Nurse Unit Manager

Your Role at St John of God Murdoch Hospital

As Nurse Unit Manager you will be responsible for leadership and management of our Community Hospice, optimising patient safety, quality of care and experience, operational efficiency and contributing to the strategic objectives of the Directorate.

At St John of God Community Hospice, we provide compassionate, end of life care for people with a life limiting illness, while also supporting carers and loved ones. The Hospice, a 20-bed purpose-built specialist inpatient unit, focuses on enhancing quality of life and provides a holistic approach to caregiving, which respects the dignity and worth of our patients. You will assist in nurturing the physical, emotional, social and spiritual well-being of those in our care.

The Position

• Monitor standards of service and practice against benchmark targets, including nurse sensitive indicators, incident management system data, clinical indicator results and patient, doctor and caregiver satisfaction results. Where benchmarks are not met, design, implement and evaluate responses.

• Support and participate in the ACHS accreditation process/regulatory assessments, as well as 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.

• Works in a clinical capacity within the department as required, to support caregivers, medical officers and to ensure the delivery of 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 performance targets.

• Promotes and demonstrates a culture of innovation and improvement to enhance patient care and experience.

• Participates in the implementation and maintenance of a workforce model/model of care that enables quality of care to be maintained as well as implementing appropriate levels of workforce skills.

• Cost-effectively manage human resources, particularly 'on-call', overtime and rostering practices in accordance with enterprise agreements entitlements.

• Review payroll and personnel data in relation to service/unit caregivers, managing absenteeism, agency utilisation, and leave entitlements to achieve departmental budget.

• Participate in developing and implementing a recruitment, retention and succession plan to achieve skill mix profile and FTE requirements.

• Prepare and implement, in conjunction with the DDON and Finance, the annual Operational Plan/Management Plan for the service/unit.

Holding a current registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia as a Registered Nurse, you will possess recent experience working in a Hospice Unit, with a dedication to quality improvement, including knowledge of the ACHS EQuiP process and clinical risk management.  You will have expertise in establishing, overseeing, and fulfilling annual and financial operational targets and benchmarks, additionally, you will possess the knowledge and abilities to lead and support change management.

In order to be successful, you will have contemporary leadership experience in a palliative care setting as a Senior Nurse. You will also be able to make wise decisions regarding clinical, managerial, and ethical matters and cultivate a positive, service-oriented culture that builds strong relationships and teams among medical professionals, nurses, and other health care providers. Finally, you should be able to effectively manage risks, balance competing priorities and deliver within expected timeframes. .

Above all, patient care will be at the core of everything you do committing to and supporting our Mission and Values.

We can offer

• Salary: $136,556 per annum (pro rata for part-time), plus 12% superannuation

• A permanent part-time position, working 32 hours per week.

• Salary packaging up to $18,550 on a range of benefits such as mortgage, rent, meal entertainment, holiday accommodation or other everyday living expenses as well as options to salary package benefits above the FBT cap on items such as:

  • Novated leasing 

  • work related expenses

  • self-education and

  • additional superannuation

• A healthy work-life balance through flexible work options, additional purchased leave & well-being programs

• Access to gym membership, fitness and wellbeing benefits through Fitness Passport for you and your family.

• 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

• Travel Green allowance.  If you walk, carpool or use public transport you could be eligible for up to $1,500 per year

All applicants are asked to submit a covering letter (of no more than two (2) pages) demonstrating how you meet the above position requirements.

For enquiries contact Michael Curtis, Acting Deputy Director of Nursing, Specialist Services, on

Applications will be reviewed throughout the advertising period and interviews conducted regularly.  Apply today

If suitable applicants are identified advertisement may close prior to listed date and screening/interviews may commence throughout the advertising process.

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 an environment that is respectful and secure, welcoming and accessible, and unified through our diverse community.