About this role
Job summary
We are looking for an experienced registered nurse who can lead the Hospice at Home team while remaining closely connected to clinical practice. You will bring significant experience in palliative and end-of-life care, including community practice, together with a compassionate approach to people management and the confidence to make sound decisions when priorities compete.
You will have experience of managing staff and resources, supporting development and leading service improvement. Strong communication skills, a collaborative approach and a commitment to safe, responsive care will be central to your work.
Successful candidates will be required to undergo relevant background checks, including a DBS check and provide satisfactory reference before starting the role.
Candidates must have the right to work in the UK. We are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role.
Closing date - 29th October 2026
Main duties of the job
This is an opportunity to help shape the next stage of Hospice at Home at St Michaels Hospice, supporting patients and those important to them to receive care in their preferred place.
As Operational Manager, you will lead day-to-day service delivery, line manage the team and oversee staffing, rotas, referrals and capacity. Working with the Clinical Lead, you will use clinical information, patient feedback and service data to improve care and develop a more responsive service.
You will work alongside a Band 7 Clinical Assessor in a complementary partnership with clear responsibilities and planned overlap. Regular direct clinical work will allow you to maintain your assessment and symptom management skills.
You will work with hospice colleagues, primary care, community teams and hospital services to coordinate care and support timely discharge home. This role offers the opportunity to combine leadership with specialist clinical practice and contribute to a more resilient service.
Current NMC registration as an Adult Nurse is essential. A non-medical prescribing qualification is desirable; where appropriate, an agreed development pathway may be considered, subject to organisational approval and support.
About us
St. Michaels Hospice is a registered charity providing specialist palliative and end of life care services since 1992, for the people of North Hampshire. We are dedicated to providing care to people throughout North Hampshire who are affected by life limiting illness to attain the highest possible quality of life by providing a choice of specialist care and support.
As a charity, we depend on the kindness and support of our local community to continue offering our services free of charge. This care is made possible by supporters donating, taking part in fundraising events and activities, playing our lottery, shopping in our retail outlets, leaving gifts in their Wills or giving freely of their time to volunteer.
We offer a competitive salary with attractive benefits, including, free parking, life assurance, 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays, and an extensive health and wellbeing plan and company pension.
For further information and to arrange informal visits, please contact Jo Fricker, Clinical Director, on 01256 844744 or email: [email protected]
Job description Job responsibilities
Lead the operational delivery of Hospice at Home while maintaining specialist clinical practice. Work alongside the Band 7 Clinical Assessor to provide a responsive, coordinated service for patients with palliative and end-of-life needs and those important to them. The role combines clear management accountability with regular direct clinical work and planned mutual cover.
Professional accountability to the Clinical Director. Base: St Michaels Hospice and the community service area. Working pattern: agreed part-time roster reflecting service needs. No additional on-call commitment is assumed in this draft.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
Key working relationships
Clinical Lead, Clinical Director, Operational Manager or Clinical Assessor, Hospice at Home nurses and healthcare assistants, medical team, hospice multidisciplinary services, quality and governance colleagues, primary care, community nursing, specialist palliative care and urgent care partners. Work with Rowans Hospice colleagues to share learning and align practice through agreed arrangements.
Operational leadership and people management
Lead the day-to-day delivery and development of Hospice at Home, translating the hospices clinical strategy into practical service priorities with the Clinical Lead.
Provide substantive line management for the Hospice at Home team, including the Clinical Assessor, under the agreed management structure. Lead recruitment, induction, appraisal, attendance and performance management, staff development and wellbeing, with senior and HR support where required.
Manage rotas, skill mix, leave and deployment within agreed resources. Ensure access to appropriate senior clinical advice throughout service delivery and escalate unsafe staffing or capacity gaps promptly.
Lead team meetings and maintain clear expectations for professional conduct, communication and accountability. Address concerns fairly and promptly in accordance with hospice procedures.
Monitor expenditure within delegated authority, identify resource pressures and contribute to workforce planning and service investment proposals.
Referrals capacity and service improvement
Oversee referral pathways, caseload review and allocation of staff, working closely with the Clinical Assessor to match clinical urgency and patient need with available capacity.
Assess workload using acuity, complexity, geography, travel time, visit requirements and staff competence rather than caseload numbers alone. Review accepted work and escalate unmet demand and service limitations.
Lead service development towards a responsive model supporting patients in their preferred place of care and timely transition home. Implement changes through agreed governance and engagement with staff and partners.
Lead service audit, quality improvement and review of incidents and complaints. Provide accurate activity, workforce, outcome and quality information to the Clinical Lead, using feedback and data to evaluate care.
Clinical practice and maintenance of skills
Remain an active specialist palliative care nurse through planned, regular clinical sessions agreed with the Clinical Lead. Maintain competence in holistic assessment, triage, symptom management and clinical decision-making rather than relying solely on emergency absence cover.
Undertake direct assessment and care for patients with complex palliative and end-of-life needs, supporting families and carers and developing individual care and anticipatory plans.
Provide specialist advice, recognise deterioration and reversible causes within competence, and obtain medical or other specialist review when indicated. Support advance care planning and ReSPECT discussions within training and local arrangements.
Provide agreed clinical cover during the assessors absence within competence and available capacity. Reprioritise operational duties with the Clinical Lead so that clinical cover does not compromise safe management of the service.
Joint working and service resilience
Work as a complementary Band 7 partnership with the other post holder, maintaining distinct primary responsibilities and a shared understanding of clinical priorities, staffing, risks and service pressures. Agree regular joint reviews, documented handovers and planned overlap within contracted hours.
The Operational Manager retains substantive responsibility for team line management and operational delivery. The Clinical Assessor provides day-to-day operational cover during the managers absence under agreed delegated authority. Both post holders remain accountable for their own professional practice.
Agree cover arrangements with the Clinical Lead before planned absence and at the earliest opportunity for unplanned absence. Record responsibilities, decisions requiring senior approval and escalation routes. Cover does not automatically transfer budget authority or formal employment decision-making powers.
Balance clinical and operational work through an agreed work plan. Escalate competing demands, staffing gaps or work beyond competence or available hours to the Clinical Lead. These two part-time posts do not provide continuous management or clinical cover for all service hours.
Communication and partnership working
Communicate complex and sensitive information compassionately with patients and those important to them. Support informed choices, assess decision-making capacity within competence and follow hospice procedures where a patient cannot provide consent.
Coordinate care with primary care, community nursing, specialist palliative care, hospital teams, urgent and out-of-hours services and other partners. Provide clear handovers, agreed responsibilities and escalation plans to support safe transitions and timely discharge home.
Maintain professional boundaries, respect confidentiality and individual cultural, spiritual and personal preferences, and promote constructive communication and challenge within the team.
Medicines management and prescribing
Promote safe administration, storage, monitoring and use of medicines and equipment, including controlled drugs, in accordance with hospice policies and individual competence. Recognise, report and escalate medication concerns and adverse effects.
Undertake independent prescribing only when appropriately qualified, registered, authorised by the hospice and working within individual competence and the agreed formulary and prescribing policy. Maintain prescribing supervision and continuing professional development.
Where not qualified as an independent prescriber, work with authorised prescribers to secure timely symptom management. Participate in an agreed development plan towards non-medical prescribing where appropriate, subject to organisational approval and support.
Education and professional development
Maintain current clinical competence through direct practice, supervision, reflection and continuing professional development. Undertake mandatory training and maintain professional registration.
Teach, coach and support nurses, healthcare assistants, students and relevant partners. Contribute to competency assessment within own competence and promote reflective practice and staff wellbeing.
Participate in appraisal and agree a development plan covering the clinical and operational skills needed for the partnership and absence cover.
Governance and general responsibilities
Work in accordance with the NMC Code, St Michaels Hospice policies and agreed clinical pathways. Maintain timely, accurate records and use electronic systems only with appropriate authorisation.
Recognise and promptly report safeguarding concerns involving adults or children. Follow agreed escalation procedures for deteriorating patients, incidents, complaints and risks; contribute to investigation, learning and improvement.
Comply with information governance, infection prevention, health and safety and lone-working requirements. Promote equality, inclusion and the hospices values, and use charitable resources responsibly.
Undertake other reasonable duties consistent with the role, Band 7 level, competence and contracted hours. The job description will be reviewed in consultation with the post holder as the service develops.
General Responsibilities
Work to maintain the values, vision and aims of St. Michaels Hospice.
Additional Duties In discussion with the line manager to undertake work, as and when required, in support of St. Michaels Hospice as an organisation.
Public Relations To represent St. Michaels Hospice in the community and public domain, including social media, appropriately.
Undertake all statutory and mandatory training, as required.
To be conversant with and adhere to all St. Michaels Hospice Policies and Procedures.
Be responsible for upholding and promoting St. Michaels Hospice safeguarding policies, ensuring the safety and well-being of all individuals, and promptly reporting any concerns or incidents in accordance with established procedures.
This is an outline job description and may be subject to change, according to the needs of the service, in consultation with the post holder.
Take responsibility for own personal safety and of others whilst at work. You will take appropriate action or report any concerns to address any health and safety issues that you or members of your team may be aware of.
This job description is an outline of the role and responsibilities. From time to time, due to the needs of the service, we may ask you to flexibly undertake other duties that are consistent with your role and banding, including project work, internal job rotation and absence cover.
Person Specification
Skills, Knowledge, Abilities Essential
Evidence of autonomous clinical decision-making and commitment to regular direct practice. Ability to provide clinical assessment cover while managing competing operational priorities. Advanced communication skills with patients, families and professionals. Ability to discuss sensitive information, support informed decisions and coordinate care across organisational boundaries. Working knowledge of safeguarding, consent and capacity, medicines safety, confidentiality, lone working and clinical risk. Accurate electronic record keeping and ability to learn relevant systems.
Desirable
History taking and physical assessment qualification. Completed advanced communication skills course; ReSPECT training. Experience of incident review, audit and service evaluation.
Qualifications Essential
Registered Nurse Adult with current NMC registration. Degree in nursing or a relevant subject, or equivalent demonstrable learning and experience. Evidence of continuing professional development and ability to study at postgraduate level. Understanding of safe medicines management and limits of own authority. Willingness to discuss and undertake an agreed prescribing development pathway where appropriate.
Desirable
Postgraduate qualification in palliative care. Teaching or practice assessor qualification. Independent or non-medical prescribing qualification with evidence of current competence.
Experience Essential
Significant post-registration palliative and end-of-life nursing experience, including community practice and complex care. Current competence in assessment, triage, symptom management, anticipatory care planning and escalation. Experience of leading a nursing team or service, including staff deployment, rotas, appraisal and managing performance with appropriate support. Ability to set priorities and manage resources. Experience of implementing change and using activity, quality and outcome data to improve services. Ability to assess capacity using complexity, acuity and geography.
Desirable
Experience in urgent response and supporting discharge from hospital to home. Management or leadership qualification; budget monitoring experience. Quality improvement training and experience of service redesign.
Attitude, aptitudes, personal characteristics Essential
Compassionate, inclusive and professional approach. Constructive challenge, sound judgement and ability to remain effective under pressure. Commitment to supervision and learning.
Desirable
Knowledge of working in an independent charitable hospice.
Other requirements Essential
Ability to travel reliably across the service area, with reasonable adjustments considered; appropriate licence and business-use insurance where driving for work. Flexible participation in an agreed rota within contracted hours.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details Employer name St Michael's Hospice (North Hampshire)
Address Basil de Ferranti House
Aldermaston Road
Basingstoke
Hampshire
RG24 9NB
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.stmichaelshospice.org.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)