Neonatal Staff Nurse (NQN)

Here at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, we are proud to provide expert, compassionate care for our local population. We are ranked as the third in the country for research, embedding education and training across the organisation. Our main hub is the Queen Alexandra Hospital, which is one of the largest hospitals on the south coast employing over 8,700 staff.

Our patients come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds because it makes our hospital stronger. If you share our values and our enthusiasm for getting it right for patients, colleagues, and our community, you will find a home at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust.

NHS Band 5 Salary: £32,073 - £39,043 per annum

Hours per Week: full time 37.5 

Contract type: 3 X Permanent 

If you are recently qualified or completing a Paediatric Nursing Degree this year and are eager to build your career in neonatal nursing come and start your journey with us.

For this post we can only accept applications from students who have completed or are currently completing their qualification at a University in the UK and are due to qualify in 2026

Are you ready to become a NICU nurse?

Portsmouth Hospitals Neonatal Intensive Care Unit are excited to be able to expand their nursing team and have vacancies for newly qualified nurses. 

As a team, we have a clear vision for our future, to ensure we offer all staff the best opportunities within their career, and we are here to support and encourage you to develop expand your experience and knowledge of neonatal care.

Working on a Level 3 Bliss accredited tertiary neonatal intensive care unit you would experience caring for some of the most complex and pioneering medical care, including total body cooling, HFOV, Nitric Oxide Therapy and Laser ROP. You will also have access to extended role development in retrieval and neonatal life support, alongside rotational opportunities in Neonatal Outreach, Family Integrated and developmental care, Infant feeding, Education and Research teams.

We know that the secret to our success is through investment in our team, and so in return for your commitment and enthusiasm, we promise you:

Fully supported Induction and Orientation programme tailored to your needs.
Supportive career development, including access to our neonatal preceptorship programme and qualified in speciality training..
Access to continuing professional development at Southampton and Portsmouth Universities.
A focus on staff wellbeing and emotional support, including access to our on site wellness centre and training, including emotional resilience.
Flexible working opportunities.
NHS benefits, including Pension and Discount Schemes.

These first days are some of the hardest for our families – if you are ready to face this journey with them, and make a real and lasting difference, we can’t wait to meet you.

For full job details, please refer to enclosed Job description.

**Please ensure you upload a copy of your CV when submitting your application and provide information on previous or current placements"

Essential

• Newly Qualified Nurse with current NMC registration or currently studying for a Paediatric Nursing Degree and due to qualify in 2026

Desirable

• Computer literate

Experience

Desirable

• Knowledge of managing resources and contributing to departmental budget.
• An awareness of research and evidence-based practice relevant to clinical area.

Skills & Knowledge

Essential

• Clinically competent
• Good communication and interpersonal skills
• Articulate and knowledgeable of current professional nursing issues
• Advocacy skills
• Strong customer service skills

Desirable

• Ability to adapt to change within the work environment 
• Intravenous Therapy Skills
• Teaching and mentoring skills
• Team building skills
• Ability to prioritise workload, instruct and direct others
• Organisational skills and able to work as part of a team
• Able to support development of others
• Health Promotion                     

The health and wellbeing of our staff is at the forefront of everything we do. We are proud to be able to offer our staff some fantastic benefits including our on-site Nursery, access to our free Beach Hut for those long summer days, our on-site Wellness Centre including a gym and a swimming pool, access to our fantastic staff networks including LGBTQ, Race Equality and DisAbility, and awards ceremonies to recognise your achievements. We believe we can offer support to all of our staff when they need it the most.   

We welcome the unique contributions that you can bring in terms of your education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, colour, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and beliefs. 

For more information, please see our People and OD Strategy 2026