Designated Nurse for Looked After Children
Job Description
Job summary
We are recruiting aDesignated Nurse for Looked After Children to provide expert strategic leadership for looked after children and care leavers across Kent and Medway. This pivotal role oversees the quality and performance of commissioned health services, ensuring they meet national statutory requirements and deliver the best possible outcomes.
The postholder will offer specialist clinical advice to the Integrated Care Board, shaping planning and commissioning so that the needs of looked after children and care leavers remain central to decision-making. Although separate from other safeguarding roles, the Designated Nurse will work closely across the safeguarding network, providing expert guidance on policy, practice, and individual cases.
This is a high-impact role for a senior nurse who can influence system-wide improvement, champion the health needs of vulnerable children, and drive excellence across Kent and Medway.
Main duties of the job
- Take a strategic overview of services for looked after children and care leavers across Kent and Medway.
- Through effective strategic commissioning, ensure the dedicated looked after children health service in Kent and Medway meets the national statutory requirements for looked after children through appreciate contract monitoring and escalation where required.
- Contribute to the ICBs strategic commissioning model ensuring looked after children and care leavers health needs are explored through multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) and other policy making forums, ensuring that the needs of Looked After Children are understood and included in planning arrangements.
- Provide expert clinical advice to the ICB, health providers, independent contractors and local authorities on questions of planning, strategy and the audit of quality standards in relation to health services for looked after children.
- Provide health advice on policy and individual cases to statutory and voluntary agencies, including the police and children's social care.
- Provide detailed analytical reports on looked after children and care leavers for the Chief Nursing Experience and Quality Officer via the Director of Safeguarding to ICB Board, relevant sub committees.
- Provide advice to colleagues in health and children's social care on issues of medical confidentiality, consent and information sharing in relation to looked after children.
About us
We are committed to a culture that supports all staff at NHS Kent and Medway to be the best version of themselves.
Our ability to improve outcomes for our population depends on how effectively clinical, operational, financial and strategic professionals work together to make informed commissioning decisions. That's why our workforce works a minimum of two days-a-week on-site, with the expectation that all one-to-ones are held face-to-face and that colleagues will regularly visit the services we are commissioning to understand more about them.
We believe regular on-site working supports stronger collaboration, faster problem-solving, peer learning, visible leadership and the integration of colleagues into our organisation. We also know that culture is built through shared experiences and day-to-day interactions.
We are a flexible working friendly organisation; we aim to support you to work flexibly in a way that will suit you and us.
We work with staff to agree objectives through regular supervision, annual appraisal and access to training opportunities.
We are committed to equal opportunities and diversity. In order to reflect the diversity of our population, we positively encourage applications from all areas of the community regardless of gender, race, faith, disability, age or sexual orientation.
Job responsibilities
The job description and person specification gives you all the information you need about this role. Please look carefully at the criteria in the person specification and tell us what you have done that shows you meet this.
Still have questions? The recruiting manager would love to hear from you, their contact details can be found in the job advert.
We can get a lot of applications for some roles so to be in with the best chance of being shortlisted please make sure you apply as soon as possible. A vacancy may close early if there is a lot of interest in the job.
If you need an application form in an alternative format please let our recruitment team know so they can help you with this.
All information you supply on your application should, to the best of your knowledge, be true and accurate.
Person Specification
Personal Values
Essential
- Commitment to the principles of public life, NHS values, the NHS People Plan and ICB values
Qualifications
Essential
- Registered on either Part 1 of the NMC register as a registered children's Nurse, or Part 3 as a specialist community public health Nurse having completed a specific programme with a child and family focus
- Master's Level qualification or equivalent
- Educated to Degree Level
- Significant post registration experience of working with vulnerable groups relevant to the post
- Experience of working within a looked after children's service
Desirable
- Management Qualification
- Further Academic Study relating to the post; e.g. Mental Health
- Recognised Teaching qualification
Attributes
Essential
- Strong leadership skills
- Ability to communicate with a wide range of people and in distressing and complex situations
- Project Management Skills
- Strategic planning ability
- Intermediate IT skills - word, excel, power point, outlook
- Ability to produce accurate and concise reports, both written and verbal
Competencies
Essential
- Comprehensive knowledge of current looked after children legislation and guidance, and of health and social care policies relating to the post.
- Clinical knowledge base to ensure compliance with statutory guidance and best practice and to challenge decision making of others
- Clinical knowledge base on the health needs of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children
- Knowledge of Data Protection, Human Rights legislation and national guidance on information sharing
- Knowledge of application of NMC Code of Conduct and Scope of Professional Practice
Desirable
- Knowledge of Migration legislation and Home Office regulations around Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children
- Understanding of Local Government Reorganisation
- Evidence of legal knowledge in practice
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.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
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
NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board
Address
Gail House
Maidstone
ME15 6NB
United Kingdom
