Job Summary
The Band 6 Occupational Health Nurse Advisor plays a key role in supporting the health, safety and wellbeing of the workforce within East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust. The post holder provides specialist occupational health advice to managers and staff, ensuring employees are fit to work safely and effectively while promoting early intervention and preventative health strategies.

Working as part of a multidisciplinary occupational health team, the role focuses on clinical triage, fitness for work assessments, and case management of employees with physical or mental health conditions impacting their work.

A significant element of the role includes managing occupational health referrals, prioritising clinical need, and acting as a gatekeeper to ensure appropriate allocation and escalation of complex cases. The post holder also undertakes pre-employment health screening ("clear to work") assessments, ensuring safe recruitment practices, and contributes to immunisation, screening, and blood-borne virus (BBV) management programmes in line with national guidance.

The role requires strong clinical judgement, communication, and case management skills, with the ability to liaise effectively with managers, HR, clinicians and external stakeholders. The post holder contributes to the duty clinician function, responding to urgent workforce health queries and coordinating timely interventions where required.

Main duties of the job

• Clinical triage and referral management - Review and prioritise occupational health referrals, assess risk and urgency, and ensure cases are directed to the most appropriate pathway or escalated when required.
• Fitness for work assessments - Undertake occupational health assessments to determine employees' ability to work safely, providing advice on workplace adjustments, phased returns, restrictions, and rehabilitation plans.
• Case management - Manage a caseload of staff with physical and mental health conditions, supporting early intervention, reducing sickness absence, and coordinating ongoing care with relevant stakeholders.
• Pre-employment (clear to work) screening - Assess health questionnaires and supporting medical information to determine fitness for employment and advise on any adjustments required prior to start.
• Immunisation and screening programmes - Support occupational health vaccination, screening, and health surveillance programmes in line with national guidance and local policy.
• Exposure and BBV management - Assess and manage workplace exposure incidents, including blood-borne virus risks, ensuring appropriate follow-up, advice, and escalation where necessary.
• Duty clinician responsibilities - Provide clinical coordination on a rota basis, respond to urgent queries, support incident management, and deliver timely occupational health advice.

About us
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, submit your application today.

Statement on the Use of AI
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.

Person Specification
Experience
Essential

• Experience in nursing care, knowledge and expertise relevant to the clinical area within NHS or relevant health care organisation
• Experience in the take charge role and be able to lead a shift in the clinical area, demonstrating the ability to manage the clinical area, lead people and deal with emergencies and queries effectively

Desirable

• Experience in leading a team or service change/QI project

Skills
Essential

• Professional clinical knowledge skills and skills that demonstrate the ability to assess, plan, develop and implement programmes of care
• Skills to assess and interpret complex needs of patients and able to give expert advice and guidance
• Clinical skills and competence relevant to role to support innovative, evidence based practice.
• Ability to apply professional judgement and problem solve and lead discussions within the team to resolve complex issues
• Able to support learners and clinical supervision of staff and lead on improvements within the learning environment
• Able to support mentors in decisions related to students/learners and make judgements regarding competence and fitness to practice including managing poor performance
• Day to day management of a patient caseload, able to work under own initiative and delegate effectively
• Able to maintain work-related record keeping and documentation
• Ability to lead a team, allocate workload, develop and promote staff wellbeing and performance
• Participate/Lead audit and research, able to understand and lead on recommendations for changes to practice and policy
• Digital Skills, use of systems, report writing and presentation skills
• Excellent communication skills and ability to provide and receive complex, sensitive information and provide reassurance and empathy.
• Commitment to own professional and personal development
• Budget and resource management skills
• Able to develop and maintain effective working relationships with all professional groups and senior managers within the organisation and external stakeholders.
• Maintains confidentiality and information governance principles and is accountable for actions and decision making
• Ability to delegate effectively and hold people to account

Qualifications
Essential

• Registered Nurse and hold active registration with Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
• Degree level qualification relevant to role
• Professional qualification and training to lead the clinical team with relevant knowledge and skills for specialist area
• Evidence of mandatory and statutory essential training skills, for example, Basic Life Support, manual handling, infection control, fire etc

Desirable

• Management or leadership qualification or training
• Education and training qualification
• Quality improvement training and qualification

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

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).