Lead Nurse- Neonatology | Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

Are you an experienced and inspiring nurse leader ready to shape the future of neonatal care? We are seeking a Band 8b Lead Nurse to lead our neonatal services across two sites: the Level 2 unit at St Mary’s Hospital (SMH) and the Level 3 unit at Queen Charlotte’s & Chelsea Hospital (QCCH).

This is a unique opportunity to make a lasting difference to babies, families and teams while delivering safe, high-quality and family-centred care.

We are looking for a credible, compassionate leader with substantial leadership experience. Neonatal expertise is welcomed, but experience gained in high-dependency or other acute clinical settings may also be highly transferable.

You will join a supportive, ambitious and high-performing Directorate where your ideas, expertise and leadership will have real influence. With responsibility across two distinct neonatal units, you will enjoy a varied and rewarding portfolio, work alongside committed multidisciplinary teams and help shape improvements for babies, families and staff. This role will suit a collaborative leader who is energised by challenge, values innovation and wants to make a visible difference.

• Provide a visible, credible and authoritative nursing leadership presence across both sites
• Champion responsive, compassionate and consistently high-quality neonatal care aligned with national and Trust priorities
• Shape service development, quality improvement and workforce planning across the neonatal pathway
• Create an inclusive culture that supports staff engagement, wellbeing, retention and professional development
• Provide strong oversight of clinical governance, service performance, financial management and operational efficiency
• Work in partnership with the senior triumvirate to deliver strategic priorities and Trust-wide nursing and midwifery ambitions
• Lead neonatal governance and support the effective delivery of the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF)

At Imperial College Healthcare you can achieve extraordinary things with extraordinary people, working with leading clinicians pushing boundaries in patient care.

Become part of a vibrant team living our values - expert, kind, collaborative and aspirational. You’ll get an experience like no other and will fast forward your career. Benefits include career development, flexible working and wellbeing, staff recognition scheme. Make use of optional benefits including Cycle to Work, car lease schemes, season ticket loan or membership options for onsite leisure facilities.

We are committed to equal opportunities and improving the working lives of our staff and will consider applications to work flexibly, part time or job share. Please talk to us at interview.

Environmental sustainability

Climate change and poor air quality is a health emergency that harms people’s health and wellbeing and widens health inequalities. The Trust is also committed to reducing its impact on the environment by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions to Net Zero by 2045. All our employees have a role to play, and we have an active green network that supports staff to act in ways that ensures that our services are efficient, sustainable and reduce our impact on the environmentwww.imperial.nhs.uk/about-us/our-strategy/green-plan.

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. For both overviews please view the Job Description attachment with the job advert.

This advert closes on Thursday 19 Nov 2026