Nurse Unit Manager

Nurse Unit Manager - Scrub Scout role at St John of God Health Care. We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Nurse Unit Manager to lead our Scrub Scout main theatres team at St John of God Subiaco Hospital. This key leadership role oversees 18 operating theatres and supports clinical excellence and patient safety in a large high‑volume department with orthopaedics, neurosurgery, cardiac and general surgery.

Our Preoperative Services are equipped with state‑of‑the‑art technology and a highly skilled team to ensure Scrub Scout Nurses can perform their duties efficiently while collaborating with the surgical team to deliver patient‑centred care.

In this role you will be responsible for the leadership and management of the department/unit, optimising patient safety, quality of care and experience, operational efficiency and contributing to the Directorate's strategic objectives.

The position

• Monitor standards of service and practice against benchmark targets, including nurse‑sensitive indicators, incident management system data, clinical indicator results and satisfaction results. When benchmarks are not met, design, implement and evaluate responses.
• Support and participate in ACHS accreditation processes/regulatory assessments, and group‑wide and divisional Quality and Clinical Risk Management programs.
• Foster a clinical culture of interdisciplinary collaboration to improve patient outcomes.
• Ensure that patients and consumers are actively involved in relevant planning and decision‑making processes.
• Work in a clinical capacity within the department as required to support caregivers and medical officers and ensure safe, person‑centred care.
• Ongoing financial management and monitoring of the service cost centre including productivity, activity and utilisation in line with budgetary parameters and targets.
• Participate in implementing and maintaining a workforce model that enables quality of care and appropriate levels of workforce skills.
• Cost‑effectively manage human resources, including on‑call, overtime and rostering in accordance with enterprise agreements entitlements.
• Review payroll and personnel data related to service/unit caregivers, managing absenteeism, agency utilisation and leave entitlements to achieve budget.
• Participate in developing and implementing a recruitment, retention and succession plan to achieve skill mix and FTE requirements.
• Prepare and implement, with the DDON and Finance, the annual Operational Plan/Management Plan for the service/unit.

You will hold registration with the Nursing & Midwifery Board of Australia (AHPRA) as a Registered Nurse with extensive perioperative Scrub Scout experience and relevant advanced clinical, decision‑making and problem‑solving skills. You will demonstrate effective leadership, mentoring and coaching and be committed to quality improvement and best practice principles.

To succeed you will have demonstrated ability to foster a positive service‑oriented culture that supports patient care and strengthens medical, nursing and interdisciplinary relationships and teams. Above all, patients will be at the core of everything you do, aligned with our Mission and Values.

We can offer:

• Salary: $136,556 per annum, plus 12% superannuation
• A permanent full‑time position, working 76 hours a fortnight
• Salary packaging up to $18,550 on a range of benefits such as mortgage, rent, meal entertainment, holiday accommodation or other everyday living expenses, with options to salary package above the FBT cap (e.g., novated leasing, work related expenses, self‑education and additional superannuation)
• A healthy work‑life balance through flexible work options, additional purchased leave and wellbeing programs
• Employee discount on St John of God Hospital & Medical Services and Private Health Insurance
• Employee support through our dedicated free Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Innovative professional development opportunities

All applicants are asked to submit a covering letter (no more than two pages) demonstrating how you meet the above position requirements.

For enquiries contact Mieke Steele, Deputy Director of Nursing Procedural Services at

At St John of God Health Care, we celebrate diversity and warmly welcome applications from people of all backgrounds. Our commitment is to create a safe and nurturing environment for all children and vulnerable individuals in our care and proactively take steps to protect them from abuse, ensuring their safety and well‑being. Our inclusive culture fosters a respectful, secure, welcoming and accessible environment, unified through our diverse community.

• Seniority level: Mid‑Senior level
• Employment type: Full‑time
• Job function: Health Care Provider
• Industries: Hospitals and Health Care