Otago Community Hospice
Permanent 0.4-0.6 FTE | Dunedin

Help grow clinical confidence, capability and excellence in specialist palliative care workforce

Otago Community Hospice is seeking an experienced and enthusiastic Clinical Nurse Educator to lead and coordinate education and workforce development for our clinical teams.

This is an influential role for someone who is passionate about developing people and translating evidence into excellent everyday practice. You will help clinical staff, building their confidence, clinical reasoning and decision-making while supporting the delivery of safe, equitable and high-quality care for patients and whānau.

About the role

Working closely with our Education Team, clinical staff and Te Kahu Pairuri o Aotearoa / Hospice New Zealand, you will:

• Design, deliver and evaluate a structured internal clinical education programme.
• Lead orientation and onboarding for new clinical staff.
• Develop education aligned with clinical priorities, including symptom management, end-of-life care, communication and clinical complexity.
• Translate current research and specialist palliative care best practice into accessible, practical learning.
• Work alongside nurses in clinical settings to embed learning and strengthen clinical reasoning, assessment and decision-making.
• Provide hands on coaching, mentorship and clinical support to nursing staff.
• Identify individual and team learning needs in partnership with team leaders.
• Lead Professional Development and Recognition Programme (PDRP).
• Support competency development and clinical staff undertaking postgraduate study.
• Contribute to quality improvement, incident-review learning, mortality review processes and the implementation of clinical policies, guidelines and standards.
• Maintain the Hospice library service and help identify future workforce capability needs.

About you

You will bring professional credibility, strong clinical education experience and a genuine commitment to helping others develop. You will be comfortable working independently while also building trusted relationships across multidisciplinary teams.

Ideally, you will have:

• Registration with the Nursing Council of New Zealand (essential)
• Experience in an education role within a health setting.
• A recognised qualification in adult teaching.
• A master’s qualification, or a willingness to work towards one.
• The ability to design culturally appropriate and safe education programmes.
• A sound understanding of scope of practice, professional standards and when to seek or refer for advice.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Effective planning, organisation, problem-solving and time-management skills.
• Confidence using IT systems.
• A self-motivated, innovative approach.
• An unrestricted, clean driver’s licence.

Why join us?

At Otago Community Hospice, education is integral to clinical quality. This position offers the opportunity to shape learning across our clinical workforce, support staff through complex situations and help embed a culture of continuous learning and clinical excellence

If you are an experienced health educator who enjoys working alongside clinicians and creating meaningful learning that improves practice, we would love to hear from you.

To apply: Please submit your CV and a covering letter outlining your interest in the role and the experience you would bring.

Applications close: Friday 20 November 2026
For further information: Louisa Ingham

Professionally accountable to: Director of Nursing and Clinical Services

Purpose of the position

To lead and coordinate internal clinical education and workforce development for clinical staff within OCH.

This role is responsible for building clinical capability from novice to expert, ensuring practice aligns with specialist palliative care best practices, and supporting safe, equitable, and high-quality care for patients and whānau.

The Clinical Educator plays a key role in embedding a culture of continuous learning, and clinical excellence.

Functional relationships

• Education Team
• OCH Staff
• Te Kahu Pairuri o Aotearoa / Hospice New Zealand

Specific areas of responsibility

1.   Internal Education and Capability Development

• Design, implement, and evaluate a structured education programme (e.g. novice → proficient → expert pathway) 

• Deliver orientation programmes for new nursing staff  and support the orientation of other clinical staff

• Develop ongoing education aligned to clinical priorities (symptom management, end-of-life care, communication, complexity) 

• Support competency-based staff development aligned with scope of practice and PDRP 

• Maintain OCH library service 

2.   Clinical Practice Development

• Promote evidence-based practice in specialist palliative care 

• Translate current research and best practice into accessible learning for staff 

• Support development of clinical reasoning, assessment, and decision-making skills 

• Work alongside nurses in clinical settings to embed learning into practice 

3.   Mentorship and Support

• Provide coaching, mentorship, and clinical support to nursing staff and source appropriate support other clinical staff

• Support nurses working at the top of their scope 

• Identify learning needs at an individual and team level in conjunction with team leads 

• Support staff learning through complex clinical situations 

4.   Competency and Professional Development

• Lead the OCH  Professional Development and Recognition Programme (PDRP) 

• Ensure staff meet and maintain required competencies 

• Support clinical staff undertaking postgraduate study 

5.   elf-management

• Actively participate in professional and personal development to ensure a high skill base and professional expertise.

• Participate in OCH appraisal process in which progress towards goals are reviewed 

• Demonstrate and practice effective personal self-awareness and use effective techniques for self-care. Manage responses and demonstrate awareness of effect of work on colleagues elevating issues and concerns as appropriate

• Attend to own professional legislated and governing body requirements for the position seeking support where appropriate 

• Complete in a timely manner all mandatory education requirements 

• Update own clinical competencies, knowledge and skills as required

• Stay up to date with current education delivery techniques

6.   Compliance / Quality / Audit / Risk

• Practice within professional standards, code of conduct, professional ethics and scope of practice 

• Be familiar with, promote and ensure compliance with hospice quality, health and safety and infection control policies

• Maintain an active role in the hospice quality improvement programme 

  ·   Contribute to incident review learning and mortality review processes 

• Support implementation of policies, guidelines, and clinical standards 

• Embed equity, cultural safety, and person/whānau-centred care in all education

7.   Communication and team work

• Attend and participate effectively in meetings as required, communicating information from the meetings to all relevant parties 

• Be professional inclusive respectful and compassionate in all interactions

• Be aware of effect of work on colleagues elevating issues and concerns to the Line Manager as appropriate

• Participate in team planning as required

Qualifications and Experience

      Essential

• The appointee must hold a or be willing to work towards masters 

• Hold a recognised qualification in adult teaching

• Experience in an education role in a health setting 

Knowledge and skills

      Essential

• Be familiar with IT systems. Have intermediate to advanced skill level in using Microsoft Office range of products

• Be aware of scope of practice and when to refer/seek advice

Attributes

      Essential

• Have professional credibility with peers and others 

• Be self-motivated, innovative and empathic 

• Be able to work autonomously as well as within a multidisciplinary team

• Ability to develop a culturally appropriate and safe education programme 

• Provide education with due regard and sensitivity to the beliefs, values cultural and ethnic background to those participating in the education programme. This involves special regard to Tikanga Māori, honouring our commitment to the Treaty of Waitangi

• Be able to seek knowledge and skills as required 

• Ability to establish and work to an annual plan. Ability to report progress and work to objectives set by the Education Development Team

• Be able to cope with stress, conflicting demands and a heavy workload

• Demonstrate effective problem solving, decision making, time management, organisational and delegation skills

• Exhibit excellent interpersonal and communication skills (verbal and written)

• Maintain professional relationships and rapport with peers and staff within Otago Community Hospice 

• Demonstrate a commitment to quality assurance at a personal and service level

Other

      Essential

• Hold an unrestricted and clean driver’s licence

Note: All Otago Community Hospice job descriptions are subject to review and may therefore be revised after consultation with the employee to suit changing service and/or professional requirements. 

 

Updated: 22 October 2026