Nurse Manager Job Description: Duties, Skills, Salary & a Free Job Ad Template

Looking to hire a Nurse Manager? Use this guide and copy-paste template to publish a high-converting job ad on Voceer. If you’re a candidate, you’ll find a clear overview of the role, day-to-day duties, and career path.

What does a Nurse Manager do?

A Nurse Manager (also called Ward Manager, Clinical Nurse Manager, or Unit Manager) leads a nursing team within a hospital ward, clinic, or care service. They combine clinical expertise with people leadership, ensuring safe, evidence-based care, smooth staffing, and continuous improvement across the unit.

They typically own:

• Patient safety, quality, and compliance

• Rotas, staffing levels, and skill-mix

• Coaching, appraisals, clinical supervision, and wellbeing

• Budgets for supplies and overtime

• Incident reviews, audits, and action plans

• Communication between nursing, medical, and non-clinical teams

• Family communication and escalation management

Key responsibilities

• Lead and support a team of registered nurses, HCAs, and bank/agency staff

• Oversee daily operations: handovers, bed/room management, admissions and discharges

• Maintain safe staffing and skill mix, create rota patterns, approve leave, and arrange cover

• Ensure adherence to care standards, infection prevention, and safeguarding policies

• Conduct clinical audits, medication checks, and risk assessments; act on findings

• Mentor, develop, and appraise staff; identify training needs and competencies

• Manage incidents/complaints, conduct RCAs, and deliver corrective actions

• Track KPIs: falls, pressure injuries, medication errors, readmissions, FFT, patient experience

• Collaborate with MDT and external partners to coordinate complex discharges

• Manage stock, equipment, and unit budget; raise purchase orders as required

• Contribute to service improvement and change projects (e.g., digital documentation)

• Maintain accurate records and prepare reports for governance meetings

Essential skills & competencies

• Current clinical competence in the specialty (medical/surgical, ED, ICU, theatres, community, etc.)

• People leadership, coaching, and difficult-conversation skills

• Calm decision-making under pressure; effective prioritisation

• Strong written/verbal communication and MDT collaboration

• Data-literate: using audits, dashboards, and KPIs to drive improvement

• Sound knowledge of safeguarding, infection prevention, and medication safety

• Rota planning and workforce management (e.g., e-rostering)

• Compassionate, patient-centred approach; role-model for clinical standards

Qualifications & experience

• Registered Nurse (active registration)

• Typically 3–5+ years’ post-registration experience, including charge/shift leadership

• Evidence of leadership training or a management qualification is desirable

• Specialty courses (e.g., critical care, theatres, community) are advantageous

• Up-to-date life-support certifications and mandatory training

Salary & benefits (guide)

• UK (NHS): commonly Band 7–8a depending on setting and scope.

• Private/independent sector: competitive salaries with enhancements, pension, and bonuses.

• US: varies by state and system; include local range and differentials (nights/weekends).

Tip: Advertise base pay plus enhancements, on-call, relocation, and development funding—ads with transparent pay typically convert better on Voceer.

Working hours & environment

• Full-time with rostered shifts; may include nights/weekends or on-call depending on unit

• Combination of clinical presence on the floor and protected managerial time

• Fast-paced, with frequent coordination and escalation handling

Progression

• Matron/Assistant Director of Nursing → Head of Nursing → Director/Chief Nurse

• Horizontal moves across specialties (e.g., theatres to ICU) to broaden leadership profile

KPIs a Nurse Manager typically tracks

• Patient safety: falls, pressure injuries, medication errors, infection rates

• Patient experience: complaints, compliments, FFT/NPS

• Workforce: fill rate, sickness, turnover, appraisal/compliance completion

• Operational: length of stay, readmissions, delays to discharge

• Quality improvement project milestones and audit outcomes

Free Nurse Manager Job Description Template (copy & paste)

Job Title: Nurse Manager (Unit/Ward Manager)
Location: [Hospital/Clinic], [City]
Contract: [Full-time | Part-time], [Permanent/Fixed Term]
Salary: [£ Band / Range + enhancements]
Closing Date: [dd/mm/yyyy]

About Us
[2–3 lines on organisation, specialty, values, CQC/Joint Commission status, growth.]

The Role
We’re seeking an experienced Nurse Manager to lead our [specialty/unit]. You’ll combine clinical expertise with people leadership to deliver safe, high-quality, patient-centred care and a positive workplace culture.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a high-performing nursing team across [X] beds/rooms

• Coordinate daily operations: handovers, admissions/discharges, bed management

• Maintain safe staffing and skill mix; build and manage rotas and annual leave

• Uphold clinical standards, infection prevention, and safeguarding practices

• Use audits, incidents, and KPIs to drive continuous improvement

• Manage complaints, concerns, and family communications with compassion

• Work closely with the MDT to plan and deliver complex care and discharges

• Manage budgets for supplies and overtime; ensure effective stock control

• Support change projects (digital systems, pathways, new models of care)

About You

• Registered Nurse with [specialty] experience and recent leadership exposure

• Confident people manager with coaching and performance management skills

• Strong communicator, organised, and calm under pressure

• Proficient with clinical governance, audit, and service improvement

• Comfortable with e-rostering and basic data analysis/dashboards

Qualifications

• Active [country] nursing registration

• [X]+ years post-registration; prior charge/shift-lead essential

• Leadership/management training (or willingness to undertake)

• [Any essential specialty course/certificate]

Benefits

• [Pension | private healthcare | CPD funding | study days | relocation | EAP]

• [Paid enhancements | parking | childcare vouchers | overtime policy]

Shift Pattern

• [e.g., 37.5 hours, internal rotation, occasional on-call]

How to Apply
Apply via Voceer with your CV and a brief statement outlining your leadership achievements and service-improvement experience.

Equal Opportunities & Safeguarding
We welcome applications from all backgrounds and are committed to safeguarding; offers are subject to [right-to-work checks/DBS or state equivalents].

Interview questions you can use

1. “Tell us about a time you turned around a struggling unit metric (e.g., falls or infection). What actions moved the needle?”

2. “How do you balance clinical presence with managerial workload?”

3. “Describe a difficult staffing week. How did you protect patient safety?”

4. “What’s your approach to coaching underperformance?”

5. “Which KPIs matter most in our specialty and why?”

How to make your ad perform better on Voceer

• Be explicit on shift pattern (nights/weekends/on-call)

• List enhancement rates and any relocation/visa support

• Include team size/bed numbers and protected management time

• Add a short ‘Why join us’ bullet list and CPD/study support

• Use clear headings and short bullets for mobile readers

FAQs

Is a Nurse Manager still clinical?
Yes—most roles require regular clinical presence while holding responsibility for governance and operations.

What band/seniority is a Nurse Manager?
Often NHS Band 7–8a (UK). In other systems, it’s equivalent to Unit/Department Manager.

Do I need a master’s degree?
Not always, but leadership or management qualifications strengthen applications.