Job summary
Lead Clinical Nurse Specialist- Inpatient Pain Service, Band 7 (34 hours a week)

We are seeking an experienced inpatient pain nurse specialist to lead our dynamic inpatient pain service. This Band 7 position is ideal for an approachable, motivated nurse with strong clinical expertise in pain management and a passion for service improvement.

This is a combined clinical and managerial role, involving direct patient care, leadership of a small specialist team, and active contribution to service development across both hospital sites.

Additional contract details: Cross site working is required

Main duties of the job
What You'll Do

• Provide expert, evidence-based care for inpatients with acute and complex pain
• Lead and support the inpatient pain nursing team
• Work collaboratively with the chronic pain service to ensure consistent pain management across both hospitals
• Deliver and evaluate formal and informal education for the multidisciplinary team
• Contribute to service development, quality improvement, and implementation of current research
• Represent the service at local and national pain conferences and networking events

What We're Looking For

• A registered Non-Medical Prescriber with advanced knowledge of analgesic pharmacology
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work effectively across all clinical disciplines
• A clinician who can role-model high-quality patient care and sound operational decision-making
• Someone confident working autonomously and managing competing pressures
• A commitment to education, professional development, and evidence-based practice

About us
Why Join Us?

You'll be part of a supportive, forward-thinking team that values innovation, professional growth, and collaborative working. We encourage attendance at national and local pain conferences and provide opportunities to shape the future of our inpatient pain service.

We take pride in placing people at the centre of everything we do, working together as a united team. Driven by a shared ambition to continually grow, develop, and learn, we recognise and value every contribution. By combining our experience and skills, we not only support our vibrant, diverse communities, but also support one another.

With a team of over 9,000 employees, we are proud to be the largest employer in Gloucestershire and rank among the top 10 largest Trusts in the Southwest region. By joining our Trust, you will benefit from an excellent package that includes exclusive benefits, flexible working opportunities and the chance to gain valuable experience in one or both of our innovative hospitals.

As well as generous annual leave allowance, you will have access to the excellent NHS pension scheme, competitive bank rates, discounts at local shops and restaurants, access to two on-site nurseries, discounted public transport, reward and recognition and a range of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Job responsibilities
1. Clinical Responsibilities/Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership to clinical nurse specialists, ensuring high quality delivery and continuous development of the inpatient pain service.
• Ensure the pain service adapts to changing patient needs, emerging evidence, and national/local guidelines.
• Work closely with Consultant Pain Leads, the Matron, fellow Band 7 colleague, and the wider pain team to deliver the services strategic objectives.
• Contribute to the development of integrated governance structures that support seamless working between inpatient and chronic pain services
• Lead daily inpatient pain ward rounds, acting as an autonomous practitioner in complex clinical decision making.
• Use advanced clinical reasoning to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate pain management plans for patients with acute and complex pain.
• Maintain a strong clinical presence, role modelling excellence in pain management and ensuring evidence based interventions are consistently delivered.
• Prescribe and administer treatments in line with the organisations medication guidelines.
• Act as a clinical expert in inpatient pain management, offering guidance on complex pain presentations.
• Support staff education, promote best practice, and champion high standards of pain care across the organisation.
• Work effectively with the chronic pain service, palliative care, acute care response team, pharmacy, and Gloucestershire drug and alcohol services to ensure coordinated, holistic care.
• Take an active role in governance processes, embedding a culture of reflection, safety, and continuous improvement.
• Ensure care delivery aligns with current research, best practice standards, and regulatory guidance.

2. Professional Development, Education and Training

• Maintain and continually develop the specialist knowledge, clinical competence, and advanced skills required to perform the role effectively.
• Use the Trust appraisal process to identify personal training and development needs, ensuring ongoing professional growth.
• Undertake all mandatory and statutory training relevant to the role.
• Support the education, training, and professional development of staff within the inpatient pain team.
• Lead the design, delivery, and evaluation of specialist pain education for staff across all levels of the organisation, tailored to clinical need.
• Oversee the provision and delivery of training for devices used in inpatient acute pain management
• Work collaboratively with the Trusts professional education team to ensure high quality, evidence based training provision.
• Lead the development, coordination, and ongoing support of the inpatient pain link nurse programme.

3. Management and Leadership

• Manage your own daily caseload of inpatients with acute and complex pain, while supporting colleagues with theirs to ensure safe, equitable workload distribution.
• Encourage and embed a shared leadership culture, empowering team members to take ownership of initiatives and service improvements.
• Demonstrate high standards of patient care, communication, professionalism, and organisation, setting expectations for the wider team.
• Assess staffing levels in relation to clinical need and adjust allocations to maintain safe, effective service delivery.
• Maintain an accurate and up to date electronic roster to support efficient workforce planning.
• Line manage members of the inpatient pain service, providing supervision, support, and direction.
• Carry out annual appraisals for nurse specialists in the team and manage performance concerns in line with Trust policy.
• Participate in writing business cases, VCPs, job descriptions, person specifications, and adverts, and work towards confidence in the full recruitment process.
• Act as a visible, credible professional leader, demonstrating strong clinical judgement and high level decision making.
• Use advanced communication skills to address and resolve interprofessional conflict constructively.
• Ensure the inpatient pain service has clear strategic aims aligned with surgical division priorities and wider organisational objectives.
• Manage patient, relative, and staff complaints in accordance with Trust procedures, ensuring timely resolution and learning.
• Oversee Datix incident reports related to inpatient pain, ensuring appropriate investigation, action, and learning.
• Lead the development, writing, implementation, and review of evidence based guidelines, policies, SOPs, and protocols relevant to the pain service
• Demonstrate a positive, forward thinking and creative approach to change. Ability to lead change and new ways of working.
• Lead change initiatives and support new ways of working, ensuring that improvements are evidence based, sustainable, and aligned with organisational priorities.
• Take initiative in identifying innovative solutions, encouraging a culture of continuous improvement and adaptability within the team

4. Research and Development

• Work with regional, national, and international expert working groups to ensure the inpatient pain service evolves in line with emerging evidence, innovation, and changing patient needs.
• Work in a way that supports and encourages local and national audit and research activity relevant to inpatient pain management
• Play an active role in the clinical governance and quality agenda, continually evaluating and improving pain management for service users.
• Actively participate in quality improvement initiatives within the inpatient pain service, including audits, QI projects, and teaching based improvement work.
• Develop and disseminate specialist knowledge to colleagues locally, regionally, and nationally, contributing to wider professional development in pain management.
• Identify personal development needs and align them with service priorities and personal career aspirations to maintain high level expertise.

5. Communications and Working Relationships

• Possess strong presentation and training skills, enabling effective delivery of education to staff at all levels.
• Communicate highly sensitive and complex condition related information to patients and relatives with empathy, clarity, and reassurance.
• Find effective ways to communicate when a patients ability is compromised, including those who are cognitively impaired, children, or individuals under the influence of substances.
• Demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively within the pain team and wider multidisciplinary teams to ensure coordinated, patient centred care.
• Communicate sensitively with ward staff and MDT colleagues, particularly when leading difficult conversations or addressing poor practice.
• Use effective influencing and negotiation skills to manage challenging situations and support positive outcomes.
• Address interprofessional conflict using advanced communication skills to resolve issues professionally and maintain team cohesion.
• Take initiative and demonstrate a progressive, creative, and forward thinking approach to service delivery and problem solving.
• Maintain accurate and contemporaneous records.

6. General Working Conditions

• Comply with all Trust and departmental policies, including Health and Safety at Work, manual handling, risk assessment, Data Protection legislation, and patient confidentiality.
• Implement and promote best practice based on national and local guidelines, including challenging entrenched or outdated clinical practices where necessary.
• Utilise recognised manual handling techniques and guidelines to ensure safe practice.
• Safely manoeuvre patients or objects over 15kg using appropriate equipment and aids.
• Regularly manage distressing and emotionally challenging situations involving patients, relatives, and staff.
• Work with patients who may display verbal or physical aggression, using de escalation and safety strategies.
• Adhere to policies relating to bodily fluids, infection control, and substances hazardous to health (COSHH).
• Use computer based systems daily to support clinical documentation, communication, and service management.
• Work flexibly across both Trust sites as part of the inpatient pain service. Maintain professionalism and effective decision making when working patterns are unpredictable or highly stressful.
• Ensure a smart, professional appearance that positively represents the Trust.
• Attend pain conferences, seminars, and relevant educational events to remain up to date with the latest research and developments in inpatient pain management.

Contact Details
Nina Robbins (Lead Nurse Specialist Inpatient Pain Service)
nina.robbins@nhs.net
0300 422 2107
Please e-mail and Nina will reply

Person Specification
Qualifications, Knowledge and Experience
Essential

• Registered Nurse (NMC) educated to degree level (or has completed degree level modules)
• Registered Non-Medical Prescriber (NMC)
• Evidence of ongoing professional development
• In depth knowledge of inpatient pain management and operational processes within the inpatient pain service
• Inpatient pain management experience at Band 6 level or above
• Able to work autonomously with an unpredictable patient caseload
• Confident with presentation skills and able to teach all grades of clinical staff about pain management: formal classroom and ward-based sessions
• Identify clinical need for protocols, guidelines and patient information
• Team focused; ability to work collaboratively
• Evidence of Quality Improvement work
• Ability to effectively lead a small team and work closely with the lead pain consultants
• Experience with audit projects
• Enthusiastic, with a passion for quality improvement and excellent patient care

Desirable

• Managing individuals to include objective setting, supporting learning and reviewing of progress against development goals
• Knowledge of the trust appraisal and development process

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
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.

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

Employer details
Employer name
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Gloucestershire
GL1 3NN
United Kingdom
Employer's website
https://www.gloshospitals.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact:
Lead Nurse specialist inpatient pain service
Nina Robbins
nina.robbins@nhs.net
03004222107

Details
Date posted
25 September 2026
Pay scheme
Agenda for change
Band
Band 7
Salary
£49,387 to £56,515 a year
(pa, pro rata if part-time)
Contract
Permanent
Working pattern
Part-time
Reference number
318-26-T0633
Job locations
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Gloucestershire
GL1 3NN
United Kingdom

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.
Applicants must have current UK professional registration.