Job overview

Are you ready to lead with clinical excellence, compassion, and purpose?

We are inviting applications for an enthusiastic and highly skilled Band 8a Lead Rheumatology Clinical Nurse Specialist to join our friendly and forward-thinking multidisciplinary team on a 12-month fixed-term maternity cover contract. This post is available full-time or part-time and offers a unique opportunity to lead a well-established, innovative specialist nursing service.

As a key member of the team, you will be accountable for coordinating, delivering, and developing our Rheumatology Nursing service. Using advanced clinical skills, you will independently manage a complex caseload, provide expert clinical leadership, and contribute significantly to service evaluation, improvement, and education.

This role is an excellent opportunity for a nurse with strong clinical expertise in Rheumatology and a passion for advanced practice. You will be expected to demonstrate capability across all four pillars of Advanced Clinical Practice: Clinical, Leadership, Education, and Research.

Main duties of the job

As the Band 8a Lead Rheumatology Clinical Nurse Specialist, you will provide expert, autonomous care for patients with diverse rheumatological conditions. You will lead the delivery and development of the Rheumatology nursing service, ensuring timely, evidence-based, and patient-focused care.

Working independently, you will use advanced clinical skills and critical reasoning to assess, plan, and manage care from diagnosis to long-term follow-up. You will act as a key source of specialist knowledge across primary and secondary care settings.

You will manage a complex caseload, conduct thorough assessments, and develop and evaluate treatment plans within a multidisciplinary team. As a specialist resource, you’ll bridge primary and secondary care, sharing knowledge and expertise.

You will drive service development alongside consultants, pharmacists, and allied health professionals, promoting seamless, safe, and effective care pathways aligned with current best practice.

Education and leadership are central to the role. You will mentor staff and students, support professional development, and contribute to the Trust’s education strategy. You’ll also engage in clinical governance through audits, risk assessments, and service improvement.

This role requires a dynamic, forward-thinking clinician with strong leadership and communication skills, dedicated to advancing Rheumatology care and service excellence.

Working for our organisation

Wye Valley NHS Trust is part of an NHS Foundation Group alongside South Warwickshire University NHS FT, George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust, and Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.

Situated on the border with Wales in the shadow of the Black Mountains, we provide acute and community healthcare services across Herefordshire and parts of Powys. We operate Hereford County Hospital as well as community hospitals in Bromyard, Leominster, and Ross-on-Wye.

We are a progressive and forward-looking Trust, with ambitious plans to improve quality and integrate patient pathways through close collaboration with our partners - delivering the kind of care we would want for our own family and friends.

With over 3,000 dedicated staff, we offer a unique blend of the dynamic environment of a district general hospital alongside the benefits of working in the beautiful, unspoiled countryside of Herefordshire. 

We can offer a great work-life balance and have a fine tradition of working with staff to help them achieve their full potential.

Russell Hardy, Trust Chairman: “The strength of the Trust is its amazing staff; a great place to work, a great place to develop your career, and a great place to reach your potential.”

Our values -  Care, Accountability, Respect, and Excellence -  are at the heart of everything we do. We are committed to providing the right care, in the right place, at the right time.