Job summary
We are looking for an enthusiastic and motivated Paediatric Quality and Governance Lead Nurse to join our Child Health team at Northampton General Hospital in a 6-month fixed-term post or secondment opportunity.

Expressions of interest are welcomed from internal applicants who may wish to apply on a secondment basis, subject to agreement from their current line manager.

Main duties of the job
This is a rewarding opportunity to make a real difference to the quality and safety of care for children, young people and families. Working closely with the Matron team, ward managers, senior nurses, medical colleagues and corporate teams, you will play a key role in leading and coordinating governance, patient safety, clinical audit, risk management and quality improvement activity across paediatric services.

The post will provide valuable support to the Matron team and to work alongside them and the Neonatal Quality and Governance Lead nurse by helping to strengthen oversight of clinical audit programmes, patient safety requirements, incident review, action tracking, complaints learning, risk register management and assurance processes. You will help ensure that governance activity is proactive, timely and translated into meaningful improvement for the service.

We are looking for a credible, organised and collaborative leader with experience in governance, audit, quality improvement, patient safety or clinical leadership, together with excellent communication, analytical and influencing skills. You will be confident working across professional boundaries, able to offer constructive challenge and committed to supporting teams to embed learning and improvement in practice.

If you are passionate about improving quality, strengthening patient safety and supporting high standards of care within paediatric services, we would be delighted to hear from you.

About us
Please submit your application as soon as possible, as we reserve the right to close adverts once sufficient applications have been received.

We recognise that AI tools can support application writing; however, candidates are asked to keep their use to a minimum. Responses should reflect your own experience, skills and knowledge, as over-reliance on AI-generated content may result in generic answers that do not accurately represent your abilities.

University Hospitals of Northamptonshire (UHN) brings together Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust. As a group, we are committed to improving services for our communities through collaboration, modernising care delivery and striving for excellence. Working together enables us to share expertise, strengthen services and create greater opportunities, and there may be a requirement to work across sites depending on service needs.

Our Excellence Values are Compassion, Accountability, Respect, Integrity and Courage. UHN welcomes applications from all backgrounds and is committed to an inclusive working environment. We are proud signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant and hold the Gold Award under the Employer Recognition Scheme. Candidates who identify as members of the Armed Forces community and meet the essential criteria will be guaranteed an interview.

Job responsibilities
Corporate Responsibilities

• Work collaboratively with colleagues across the Trust and University Hospitals of Northamptonshire Group to support quality, governance and patient safety priorities.
• Act as a visible role model for professional standards, compassionate leadership and customer care.
• Support the delivery of Directorate and Trust priorities through effective communication, assurance and quality improvement activity.

Risk Management, Quality Assurance and Monitoring

• Coordinate and promote audit, clinical governance and risk management processes across paediatric services.
• Support staff in the timely reporting, review and learning from paediatric incidents using the Trust incident reporting system.
• Review incident data, identify themes, trends and recurring risks, and provide reports to inform service learning and improvement.
• Contribute to the review and investigation of serious incidents, patient safety events and emerging concerns, supporting proportionate responses in line with PSIRF and Trust processes.
• Support the development, implementation and monitoring of action plans arising from incidents, complaints, audits, inquests, inspections and external reviews.
• Assist Matrons to maintain oversight of the paediatric risk register, supporting services to identify, describe, escalate and review risks effectively.
• Provide expert advice and constructive challenge on governance, assurance, risk grading and quality compliance issues.
• Develop, review and support implementation of paediatric policies, SOPs, guidelines and governance documentation to strengthen clinical effectiveness and risk control.
• Promote a just, open and learning culture in which staff are supported to raise concerns, reflect on events and improve practice.
• Oversee or support local and national audits, service evaluations and benchmarking activity, ensuring that recommendations are translated into measurable improvement.
• Monitor compliance with key governance requirements including Duty of Candour, complaints response timeframes, action completion and quality assurance standards.
• Support the preparation of reports, evidence and responses for internal and external assurance processes, inspections and assessments including CQC-related activity where required.

Complaints Management

• Work in partnership with matrons, clinical leaders and relevant teams to support the management of complaints, concerns and PALS enquiries relating to paediatric services.
• Maintain oversight of complaint themes and learning, ensuring that issues are responded to promptly and improvements are embedded in practice.
• Support staff involved in complaints and feedback processes in a sensitive, professional and constructive manner.
• Provide reports and updates on themes, trends and learning from complaints and concerns.

Governance Issues

• Monitor paediatric services compliance with governance, safety and quality requirements and highlight gaps in assurance.
• Support matrons, ward managers and senior clinicians to respond to governance concerns and produce effective action plans.
• Contribute to safety planning, business continuity, escalation processes and wider service resilience arrangements.
• Participate in divisional and Trust meetings, safety huddles, reviews and relevant working groups as required as part of the Paediatric Senior Team
• Support dissemination of learning through meetings, presentations, newsletters, education and feedback processes.

Supporting Financial Excellence

• Use resources responsibly and identify opportunities to reduce waste and improve value while maintaining safe, effective care.

Professional Responsibilities

• Maintain professional credibility, mandatory training and ongoing continuing professional development relevant to the role.
• Undertake annual appraisal and contribute to the development of others through advice, support, teaching and shared learning.
• Model high standards of professionalism, confidentiality, accountability and inclusive practice.

Research and Development Responsibilities

• Support the use of evidence, audit findings, service evaluation and research to inform practice development and quality improvement within paediatric services.

Person Specification
Education, Training Qualifications

• Registered Nurse with current professional registration
• Degree level qualification or equivalent experience or CPD to support role
• Evidence of continuing professional development relevant to governance, quality improvement, patient safety or leadership
• Leadership or management qualification, or equivalent experience
• Training in incident investigation, human factors, PSIRF, quality improvement or audit methodology, or willingness to undertake

Knowledge and experience

• Experience of incident reporting, investigation, learning reviews or action tracking
• Experience of audit, quality improvement, service evaluation or assurance work
• Knowledge of current NHS quality, governance and patient safety frameworks, including safeguarding responsibilities relevant to children and young people
• Experience of change management, service development or implementation of improvement actions
• Experience of working with multidisciplinary teams and presenting information clearly in meetings, reports or governance forums

Skills

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including report writing and presentation skills
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to prioritise, coordinate multiple workstreams and meet deadlines
• Ability to work collaboratively with clinical, managerial and corporate teams and provide constructive challenge where required
• Competent in the use of electronic systems and standard office software for reporting, data analysis and governance administration