Hospice manager

Very Special Kids -
Malvern VIC

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Job Details

Qualifications

Management
Incident management
AHPRA registration
Working with Children Check
Leadership
Communication skills

Full Job Description

Hospice Manager
Position
Description

Very Special Kids believes that all children and young people have the right to
quality of life, no matter how long or short their life may be.

Position Title: Hospice Manager

Enterprise

Agreement:

This position is governed by Very Special Kids and Nurses and

Personal Care Workers Enterprise Agreement 2024 -2027.

Location: Very Special Kids House – Malvern

Department: Clinical Services – Hospice

Reporting To: General Manager (GM) Clinical Services

Direct Reports: • Lead Registered Nurse (RN)

Personal Care Worker (PCW) Lead

Clinical Nurse Educator (dotted line / collaborative)

(Senior) Registered Nurses (indirect)

Admissions Nurse role (as applicable)

Commercial Cook (indirect)

Key

Relationships:
The Hospice Manager works closely with:

Clinical Relationships

GM Clinical Services — strategic oversight and governance

Chief Medical Officer — clinical governance and medical

leadership

Family Support Manager — coordination across clinical and

psychosocial services

Clinical Nurse Educators — workforce capability development

Lead RN and PCW Lead — frontline supervision and capacity

building

Allied Health Coordinator — multidisciplinary coordination

Quality Officer — quality and safety oversight

Non-Clinical Relationships

Fundraising and Marketing — alignment between hospice

operations and donor engagement, and community awareness

initiatives

People and Culture — workforce planning, recruitment,

vsk.org.au

employee relations, and organisational development support

External Relationships

Children and families — partnership in care planning, service

experience, and continuity across the family journey

External Health Partners — Victorian Paediatric Palliative Care

Program/ RCH/ MCH partnerships for coordination and

collaboration to support continuity of care

Job Purpose: The Hospice Manager is responsible for the operational leadership and

day-to-day management of hospice services, ensuring the safe,

sustainable and high-quality delivery of 24/7 paediatric palliative care.

This position strengthens operational accountability aligned to the

complexity of the hospice environment. The role focuses on workforce

leadership, service coordination, and leadership presence, while

working in close partnership with clinical governance and

multidisciplinary functions.

The Hospice Manager plays a critical role in supporting workforce

capability, ensuring continuity of care, and fostering a positive,

resilient and compassionate service environment for children, young

people and families. Additionally, the Hospice Manager contributes to

the external representation of Very Special Kids through engagement

with partners, stakeholders and the broader service network.

Skills &

Experience:

Qualifications

Current AHPRA registration (Registered Nurse)

Postgraduate qualifications in paediatric or palliative care

(desirable)

Additional Requirements

Working with Children Check

National Police Check

Compliance with vaccination requirements

Experience

Demonstrated experience in a senior clinical or health service

leadership role

Experience managing multidisciplinary teams in complex care

environments (e.g. hospice, hospital, community health,

disability or integrated care settings)

Experience leading workforce operations within a 24/7 service

model (desirable)

Skills

Strong operational leadership and workforce management

capability

Ability to lead within a multidisciplinary clinical environment

Strong communication and relationship management skills

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Ability to balance service delivery, workforce needs and family-

centred care

Sound understanding of clinical governance interfaces and

escalation pathways

Ability to lead change, support staff wellbeing, and foster a

positive team culture

Key Result Areas

(KRAs) and Core

Responsibilities

1. Operational Leadership & Service Delivery

Outcome:

Ensure safe, effective and sustainable delivery of hospice services

aligned to demand, acuity and organisational priorities.

Core Responsibilities:

Provide day-to-day operational leadership of hospice services

across a 24/7 care environment

Ensure rostering meets operational and acuity requirements

Ensure achievement of occupancy targets aligned with service

capacity

Coordinate admissions, flow and service delivery in

collaboration with intake and clinical teams

Monitor service demand and adjust operational responses to

maintain continuity of care

2. Workforce Leadership, Supervision & Capability

Outcome:

Strengthen frontline leadership and workforce capability through

effective supervision, support and development.

Core Responsibilities:

Provide clinical leadership, guidance and oversight to Lead RN

and PCW Lead roles

Lead and coordinate performance development processes for

nurses and care workers including goal setting, feedback and

performance management.

Participate in end-to-end recruitment processes including

workforce planning and selection of nursing and care staff

Ensure the delivery of consistent and effective workforce

supervision across nursing and care staff

Provide oversight and guidance of the Clinical Nurse Educators

to support workforce capability and development

Promote reflective practice and professional development

Foster a culture of wellbeing and psychological safety

3. Clinical Operations Support (Working with Clinical

Governance)

vsk.org.au

Outcome:

Enable safe clinical service delivery through strong operational

leadership and effective escalation pathways.

Core Responsibilities:

Support clinical service delivery through effective operational

leadership, in alignment with clinical governance frameworks.

Work in close partnership with the Chief Medical Officer and

clinical leaders to ensure alignment with clinical governance

frameworks

Ensure appropriate and timely escalation of clinical and

operational issues to CMO / VMO

Contribute to maintaining clear boundaries between operational

leadership and clinical governance accountability

4. Multidisciplinary Coordination & Continuity of Care

Outcome:

Ensure coordinated, seamless care across hospice, medical, allied

health and family support services.

Core Responsibilities:

Facilitate effective collaboration across hospice, medical, allied

health and family support teams

Foster meaningful engagement with families and carers to

support family-centred care and continuity across the child and

family journey.

Identify and address operational barriers impacting

coordination and service integration

Strengthen communication and coordination across

multidisciplinary teams to improve service flow

5. Quality, Safety & Continuous Improvement

Outcome:

Maintain high standards of safety and quality through effective

oversight, risk management and continuous improvement.

Core Responsibilities:

Oversee hospice-specific quality and safety processes, aligned

to organisational frameworks

Support implementation of quality and safety processes in

alignment with organisational accreditation and regulatory

requirements.

Identify operational and clinical risks and contribute to

mitigation strategies

Support incident management, review and learning processes

Initiate and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives to

enhance service delivery and safety

6. Leadership, Culture & Organisational Contribution

vsk.org.au

Outcome:

Foster a positive, values-aligned culture and contribute to broader

clinical services leadership and organisational priorities.

Core Responsibilities:

Foster a culture aligned with organisational guiding principles

Promote a supportive, inclusive and high-performing team

environment

Contribute to broader Clinical Services leadership and

organisational initiatives

Support change initiatives and organisational development

activities

Model leadership behaviours that reinforce psychological

safety, accountability and collaboration

Quality, Safety, and Improvement

Very Special Kids employees have a responsibility and accountability to contribute to the

organisation’s commitment to Quality, Safety, and Improvement by:

Acting in accordance and complying with all relevant Safety and Quality policies and

procedures

Actively participating in management meetings, team meetings, staff forums, Clinical Risk

and Governance (CRAG) and Family Advisory Committee meetings, and other sessions

relevant to the role, and as required

Supporting an inclusive environment where all individuals are treated fairly, with respect

and receive the same opportunities

Identifying risks, reporting, and being actively involved in risk mitigation strategies

Participating in and actively contributing to quality improvement programs

Complying with the requirements of the National Safety & Quality Health Service

Standards

Complying with all relevant clinical and/or competency standards

Complying with the principles of Patient and Family Centred Care that relate to this

position

Complying with the principles of Child Safe Standards that relate to this position

Leading and providing supervision of volunteers directly involved in your work

Privacy Statement: Personal Information may be collected and stored for the purpose

of recruitment and selection. The information will only be used and disclosed for the

primary purpose of its collection. Some exceptions exist. These may be obtained from

the Privacy Officer.

Approvals:

Created by: General Manager Clinical Services

Approved by: General Manager People & Culture

Date of Last update: April 2026

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