Head of Patient and Donor Safety

Closing date: 01 November 2026

Job summary
At NHS Blood & Transplant (NHSBT) we are a unique organisation that works with donors and patients to save and improve lives every day. Our mission is to ensure that every patient receives the donation they need.

Working within the nursing directorate as a member of the corporate team you will help save and improve lives, as you lead on patient and donor safety throughout NHSBT including the development of strategy, training and continuous improvement through learning responses for the further implementation and embedment of the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework. NHSBT is responsible for organ and tissue donation and transplantation, blood donation and transfusion medicine, therapeutic apheresis and stem cell transplantation meaning there is a wide variety of services requiring differing approaches to ensure safety of service users.

You will be critical to driving transformation and improvements in patient and donor safety to ensure that NHSBT continues to deliver on its core values of Expert, Caring and Quality.

We'll look to you to bring leadership and focus through identification, innovative and problem-solving approaches to patient and donor safety ensuring that all opportunities to bring improvement are realised, learning optimised and evidenced, and that we maintain our excellent collaborative relationships with our partners in the wider NHS.

Main duties of the job

• The Head of Patient and Donor Safety will be the lead patient and donor safety expert in NHSBT.
• They will provide dynamic, senior leadership, visibility, and expert support to the patient and donor safety work throughout NHSBT.
• They will support the development of a patient and donor safety culture and will collaborate with wider networks to share good practice and learn from each other taking responsibility for the functioning and oversight of the National Patient and Donor Safety Strategy and related processes (incident management systems, national reporting databases, education and training, policies and procedures).
• They will support the development and implementation of the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) in NHSBT and will lead, and directly support, patient and donor safety improvement activity ensuring that systems thinking, human factors understanding and just culture principles are embedded in all patient and donor safety processes.
• The Head of Patient and Donor Safety will work collaboratively with the Nursing Leadership team and the quality specialists to ensure that patient and donor safety is appropriately prioritised and considered throughout NHSBT.
• Support the self-assessment process for CQC, leading the evidence and document repository for safety and experience.
• This role includes supporting NHSBT to ensure that patients and donors are at the centre of all patient and donor safety activity.

About us
It takes all types of people to deliver the kind of service that saves and improves lives. At NHS Blood and Transplant, you'll join a team of more than 6,000 people who are making a genuine difference to communities, families, friends, relatives and more across the UK. We play a unique and special role in the NHS by helping people do something extraordinary- donate blood, blood products, organs, tissues, or stem cells to save someone in need.

Our three core values are what set us apart. They guide and inspire everything we do. By being caring, expertly meeting the needs of our patients and our people, and accepting nothing less than the best quality, we can do extraordinary work and help our people to do something extraordinary in their career, too. Three small words, one big difference - Caring, Expert and Quality. Together we'll save and improve more lives than ever.

You will join us on our journey to create an inclusive workplace and aim to reflect the diverse communities we work with, and we positively encourage applications from all sectors of the community.

Details
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 8b
Salary: £66,582 to £77,368 a year
Contract: Fixed term, 12 months
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 009432

What we offer

• Hybrid working arrangements – because NHSBT works nationally, we're able to offer hybrid working options that give you more flexibility to balance work with life.
• Flexible working options – we promote flexible working where the role allows. We're happy to discuss what flexibility might look like for you.
• Generous annual leave - 27 days annual leave (pro rata for part-time) plus Bank Holidays, increasing to 29 days after 5 years' service and to 33 days after 10 years.
• Inclusive pension scheme - the NHS Pension Scheme is a defined benefit scheme (not dependent on investment returns). Further details can be found at:
• Supportive learning culture - we've fostered a culture of continuous learning where colleagues are well-led, engaged, and encouraged to grow. Our Thrive programme offers a wide range of activities to support your personal and professional growth, open to everyone at NHSBT.
• Health and wellbeing support – we offer confidential services including occupational health, employee assistance programme, and wellbeing resources, with tailored workplace adjustments where possible.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we welcome applications from disabled candidates. We will talk with you to explore any adjustments that may help you during the recruitment process.

The assessment process for this role will include: a video presentation, which if you are successfully shortlisted at this stage, you will be invited to attend an interview at Birmingham New Street on Thursday 19th November.

Person specification
Qualifications (Essential)

• Masters or equivalent level, or equivalent demonstrable experience of working at a senior level
• Registered Nurse or Registered Healthcare professional with an aligned clinical/academic qualification. Registration must be maintained in the role
• Demonstrate commitment to own Continued Professional Development (CPD)

Experience (Essential)

• Substantial experience of working at a senior level
• Proven ability to understand and to provide advice to colleagues on relevant legislation, regulations and standards
• Extensive experience in patient/donor safety related role, with an understanding of the principles that underpin approaches to improving safety in health systems
• Evidence of experience of regulatory inspections
• Experience of training delivery and facilitating learning
• Evidence of experience dealing with complex and/or sensitive information and unpredictable situations
• Previous experience of safety investigations
• Experience of complaints processes
• Proven ability in engaging and influencing stakeholders at all levels with credibility and authority

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer contact
Recruiter: Charlotte Walker, View email address on meeveem.com

NHS Blood and Transplant's privacy notice is available on the NHSBT website. Applicants are considered on merit in line with our commitment to an inclusive workplace.