Director of Clinical Services

Job responsibilities

Job title:

Director of Clinical Services

Department:

Executive Management Team

Reports to:

Chief Executive

Responsible for:

Head of Inpatients / Head of Outpatients

DBS required

Enhanced

Job purpose

Working collaboratively with the Chief Executive and other members of the Executive Management Team, the Director of Care services holds joint corporate responsibility for sharping and delivering the strategic vision and operational direction of the Hospice.

This is a senior clinical leadership role within the Hospice and central to the planning, development and delivery of high-quality patient and family centred care across the nursing and AHP teams, sharing responsibility for the clinical delivery of the Hospice with the Medical Director.

The Director of Care will lead the continuous improvement of clinical services, ensuring they meet the highest standards of quality, safety and compassion. The post holder will also share the Hospices response to national policy and political developments, whilst embedding resilience and innovation across our services.

As a senior clinical leader, you will provide effective clinical leadership, leading with credibility, passion and integrity, inspiring confidence amongst our people across a wide range of professional disciplines. You will be adept at using data, delivering improved patient experience and using quality benchmarks to evidence impact and drive performance.

Main duties and responsibilities

Leadership and Accountability

Working in partnership with the Medical Director, co design the Hospices clinical strategy and contribute to the overall corporate strategy to deliver innovative and effective specialist palliative care to the community we serve

Work collaboratively with the Medical Director to support and develop Clinical Research, Medical Education and develop a system for internal audit, supporting the delivery of high quality care

Directly manage the clinical leadership structure. Demonstrate inclusive, accessible and disciplined leadership to galvanise and integrate the teams and disciplines under your line management

Demonstrate a commitment to the development of good management and leadership practice throughout the departments

Work with senior colleagues across the Hospice to formulate and implement integrated, cohesive operating plans which deliver the clinical aims of the organisation

Hold the lead for safeguarding vulnerable adults for the Hospice, contributing to system meetings and forums as required

Assume responsibility for the Accountable Officer for Controlled Drugs and operate as the IPC lead for the Hospice, ensuring the appropriate governance and reporting is in place to meet statutory requirements

Working in collaboration with senior clinical colleagues, provide comprehensive, timely and transparent reporting to the Chief Executive and by extension the Board of Trustees for all areas of clinical responsibility

Ensure clinical colleagues are engaged in and proactively driving and profile service design, innovation and improvement

Work effectively with public and professional partners across the health and social care system and the wider community, strengthening clinical engagement and leadership with partners and commissioners to address changing population needs

Promote the Hospice and their work with Marketing colleagues to develop and improve our profile

Governance and Risk

As the registered manager for the Hospice, ensure that the appropriate safeguards are in place to support effective oversight and adhere to the necessary CQC guidelines and statutory requirements

Take on the lead for organisational risk and governance relating to the role of registered manager

Provide the Chief Executive and by extension the Board with financial, statistical and operational key performance indicators and information as requested in a timely and accurate manner

Working in collaboration with senior clinical colleagues, provide comprehensive, timely and transparent reporting to the Chief Executive and by extension the Board for all areas of clinical accountability

Ensure that all the regulatory standards commensurate with the work of the Hospice are met, protecting the patient, family and colleagues experience across the Hospice

Communicate and receive sensitive information involving patients, relatives and colleagues across cultures and communities, ensuring all information governance standards are met

Act as co-chair of the clinical governance committees, with the Medical Director, ensuring there is a portfolio of work that demonstrates integrated working

Provide quality governance, with transparent reporting that supports organisational and system wide operational and long term planning and learning

Corporate

Maximise the efficiency of services and take and communicate tough decisions that support clinical delivery

Manage and lead on the delivery of specifically identified services or projects in the Hospice annual plan

Act as an ambassador for all aspects of the Hospices operations with accountability for positive and effective partnerships between the Board and local regional and national commissioners, policy makers and senior leads in partner organisations, from GPs in practice to NHS Trust Boards

Share corporate responsibility for management of Hospice finances, working with the Finance Director to ensure that budget responsibility for all clinical services is embedded and that action is taken to meet the necessary governance associated with finance and the Charity Commission requirements

Evidence cultural awareness and inclusiveness across all clinical practice

Constructively challenge and change practice that does not support the Hospices inclusive approach

Work with senior colleagues to influence the development of regional and national end of life care policy and strategies, negotiate service level agreements and other development planning in conjunction with the NHS

Strengthen partnerships with universities, academic organisations and LETBs

Work with the Chief Executive on the strategic vision including fostering and cultivating stakeholder relationships at city, regional and national levels

General duties

Confidentiality

All employees are required to uphold the confidentiality of all information records in whatever format, encountered in the course of employment and after it.

All employees are bound by the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulations when, in the course of their employment, they deal with information records relating to individuals.

Equality and Diversity

The hospice is committed to promoting an environment that values diversity. All staff are responsible for ensuring that they treat individuals equally and fairly and do not discriminate on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. The hospice expects all staff to behave in a way that recognises and respects diversity in line with the appropriate standards.

Health and safety

All employees have a responsibility under the terms of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to protect and promote their own health and that of others in the workplace.

All employees must comply with all hospice health and safety procedures infection control.

The prevention and control of infection is the responsibility of everyone who is employed by the hospice. Employees must be aware of infection control policies, procedures and the importance of protecting themselves and their clients in maintaining a clean and healthy environment.

Information governance

All employees are responsible for ensuring they undertake any training relating to information governance, read the hospices policies, procedures and guidance documents relating to information governance, and understanding how this affects them in their role.

Professional development

All employees must participate in an annual appraisal and develop a personal development plan with their line manager.

All employees are responsible for maintaining their statutory and mandatory training.

Safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults

The hospice is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All employees and volunteers are expected to behave in such a way that supports this commitment pandemic or major incident.

In the event of a pandemic or major incident, the post holder may be asked to undertake other duties not necessarily commensurate to the banding of this role. This could include duties in any part of the hospice. Prior to undertaking any duties, the member of staff will have full training and induction. We wont ask any member of staff to undertake duties for which they are not competent or where they feel unsafe in their environment or could put patients or themselves at risk.

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered clinical professional in healthcare with current active UK registration
• Qualified by experience substantial post registration experience with significant management experience at a senior level (Band 7 or equivalent, and above)

Desirable

• Desirable
• Recognised management qualification
• Educated to Masters Level

Experience

Essential

• Substantial post-registration experience, including significant experience in a senior clinical management position
• Understanding of the provision and delivery of healthcare services and of the governments strategy for modernising healthcare, in particular around end of life care
• Knowledge of the hospice sector and its inter-relationship with other agencies
• Comprehensive understanding of clinical practice standards and professional governance, clinical governance and CQC registration requirements
• Comprehensive understanding of patient safety risk management and incident investigation processes to the standard of root cause analysis
• Comprehensive understanding of staffing and workforce issues in clinical services
• Able to delegate and chair effectively
• Able to analyse complex data in conjunction with wider Hospice policies and produce detailed reports with recommendations
• Understanding of systems for educating and training health and social care colleagues
• Be commercially aware and have an understanding of health and social care funding in the public sector in the UK
• Able to inspire confidence and lead with credibility and passion colleagues from across a breadth of professions and roles
• Able to hold practitioners to account for patient safe clinical care across a complex caseload to carry the confidence of the public, regulators, patients family and colleagues
• Experience in managing service delivery through inter-disciplinary and multi agency workforce including the management of medical colleagues
• Experience of producing Board level reporting within a third sector, NHS or commercial environment
• Proven expert clinical experience, expert judgement and intelligence-gathering experience
• Able to hold colleagues to account and ensure achievement of goals/deadlines
• Demonstrable evidence of effectively leading organisational change
• Experienced negotiator with track record of achieving effective commissioning and service outcomes through collaborative stakeholder relationships
• Proven credibility and experience of service transformation across complex multi-sector networks and influencing policy at local and national level
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• Experience of accountability for corporate wide systems of governance and service quality and CQC assurance
• Experience of overseeing multi-faceted projects and project cycles

Desirable

• Knowledge and understanding of the business and management functions of a hospice
• Knowledge of the Nolan principles and the democratic basis for public services
• Knowledge of public health issues
• Knowledge of the local, regional and national business of health and social care, including commissioning, policy frameworks and regulation

Personal Skills and Attributes

Essential

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Highly developed self-management skills, strategic management and leadership skills
• Highly developed networking, influencing and communication skills
• Excellent team and group working skill
• Environmental and political awareness
• Advanced analytical, numeracy and problem solving skills
• Insight into strengths and weaknesses
• PC Competence
• Ability to manage a complex team
• Ability to work effectively as part of a multi-professional team
• Effective time management and working to deadlines
• Leadership, coaching and mentoring skills
• Ability to engage with member of the public over sensitive issues
• Ability to handle media enquires and to represent the Hospice to the media and general public
• Presentation and public speaking skills
• Able to communicate across diverse groups and communities
• Ability to maintain a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive distressing conflicts
• Commitment to provision of high quality services and public sector values
• Committed to providing accurate and timely information to a high standard
• Ability to both think strategically as well as micro manage to ensure operational excellence
• Skilled at balancing competing demands
• Committed to providing accurate and timely information to a high standard
• Drive, enthusiasm, resilience, determination and commitment
• Ability to develop strong working relationships and to motivate others
• Ability to make rational decisions whilst under pressure
• Hands on pragmatic approach
• Good interpersonal skills: pragmatic with a high level of emotional intelligence
• Able to develop and communicate a shared vision
• Evidence of well-honed project leadership and management
• Able to influence, understand and make decision in relation to the local and national political landscape affecting health and social care
• Able to lead and motivate individuals, teams and peers in a complex and challenging operating environment
• Able to show initiative, flexibility and open-mindedness
• Able to make decisions in complex circumstances
• Able to find solutions to problems and encourage creative thinking, drawing on the experience and skills of others to do so
• Good organisational skills and ability to delegate
• A great role model able to inspire confidence and empower others
• Committed to promotion and embedding equality, diversity and inclusion
• Ability to provide own transport
• Ability to work flexible hours
• Adaptability to changing structures or situations
• High standard of personal and professional conduct and integrity
• Highly self-motivated

Desirable

• Able to communicate across diverse groups and communities and evidence of equality of opportunity in approach

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).