Clinical Matron Critical Care

Clinical Matron Critical Care

The closing date is 09 February 2026

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHS) is delighted to offer a fantastic opportunity to work with us.

Please see below for detailed job description of the role.

Please note, this vacancy is restricted to current employees of UHS.

UHS is seeking two experienced and compassionate nurse leaders to join our Critical Care Matron Team. This is due to retirement and relocating back home.

The first matron post is a co - lead role, combining Adult General Intensive Care Unit (GICU) and Surgical High Dependency Unit. The second post will be the matron lead for the Neurological Intensive Care Unit. Both these matron roles are pivotal in providing visible, professional leadership across our critical care services, ensuring the delivery of safe high-quality and patient centred care.

As matron you will, be working with a broad multi-disciplinary team supporting your staff to care for emergency and elective patients, ensuring that your critical care is safe, effective, and responsive. You will be a leader who is accountable for co-ordinating safe, high-quality care to improve and maintain our patients NHS experience.

University Hospital Southampton is one of England's largest acute teaching Trusts, offering a wide range of learning and development opportunities to support your career aspirations.

Located on the south coast with an international airport and direct rail links to London, Southampton offers an ideal setting to live and work, with the New Forest, South Downs and Jurassic Coast.

At UHS we're committed to providing a flexible working environment where possible. Whether you are balancing family, study, or your wellbeing with your career, we want to support you so you can help our patients. Specific to this role is the suitability for agile working which is a mixture of on-site and remote working. In addition, we are open to discussing flexibility in the hours that you work.

Please talk to us at interview about the flexibility you need, and we will explore what's possible for the role and service.

At UHS, we proudly champion individuality, recognizing that outstanding care is only possible with a diverse, inclusive team. We're committed to creating an anti-racist, anti-discriminatory environment where everyone feels valued, safe, and empowered to make a meaningful impact in our communities. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences to join us in building a healthcare community where everyone can belong, thrive, and contribute.

Applicants must be a registered nurse with extensive critical care experience at a senior nurse leadership level and have the appropriate qualifications in Critical Care, including the ICU course. You will actively support the team objectives by developing services and leading Care Group and Divisional projects to influence service redesign. You will be responsible for your area budget.

Working in partnership with your critical care matron colleagues, across the care group and other key staff in the Division and across the Trust, as the custodian of the patient experience, you will ensure patients, staff and the Trust have confidence in your areas of responsibility. You will maintain a visible presence where patients, staff and visitors can turn for assistance and upon whom they can rely on to ensure fundamental and specialist aspects of care are met.

You will require a high level of organisational skill and have a resourceful and professional approach to work, always striving to improve through feedback processes. You should be able to demonstrate excellent collaborative and inter-personal communication skills and forge and maintain relationships with a variety of staff.

In return we can offer you opportunities to enhance your skills and be part of a forward thinking and supportive multi professional team. It will provide an exciting opportunity for strategic planning and service development along with supporting and overseeing day to day operations of the 70 bedded adult critical care footprint.

You will be required to work predominantly Monday - Friday with some weekend working and on call to cover the duty matron and staffing hub role as per an agreed rota.

Informal visits are strongly encouraged.

• Always Improving
• Working Together

• 1st Level Registered nurse on relevant part of the NMC Register / HCPC Registration
• First degree or equivalent
• Master's or equivalent experience
• Leadership training
• Management training
• Extensive knowledge of National and Local NHS and N&M agenda
• Extensive experience in the acute healthcare setting in clinical leadership/Clinical management position
• Evidence of advanced leadership qualities
• Formal and informal teaching experience
• Staff and resource management experience
• Understanding of specialist area

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