Job overview

This is an exciting opportunity to join our team as a Paediatric Oncology and Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist, providing expert, compassionate and coordinated care to children and young people with brain and central nervous system tumours.

Working as a key member of the Paediatric Oncology multidisciplinary team, you will provide specialist nursing expertise throughout the patient pathway, from diagnosis and treatment through survivorship or palliative and end-of-life care. You will act as a key worker, providing expert clinical advice, symptom management, education, psychosocial support and care coordination across hospital, and regional services.

The role is central to delivering safe, high-quality, personalised care, improving patient and family experience and supporting continuity across the Wessex network. You will work closely with oncology, neurosurgery, radiotherapy, palliative care, community and shared-care teams.

The post holder will report to the Lead Nurse for Children’s Cancer and contribute to service development, education, governance and quality improvement.

Working for our organisation

As one of the largest acute teaching Trusts in England, we offer learning and development opportunities to help you achieve the career you aspire to. UHS is rated ‘Good’ by the CQC and in the latest national NHS Staff Survey, we were in the top 10 acute trusts for staff engagement and for staff recommending the hospital as a place to work or receive care. 

 We support flexible working and will consider requests taking into account the needs of the service. UHS employees are able to access a range of NHS discounts, are entitled to a minimum of 35 days paid holiday (pro rata), and we offer a generous pension scheme.

 Southampton is an attractive place to live and work situated on the south coast, with an international airport and direct trains to London. The New Forest National Park and beaches of the Jurassic coast are also right on our doorstep. The city offers living costs 30% lower than London and 17 schools rated outstanding by Ofsted.

 We believe that using technology wisely shows strong time management and commitment to innovation. However, personalising your recruitment application to highlight your unique skills and experiences is crucial. Relying too heavily on generic, AI-generated content instead of drawing from your own strengths and accomplishments may lead to your application being rejected if multiple candidates present identical or similar information.

The successful candidate will be responsible for providing specialist, evidence-based nursing care to children and young people with neuro-oncology and palliative care needs and will demonstrate:

- Significant post-registration experience within paediatric oncology, haematology, neuro-oncology or another relevant specialist paediatric setting, with evidence of advanced clinical knowledge and decision-making.

- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to support children, young people and families through complex diagnoses, treatment, disease progression, palliative care and end-of-life decision-making.

- The ability to work autonomously while collaborating effectively across multidisciplinary, community and regional teams, coordinating complex care across organisational boundaries.

- Evidence of leadership, education, service development and quality improvement, with the ability to contribute to governance, pathway development and continued improvement of paediatric neuro-oncology and palliative care services.

The role requires flexibility to meet the needs of children and families across the pathway, including participation in the established specialist palliative care on-call arrangements where required.