Associate Director of Nursing Leadership

London HQ (hybrid working), 35 hours per week, permanent

Salary range: £96,084 - £107,949 per annum* plus £5,424 London weighting per annum

There is more to the RCN than you might think. We’re a trade union with a membership of over half a million nurses, midwives, nursing support workers and students. We support their practice, represent them, lobby on their behalf, and develop them. We exist to make a positive difference – to the working lives of our members and ultimately to standards in patient care. We couldn’t do what we do without our people.

The role

As our Associate Director of Nursing Leadership, you’ll play a pivotal strategic role in shaping the future of nursing leadership across the UK and beyond. Working within the RCN Institute of Nursing Excellence, you’ll provide leadership to the Academy of Nursing Leadership, ensuring delivery of impactful programmes, standards and guidance that raise the voice of nursing.

It’s a role full of possibilities. You’ll lead the development and delivery of the Academy’s operational plans, influence national and international policy, and work collaboratively across the organisation and with external stakeholders to enhance the professional nursing agenda. You’ll drive innovation, oversee programme delivery and budgets, and ensure the development of evidence-based resources that support our members.

You’ll also lead and inspire multidisciplinary teams, foster strong partnerships across the UK and internationally, and play a key role in generating income and ensuring the sustainability of the Academy’s work.

The person

To join us in this influential leadership role, you’ll be an experienced and credible nursing leader with the ability to shape strategy and deliver change at scale.

You’ll bring:

• Current NMC registration and master’s level education in a relevant discipline
• Extensive knowledge of contemporary nursing, education, and health and social care issues at a national and international level
• A strong track record of leading complex programmes, organisational change and delivering strategic outcomes
• Proven experience of leading and developing high-performing teams and managing budgets
• Outstanding influencing, communication and partnership-building skills, with the ability to work across organisational and geographical boundaries

You’ll also be passionate about advancing equity, diversity and inclusion, and committed to developing the next generation of nursing leaders.

To succeed at the Royal College of Nursing all you need to do is think bigger, better and brighter. And with an attitude like that, anything’s possible.

What we offer you

We expect you to look after our members. And we expect you to be rewarded for it. We offer an impressive range of benefits, a broad range of learning development opportunities and an award-winning health and wellbeing programme. We offer annual leave up to 32 days plus bank holidays and three additional days for the Christmas break plus generous maternity, adoption, paternity, and shared parental leave packages.

*We offer a competitive pay structure with annual pay progression until you reach the top of the salary scale. We normally offer new employees the first point of the salary range, although you may be able to negotiate a higher starting salary depending on your skills, experience and current salary.

We are a diverse organisation and understand everyone has different needs and many of our employees enjoy flexible working enabling them to deliver results whilst having a good work life balance. Our hybrid working model allows for up to 60% of your working time to be carried out from home. At least 40% of your working time will be spent working in person.

Our selection process

Please click the ‘apply now’ button to apply and answer the supporting questions online demonstrating how you meet the criteria for this role. You may not be shortlisted if you don’t. Any identifying information in your application will automatically be anonymised for shortlisting purposes.

We want your experience applying for a job with us to be the best it can be. We may hold our interviews and assessments in person or by video call. If you foresee any problems, please let us know.

Equal opportunities for everyone

Equity, diversity and inclusion are a priority for us and we aim to foster an inclusive environment so our people can bring their authentic selves to work. This is integral to our mission to enable you to support our members and ensure their voice is heard by all UK governments to get the best outcomes for them and their patients.

As proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme we actively encourage applications from people with disabilities.

Opening date: 22 May 2026

Closing date: 11.59pm on 14 June 2026

If we receive many applications after a week of advertising, we may close this vacancy earlier.

Selection dates: TBC