Head of Service - Dietetics

Job description

We are proud to provide 'Outstanding' care and be a great place to work.

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust provides safe, compassionate and high quality hospital and community care to the half a million people living in East Sussex and those who visit our local area.

We are one of the largest organisations in East Sussex with an annual income of £700 million and we are the only integrated provider of acute and community care in Sussex.

Our extensive health services are provided by over 8,000+ dedicated members of staff working from two acute hospitals in Hastings and Eastbourne, three community hospitals in Bexhill, Rye and Uckfield, over 100 community sites across East Sussex, and in people's own homes.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated us as 'Good' overall, and 'Outstanding' for being Caring and Effective. The Conquest Hospital in Hastings and our Community Services were rated 'Outstanding' and Eastbourne DGH was rated 'Good' Our two acute hospitals have Emergency Departments and provide 24 hour a day care, offering a comprehensive range of surgical, medical, outpatient and maternity services, supported by a full range of diagnostic and therapy services.

Job overview

Are you a dedicated and passionate Dietitian? Are you looking for an exciting leadership opportunity within an integrated Trust delivering acute and community care? Look no further! East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust is seeking an exceptional individual to join us as the Head of Nutrition and Dietetics.

As the Head of Nutrition and Dietetics, you will play a pivotal role in overseeing and advancing our nutrition and dietetics department. Your expertise and leadership will shape the provision of nutritional care throughout our organisation, ensuring the delivery of evidence-based practices and exceptional patient outcomes.

The post holder will be responsible for strategic direction, clinical leadership and operational performance for the service and provide professional leadership to all dieticians.

The successful person will have excellent communication and influencing skills, extensive experience of working across a broad range of services and have worked successfully with other professionals and service users. You will be able to work on your own as well as within a multi-disciplinary team. In return, we are highly committed to CPD, staff development and continuous improvement.

Main duties of the job

Provide operational and staff management for the dietetic teams including recruitment and selection, appraisals and performance monitoring.

Provide professional leadership for the department, act as a subject matter expert for the Trust in various Trust Steering Groups, Complex Patient Panels or Committees and be responsible for policy and service transformation and improvement.

Be accountable for the delivery of high quality services to planned objectives within the resources available.

Account for and manage the financial and physical resources delegated to the post in collaboration with the General Manager.

Contribute to leading on clinical effectiveness or other aspects of service management in the Dietetic service across the Trust.

Work collaboratively with the senior leadership team to provide evidence and describe the opportunities for Dietetics and/ or nutrition to support improved patient outcomes or pathway efficiencies.

Lead the provision of dietetic service to a designated clinical area using advanced skills and knowledge as an independent practitioner, and work with the health care colleagues for the service as a whole.

Working for our organisation

A wide range of staff benefits are available to our staff including staff development, enrolment in the NHS pension scheme, auto-enrolment to our Temporary Workforce Service, access to nurseries at Conquest Hospital and Eastbourne District General Hospital, staff restaurants and on-site staff accommodation.

In addition to an internal Occupational Health department, all staff also have access to free psychological support through our confidential Employee Assistance Programme which is available to staff 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Onsite parking is available for a small administration fee.

There has never been a better time to join East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, submit your application today.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Attached you will find the person specification document which provides more detail about the essential and desirable skills and experience needed for this role. We highly recommend you review this document and use it when completing your application as these criteria are used by hiring managers as guidance during shortlisting.

For an overview of the main duties of the role please see the 'Job Description and Main Responsibilities' section below. To understand the day-to-day responsibilities in more detail please read the full job description document attached.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• BSc or equivalent in Dietetics
• HCPC registered
• Higher level qualification at Masters level or equivalent experience and CPD/PDP Portfolio

Desirable criteria

• Experience and/or understanding of the wider Health Economy

Experience

Essential criteria

• Post registration at a senior leadership level
• Post graduate experience within specialist clinical area

Desirable criteria

• Extended scope practice skills

Skills

Essential criteria

• Demonstrate holistic and strategic knowledge of specialist clinical area.
• Deep and broad knowledge of all practises within profession/service area.
• Knowledge and understanding of service/profession and organisational links, systems and structures.

Desirable criteria

• Experience in a Lead role or managerial responsibility

Patients come first at East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust.

Our vision is to be:

• The healthcare provider of first choice for the people of East Sussex.

Our mission is to:

• Deliver better health outcomes and an excellent experience for everyone we provide with healthcare services.

Our strategic objectives are to:

• Improve quality and clinical outcomes by ensuring that safe patient care is our highest priority.
• Play a leading role in local partnerships to meet the needs of our local population and improve and enhance patients' experiences.
• Use our resources efficiently and effectively for the benefit of our patients and their care to ensure our services are clinically, operationally and financially sustainable.

Our aims are that all services delivered by the Trust are:

• Safe
• Effective
• Caring
• Responsive and
• Well led

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