Children's Palliative Care Nurse Specialist

Job overview

Are you a compassionate, skilled and motivated children’s nurse with a passion for palliative and end of life care for children and their families? We are seeking to appoint an experienced and dedicated children’s nurse to join our Children’s Palliative Care Team at Staffordshire Children's Hospital @ Royal Stoke (SCH@RSUH) for a 12‑month maternity cover period. This is an exciting opportunity to make a meaningful difference to the lives of children and young people with life‑limiting or life‑threatening conditions, and to support their families during some of their most challenging moments.

Main duties of the job

As part of our Children’s Palliative Care Team, you will deliver high‑quality, holistic, child‑centred palliative and end‑of‑life care across home, community and hospital settings. You will work closely with the wider multidisciplinary team to ensure seamless, coordinated care that respects dignity, choice and family needs. SCH@RSUH at UHNM belongs to one of the largest and modern hospitals in the country. We are proud to serve a population of around three million, and we're highly regarded for our facilities, teaching and research. We are the specialist centre for major trauma for the North Midlands and North Wales. UHNM create and encourage a culture of inclusion, providing equal opportunities for career development that are fair and transparent. We are committed to being a diverse and inclusive employer and foster a culture in which all staff feel valued and respected. In return we ask all of our employees to make a commitment to the values, co-created by or staff, patients and carers, and that unite us as a Trust. All of our employees make a valuable contribution regardless of role here at UHNM and we are proud of our wide range of development packages aimed at ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to fulfil their true potential. At UHNM we know that investing in, supporting and developing our staff has a direct impact on the quality of care that we deliver. Our employees are as important as our patients and the population that we serve.

Working for our organisation

[Employer hidden] is one of the largest and most modern in the country. Based across two sites, Royal Stoke in Stoke-on-Trent and County Hospital in Stafford, we are proud to serve around three million people and we're highly regarded for our facilities, teaching and research. We are the specialist centre for major trauma for the North Midlands and North Wales. All of our employees make a valuable contribution regardless of role here at UHNM and we are proud of our wide range of development packages aimed at ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to fulfil their true potential. UHNM create and encourage a culture of inclusion, providing equal opportunities for career development that are fair and transparent. We are committed to being a diverse and inclusive employer and foster a culture in which all staff feel valued and respected. In return we ask all of our employees to make a commitment to the values, co-created by or staff, patients and carers, and that unite us as a Trust. At [Employer hidden] we know that investing in, supporting and developing our staff has a direct impact on the quality of care that we deliver. Our employees are as important as our patients and the population that we serve.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached Job Description and Personal Specification for a more detailed view of the roles and responsibilities or contact Emma Kelsall on [contact hidden]

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Registered Nurse on NMC Register
• Degree in Nursing or health/Nursing related studies at Level 3 or Masters.
• Paediatric palliative care Degree/Module

Desirable criteria

• Independent Nurse Prescriber.

Knowledge, Skills, Training and Experience

Essential criteria

• Minimum of 3 years post registration experience to include 1 year management/leadership
• Advanced knowledge and experience of providing expert advice, guidance, training and counselling to patients requiring nutrition support.

Desirable criteria

• Phlebotomy and Cannulation skills

Personal Qualities

Essential criteria

• Ability to work as part of a team
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Positive mindset in respect of supporting organisational change; learning, and continuous improvement.

Important information about your application

• All correspondence will be sent to you via the email address you applied from. Please ensure you check your emails regularly.
• References - please ensure you provide email addresses for all referees for the last three years of employment.
• We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from everyone regardless of ethnicity, disability, gender, age, faith or sexual orientation. Appointment will be based on merit alone.
• Flexible working will be considered in line with Trust policies
• New recruits are required to pay for their Disclosure and Barring Service check (and admin fee) prior to starting if the role requires a DBS check.
• We work with ‘trac.jobs’ to support out recruitment process. If you have any queries regarding this please read this privacy notice.

[Employer hidden] (UHNM) has been awarded the Gold Award for proudly supporting those who serve. We actively encourage applications from the Armed Forces community.

We will communicate with you regarding your job application via email. Please be aware that we cannot guarantee the security of any emails sent/received via non encrypted format.

If you would like support completing an application form, please contact the recruitment department on [contact hidden] where one of our trained assistants will be able to help

At UHNM we are fortunate to receive a high volume of applications for many of our roles, on this occasion we would reserve the right to close any advert early, therefore please apply without delay!

If you obtained your qualifications overseas, you will be required to provide an official government translation through ECCTIS (formerly known as NARIC). Please note, this is in addition to any professional registration requirements and not a replacement for your qualifications.

If you are currently in the UK on a visa, you must have at least six months remaining on your visa at the time of your start date to ensure sufficient time for the operational and training process associated with the role. The requirement of at least six months remaining on your visa does not apply to a Skilled Worker Visa, as a new Skilled Worker Visa would be required for a new role.

In line with the change of Immigration rules on 8th January 2026 if you require Sponsorship through the Skilled Worker Visa you must be able to provide B2 English evidence before a Certificate of Sponsorship can be issued.

Visa eligibility notice: The UK Home Office has imposed an emergency brake on specific visa routes. 1. Skilled Worker visas cannot currently be issued to Afghan nationals. 2. Study visas cannot currently be issued to nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar or Sudan. As a result, we are unable to progress applications requiring sponsorship under these routes.

UHNM supports the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to assist in preparing your supporting statement. However, we reserve the right to reject applications where AI has been used in a misleading manner, for example, by implying experience or understanding that the applicant does not possess or where its use is excessive or unfair. If AI has been used to support your application, you must declare this within your submission.

Further details / informal visits contact

Name: Emma Kelsall
Job title: Matron for Child Health
Email: [contact hidden]
Telephone: [contact hidden]