Thinking of going for a band 8 role? Advice on how to make the step up

Band 8 nurses influence and lead improvements in patient care, whether they work in clinical practice or a more corporate role.

Nursing roles at band 8 are senior management positions that require a mix of extensive clinical practice experience, leadership and influencing skills, and an ability to understand and inform organisational strategy.

Agenda for Change band 8 has four subsections from ‘a’ to ‘d’, which encompass roles including matron, management and corporate roles, deputy director, directors of nursing and chief nurse positions.

In England’s NHS, band 8a roles come with an Agenda for Change starting salary of £53,755, rising to £56,454 after two years and £60,504 after a further three years.

Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust people promise manager Fahida Rehman is on band 8a. Her role involves implementing strategies to support and improve staff experience and retention.

‘Band 7 is about management, but band 8 is more about leadership,’ she explains.

‘As a leader, you need to have a vision and be able to build a team of leaders around you. I was a band 7 cancer nurse specialist, but I got involved with initiatives around health inequalities in Torbay and with the Cancer Alliance, which required leadership.’

The competition for band 8 positions can be tough and successful applications require perseverance.

Ms Rehman says she applied for several band 8 roles before getting her current job. ‘It was disappointing, but I also learned from those experiences,’ she says.

This is an abridged version of the article Band 8 nursing roles: how to make the step up to senior leadership which was first published in Nursing Standard. Read the full article for practical tips on how to step up to senior leadership roles, examples of band 8 interview questions and how to answer them, and how mentoring, coaching and career planning can help.

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