We are recruiting a D esignated Nurse for Looked After Children to provide expert strategic leadership for looked after children and care leavers across Kent and Medway. This pivotal role oversees the quality and performance of commissioned health services, ensuring they meet national statutory requirements and deliver the best possible outcomes.
The postholder will offer specialist clinical advice to the Integrated Care Board, shaping planning and commissioning so that the needs of looked after children and care leavers remain central to decision‑making. Although separate from other safeguarding roles, the Designated Nurse will work closely across the safeguarding network, providing expert guidance on policy, practice, and individual cases.
This is a high‑impact role for a senior nurse who can influence system‑wide improvement, champion the health needs of vulnerable children, and drive excellence across Kent and Medway.
Take a strategic overview of services for looked after children and care leavers across Kent and Medway.
Through effective strategic commissioning, ensure the dedicated looked after children health service in Kent and Medway meets the national statutory requirements for looked after children through appreciate contract monitoring and escalation where required.
Contribute to the ICBs strategic commissioning model ensuring looked after children and care leavers health needs are explored through multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) and other policy making forums, ensuring that the needs of Looked After Children are understood and included in planning arrangements.
Provide expert clinical advice to the ICB, health providers, independent contractors and local authorities on questions of planning, strategy and the audit of quality standards in relation to health services for looked after children.
Provide health advice on policy and individual cases to statutory and voluntary agencies, including the police and children’s social care.
Provide detailed analytical reports on looked after children and care leavers for the Chief Nursing Experience and Quality Officer via the Director of Safeguarding to ICB Board, relevant sub committees.
Provide advice to colleagues in health and children’s social care on issues of medical confidentiality, consent and information sharing in relation to looked after children.
We are committed to a culture that supports all staff at NHS Kent and Medway to be the best version of themselves.
Our ability to improve outcomes for our population depends on how effectively clinical, operational, financial and strategic professionals work together to make informed commissioning decisions. That’s why our workforce works a minimum of two days-a-week on-site, with the expectation that all one-to-ones are held face-to-face and that colleagues will regularly visit the services we are commissioning to understand more about them.
We believe regular on-site working supports stronger collaboration, faster problem-solving, peer learning, visible leadership and the integration of colleagues into our organisation. We also know that culture is built through shared experiences and day-to-day interactions.
We are a flexible working friendly organisation; we aim to support you to work flexibly in a way that will suit you and us.
We work with staff to agree objectives through regular supervision, annual appraisal and access to training opportunities.
We are committed to equal opportunities and diversity. In order to reflect the diversity of our population, we positively encourage applications from all areas of the community regardless of gender, race, faith, disability, age or sexual orientation.
The job description and person specification gives you all the information you need about this role. Please look carefully at the criteria in the person specification and tell us what you have done that shows you meet this.
Still have questions? The recruiting manager would love to hear from you, their contact details can be found in the job advert.
We can get a lot of applications for some roles so to be in with the best chance of being shortlisted please make sure you apply as soon as possible. A vacancy may close early if there is a lot of interest in the job.
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All information you supply on your application should, to the best of your knowledge, be true and accurate.
