Charge Nurse

Charge Nurse

Band 6

Main area

Mental Health

Grade

Band 6

Contract

Permanent

Hours

• Full time
• Flexible working

37.5 hours per week

Job ref

246-GYW 8012782

Site

Northside House

Town

Norwich

Salary

£39,959 - £48,117 gross per annum

Salary period

Yearly

Closing

08/06/2026 23:59

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust provides child and adult mental health services, learning disability, wellbeing, older people's and eating disorder services across Norfolk and Suffolk.

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and want to reflect the diversity of our local communities within our teams. We welcome applications from all talented individuals with the relevant qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience

Job overview

Northside House comprises three wards: Catton and Drayton Wards, which are medium secure mental health units, and Blakeney Ward, a low secure unit for males aged 18 and over. Together, the wards provide admission, assessment, and treatment within a secure environment for individuals experiencing severe mental health difficulties who require a structured, supervised, and therapeutic approach to their care.

We are committed to delivering high-quality, recovery-focused care that supports individuals in transitioning to environments with lower levels of security, helping them achieve a greater sense of personal fulfilment.

This is an exciting time within Secure and Forensic Services, with a strong emphasis on quality improvement and ongoing organisational development. Following the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in October 2025, Secure Services achieved an overall rating of Good. In addition, Catton and Drayton Wards have been accredited by the Royal College of Psychiatrists through the Quality Network for Forensic Mental Health Services, reflecting the high standards of care delivered by the teams.

We are now looking to recruit three motivated and enthusiastic Charge Nurses to join the team at Northside House. The successful candidates will have experience or a strong interest in quality improvement, demonstrate a proactive “can-do” attitude, and share our ambition to progress the service from Good to Outstanding.

Main duties of the job

Leadership and Management

• Responsible for the line management of identified members of the service.
• Monitor the practice of junior staff, identifying learning and development needs in relation to their clinical skills.
• Maintain, and lead others in maintaining, professional and therapeutic relationships and boundaries with patients, carers, and colleagues.
• Provide regular line management supervision and complete annual appraisals for junior staff.
• Complete and oversee ward rotas, ensuring the ward is safely staffed at all times in line with service needs.

Clinical Responsibilities

• Be accountable for your own professional practice in line with the NMC Code and organisational policies.
• Support the development and delivery of recovery-focused care and interventions for patients with mental illness.
• Work flexibly, managing time effectively to meet the changing demands of the service.
• Make sound clinical judgements, identifying appropriate courses of action and ensuring the delivery of high-quality care.
• Provide clinical leadership and support to colleagues, promoting best practice across the team.

Training and Development

• Provide training, mentorship, and support to colleagues and students as appropriate.
• Deliver or contribute to training for partner organisations, including non-statutory agencies where required.
• Actively contribute to staff development, promoting a culture of continuous learning and improvement.

Working for our organisation

Here at NSFT we pride ourselves on being a welcoming, talented, friendly and supportive team who like nothing better than sharing experiences and learning from each other. In addition to ongoing training and development opportunities, we are committed to providing an environment in which you can thrive.

Why work for us? We have challenges as a Trust, but we have ambitious aspirations, are pushing ahead with exciting transformation work and we need dedicated individuals to support us on our journey. We have strong, established professional networks coupled with an exceptional leadership team who will ensure you are truly cared for and cared about.

Why Norfolk and Suffolk? The people here are warm and welcoming, you’ll never be far from the beautiful coastline or Broads National Park. We’re an hour and a half away from London and have an international airport in Norwich too. Our villages, towns and cities are packed full of history, independent cafes, shops and theatres. We have excellent shopping, eating out, top ranking schooling and affordable house prices too.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please visit our Facebook and Twitter page @NSFTjobs

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• RMN

Experience

Essential criteria

• At least 2 years post basic experience, 1 year at Senior Staff Nurse.

Desirable criteria

• Management / Leadership of junior staff.

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Understanding of issues surrounding confidentiality

Desirable criteria

• Awareness of security and its impact and willingness to expand knowledge on it
• Working knowledge / application of the Mental Health Act 1983

Other

Essential criteria

• Fitness to undergo full PMA training and perform full duties of the post

Please be aware that, due to the high number of applications for certain roles, this vacancy may close earlier than the advertised closing date. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible.

YOUR APPLICATION

We can provide all our job application materials in alternative formats so that these are accessible to everyone. Should you require any documents within this job pack in an alternative format, please do not hesitate to contact us at ***email_hidden***.

PLEASE NOTE: If you use a hotmail, msn or yahoo e-mail account, you will need to check your "junk" mail regularly as these email providers will divert any communication from this Trust/NHS JOBS straight into your " junk" inbox.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES Apart from its legal duties in relation to equality and diversity, the Trust recognises and actively promotes the benefits of a diverse workforce and is committed to treating all employees with dignity and respect regardless of race, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief.

As a part of the Disability Confident Employer Guaranteed Interview Scheme we interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job vacancy (outlined in the Person Specification).. We encourage you to indicate your eligibility through TRAC jobs when applying.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post may be 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.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Further details / informal visits contact

Name

Vickram Lutchmeah

Job title

Modern Matron

Email address

[email protected]

Telephone number

01603 707500

Additional information

Tom Clipsham

Modern Matron

Email: [email protected]

Tel: 07443293700