Director of Allied Health Professionals

Job description

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust is the only acute hospital provider in the Mid and South Essex Integrated Care System (ICS), which is a system of health and care partners working together for our local population.

Within Mid and South Essex there are 149 GP practices, operating from over 200 sites, forming 27 Primary Care Networks and one Ambulance Trust. There are also three main community and mental health service providers who work together through a community collaborative.

We collaborate with other valuable partners, including three Healthwatch organisations, nine voluntary and community sector organisations and three top tier local authorities, with seven district, borough and city councils, as well as our local universities.

Job overview

As our Director of AHPs you will be the Trust-wide professional lead for Allied Health Professionals across Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, providing visible, expert professional leadership across all sites where AHP services are delivered, ensuring services are delivered consistently to a high standard for the population of Mid and South Essex and beyond where appropriate.

In this role you will set the strategic direction for AHP professional practice, ensuring that AHP contribution is embedded in the Trust clinical strategy, quality strategy, workforce plans, productivity programmes, transformation priorities and system partnerships. You will provide board and executive-level assurance on AHP quality, safety, workforce, education, professional standards and regulatory matters, including the triangulation of patient, staff, performance, financial, quality and professional intelligence.

In your role you will be accountable to the Chief Nurse for the development, implementation and assurance of AHP professional standards, professional governance, workforce strategy, education, research, improvement and clinical quality across the organisation, working closely with the Chief Nursing Officer and Deputy Chief Nursing Officer to ensure services meet the required standards.

Main duties of the job

Your role as Director of AHPs will include being

• the responsible lead to ensure that the patient and staff voice is heard and listened to in the development of services and delivery of care, exercising skills of professional curiosity and appropriate challenge.
• able to communicate highly complex and highly contentious information to a wide range of key stakeholders across MSEFT and the wider healthcare system, using advance skills where there may be barriers to understanding.
• responsible for delivering excellent performance against key quality standards and targets and for taking corrective action when required.
• working in partnership with our Hospital DoNs and colleagues across the ICS to improve the model of care and experience of patients with acute physical needs and concurrent mental health illness developing a framework to ensure consistent safe practice and supply of appropriately skills staff.
• accountable and responsible for leading on the programme of activity and lead on specific initiatives on related AHP and professional matters.
• providing strategic leadership and support to managing AHPs in difficulty with their respective regulators.
• working with the Director of Nursing for Workforce and Professional Standards ensure accurate records are maintained and action taken that upholds the relevant professional codes of conduct.

Working for our organisation

Our ambition is to deliver excellent local and specialist services, to improve the health and well being of our patients, and provide a vibrant place for staff to develop, innovate and build careers.

We aim to make the most of our skills and experiences so we can become the best we can be. As one organisation we will recruit the finest and retain more specialist staff due to more employment opportunities across our Trust.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For more information on this varied and rewarding role, please see the attached Job Description.

We look forward to your application!

Please be aware that we reserve the right to close the vacancy early should a high number of applications be received.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• A practicing clinical professional with an AHP qualification
• Have knowledge of the NHS, its infrastructure and the recent reforms
• Higher Professional qualification - Masters' degree and above - AHP related qualifications
• Registration Postgraduate qualifications in either
• Clinical education or Clinical governance

Desirable criteria

• Postgraduate management/ further study qualification

Knowledge & Experience

Essential criteria

• Demonstrable Experience of working within the NHS within an acute hospital environment, (in a relevant healthcare organisation) preferably a teaching hospital
• Recent experience in managing clinical Services
• Knowledge and understanding of clinical governance gained form experience of working with such systems
• Evidence of continuous professional and managerial development
• Clinical leader with a proven track record of producing high quality results in the management and leadership of clinical services
• Significant experience in building organisational capabilities including establishing a clear strategic vision and direction and translation into successful outcomes

Desirable criteria

• Experience of change management
• Experience of working within a devolved management structure

Communication Skills

Essential criteria

• Have the capacity to analyse problems in a logical and structure way, generating optional and innovative solutions and adapting approaches to problem-solving to achieve sustainable outcomes
• Be able to anticipate problems, to understand the driving forces behind problems, or potential problems and being able to identify and use levers to achieve change
• Be skilled in influencing and negotiating internally and externally and using these skills to gain the best deal for the Trust and the clinical services
• Have the ability to understand and interpret clinical decisions for others and make informed judgements concerning clinical priorities

Personal & People Devolpment

Essential criteria

• See management as an open, involving and participative process
• Proven ability to work in partnership with managers and other clinicians
• Experience of leading in a large complex organisation through significant change
• Satisfactory health screening and enhanced DBS checks

Other

Essential criteria

• Unblemished registration with HCPC and AHP professional body

Please be aware as per the new Immigration guidelines we cannot sponsor candidates with a salary (full time or pro Rata) under the current minimum threshold.

Please note, the selection processes at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust are in place to ensure we recruit candidates with the right skills and values, please be advised that the use of AI in applications are monitored. We remain vigilant against candidates who misuse these tools to generate an application that doesn't accurately reflect their skills, and you will be required to declare on your application if AI has been used before submitting your application.

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