Designated Clinical Officer

Job responsibilities

To ensure that the outcomes for disabled children and young people and those with SEN are maximised by working to improve; quality of life, school absences, secondary mental and physical health problems, personal autonomy and involvement in further education and employment. This will often involve comparison and interpretation of highly complex information and circumstances in relation to person centred planning and identification of personal and strategic outcomes and the need to persuade or influence others regarding those outcomes in situations that could be highly emotive. You will provide oversight and co-ordination across all health professionals delivering healthcare to individual children and young people and those with SEND within the school setting. To act as an expert resource for children and young peoples health providing highly specialised information, advice, guidance, reassurance and support for families and professionals in potentially emotive situations. This will include dealing with queries and information that may be of a highly complex, contentious and sensitive nature which extends to identifying and understanding problems or issues and also the formulation of solutions, including making recommendations about the best course of action from a range of options. You will actively participate in decision making around provision for children and young people within a panel environment, using information and evidence gathered to make sound and reasoned judgements, where the information will be highly complex and there may be conflicting opinions, and making recommendations from a multitude of potential options. You will actively manage financial resource commitments through this forum. This will extend to approving/declining packages on behalf of the ICB. You will ensure all health services are reflected in the Local Offer and that health providers are co-operating with the local authority in its development. You will provide highly specialised, long term strategic oversight to those children within a special school setting with complex medical needs and adapt strategies and plans in relation to the changing needs and circumstances of those children. You will develop, improve and influence the short and long term strategic planning and oversight of this area of work, including planning and design of services for delivery in the future within a timeframe that will often exceed a one year period. You will act as strategic and operational health lead for the Education, Health and Care Plan Pathway, ensuring co-ordination between NHS commissioners, providers, education and social care whilst ensuring robust quality assurance processes are embedded. You will work with the ICBs Commissioning team to inform short and longer term strategic planning and commissioning which will include influencing financial planning and management, in recognition of uncertainties and interdependencies that may exist in relation to the ongoing and constantly changing needs of the population of Children and Young People. To act as the lead health contact for young people aged 19-25 and identify the most appropriate lead health professional for the young persons EHCP. To lead the support to ICBs to ensure they meet their statutory duties for children and young people with special educational needs and disability (SEND) aged 0-25. To provide highly specialised advice in relation to the development of often highly complex programmes of care for Children and Young People.

DIMENSIONS

Form part of the ICB Nursing & Quality team, which also serves the whole population, to work with clinicians, patients and users and partners to ensure safe and quality services are delivered to the population covered.

To link across a range of workstreams to ensure services are strategic and work collaboratively to meet the needs of children and young people.

Ensuring the delivery of national requirements.

KEY RESULT AREA

Own individual responsibilities and share team objectives

Lead or contribute to creating improvement, transformation and innovation of services

Contribute to creating a work environment that is marked by pride, enthusiasm and collaboration

Manage and/or contribute to financial performance and target delivery Lead by action andinspire others acting as role model, demonstrating the leadership behaviours and values identified by the ICB

Communicate positively and effectively

Actively give and receive feedback in a constructive manner

Be adaptable, work with integrity and be trustworthy

Show constancy, courage and resolve in the pursuit of the vision and aims of the ICB

Actively contribute to improving the health and well-being of the population that is served

CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITIES:

To support the development of the corporate identity of the ICB through contribution to developing the vision, strategic direction, values and culture.

To represent the ICB on external bodies

To promote and develop the culture of a learning organisation committed to delivering improved health care.

To make a positive contribution to excellent communications across the ICB

To support the development of effective partnership working with all partner organisations.

To be a role model, demonstrating corporate leadership behaviours and competencies to drive transformational change.

COMMUNICATIONS AND WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

ICB staff

Children & Young people, their families and/or carers

Schools

Member practices

Clinicians across primary, secondary and tertiary care

Local Authorities

Together for Children

Commissioning support team

Workstream clinical leads

HEALTH & SAFETY

It is the responsibility of the individual to work in compliance with all current Health and Safety legislation and the Trust Health and Safety Policy and to attend any training requirements both statutory and mandatory in line with the Trusts legal responsibility to comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

INFECTION CONTROL

It is the responsibility of all individuals to comply with infection control policies and to attend any appropriate training requirements in line with the ICB responsibility to comply with Government Directives

MOST CHALLENGING PART OF THE JOB

Work within the SEND arena is often challenging and emotionally charged because of the profound needs of the children and young people and of their families. Direct contact withfamilies, individuals and professionals can be difficult, especially when what is being said is at odds with the views of the families or other professionals. The role will require the candidate to respond effectively in relation to distressing circumstances on a frequent basis and more occasionally in respect of highly upsetting situations. The successful candidate must be able to respond positively and effectively with this level of challenge and must be able to demonstrate the required level of professionalism and resilience and be able to seek appropriate peer and managerial support as and when required. Working consistently in an environment where the needs of the population are diverse and ever changing and where external factors frequently impact on the potential outcomes. Developing and maintaining key partnerships between health, education and local authority to meet the identified health needs of the population. Ensuring that support and visibility is equitable across the three local authority areas.

Skills and Competencies

Essential

• Evidence of ability to encourage and achieve change through the use
• of effective influencing and facilitation skills
• Effective leadership style, able to build confidence and motivate staff
• Able to provide clear and direct instruction and support to
• administrative/support staff, although there is no line management
• included within this role, the successful candidate will need to work
• closely with administrative support staff and be able to articulate the
• requirements of the wider programme of work.
• High level of interpersonal, written and oral communication and
• listening skills
• Able to design, develop, implement and maintain information
• databases and extract and interpret relevant information
• Able to prepare and present reports using clinical evidence and
• identifying recommendations for ICB governance bodies, decision
• makers or other potentially large groups of people.
• Able to adjust communication speed and style depending on
• audience to ensure that messages are conveyed effectively and that
• participation is facilitated to the greatest extent possible
• Able to work flexibly with a high level of autonomy
• Able to demonstrate the ability to evaluate highly complex and wide
• ranging information and to make recommendations based on sound
• reasoning
• Ability to understand, evaluate and communicate highly complex
• policies and information to a variety of audiences
• Excellent programme and project management skills which may
• include initial development of plans and ability to frequently and
• responsively adjust plans according to the needs and any emerging
• Able to relate at a senior level with clinicians and managers within
• and external to ICB/LA
• Can demonstrate the abilities to provide a positive example by
• working efficiently, thinking about and taking action to anticipate
• opportunities and deal with emerging issues.
• Able to empower internal staff and external stakeholders to develop
• ideas for increasing efficiency, managing the partnership to be
• ambitious but realistic in achieving the highest possible performance
• levels.
• Is an excellent communicator with the proven ability to network
• effectively, negotiate at all levels and influence others decisions.
• Able to foster productive and positive relationships with colleagues,
• other professionals, parent carers and children and young people
• Ability to work hours flexibly to meet the needs of the service

Qualifications

Essential

• Qualified and registered Therapist (OT, SALT, Physio therapist) or
• Registered Nurse with a minimum of 5 years experience
• Educated to masters level or equivalent qualification or experience,
• which could include in depth and post graduate study or research in
• an area relevant to the role

Additional Factors

Essential

• Ability to travel independently
• Ability to use VDU and Keyboard. Must be able to demonstrate
• proficiency and ability to use Microsoft applications.

Experience

Essential

• Experience in working with schools and/or children with special
• needs and their parent/carers
• Experience of working in collaboration with local authorities and
• other agencies
• In-depth and specialist knowledge and understanding of the Children
• and Families Act 2014, Care Act 2014, continuing care frameworks
• and SEND Code of Practice 0-25 (2014), in addition to other relevant
• legislation, local and national policy and good practice guidance.
• Knowledge and understanding of the all issues affecting outcomes
• for children, young people and families, particularly children and
• young people with SEND
• Knowledge and understanding of key issues affecting health
• services/modernisation/local commissioning agendas including
• national policy on reforms in the NHS.
• Knowledge of children's rights and legislation, both national and
• international impact of rights/legislation, both national and
• international change within the political and social economic context
• on professional practice
• Experience of undertaking highly complex, multi-faceted
• assessments requiring high levels of comparison and interpretation
• using a person centred planning approach ensuring clear outcomes
• are identified for children and young people
• Experience of using information and evidence gathered to make
• sound and reasoned judgements and recommendations from a
• multitude of potential options
• Experience of working within a highly complex area with many
• influencing factors which change frequently.

Desirable

• Knowledge and abilities to develop, write, update and implement
• SEN Policies and practice guidance
• Demonstrable and detailed knowledge and understanding of
• children services at both a local and national level.

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).