Deputy Matron Gastroenterology, Endoscopy and Hepatology

Responsibilities

• Provide senior professional nursing leadership across Gastroenterology, Endoscopy and Hepatology services, ensuring standards of care are evidence-based and compliant with Trust policy and the NMC Code.
• Act as a visible and credible clinical leader, promoting a culture of openness, learning and accountability.
• Provide professional oversight of senior nursing staff, ensuring safe staffing, appropriate skill mix and effective escalation.
• Deputise for the Matron as required, representing services at divisional and Trust forums.

• Hold delegated responsibility for day‑to‑day operational management, including capacity, patient flow and escalation.
• Support workforce planning, rota oversight and safe staffing arrangements across sites.
• Contribute to elective recovery, productivity and transformation programmes.
• Work collaboratively with medical, AHP, operational and corporate colleagues to ensure integrated patient pathways.

• Line manage and provide professional supervision to ward/unit managers, senior nurses and delegated staff.
• Support recruitment, retention, appraisal, performance management and succession planning.
• Promote staff wellbeing, engagement and equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Ensure compliance with appraisal, mandatory training and professional development requirements.

• Lead and support clinical governance activity including incidents, complaints, risk assessments and audits.
• Ensure learning is identified, disseminated and embedded into practice.
• Support compliance with CQC standards, JAG accreditation and Trust governance processes.
• Monitor quality metrics, risk registers and performance indicators, escalating concerns appropriately.

• Promote a patient‑centred approach ensuring dignity, respect and involvement in care decisions.
• Act as a senior point of contact for complex patient concerns and escalated issues.
• Lead initiatives to improve patient experience and outcomes.

• Support the Matron in budgetary oversight, delivery of cost improvement plans and efficient use of resources.
• Hold delegated responsibility for appropriate use and maintenance of equipment, consumables and environments.

• Work with a high level of autonomy within agreed professional, clinical and organisational frameworks.
• Exercise delegated authority for operational decision‑making, escalation and problem resolution.
• Maintain responsibility for confidentiality, information governance and professional accountability.

• Demonstrate highly developed verbal and written communication skills.
• Communicate complex and sensitive information effectively with staff, patients and stakeholders.
• Represent the Trust internally and externally as required.

• Sustained periods of concentration, complex decision‑making and prioritisation.
• Regular physical movement across wards, departments and sites.
• Emotional effort associated with incidents, complaints, staffing issues and patient concerns.
• Regular exposure to a clinical environment.

• Registered Nurse with current NMC registration.
• Leadership or management qualification (or demonstrable equivalent experience).
• Substantial experience at senior clinical leadership level within acute services.
• Demonstrable operational management experience including workforce planning and escalation.
• Experience of clinical governance, incident investigation and risk management.
• Ability to analyse complex information and make sound decisions under pressure.
• Positive, resilient and solution‑focused approach.
• Experience of line management and professional leadership of nursing teams.
• Evidence of leading and delivering service improvement initiatives.

• Formal training in quality improvement or service transformation.
• Experience with in Gastroenterology, Endoscopy or Hepatology services.
• Financial and budget management capability.
• Experience supporting or leading regulatory inspections (e.g. CQC, JAG).
• Experience using digital and performance management systems.
• You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the country. It provides a wide range of general and specialist clinical services and is a base for medical education, training and research. The Trust comprises four hospitals – the John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington and the Horton General Hospital in Banbury.

Our values, standards and behaviours define the quality of clinical care we offer and the professional relationships we make with our patients, colleagues and the wider community. We call this Delivering Compassionate Excellence and its focus is on our values of compassion, respect, learning, delivery, improvement and excellence.