Interim Chief Nursing Officer
Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Dorchester, DT1 2JY
Salary
£100,000 to £200,000
Contract
Fixed-Term
Hours
Not specified
Closing date
9 September 2026
9 days left
Job description
A unique opportunity to lead, influence and shape the future of integrated care in Dorset. Whether you are ready to step into your first Chief Nursing...
As Interim Chief Nursing Officer, you will
- Be the professional leader for Nursing and Quality across the Trust.
- Drive excellence in patient safety, clinical quality and patient experience.
- Influence organisational strategy and system-wide transformation as a key member of the Executive Team and Board.
- Lead significant programmes that improve clinical outcomes, experience and quality of care.
- Ensure the voices of patients, carers, families and staff remain central to decision making.
- Champion a culture of learning, innovation, inclusion and continuous improvement.
- Inspire and support the next generation of clinical leaders across the organisation.
- Working closely with the triumvirate of the Chief Operating Office and Chief Medical Officer
You will be an experienced, credible, and inspirational nursing leader with a strong track record of leading quality improvement, delivering sustainable change and working collaboratively across organisational boundaries.
You will bring strategic insight, emotional intelligence, and a deep commitment to compassionate leadership, together with the ability to influence at Board level and build strong relationships across the wider health and care system.
If you are ready to make a lasting impact, lead at the heart of an ambitious organisation and help shape the future of healthcare in Dorset, we would love to hear from you.
We are looking for a visible, compassionate, and values-driven leader who is passionate about creating environments where people feel supported, empowered and able to thrive. You will provide strategic leadership for nursing, midwifery, allied health professionals, and quality, while helping to shape the future direction of our Trust and our wider system partnerships.
Like all NHS organisations, we face significant challenges and opportunities, including increasing demand, workforce pressures, advancing technology and system-wide transformation. We are seeking someone with the resilience, ambition, and creativity to navigate complexity while maintaining a relentless focus on quality, inclusion and patient-centred care.
Most importantly, you will share our commitment to delivering exceptional care and creating a culture where our people can be at their best every day.
Please see the attached candidate pack and any additional questions please request a meeting with Dawn Dawson, Deputy Chief Executive
At DCHFT, we pride ourselves on the care we provide for our patients, and on the culture, we are creating for our staff. We work hard to create a fair, inclusive environment for our staff.
Our Mission is to provide outstanding care for people in ways which matter to them, and our vision is Dorset County Hospital, working with our health and social care partners, will be at the heart of improving the well-being of our communities.
We are a Trust that celebrates diversity, and we are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We welcome applications from people in all under-represented groups.
We understand that AI can be a useful tool when completing your application. However, we are seeing an increasing over-reliance of AI tools, which can negatively affect your application as it reduces a candidate's individuality, and makes it difficult for us to gain a clear and authentic understanding of your experience, skills, and in turn your suitability for the role.
All submissions must be truthful and if you do use AI, it should only be used to enhance your application and not create your supporting statement in its entirety. Your supporting statement should be in your own words and must accurately reflect your personal experience and achievements. Where we have concerns that AI has been used to generate content that misrepresents your experience and suitability for the role, we may withdraw your application.
Education and Qualifications
Essential
- Professional qualification and professional registration with the NMC in one of the fields of Nursing
- Degree in Nursing or health related subject
- Master's Degree or equivalent level of experience
- Evidence of continuous professional and personal development
- Evidence of recent management and leadership development
Training
Essential
- Evidence of recent and ongoing CPD development, and able to demonstrate advanced theoretical and practical knowledge in field, equivalent to a doctorate plus further specialist training.
Desirable
- Specialist knowledge of quality improvement
Previous Experience
Essential
- Extensive post-registration experience of which a substantial amount must be in service management
- Significant experience of working with safeguarding statutory frameworks
- Extensive knowledge and experience of leadership, development and quality
- Considerable understanding and experience of managing a complex service: including evidence of solving a range of complex operational and strategic problems
- Extensive knowledge and experience of leading quality improvements
- Well-developed people management skills, with the ability to build and lead teams across multiple locations.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
Essential
- Evidence of ability to confront challenging issues taking a problem-solving approach to ensure proactive and effective resolution
- Track Record of delivering against set objectives and achieving key organisational targets, demonstrating continuous improvement and taking remedial action to address unwarranted variation
- Excellent communication skills (written and verbal); good interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate information to senior managers, staff and external agencies
- Highly developed analytical and problem-solving skills
- Ability to act on own initiative with evidence of high level of autonomous decision making
- Highly developed influencing, negotiating and conflict resolution skills
- Highly developed clinical leadership skills with strong political awareness
- Able to demonstrate personal resilience in challenging situations.
- Understanding of current NHS national and local agendas and implications for the Trust's Strategy
Finance Management
Essential
- Experience in the planning, monitoring and review of financial resources.
Information Technology
Essential
- Good IT skills and an understanding of NHS information governance principles and practices.
Additional Requirements
Essential
- Subject to the provisions of the Equality Act 2010, able to travel using own vehicle on Trust business.
- Demonstrable skills in written and spoken English, adequate to enable the post holder to carry out the role effectively
Personal Qualities
Essential
- Understanding and advocacy of underrepresented groups and a commitment to tackle inequalities and promote fairness and transparency
- A compassionate leader with a proven track record of bringing people together
- Strong personal integrity
How to apply
Applications are handled entirely by the employer on the original advert. We do not collect CVs, supporting statements or application data.
Provenance
Source
NHS Jobs
First seen
26 August 2026
Last checked
28 August 2026
Salary, closing date and description are taken from the employer's advert. The original advert always takes precedence.
About the employer
NHS organisation
This listing was structured from NHS Jobs. Vacancy details and the application process remain the responsibility of the original source.
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