Job Description

***INTERNAL APPLICANTS WITH Neonatal Specific Qualification and Neonatal experience working on the special care baby unit ONLY TO APPLY***
Development Opportunity - Neonatal Nurse/Junior Sister
We are currently offering an exciting internal opportunity for Band 5 Neonatal Nurse with a speciality qualification to develop your career through a competency based development programme to become a Band 6 Junior Sister/Enhanced Neonatal Nurse.
This competency based assessment programme will be completed over 6 months, and will include support to develop your clinical skills and your leadership and managements skills. As part of the programme you will be expected to complete your venepuncture, cannulation and ECG training (if you have not already completed this) to enhance your clinical knowledge and skills.
You will be supported and by the Band 7 Senior Nurse and Practice Educator to develop your leadership skills, through formal and informal learning to develop the knowledge and skills to manage staff sickness and absence, personal development reviews, and shift management, including leading and co-ordinating the shift with the support of a 'buddy system' for the duration of the programme.
Main duties of the job
We are looking for people with a passion for neonatal care who want to develop their existing knowledge and skills to become a team leader, helping us to achieve great things.
As a band 6 nurse on the special care baby unit, after completion of the programme you will be responsible for taking charge of co-ordinating the shifts, supporting junior staff and students, being responsible for managing capacity and acuity , working closely with the wider MDT.
The competency based programme will include

• Completion of internal leadership and management study days.
• Completion of internal venepuncture, cannulation and ECG monitoring
• Leadership and Self-Awareness Development
• Team Working and enhanced communication skills
• Delivering effective feedback
• Managing conflict
• Delegation skills.

You will also be given the opportunity to lead a small team to manage a small project, focusing on an area within neonatal care that you are passionate about, providing an opportunity for both personal and professional development.
About us
Wye Valley NHS Trust is a member of an NHS Foundation Group with South Warwickshire NHS FT , the George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust and Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.
Located on the border with Wales in the shadow of the Black Mountains, we provide acute and community services across Herefordshire and into parts of Powys and run Hereford County Hospital and the community hospitals in Bromyard, Leominster and Ross-on-Wye.
We are a progressive and forward looking trust with ambitious plans to improve quality and integrate patient pathways through close collaborative working with our partners to deliver the quality of care we'd want for our family and friends.
More than 3,500 people work for the Trust - they tell us it's a great place to work, blending the busyness of a DGH with the benefits of working in a beautiful rural and unspoilt county like Herefordshire.
We can offer a great work-life balance and have a fine tradition of working with staff to help them achieve their full potential.
Russell Hardy, Trust Chairman: "The strength of the Trust is its amazing staff; a great place to work, a great place to develop your career and a great place to reach your potential."
Our values -Care, Accountability, Respect and Excellence - are at the heart of all we do. We believe in providing the right care in the right place at the right time...all the time.
Details
Date posted
08 August 2025
Pay scheme
Agenda for change
Band
Band 6
Salary
38,682 to 46,580 a year Salary is dependant on experience - pa, pro rata
Contract
Fixed term
Duration
12 months
Working pattern
Part-time
Reference number
229-SUR-7379793
Job locations
Hereford County Hospital
Union Walk
Hereford
HR1 2ER
Job description
Job responsibilities
To view job description and main responsibilities please see supporting documents linked to this vacancy. Job description
Job responsibilities
To view job description and main responsibilities please see supporting documents linked to this vacancy.
Person Specification
Education & Qualifications
Essential

• RN/RSCN/RM or RN Child
• Neonatal intensive care course (i.e. QIS)
• Newborn Life Support Course
• Recognised teaching and assessing qualification

Desirable

• Leadership and Management experience

Skills, Knowledge & Abilities
Essential

• Ability to adapt to a constantly changing environment
• Ability to anticipate problems, prevent and deal with them
• Excellent communication skills, written and verbal with the ability to demonstrate fluency, clarity and effectiveness.

Desirable

• Competency in Neonatal Venepuncture (or willing to complete)
• Competency in Neonatal Cannulation (or willing to complete)
• Proficient in ECG Monitoring

Experience
Essential

• Evidence of working within a neonatal unit, level 1, 2 or 3 in the last 12 months and up to date knowledge of neonatal conditions
• Aware of current research and evidence

Desirable

• Previous experience as a junior sister

Personal Attributes
Essential

• Effective Time Management Skills
• Self Motivated
• Assertive
• Ability to work under pressure and remain calm

Desirable

• Effective handling of difficult situations or exposure to

Person Specification
Education & Qualifications
Essential

• RN/RSCN/RM or RN Child
• Neonatal intensive care course (i.e. QIS)
• Newborn Life Support Course
• Recognised teaching and assessing qualification

Desirable

• Leadership and Management experience

Skills, Knowledge & Abilities
Essential

• Ability to adapt to a constantly changing environment
• Ability to anticipate problems, prevent and deal with them
• Excellent communication skills, written and verbal with the ability to demonstrate fluency, clarity and effectiveness.

Desirable

• Competency in Neonatal Venepuncture (or willing to complete)
• Competency in Neonatal Cannulation (or willing to complete)
• Proficient in ECG Monitoring

Experience
Essential

• Evidence of working within a neonatal unit, level 1, 2 or 3 in the last 12 months and up to date knowledge of neonatal conditions
• Aware of current research and evidence

Desirable

• Previous experience as a junior sister

Personal Attributes
Essential

• Effective Time Management Skills
• Self Motivated
• Assertive
• Ability to work under pressure and remain calm

Desirable

• Effective handling of difficult situations or exposure to