Benenden Hospital

Senior Staff Nurse

The closing date is 02 February 2026

Job summary

Join our dedicated Ward team!

We are seeking an experience and motivated Senior Staff Nurse to play a key role in supporting the Ward manager in delivering outstanding, patient-centred care. This is an exciting opportunity for a confident clinical leader who is ready to step into a position of greater responsibility, mentoring and empowering others while ensuring the highest standards of practice.

In this pivotal role, you will provide strong professional leadership and operational support within the department. Working closely with the Ward Manager, you will help deliver safe, high-quality, patient-focused care in line with hospital policies, guidelines and protocols.

This role is ideal for someone with excellent organisational and communication skills who thrives in a dynamic, supportive and collaborative care environment.

Main duties of the job

What You Will Do

Be a clinical expert, advising and guiding the wider team, and will assume responsibility for the department in the Ward Managers absence.

Provide daytoday operational leadership and act as a clinical role model.

Offer specialist advice and mentorship to nursing and support staff.

Lead the ward team during the Manager/Sisters absence, ensuring smooth, safe, and effective operations.

Uphold hospital policies, protocols, and evidencebased best practice.

Promote a positive, professional, and compassionate team culture.

About us

At Benenden Hospital we put patients at the heart of everything we do. We attract kind, compassionate, and talented people to our ultra-modernprivate hospital, which opened in 1907 and has been rated as Outstanding by the CQC.We hold JAG accreditation for Endoscopy and have a beautiful setting in the middle of the Kent countryside.

Benenden Hospital offers excellent working conditions and facilities. We promote flexible working and a healthy work/life balance. We are committed to professional development and have excellent training and education facilities. We work hard to make sure that everyone at Benenden Hospital feels involved and shares our values and vision for the future.

Date posted

16 January 2026

Pay scheme

Other

Salary

£37,250 to £45,087 a year

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

E0100-2891

Job locations

Goddard’s Green Road

Benenden

Cranbrook

Kent

TN17 4AX

Job description

Job responsibilities

Purpose: To support the ward/department manager/sister with professional leadership and operational management, providing clinical expertise in planning and implementing high standards of patient-focussed care, following hospital policies, guidelines, and protocols. Providing advice and support for the Ward Team, assuming responsibility for the ward/department in the absence of the manager/sister.

The post holder will:

Provide outstanding nursing care and interventions to all patients accessing the service, ensuring all care areas are safe, fit for purpose and effectively maintained.

Provide clinical, professional, and visible support to the Ward team and provide supervision and delegated line management to junior members of the team.

Be responsible for the safe and effective day to day running of the Ward in the absence of the dept/ward manager/sister, ensuring all patient care areas and the ward environment is always safe.

Support with the delivery of service provison in line with cost efficiency, planned activity and regulatory compliance with all policies, procedures & guidelines.

Be a positive role model for staff and a patient advocate, ensuring a positive staff and patient experience.

Provide support for ensuring all ward staff maintain competencies and training is achieved in accordance with all mandatory/statutory requirements.

Be a Mentor for students and learners.

Be a link nurse/assume responsibility for an area of practice (e.g. IP&C, Wound Care, Pain Management, H&S)

Key Result Areas

Be responsible for ensuring delivery of high standards of evidence-based care for all patients at all times.

Be responsible for ensuring all patients have a care plan that is evaluated and current and patients records reflect accurately.

Be responsible for ensuring all ward staff maintain the safe custody of medications and controlled drugs.

Provide sound clinical knowledge and information for staff, ensuring that all ward nursing and clinical practices are meeting the required standards.

Support the delivery against the monthly departmental performance reviews/dashboard, and to inform/escalate priorities and performance management within the team

Support with the management of the ward team, ensuring all staff are motivated and supported to achieve agreed objectives as set out in the staffs training/PDR plans.

Provide mentoring to students and learners, fostering a positive and supportive experience.

Support with monitoring all ward KPIs to ensure standards of care are monitored, evaluated and improvements are made.

Promote reflective practice and learning, ensuring that training and development is supported, is evidence- based, is appropriate and is responsive to patient and service needs.

Support with the achievement of financial and activity targets within the department, helping to ensure care and economy is always practised with all resources.

Work within scope of practice always, seeking out learning and development opportunities that support the role.

Be a positive role model for all staff, demonstrating high standards and supporting high morale within the team.