Job summary
Are you an experienced palliative care or oncology nurse looking to take the next step in your career? Do you want to make a real difference in the lives of patients and their families in your community?
At St Peter & St James Hospice, we are seeking a Community Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) to join our dedicated team. This role is perfect for a compassionate, skilled, and proactive nurse who wants to provide expert palliative and end-of-life care in a supportive and collaborative environment.
- Location: Community-Based (Driving Required)
- Salary:Clinical Band 7, £30,125.44 - £34,473.60 per annum (£47,071 - £53,865 FTE), dependent on experience
- Hours:Part-time, 24 hours per week
- Closing Date:9th June 2025
We encourage you to apply directly via our website to give us the opportunity to contact you for an informal discussion ahead of the closing date (See 'Supporting Links').
At St Peter & St James Hospice our specialist team provides care for people with life limiting illnesses. The care is provided within the home setting and also includes phone support for carers of the individual.
Our Community Clinical Nurse Specialists work autonomously, managing a caseload of patients with specialist palliative care and end of life care needs in the community. This role involves providing palliative nursing interventions, working closely with medical and other colleagues, both internally and externally, ensuring a co-ordinated and effective service in the hospice and community setting.
Main duties of the job
Your Role Will Involve:
- Providing specialist palliative nursing care to patients with progressive and life-limiting illnesses in the community.
- Using advanced assessment skills to manage symptoms, provide support, and enhance quality of life for patients and their families.
- Working in partnership with other healthcare professionals to ensure seamless, high-quality care.
- Triaging referrals, managing caseloads, and ensuring care is timely and effective.
- Providing education and training to healthcare colleagues, care homes, and local organisations to raise standards in palliative care.
- Keeping detailed, accurate records in line with hospice and NMC standards.
What Were Looking For:
- Registered Nurse with current NMC registration
- Degree-level qualification in palliative care, oncology, or a related field
- At least five years of nursing experience, including three years in palliative care or a related specialty
- Strong leadership and decision-making skills with experience working autonomously
- Knowledge of symptom control and medicines management at the end of life
- Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to support patients and families through difficult conversations
- A full driving licence and access to a car (business insurance required)
Desirable but Not Essential:
- Non-medical prescribing qualification
- Clinical supervision or mentorship qualification
- Experience in delivering training and supporting clinical audits
About us
Why Join Us?
- Autonomous, meaningful work Provide expert palliative care in the community, working closely with patients, families, and healthcare professionals.
- Supportive team Work alongside experienced nurses, doctors, and specialists in a compassionate environment.
- Professional development We offer training, leadership opportunities, and funding for further education to help you grow in your career.
- Flexible and rewarding A role that allows you to manage your workload effectively while making a tangible impact on people's lives.
Be Part of Something Special
At St Peter & St James Hospice, we believe that everyone deserves expert, compassionate care at the end of life. Our Community Clinical Nurse Specialists are at the heart of our mission, ensuring that patients receive high-quality care wherever they need it most.
If you're passionate about palliative care and want to be part of a team that truly makes a difference, we would love to hear from you.
For more information or an informal chat about the role, please contact Kaylee Teager on kteager@stpjhospice.org.
We encourage you to apply directly via our website, to give us the opportunity to contact you for an informal discussion ahead of the closing date - a chance to learn more about the role, our team, and how you could contribute. Please use the link provided in the 'Supporting Links' section of this advert to submit your application.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- Provide advanced level palliative nursing interventions working closely with medical and
other colleagues, both internally and externally, ensuring a coordinated and effective service
in the community setting.
- Advise and support colleagues within and external to St Peter and St James Hospice, on
issues including advanced symptom control, ethical issues and highly complex nursing
interventions. This includes providing the weekend service.
- Provide leadership, innovation and excellence in clinical practice to support the patients
under their care.
- Undertake holistic assessments, plan, implement and evaluate palliative interventions and
support delivered to the patient and those important to them.
- Participate in the daily triaging of hospice referrals, in managing the team caseload and
prioritising daily team workload.
- Mentor and support RNs and HCAs within the Community team.
- Offer specialist advice to external partners, i.e. GPs, district nurses, nursing homes, adult
social care, continuing health care, and foster close collaborative working relationships.
- Utilise advanced communication skills to address complex psycho-social problems.
- Be professionally and legally accountable for all work undertaken and to practise at an
advanced level of professional autonomy and accountability within the policies of St Peter
and St James Hospice.
- Participate in clinical supervision and be a member of at least one hospice group, and
contribute actively to the clinical strategy.
- Collate workload data and evaluate the effectiveness and benefits of the role, which will
then inform ongoing strategic planning and analysis of need.
- Effectively identify nursing practice development priorities within the clinical setting and
participate in practice development projects with the speciality.
- Participate in hospice audits as required.
- Provide education and training in aspects of palliative care to employees within St Peter and
St James Hospice and external healthcare professionals, e.g. local care homes, Community
Nursing teams; including the Sussex Hospices Project ECHO work.
- Maintain an up-to-date knowledge of national policy on palliative care and end of life care.
- Comply fully with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Code of Conduct, Performance
and Ethics (2008) to protect public and patient safety and requirements for NMC
Revalidation.
- Maintain contemporaneous, accurate records, ensuring that all entries on SystmOne and
related documentation are entered frequently to agreed hospice standards.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- Provide advanced level palliative nursing interventions working closely with medical and
other colleagues, both internally and externally, ensuring a coordinated and effective service
in the community setting.
- Advise and support colleagues within and external to St Peter and St James Hospice, on
issues including advanced symptom control, ethical issues and highly complex nursing
interventions. This includes providing the weekend service.
- Provide leadership, innovation and excellence in clinical practice to support the patients
under their care.
- Undertake holistic assessments, plan, implement and evaluate palliative interventions and
support delivered to the patient and those important to them.
- Participate in the daily triaging of hospice referrals, in managing the team caseload and
prioritising daily team workload.
- Mentor and support RNs and HCAs within the Community team.
- Offer specialist advice to external partners, i.e. GPs, district nurses, nursing homes, adult
social care, continuing health care, and foster close collaborative working relationships.
- Utilise advanced communication skills to address complex psycho-social problems.
- Be professionally and legally accountable for all work undertaken and to practise at an
advanced level of professional autonomy and accountability within the policies of St Peter
and St James Hospice.
- Participate in clinical supervision and be a member of at least one hospice group, and
contribute actively to the clinical strategy.
- Collate workload data and evaluate the effectiveness and benefits of the role, which will
then inform ongoing strategic planning and analysis of need.
- Effectively identify nursing practice development priorities within the clinical setting and
participate in practice development projects with the speciality.
- Participate in hospice audits as required.
- Provide education and training in aspects of palliative care to employees within St Peter and
St James Hospice and external healthcare professionals, e.g. local care homes, Community
Nursing teams; including the Sussex Hospices Project ECHO work.
- Maintain an up-to-date knowledge of national policy on palliative care and end of life care.
- Comply fully with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Code of Conduct, Performance
and Ethics (2008) to protect public and patient safety and requirements for NMC
Revalidation.
- Maintain contemporaneous, accurate records, ensuring that all entries on SystmOne and
related documentation are entered frequently to agreed hospice standards.
Person Specification
Knowledge and Skills
Essential
- Emotional resilience to manage excessive exposure to dying people and family distress as well as to manage difficult situations
- Ability to work under pressure and flexibly across different clinical settings and shift patterns
- Enthusiastic, assertive and positive attitude
- Caring, kind and compassionate with a pleasant disposition and smart appearance
- Organised time management
- Ability to use initiative, work autonomously, manage and prioritise workload as well as supervise / mentor junior staff
- Excellent verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills and good command of spoken English (assessed at interview)
- Confident in use of IT and knowledge of Data Protection principles and Information Governance
- Leadership and delegation skills, including motivation and collaborative working
- Good numeracy, teaching and analytical skills
- A good understanding of clinical governance including patient safety
Qualifications
Essential
- Registered Nurse with current NMC registration and evidence of recent CPD
- Evidence of palliative care/oncology education to degree level
Desirable
- Evidence of palliative care/oncology education to Masters level
- Advanced Physical assessment qualification
- Non Medical Prescribing
- Clinical supervision qualification
- Qualification in community nursing Experience in research audit, standard setting and/or clinical governance
- Mentorship qualification
Experience
Essential
- Minimum of five years recent experience as a Registered Nurse
- Evidence of good practice in palliative nursing (or Oncology or similar) for at least three years, with at least one year being at a level which requires complex decision-making and a degree of autonomy
- Knowledge of symptom control towards and at the end of life including pharmacological management of symptoms.
- Understanding of current professional nursing issues relating to palliative and end of life care.
- Driving licence and car with Business Car Insurance and ability to travel to varying work locations.
Desirable
- Experience in delivering training
- Advanced Communication Skills training
- Understanding of national drivers around palliative and end of
- life care, and of local strategy relating to end of life care
- Experience in the management of complex needs and medicines
- management at the end of life
Person Specification
Knowledge and Skills
Essential
- Emotional resilience to manage excessive exposure to dying people and family distress as well as to manage difficult situations
- Ability to work under pressure and flexibly across different clinical settings and shift patterns
- Enthusiastic, assertive and positive attitude
- Caring, kind and compassionate with a pleasant disposition and smart appearance
- Organised time management
- Ability to use initiative, work autonomously, manage and prioritise workload as well as supervise / mentor junior staff
- Excellent verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills and good command of spoken English (assessed at interview)
- Confident in use of IT and knowledge of Data Protection principles and Information Governance
- Leadership and delegation skills, including motivation and collaborative working
- Good numeracy, teaching and analytical skills
- A good understanding of clinical governance including patient safety
Qualifications
Essential
- Registered Nurse with current NMC registration and evidence of recent CPD
- Evidence of palliative care/oncology education to degree level
Desirable
- Evidence of palliative care/oncology education to Masters level
- Advanced Physical assessment qualification
- Non Medical Prescribing
- Clinical supervision qualification
- Qualification in community nursing Experience in research audit, standard setting and/or clinical governance
- Mentorship qualification
Experience
Essential
- Minimum of five years recent experience as a Registered Nurse
- Evidence of good practice in palliative nursing (or Oncology or similar) for at least three years, with at least one year being at a level which requires complex decision-making and a degree of autonomy
- Knowledge of symptom control towards and at the end of life including pharmacological management of symptoms.
- Understanding of current professional nursing issues relating to palliative and end of life care.
- Driving licence and car with Business Car Insurance and ability to travel to varying work locations.
Desirable
- Experience in delivering training
- Advanced Communication Skills training
- Understanding of national drivers around palliative and end of
- life care, and of local strategy relating to end of life care
- Experience in the management of complex needs and medicines
- management at the end of life
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).
Additional information
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).
