Head of Nursing Leadership - RCN02694
| RCN UK HQ with hybrid working | £84,576 (including inner London weighting of £5094)
Contract type: Permanent
Job Title: Head of Nursing Leadership
Location: RCN UK HQ with hybrid working
Tenure: Permanent, 35 hours per week
Salary range per annum: £79,482 - £89,238 plus
There is more to the RCN than you might think. We’re a trade union with a membership of over half a million nurses, midwives, nursing support workers and students. We support their practice, represent them, lobby on their behalf, and develop them. We exist to make a positive difference – to the working lives of our members and ultimately to standards in patient care. Our employees are drawn from many walks of life – we are nurses, marketers and communicators, administrators, IT professionals, policy and finance experts, lawyers… together we are so much more. We couldn’t do what we do without our people.
At the Royal College of Nursing we’re an optimistic organisation. And we’ve got good reason to be. We all share the same voice when it comes to changing the shape of the health policies of the future. And as the largest trade union of nursing staff and students in the UK – with over half a million members – all we can see are the infinite possibilities for a brighter future. Join us and you will too.
We're accredited with Investors in People Silver Standard. Our people are our greatest asset, and we want people who can contribute to our purpose in line with our values.
As a Head of Leadership, you will use your knowledge of nursing leadership, and clinical practice and your ability to deliver the RCN Professional offer across the Institute of Nursing Excellence.
You will lead on the design and delivery of a portfolio of leadership programmes, supporting nurses at all stages of their careers to strengthen and develop their leadership skills. You will use your knowledge, experience, enthusiasm, positive thinking, and leadership skills to support our UK wide team to build resources that are accessible to our members, that are innovative, and that provide nursing professionals with the skills and knowledge to lead with confidence and credibility.
You will be responsible for building resources in mentorship and provide support to nurses in their early careers, encouraging them to access leadership development and mentorship.
Within this role you will build a leadership network to support debate and dialogue, and use your skills in gathering evidence and data analysis to ensure the work of the Leadership Academy is evidence based and up to date.
As well as exceptional customer service, to join us you’ll need an in-depth knowledge of nursing leadership, commissioning and policy development across health and social care within the UK. You will also need to be able to lead stakeholder engagement, resource development and delivery of programmes of work and budget management. The ability to foster strong professional relationships and encourage close collaboration between departments, members and stakeholders is at the heart of this leadership role.
To succeed at the Royal College of Nursing all you need to do is think bigger, better and brighter. And with an attitude like that, anything’s possible.
What we offer you
We expect you to look after our members and customers. And we expect you to be rewarded for it. We offer an impressive range of benefits, a broad range of learning development opportunities and an award-winning health and wellbeing programme. We offer annual leave up to 32 days plus bank holidays and three additional days for the Christmas break plus generous maternity, adoption, paternity, and shared parental leave packages.
*We offer a competitive pay structure with annual pay progression until you reach the top of the salary scale. We normally offer new employees the first point of the salary range, although you may be able to negotiate a higher starting salary depending on your skills, experience and current salary.
What we deliver for our members is wide and varied so when it comes to how we work one size doesn’t fit all. We also know that to empower our people to do their best work, they must be able to balance the demands of work and home. We are a diverse organisation and understand everyone has different needs and many of our employees enjoy flexible working enabling them to deliver results whilst having a good work life balance. Departments and directorates have their own hybrid ways of working which put the needs of the service they deliver – whether that’s to members or to colleagues - at their heart, in alignment with our hybrid working core principles. You can find out more by having a discussion with the recruiting manager.
Our selection process
Please submit a CV and answer the supporting questions demonstrating how you meet the criteria for this role. You may not be shortlisted if you don’t. Please ensure your CV is in a simple format with minimal tables and sections. Any identifying information in your application will automatically be anonymised for shortlisting purposes.
We want your experience applying for a job with us to be the best it can be. We may hold our interviews and assessments in person or by video call. If you foresee any problems, please let us know.
As a proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme we actively encourage applications from people with disabilities.
Contact details
For more information or for an informal discussion about the role please contact Dr Nichola Ashby Deputy Chief Nurse on may.seyner@rcn.org.uk
For more information about the recruitment and selection process please contact recruit@rcn.org.uk
Opening date: 25/06/2025
Closing date: 30/07/2025
Selection date: 19/08/2025
Interview date:
Contracted hours: 35