Associate Nurse Unit Manager - Palliative Care Unit

• Northern Adelaide Local Health Network – Modbury Hospital – MODBURY SA 5092
• Salary: $109,637 - $117,215 p.a. plus Superannuation and Salary Sacrifice benefits – RN2A

• Ongoing Full-Time

Palliative care demands more than clinical skill — it requires presence, judgement, and the ability to lead a team through some of the most meaningful moments in a person's life. At Modbury Hospital within the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network (NALHN), the Associate Nurse Unit Manager role in the Palliative Care Unit offers the opportunity to do exactly that, at a senior level, within a team genuinely committed to comfort, dignity, and family-centred care.

Reporting to the Nurse Unit Manager, you will provide day-to-day clinical leadership across the Palliative Care Unit, supporting both patients and the nursing team through high-acuity end-of-life care. Your key responsibilities will include:

• Supervising and mentoring nursing staff to maintain safe, consistent, and compassionate care standards
• Coordinating unit operations including rostering, resource allocation, and escalation management
• Supporting quality improvement initiatives aligned with NALHN's palliative care model
• Acting as a clinical resource and escalation point for complex symptom management and family communication

• Demonstrated experience in palliative care, oncology, or a related specialty
• Proven ability to lead and support nursing teams in a clinical setting
• Strong communication skills across multidisciplinary teams, patients, and families
• Familiarity with SA Health nursing standards and clinical governance frameworks
• A commitment to person-centred care that reflects NALHN's values of respect, integrity, and excellence

To be eligible for this position, you must be registered or eligible for registration as a Nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia and who holds, or who is eligible to hold, a current practicing certificate

In this role you will have strong interpersonal and communication skills which will enable you to successfully problem solve, resolve conflicts and negotiate, including the ability to engage in difficult conversations, whilst building and maintaining relationships. An ability to effectively manage multiple, diverse and competing priorities and demonstrated resilience within a stressful and complex environment is essential to this role. 

You will be joining a dynamic and expanding Local Health Network that is committed to delivering contemporary, innovative and high‑quality health services within modern facilities.

This is an excellent opportunity to contribute to a passionate, highly driven, dedicated and progressive team.

Adelaide is consistently recognised as a city that artfully combines its compact charm and world-class cuisine with picturesque nature escapes. Ranked one of the worlds “Most Liveable Cities” and “Most Beautiful Cities”, Adelaide provides something for everyone combining a wonderful mix of nature with nearby beaches, rolling hills and wildlife and culinary delights with fine dining restaurants, award-winning cafes, bustling food markets and booming boutique bars. Events like the LIV Golf, SANTOS Tour Down Under, Adelaide Fringe and the Adelaide Cabaret Festival add extra appeal to living here.

The Northern Adelaide Local Health Network (NALHN) is a leading provider of public healthcare services in South Australia, and one of the largest employers in northern Adelaide. 

NALHN serves over 400,000 people in northern Adelaide with a comprehensive range of high-quality healthcare services, including emergency, surgical, obstetric, neonatal, paediatric, oncology, geriatric, palliative care and rehabilitation, and mental health care, as well as primary health care services with a focus on community health promotion and chronic disease management.

With a commitment for ongoing upgrades to our facilities and the introduction of new services, our priority is delivering exceptional health and wellbeing services that enhance the quality of life for our community.

With over 7,500 employees, NALHN emphasises quality care and a supportive work environment guided by respect, integrity, and accountability. Our core values foster excellence, innovation, and equitable health outcomes. 

At NALHN Everyone Has a Story, Everyone Matters, Everyone Contributes and Everyone Grows. 

NALHN provides a range of hospital (inpatient), outpatient, community and home-based services across multiple sites in Adelaide’s north and north-eastern suburbs, including Aboriginal health, mental health, and GP services.

Lyell McEwin Hospital – the major hospital in northern Adelaide for emergency care, complex and multi-day surgery, medicine, obstetric, paediatrics and outpatient services.

Modbury Hospital – a general hospital with emergency care, elective surgery, medicine, outpatient and sub-acute services, rehabilitation, geriatric and palliative care.

Mental Health Services – adult and older persons mental health services and statewide forensic mental health services, across hospital and community settings.

Watto Purrunna Aboriginal Primary Health Care Services – provides culturally responsive primary healthcare services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in-hospital and across four community sites.

Primary Health Care Services – including GP Plus sites at Elizabeth, Modbury and Gilles Plains.

• DHS Working With Children Check (WWCC)
• National Police Check (National Police Certificate) for vulnerable person-related employment screening – apply to any of the accredited bodies approved to offer a service direct to the public. Accreditation is provided by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission. See our National Police Certificate accredited bodies page for links to lodge screening requests.

SA Health Services are required to implement the Addressing vaccine preventable disease: Occupational assessment, screening and vaccination policy in the workplace.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants are encouraged to apply. Job Ref: 953359

Donna Jenkins

Nurse Unit Manager

Phone: (08) 7321 4353

E-mail: donna.jenkins@sa.gov.au

6 November 2026 – 11.55PM

 953359 - Associate Nurse Unit Manager - Aged Care Rehabilitation & Palliative Care - Role Description.pdf

* Refer to the SA Health Career Website – How to apply for further information.

Advertised: 23 Oct 2026 Cen. Australia Daylight Time
Applications close: 06 Nov 2026 Cen. Australia Daylight Time

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