Head of Allied Health Professionals

Job summary

Would you like the opportunity to become an influential part of our senior management team?

Were keen to recruit a confident and skilled senior AHP manager who wants to provide strong, visible strategic leadership, effective management and expert professional advice enabling us to provide high quality patient centred services to patients and their families under the care of the AHP Teams.

It is essential that you have a senior clinical management background as well as proven experience in service development within your area of expertise. We will be looking for individuals who can actively support our Executive team to deliver our vision and strategic aims.

Ideally you will have a rich and varied experience at a senior level in different healthcare settings as well as significant experience of managing and leading professional staff through education, supervision and mentoring.

Main duties of the job

Would you like to work with like-minded people who will welcome your innovative approach?

Through collaboration with colleagues, we will look for you to develop the departmental vision for AHP services and their delivery, managing change through a creative approach to problem solving.

Your inclusive management style will ensure successful leadership on the development,implementation and monitoring of clinical care standards, policies and procedures to ensure consistency and continuity of patient care.

Would you like to use your qualifications, skills and experience in a busy and rewarding healthcare setting?

If you are a qualified healthcare professional and you bring skills in business planningand financial, people and risk management then you will enjoy an autonomous rolewhich is key to the success of St Lukes.

Communication will be a vital part of this management role so your ability to engage with colleagues, Healthcare Committees and external organisations will be as important as your skills in analysing data and producing high quality reports.

If you have a proven track record in leading and motivating clinical teams, respond positively to a complex work environment and manage a broad portfolio of clinical and management work, then we would be delighted to hear from you.

About us

St Lukes is an organisation that is dedicated to enhancing the wellbeing and quality of life of all those affected by a terminal illness in Sheffield. No patient or family is ever the same, and our journey with each individual is unique. Through the provision of high-quality care, support, compassion and respect, we aim to improve the lives of these people at some of the most challenging times of their lives.

Our values embody our way of working and they are Dignified, Compassionate, Inspired and Pioneering. Working for St Lukes offers a real opportunity to make a difference to local people.

Job description

Job responsibilities

A. Supporting St Lukes Vision, Purpose, Strategy and Values general and specific:

The postholder will be expected to work to advance St Lukes Vision, Purpose, Strategy and Values, which are currently:

Vision: A world where patients and families facing terminal illness dont feel alone, receiving the care and support they need to make the most of precious time, and experiencing a good death

Purpose: We aim to give patients and families using our services the high quality care they need, and to treat each as equally important and unique. We promise to listen to their wishes and choices, tailoring our care and support so they can make the most of every day. We work with others to champion improvements in end of life care, in Sheffield and beyond.

Strategy: St Lukes Strategy 2024-28 outlines our ambitions: to maintain the range and quality of current services, and to build for the future in six areas:

Improving our care

Sustaining growth

Reaching further

Valuing our people

Sustaining growth

Embrace new thinking

Championing our cause.

Values: Compassionate, Courageous, Respectful and Ambitious

The postholder will work collectively with the Chief Executive and the Executive Team in the development and delivery of the above, and in particular the Director of People and Wellbeing will have responsibility for the Valuing our people strategic theme; for embedding the values into the working life of St Lukes, its culture and behaviours; and for establishing the framework for the workforce to deliver the ambitions within these plans.

B. Supporting our commitment to Equity, Diversity & Inclusion:

The postholder can expect to work in a space that is free from barriers and attitudes that are free from prejudice, and a key part of the role of the Director of People and Wellbeing is to develop the culture, attitudes and actions of the organisation to achieve our ambition that:

We seek to employ, engage with, and care equally for all we encounter; striving to make our employment, volunteering, events and services free from barriers, and our attitudes free from prejudice, and treating everyone as a unique individual, providing the best experience that we can for each person.

This role provides strong, visible, strategic leadership, effective management and expert professional advice enabling us to provide high quality patient centred services to patients and their families under the care of our AHP services.

This is a combined role with managerial and clinical responsibilities.

C. Main Purpose and Scope:

1. A highly visible role in the organisation, the post holder being accessible, influential and a specialist clinical leader for staff, volunteers and patients and their families across areas of responsibility.

2. Provides clinical and managerial leadership, acting as a role model to inspire, motivate and empower staff, ensuring clinical competencies are maintained and practise is developed across the AHPs Teams.

3. To promote a culture of openness and transparency across areas of responsibility, engaging with people in a professional manner.

4. Providing operational and strategic responsibility for clinical services, striving to create improved ways of working.

5. Ensure that services are delivered in a culture where clinical quality, service improvement and financial accountability are paramount.

6. To actively contribute to the development and delivery of a clinical strategy to optimise, reach and influence care through clinical leadership and participation in education and training, and research and audit initiatives.

7. To provide cover as required and participate in the management cover for the out of hours periods as needed.

8. To deputise for Clinical Leads in the organisation as required and provide expert clinical advice to them as required.

9. Represent AHP Services at organisational and external meetings as required.

10. Ensure that policies and procedures are adhered to by all staff and in accordance with the Regulations and Standards of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and professional codes of conduct.

11. To play a key role with the Head of Clinical Nursing Services and Medical Director in reviewing and supporting ways of working to ensure an efficient, needs-led approach to working that reflects the clinical strategy, across the whole patient journey.

12. Providing expert advice and influence within St Lukes and to external stakeholders to help shape workforce planning, delivery of safe staffing, business development, service reviews and future pathway planning.

13. To develop and maintain, in collaboration with the Band F Practitioners, networks and systems which ensure key clinical developments, new approaches and best practices are identified and implemented where possible to enableSt Lukes to be at the forefront of high-quality specialist palliative care.

Key accountabilities and responsibilities across AHP

D. Leadership To provide clear vision and motivation, using advanced leadership, management and communication skills ensuring staff have clear objectives for developing knowledge, skills and care for patients and their families in line with local and national objectives. Promote and represent the clinical teams internally and externally as required. To ensure safe practice in accordance with National and Local guidelines. To investigate complaints, incidents and patient feedback and ensure lessons learnt are incorporated into action plans to improve care and that these are reviewed to ensure changes are embedded in practice. Under the direction of the Head of Clinical Nursing Services and Medical Director, represent St Lukes at partner provider and commissioner meetings. To engage and maintain effective professional relationships with partner providers and key stakeholders including commissioners to influence quality and effective pathways of care review and development. Co-ordinate and facilitate the development, implementation and review of standards, policies, competencies and clinical guidelines, patient information in collaboration with the Head of Clinical Nursing Services, Executive Team, Medical Director and other Clinical Leads. Working closely with the Clinical Quality and Risk Lead, to seek the views of patients and their families to ensure services meet their needs in the planning and development of services. To ensure national standards of care and practice are implemented and sustained ensuring the safety and quality of care are underlying principles for continually improving services. Apply expert analytical and critical thinking skills to ensure care is innovative, contemporaneous and clinically effective using developing technology to support safe and effective care. E. Service delivery To provide effective line management, clinical expertise, clinical decision-making and problem solving. To lead, motivate and direct the services through positive role modelling, ensuring effective case management which influences care and education. To prioritise services on need, safeguarding patients and those important to them receive a responsive and flexible service which meets their needs. To ensure the AHP team are competent to complete mental capacity assessments, best interests decisions and following correct organisational policies in regards to safeguarding procedures. To ensure the quality of care is continually improved both individually and at a team level through critical analysis, reflection and integrating learning in practice. To monitor documentation standards within the AHP Teams and ensure that they have received adequate training, experience and updates in the use of the relevant organisational IT systems so standards of documentation are maintained. To identify and escalate any clinical incidents regarding risk to patient care through poor practice involving hospice staff or partner providers. To maintain relevant sections of the St Lukes risk register in collaboration with the Clinical Quality & Risk Lead. To maintain evidence sources and commentary for CQC standard compliance, identifying gaps in requirements and reporting theseto the Head of Clinical Nursing Services. To set, monitor, report and respond to service activity ensuring key quality standards and outcome measures are met to deliver safe and effective harm free care. Develop and utilise monitoring tools and techniques to provide assurance against key performance indicators and standards. Analyse data and trends to establish early recognition of areas of concerns and provide action plans to rectify issues. Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Current registration with HCPC or other professional body Training to a minimum degree level

Desirable

Evidence of post qualification study/professional development Leadership or Management qualification

Experience

Essential

Rich and varied experience at a senior management level within a clinical team in different settings Experience of contributing to mentoring, training and education (including performance review) of professional staff Experience of recruitment, selection, and interviewing Experience of effective line management and supervision of multiple teams Experience of managing staffing to ensure appropriate workloads, skills mix and rotas Experience of providing high quality patient care, and of encouraging others to do the same Experience of effectively and successfully managing resources (financial, physical and human) Evidence of working with a range of professionals across differing organisations and boundaries Evidence of implementing and using clinical governance systems Experience of managing change

Desirable

Experience of participating in or undertaking audit and research including identification for service improvements

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