Hospital Matron
Recruit Finds
Nairobi, Kenya
Job summary
Hospital Matron at The Nairobi Women's Hospital
About this role
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Job Overview
We are seeking an experienced, strategic, and patient-focused nursing leader to provide overall leadership and direction for nursing services across the hospital.
The successful candidate will be responsible for maintaining high standards of nursing practice, promoting patient safety, strengthening quality of care, ensuring regulatory compliance, and supporting the professional development of nursing staff. The role will also involve workforce planning, performance management, service improvement, and collaboration with clinical and administrative teams.
This position requires a strong nursing professional who can combine clinical expertise with effective leadership and management. The ideal candidate should have a proven record of leading nursing teams, improving patient care, managing resources, and implementing policies and procedures that support safe and effective healthcare delivery.
The Director of Nursing Services will contribute to the hospital's wider strategic objectives by ensuring that nursing services remain efficient, responsive, evidence-based, and focused on the needs and safety of patients.
Key Duties and Responsibilities
1. Nursing Leadership and Management
The successful candidate will provide strategic and operational leadership to the hospital's nursing department.
Key responsibilities will include:
Providing overall direction and leadership to nursing teams.
Developing and implementing nursing service strategies aligned with hospital objectives.
Ensuring effective coordination of nursing activities across departments and units.
Establishing clear standards and expectations for nursing staff.
Supporting nurse managers, supervisors, and other nursing leaders in their roles.
Promoting accountability and professional responsibility among nursing staff.
Ensuring effective communication across the nursing department.
Participating in hospital leadership and management meetings.
Advising senior management on matters affecting nursing services and patient care.
The successful candidate should be able to provide clear direction while creating an environment that encourages teamwork, professionalism, and continuous improvement.
2. Quality of Patient Care
Patient-centred care will be at the heart of the role.
The Director of Nursing Services will be expected to:
Ensure patients receive safe, respectful, and high-quality nursing care.
Monitor nursing standards across hospital departments.
Promote evidence-based nursing practices.
Review patient care processes and identify areas requiring improvement.
Support the implementation of patient-centred care initiatives.
Monitor patient feedback and address issues affecting the quality of care.
Ensure nursing teams respond appropriately to patient needs.
Promote dignity, privacy, respect, and confidentiality in patient care.
Work with clinical teams to improve patient outcomes.
The role will require a strong commitment to clinical excellence and continuous improvement in the patient experience.
3. Patient Safety
The Director of Nursing Services will play a key role in maintaining a strong patient safety culture.
Responsibilities will include:
Promoting safe nursing practices throughout the hospital.
Monitoring compliance with patient safety policies.
Identifying potential risks within nursing services.
Supporting incident reporting and investigation processes.
Reviewing trends in patient safety incidents.
Developing corrective and preventive measures where necessary.
Ensuring appropriate infection prevention and control practices are followed.
Promoting safe medication administration and patient monitoring.
Supporting initiatives designed to reduce preventable harm.
The successful candidate should be proactive in identifying risks and implementing practical measures to improve patient safety.
4. Quality Improvement
Continuous quality improvement will be an important component of the position.
The Director will:
Develop and support nursing quality improvement programmes.
Establish appropriate performance indicators for nursing services.
Monitor quality data and identify trends.
Review nursing performance against established standards.
Develop action plans to address identified gaps.
Monitor implementation of improvement initiatives.
Promote evidence-based approaches to improving nursing care.
Participate in hospital-wide quality improvement activities.
Ensure lessons from audits and reviews are incorporated into nursing practice.
The candidate should be comfortable using data and performance information to guide decisions and improve service delivery.
5. Regulatory and Professional Compliance
The successful candidate will ensure that nursing services comply with applicable healthcare regulations, professional standards, and hospital policies.
Responsibilities will include:
Ensuring nursing practice complies with relevant laws and regulations.
Maintaining professional standards within the nursing department.
Ensuring nursing staff have valid professional licenses and required credentials.
Supporting compliance with Nursing Council of Kenya requirements.
Monitoring compliance with hospital policies and procedures.
Supporting internal and external inspections and assessments.
Ensuring required nursing documentation is maintained accurately.
Addressing identified compliance gaps promptly.
The Director should maintain current knowledge of healthcare regulations and professional nursing standards applicable to the hospital.
6. Nursing Workforce Planning
The role will involve ensuring that the hospital has an appropriately skilled and adequately staffed nursing workforce.
Key responsibilities will include:
Assessing nursing staffing requirements.
Supporting workforce planning and recruitment.
Ensuring appropriate deployment of nursing staff.
Monitoring staffing levels across hospital units.
Identifying staffing gaps and recommending appropriate solutions.
Supporting effective duty and shift planning.
Reviewing workload distribution.
Promoting efficient utilization of nursing resources.
Supporting succession planning for nursing leadership positions.
The successful candidate should understand the importance of having the right number of appropriately skilled nurses available to provide safe and effective patient care.
7. Staff Development and Training
The Director of Nursing Services will support continuous professional development for nursing staff.
Responsibilities will include:
Identifying nursing training and development needs.
Supporting orientation programmes for new nursing staff.
Coordinating continuing professional development activities.
Encouraging nurses to maintain and expand their professional competencies.
Supporting mentorship programmes.
Promoting knowledge sharing within nursing teams.
Identifying opportunities for leadership development.
Monitoring participation in relevant professional development programmes.
Encouraging evidence-based learning and professional growth.
The candidate should create a culture where nurses are encouraged to improve their knowledge, skills, and professional performance.
8. Performance Management
The successful candidate will be responsible for supporting effective performance management across the nursing department.
This will include:
Establishing clear performance expectations.
Monitoring staff performance.
Conducting or supporting performance reviews.
Recognizing strong performance.
Identifying performance gaps.
Developing appropriate improvement plans.
Addressing disciplinary or professional concerns in accordance with hospital procedures.
Promoting accountability and professionalism.
The Director should handle performance-related matters fairly, consistently, and professionally.
9. Collaboration and Communication
The Director of Nursing Services will work closely with clinical and administrative teams to improve hospital operations.
This will involve collaboration with:
Doctors and other clinical professionals.
Hospital administrators.
Human resources teams.
Pharmacy and laboratory departments.
Quality and patient safety teams.
Finance and operations teams.
Nursing managers and supervisors.
Patients and their families where appropriate.
Strong communication skills will be required to ensure that information is shared effectively and that issues affecting patient care are addressed promptly.
10. Strategic Planning
The successful candidate will contribute to the hospital's long-term planning and strategic decision-making.
Responsibilities will include:
Contributing to hospital strategic plans.
Developing nursing department objectives and action plans.
Aligning nursing priorities with organizational goals.
Monitoring progress against departmental targets.
Identifying opportunities to improve nursing service delivery.
Supporting the introduction of new services and clinical initiatives.
Advising management on nursing-related strategic matters.
The Director should be able to think strategically while remaining focused on practical improvements in day-to-day nursing operations.
Qualifications and Experience
Applicants should meet the following requirements:
A Bachelor of Science in Nursing from a recognized institution.
A valid practicing license from the Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK).
A minimum of seven (7) years of progressive nursing experience.
At least three (3) years of experience in a senior nursing leadership position within a busy hospital environment.
A Master's degree in Nursing, Healthcare Management, Hospital Administration, or a related field will be an added advantage.
Candidates should have demonstrated experience managing nursing teams and implementing initiatives that improve clinical quality, patient safety, and service delivery.
Key Competencies
The ideal candidate should demonstrate strong capabilities in:
Nursing leadership.
People management.
Clinical decision-making.
Strategic planning.
Quality improvement.
Patient safety.
Healthcare compliance.
Workforce planning.
Performance management.
Conflict resolution.
Communication and collaboration.
Problem-solving.
Change management.
In addition, the successful candidate should demonstrate the following core values:
Accountability
Takes responsibility for decisions, actions, and results while ensuring nursing teams remain accountable for the quality of care they provide.
Integrity
Maintains high ethical and professional standards and handles patient, staff, and organizational information with appropriate confidentiality.
Trust
Builds strong and respectful relationships with patients, nurses, doctors, administrators, and other stakeholders through reliability, transparency, and professional conduct.
Equity
Promotes fairness, respect, and equal treatment in the delivery of healthcare services and management of nursing staff.
Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate will be a highly experienced nursing professional with strong clinical knowledge and demonstrated leadership experience in a busy hospital environment.
They should be patient-centred, organized, decisive, and capable of managing complex nursing operations while maintaining high standards of care. The successful candidate should also be comfortable working with multidisciplinary teams, handling challenging situations, implementing change, and using performance information to improve services.
Strong leadership, integrity, accountability, and commitment to quality healthcare will be essential for success in this position.
Candidates who meet the stated qualifications and have the required senior nursing leadership experience are encouraged to apply.
Application
Go to The Nairobi Women's Hospital on docs.google.com to apply