Nurse Unit Manager

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Austin Health is the major provider of tertiary health services, health professional education and research across three campuses in the north-east of Melbourne and statewide. We have a highly engaged, diverse and collaborative workforce that is unified by our goal to help people live healthy and fulfilled lives. 

About Ward 8 East

Ward 8 East is located on level 8 of the Austin Tower. It is a high paced 32 bed acute surgical ward which provides care to patients primarily from the UGI, Colorectal, Gastroenterology, GATES and HPB/Transplant units. The ward is located within the Division of Surgery, Anaesthesia and Procedural Medicine and the NUM reports to the Divisional Manager Gastroenterology, Transplant and General Surgery.

The Division includes the following specialities and services at Austin and Repatriation sites: Anaesthetics, Theatre Support, Perioperative services, Surgical Access, Cardiology and Cardiac Diagnostics, Cardiac Surgery, GATES, Plastic Surgery, Maxio facial Surgery, Thoracic Surgery, Orthopaedics, Colorectal Surgery, Upper GI Surgery, ENT Surgery, Gastroenterology, Ophthalmology, Urology, Gynaecological Surgery, Breast Surgery and Surgical Oncology, and Hepatobilary Transplant.

About the role 

The Nurse Unit Manager (NUM) is recognised as the leader of the nursing team who models the core values of Austin Health through effective leadership and management of the clinical nursing and support staff within the ward. This is a full time, fixed term role until April 2028.

A regular day will see you:   

• Provides expert clinical knowledge and direction to ensure that clinical standards, policies, and procedures promote a patient focused model of care.
• Ensure clear accountability for quality and safety within the department. 
• Ensure incident management systems are applied and a response to local issues and performance improvement occurs; ensure the risk management system is functional. 
• Be aware of and comply with the core education, training, and development priorities.
• Promotes and ensures a safe and healthy workplace for staff and patients. 
• Identifies areas that require improvement through observation, audits, incidents, and staff feedback and implements improvement initiatives accordingly.
• Identifies opportunities for process redesign and to support staff in the implementation of redesign projects and activities.
• Ensures that incident management systems are appropriately applied and a systematic response to local issues and performance improvement occurs 

About you 

To be successful in this role you’ll bring with you:

• Registered Nurse, current AHPRA registration and Bachelor of Nursing 
• Demonstrated commitment to ongoing learning related to role,
• Relevant clinical experience in area of specialty.
• Previous management experience.
• Patient-centered approach to evidence-based care delivery. 
• Demonstrated knowledge of professional standards.
• Knowledge of legal and ethical requirements. 

Our benefits 

Working at Austin Health means enjoying a strong sense of purpose, engaging in meaningful work every day. Our people also receive a variety of rewarding benefits, including: 

• Greater take-home pay through generous salary packaging, for living expenses, meals, and holiday accommodation. 
• A suite of wellness initiatives designed to support you, including discounted fitness memberships and special offers on health insurance, and a comprehensive wellbeing program. 
• Onsite childcare at Austin Hospital, easy access via public transport and car parking options. 
• Mentoring and career development opportunities. 

Work with us! 

We are committed to cultural safety and health equity for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander People. We celebrate, value, and include people of all backgrounds, genders, identities, cultures, bodies, and abilities. We welcome and support applications from talented people identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, people with disability, neurodiverse people, LGBTQIA+ and people of all ages and cultures. 

If you feel this role is right for you, we encourage your early application. Even if you don’t meet every single requirement, we encourage you to apply. What matters most is your passion, your drive and your willingness to learn and contribute. Applications will be reviewed as they are received, and interviews may take place prior to the closing date. This means we reserve the right to close a job ad prior to the advertised closing date. 

All appointments are made subject to a satisfactory National Police Check and if required, a Working With Children Check. If you require any reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process, you are welcome to reach out to the hiring manager: Meagan Delaney, Divisional Manager Gastroenterology, Transplant, Retrieval Services & Gen Surg at Meagan.Delaney@austin.org.au

Interested in finding out more about this opportunity? Read the position description for further details. 

Application closing date: Sunday 29 March 2026