Location
Friern Barnet

Hours
Full Time - 40 hours per week, Monday to Friday. Usual working hours are 8:00am–4:00pm or 9:00am–5:00pm with flexibility by agreement. Occasional out-of-hours working including evenings and weekends may be required, with time off in lieu provided.

Salary
£52,161 per annum

About the Role
We are seeking an experienced and compassionate Specialist Palliative Care Lead (Clinical Nurse Specialist) to join our organisation in this brand-new role, supporting older people across our residential and nursing homes. This is a unique opportunity to shape, lead, and embed high-quality, person-centred palliative and end-of-life care across our services. You will provide expert clinical leadership, specialist guidance, and coaching to multidisciplinary teams, ensuring every resident’s final journey is managed with dignity, comfort, and respect.

Working closely with GPs, hospices, and specialist palliative care teams, you will champion best practice in advance care planning, complex symptom management, and compassionate communication — supporting residents, families, and colleagues at critical moments.

This role is initially fixed term for 12 months due to funding, reflecting the introduction of this new post. Subject to its success and impact, there is a strong likelihood of extension.

At the heart of this role is our commitment to values-led care. We are looking for a CNS who understands how to weave cultural sensitivity into clinical excellence, ensuring end-of-life care respects individual beliefs, traditions, and wishes.

Key Responsibilities
- Provide specialist clinical leadership and expert advice in palliative and end-of-life care across multiple care settings
- Act as a visible and trusted clinical leader, role-modelling compassionate, dignified, person-centred practice
- Support and strengthen multi-disciplinary team (MDT) working, collaborating closely with GPs, hospices, community teams, and internal colleagues
- Lead on education, mentoring, reflective practice, and clinical coaching, building confidence and capability across care teams
- Support the development and review of personalised care plans and advance care directives, aligned with residents’ wishes
- Drive continuous improvement in line with CQC standards, NICE QS13, and the Ambitions for Palliative and End of Life Care Framework
- Lead quality audits, support mortality reviews, and contribute to service development, innovation, and best practice

Experience
- Current NMC registration
- At least 5 years post-registration experience
- At least 2 years’ experience working within a Specialist Palliative Care team (Hospice, Hospital, or Community)
- Significant experience in complex symptom control and end-of-life care
- Experience working within care homes and/or hospice settings is desirable

About You
You will be an experienced Registered Nurse (Adult) with a strong specialist background in palliative care and a passion for supporting older people and their families at the end of life. You will be confident working autonomously, influencing practice, and supporting teams across different settings. You must have excellent communication, leadership, and coaching skills, with a strong commitment to compassionate, culturally sensitive, and values-led care. Ability to work collaboratively within multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs) is essential.

Qualifications
Post-graduate qualification in Palliative Care or Advanced Symptom Management