St James's Hospital Jobs, Pay & International Recruitment

St James's Hospital is an acute academic teaching hospital in Dublin's south inner city, on James's Street in Dublin 8. It describes itself as Ireland's largest acute academic teaching hospital and provides acute, emergency, specialist and residential care across a wide range of medical and surgical specialties.

Its academic partner is Trinity College Dublin, whose Health Sciences Building on the campus houses schools of medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language, radiotherapy and clinical nutrition.

It is one of eight adult designated national cancer centres in Ireland, and the hospital says it is the largest by activity. The Trinity St James's Cancer Institute received accreditation from the Organisation of European Cancer Institutes (OECI) in 2019. St Luke's Radiation Oncology Network and the Wellcome Trust/HRB Clinical Research Facility are also on the site, as is the Mercer's Institute for Successful Ageing.

St James's sits in the HSE Dublin and Midlands health region, one of the six regions the HSE created in 2024 to run hospital and community services together. The HSE counted 739 acute inpatient beds at St James's at the end of December 2025.

For an internationally trained applicant, St James's is one of the few Irish hospitals that says plainly on its careers site that it offers a relocation package for moves from overseas. It advertises nursing, NCHD, consultant and allied health and social care posts on its own portal, and its nursing department alone describes a multinational staff of over 1,600 nurses across more than 40 inpatient and ambulatory clinical areas.

Founded

1971 (the St James's Hospital board first met)

Run by

St James's Hospital Board, within HSE Dublin and Midlands

Leadership

• Mary Day, Chief Executive Officer
• Professor Declan Byrne, Executive Medical Director
• Sharon Slattery, Director of Nursing

Accreditations

• OECI (Organisation of European Cancer Institutes) accreditation for the Trinity St James's Cancer Institute, 2019

Switchboard

01 410 3000

• Cancer care

  One of eight adult designated national cancer centres, with the OECI-accredited Trinity St James's Cancer Institute and St Luke's Radiation Oncology Network on site.

• Cardiothoracic surgery

  The Keith Shaw Unit is a national referral centre for acquired adult heart disease, and the hospital says it performs around half of Ireland's lung resections.

• Medicine for older people

  Mercer's Institute for Successful Ageing runs rapid access clinics, a falls and syncope unit, a memory clinic and inpatient assessment and rehabilitation.

• Emergency medicine

  A 24-hour emergency department serving Dublin's south inner city and the wider region.

• Laboratory medicine

  LabMed services include haematology, coagulation and cancer molecular diagnostics, plus national reference laboratories for gonococcus and MRSA.

• Vascular and orthopaedic surgery

  Vascular medicine and surgery with a vascular laboratory, and trauma and orthopaedic surgery within the surgical directorate.

• Gastroenterology

  Gastroenterology services and a gastrointestinal function unit.

• St James's says on its careers page: "We offer a generous Relocation Package to help support your move from overseas." The page links a Relocation Welcome Pack and relocation package forms. The hospital does not set out the package amounts on the page itself, so ask HR what it covers before you accept an offer.
• The careers section has pages on professional registration (pointing nurses to NMBI and health and social care professionals to CORU), working and living in Ireland, benefits, and the application process. The nursing page describes a multinational nursing staff of over 1,600 and support for continuing education and postgraduate study.
• The HSE runs its own international recruitment relocation package for candidates moving from outside Ireland (up to €4,160 from the EU or UK and up to €4,710 from outside the EU) and says it covers initial costs such as regulator registration fees, visa fees and the RCSI aptitude test. St James's publishes its own package, so confirm with the hospital which one applies to your post.
• Vacancies are advertised on the hospital's own portal, stjamescareers.ie, by category: nursing, NCHD, consultant, allied health and social care, management and administration, patient and client care, and general support. There is also a talent network you can join for future roles.

• Registration with the Irish regulator for your profession before you practise: the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) for nurses and midwives, the Irish Medical Council (IMC) for doctors, CORU for professions such as physiotherapy, radiography and medical science, and the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) for pharmacists. Qualifications gained outside the EU are assessed first, and NMBI or CORU may set a compensation measure such as an aptitude test or a period of adaptation.

• Doctors apply to the IMC in the division that fits the post. The IMC says doctors seeking the General or Trainee Specialist Division may be required to sit the Pre-Registration Examination System (PRES), and that a pass in the UK PLAB 2 can exempt you. The IMC also points to registration in the Supervised Division as another route; check its eligibility chart for the division that fits your post.

• English: NMBI asks for IELTS Academic overall 7.0 (7.0 in three components and 6.5 in one) or OET with B in three components and C+ in one, from a single sitting less than two years old. The IMC, CORU and PSI set their own tests and scores.

• An employment permit if you are not an EEA, UK or Swiss citizen. The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (DETE) issues the Critical Skills Employment Permit for occupations on its Critical Skills list, including doctors, nurses and midwives. It needs a two-year job offer; for public sector roles covered by a pay agreement the salary is the agreed rate; nurses and midwives need a qualification NMBI accepts. The fee is €1,000, with 90% refunded if refused, and DETE asks for applications at least 12 weeks before the start date.

• Non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHDs) may instead hold a two-year Multi-Site General Employment Permit, which Irish Immigration Service Delivery links to Stamp 1H and describes as carrying similar benefits to a Critical Skills permit.

• Pre-employment checks: the HSE recruitment process includes screening, interview, Garda vetting, recognition of qualifications and an occupational health check before a formal offer. If you need an entry visa, you apply after the permit is granted, and you register your immigration permission once you arrive.

1. 1

   Start your registration

   Apply to NMBI, the IMC, CORU or the PSI as soon as you decide to move. Recognition from outside the EU can take months and may end in an aptitude test or a period of adaptation.
2. 2

   Find a vacancy on stjamescareers.ie

   Browse jobs by category on stjamescareers.ie, or join the talent network. Read the job specification for registration, experience and contract details.
3. 3

   Complete the application form

   St James's shortlists from completed application forms received by the closing date and says CVs will not be accepted, except for medical posts. Forms and CVs must be in English.
4. 4

   Interview and pre-employment checks

   Shortlisted candidates are interviewed. Expect reference checks, Garda vetting, occupational health clearance and verification of your registration before a formal offer.
5. 5

   Ask about relocation and apply for your permit

   Request the relocation package forms from HR. With a two-year offer, you or the hospital apply to DETE for a Critical Skills Employment Permit at least 12 weeks before your start date.
6. 6

   Get your visa and register on arrival

   If you need an entry visa, apply after the permit is granted. After arriving, register your immigration permission and receive your Irish Residence Permit.