, ensuring job descriptions are kept up to date.
+ Ensure overall wellbeing of the team is maintained. Continuously support in improving the morale of the team and implementing a culture of zero-tolerance for bullying and harassment.
General
+ The post holder has a general duty of care for their own health, safety and wellbeing and that of work colleagues, visitors and patients within the hospital, in addition to any specific risk management or clinical governance accountabilities associated with this post.
+ To observe the rules, policies, procedures and standards of King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust together with all relevant statutory and professional obligations.
+ We want to be an organisation where everyone shares a commitment to delivering the very best care and feels like their contribution is valuable and valued.
+ At King's we are a kind, respectful team:
Kind. We show compassion and understanding and bring a positive attitude to our work
Respectful. We promote equality, are inclusive and honest, speaking up when needed
Team. We support each other, communicate openly, and are reassuringly professional
+ To observe and maintain strict confidentiality of personal information relating to patients and staff.
+ To be responsible, with management support, for their own personal development and to actively contribute to the development of colleagues.
+ This job description is intended as a guide to the general scope of duties and is not intended to be definitive or restrictive. It is expected that some of the duties will change over time and this description will be subject to review in consultation with the post holder.
+ All employees must hold an 'nhs.net' email account which will be the Trust's formal route for email communication.
+ Everyone is responsible for promoting inclusion no matter their role or team. At King's, we want to create an environment where everyone feels valued, respected and welcomed
Safeguarding
The Trust takes the issues of Safeguarding Children, Adults and addressing Domestic Abuse very seriously. All employees have a responsibility to support the organisation in our duties by;
+ attending mandatory training on safeguarding children and adults
+ familiarising themselves with the Trust's processes for reporting concerns
+ reporting any safeguarding child or adult concerns appropriately

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK's largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of c£1.7 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and more than 15,000 staff based across 5 main sites in South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local hospital services across its different sites, and specialist services from King's College Hospital (KCH) sites at Denmark Hill in Camberwell and at the Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) site in the London Borough of Bromley., King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK's largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of £1 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and more than 15,000 staff based across South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. The trust-wide strategy of Strong Roots, Global Reach is our Vision to be BOLD, Brilliant people, Outstanding care, Leaders in Research, Innovation and Education, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do. By being person-centred, digitally-enabled, and focused on sustainability, we aim to take Team King's to another level.
We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.
King's is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone's contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust's carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible., + Please review the documentation on our recruitment microsite, particularly the Trust's criminal records checking policy
+ All staff have a responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and for ensuring they are aware of the specific duties relating to their role.
+ Due to a high volume of applications, this advert might close before the displayed closing date. It is therefore recommended that you apply promptly
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King's College Hospital is part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC), a pioneering collaboration between King's College London, and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts.