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Job summary

Main area
OPAU
Grade
Band 6
Contract
Secondment: 12 months (Contract will end after 12 months)
Hours
  • Full time
  • Part time
37.5 hours per week (Full Flexibility Required)
Job ref
153-ME05472
Employer
University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Bournemouth
Town
Bournemouth
Salary
£38,682 - £46,580 pa/pro rata
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
29/01/2026 23:59
Interview date
04/02/2026

Employer heading

University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust logo

Deputy Sister/Charge Nurse - OPAU

Band 6

As University Hospitals Dorset we are a three site acute trust with ‘university hospital’ status through our partnership with Bournemouth University, working with an annual budget of £730m.

We offer highly regarded health services, employing some 10,000 staff. Our ambitious £500m transformation programme is well on the way to delivering state-of-the-art facilities over the next two years to meet the current and future healthcare needs of the populations we serve.

In an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with over seven miles of sandy beaches you’ll find inspirational opportunities to achieve your perfect work/life balance. With the New Forest and the Purbecks on our doorstep, we’re also less than three hours from London by road or train. The thriving towns of Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch give way to idyllic villages and unspoilt landscapes just minutes from our hospitals.

We believe that having a diverse workforce, and allowing people to be themselves, is essential in ensuring we offer an inclusive, welcoming and productive place to work.

We especially welcome applications from minority groups in the community who may be underrepresented in our workforce. 

At UHD our active staff network groups are the Women's Network, Black Asian Minority Ethnic Group (BAME), Pride Network, European (EU), Pro Ability Staff Network, and the Armed Forces Support Group.

As a Trust we are proudly signed up to the Disability Confident and Armed Forces Covenant guaranteed interview schemes.

We are aware that some candidates may choose to use AI tools to support the preparation of their application. While this is not discouraged, we kindly remind applicants that submissions should remain an honest and accurate representation of your own experience and suitability. Personal integrity is an important part of the recruitment process.

Job overview

Are you dynamic, and do you enjoy a fast paced environment that offers you daily challenges? Would you thrive in the exposure to medical emergencies when caring for medical speciality patient groups, alongside the elderly  Frailty patient group that we specialise in?

We are looking for motivated individuals who want to develop as leaders to join our senior nursing team on the Older persons Assessment Unit. This is an exciting time to join OPAU with future developments. You will enjoy a challenge where no two days are the same and join a team that is committed to providing the best possible patient care at the front door.

You will be responsible for co-ordinating the Unit, and managing flow through the department, whilst supporting the team to deliver quality care in meeting the acute and changing needs of our patients, deputising in the absence of the clinical leaders, and admin based tasks in support of the clinical environment, governance, and team members.

This role requires an active UK NMC Registration

Base Location: Bournemouth

Interview Date: 16th January 2026

Main duties of the job

To understand the role in more detail please read the full job description and person specification documents which are attached to this advert

Working for our organisation

UHD are investing, developing and transforming Trust services in line with the New Hospital Programme. As part of this, some services may move site this year or next, either temporarily or permanently. Recruiting Managers will be happy to answer any service-specific questions at interview.

If a role or service relocates as part of a planned move, excess mileage will not be reimbursed. Travel from home to the new work base will be classed as a normal commute. Any other changes will be managed under Trust or national terms and conditions.

UHD has active networks including Women’s, DEN, Pride, EU, Pro Ability, and Armed Forces. We support Disability Confident and Armed Forces Covenant interview schemes.

AI tools may be used, but applications must honestly reflect your own skills and experience. Integrity is key to our recruitment process

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To understand the role in more detail please read the full job description and person specification documents which are attached to this advert

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • NMC Registered Nurse

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Medicine for the Elderly experience
Desirable criteria
  • Previous experience of working as a Deputy clinical lead/Band 6 within admissions and also a general ward area

Knowledge

Essential criteria
  • Understanding of team dynamics and appropriate management to ensure effective team working

Technical Skills & Competencies

Essential criteria
  • Planning and prioritisation skills
  • Project and change management skills
  • Ability to motivate and develop team
  • Problem solving skills
  • Discharge planning competencies
Desirable criteria
  • Male catherisation
  • Venepuncture and cannulation

Interpersonal skills

Essential criteria
  • Commitment to development of others
  • Ability to work unsupervised and on own initiative and as part of multi-disciplinary team
  • Demonstrate effective communication skills when receiving highly complex, sensitive and contentious information using a range of methods
Desirable criteria
  • Ability to undertake audits and plan development of issues identified.

Other requirements specific to the role

Essential criteria
  • Excellent organisational skills
  • Able to manage clinical concerns and delays in patient care, escalating appropriately when required
  • Potential exposure to environmental hazards
  • A frequent requirement to work within close/intimate contact with patients (e.g. direct contact with bodily fluids, emptying bed pans and urinals, catheter bags.)

Personal Attributes

Essential criteria
  • Highly motivated
  • Patient focused
  • Flexible to the needs of the service
  • Supportive of staff/team members
  • Professional approach
  • Ability to work under pressure and with frequent interruptions
  • Problem solving and decision-making skills
  • Recognises stress in self and others

Language Requirement

Essential criteria
  • Be able to speak English as necessary to undertake the role

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Disability Confident - two yearsUHD ValuesApprenticeships logoArmed Forces Covenant Gold AwardStonewall equality policy. Equality and justice for lesbians, gay men, bisexual and trans people.Step into health

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
OPAU Sisters/ Charge Nurse
Job title
Ward sister / Charge nurse
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
0300 019 4083
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