Senior Improvement Specialist
NHS Confederation
The closing date is 01 December 2024
Job summary
We have an excellent opportunity for two Senior Improvement Specialists to join our Acute Network team. We are looking for someone who is able to provide expert improvement analysis and advice to the acute networks portfolio to create high quality improvement offers and events.
As a Senior Improvement Specialist, you will:
- Lead on the delivery and creation of member improvement collaboratives
- Play an integral role in convening improvement communities to drive improvement through data and evidence
- Develop, manage and maintain strong stakeholder relationships with external organisations (including member coalitions, such as advisory groups and operations networks
- Be responsible for actively seeking out opportunities to proactively promote the work of our members
Main duties of the job
The post holder will be responsible for leading on part of the networks improvement work portfolio to create high quality improvement offers and events. The post holder will lead on the delivery and creation of member communities/collaboratives centred around specific improvement topics that are linked to national priorities and the governments agenda for improving healthcare. They will have an integral role in convening improvement communities to drive improvement through data and evidence. The postholder will provide expert improvement analysis, advice and steer relating to the networks improvement portfolio.
The postholder works closely with colleagues across the NHS Confederation, building strong relationships with the communications, membership and events teams to deliver high quality, strategic member benefits aligned to the impact goals of the NHS Confederation.
About us
The NHS Confederation is the membership organisation that brings together, supports and speaks for the whole healthcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The NHS Confederations Acute Network supports acute leaders in hospitals to exchange ideas, share experiences and challenges, and influence the national agenda. The Network supports engagement across acute hospitals and promotes effective system working.
The Acute Network provides a space for leaders of these organisations to come together and have a voice, influence policy, share good practice, address challenges across healthcare and collaborate on improvement programmes.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Responsibilities
Member engagement
- Draw on acute member priorities, expertise, and knowledge to develop and shape quality improvement opportunities
- Develop insightful, evidence-based, member-informed improvement priorities, advice, recommendations and thought leadership to drive a range of influencing activities and improvement
- Providing services to members through improvement analysis, best practice, case studies, research projects to help connect members with the latest improvement thinking
- Support the central commercial team in identifying members that need re-engaging and identifying potential new members to help achieve the networks income growth objective
Improvement collaboratives/communities
- Codesigning (with members input) events programme, including meetings with senior leaders, and high-profile communities/collaboratives and conferences.
- Designing, facilitating, and lead on improvement communities/collaboratives for members, including roundtables, webinars and peer learning sets that help our members learn, improve and influence together.
- Using improvement methodology and tools to support improvement projects at a national level
- Providing support and guidance to members on improvement approaches/systems thinking
- Connecting with wider improvement organisations/leaders to build a strong foundation of improvement within the organisation
- Use project management skills to keep improvement work on track and build momentum
- Lead on acute/hospital level data analysis to help drive data led improvement and ensure measurement for improvement is in place, this includes evaluation methods and recommendations based on both qualitative and quantitative findings
- Co-designing overall improvement strategy and income generation funding model within the network this includes researching options, engaging with stakeholders, understanding market/appetite/USP to attract improvement work
Communications
- Working closely with the press and media, and the NHS Confederations communications and public affairs teams, providing comment and background briefing on acute healthcare improvement
- Making a strong case for change and writing/speaking persuasively with a range of external audiences.
- Working with the communications lead to manage and provide content for our members - ensuring members receive relevant and timely updates from the NHS Confederation about its work and national developments of interest to members through blogs and member updates.
- Speaking at external meetings and events as necessary to support our improvement agenda
- Using content knowledge and engaging in social media to raise the profile of the improvement portfolio to wider members, parliamentarians, researchers and key decision makers in collaboration with the wider Confederations communications and public affairs teams
- Project managing and creating high-quality and insightful products (including publications, rapid briefings, summary guides and thought leadership pieces) to spread the learning, improvement practice and lessons to members
Key relationships
- Develop, manage and maintain strong stakeholder relationships with external organisations
- Using improvement coaching skills and influencing key stakeholders
- Lead on building strong relationships with acute members senior leaders, clinical leaders and system leaders
- Co-lead with other networks within NHS Confederation on collaboration and joint improvement work as well as wider staff groups such as communications, events team and central policy team.
- Building effective working relationships with colleagues, contributing to effective team dynamics, and deputising for the Assistant Director
- Ensure connectivity and input into the NHS Confederations wider organisational priorities, in particular our Strategic Impact Goals and work towards improvement in what our members and systems deliver
Leadership
- Working flexibly and responsively to needs of the network ensuring effective prioritisation and meeting short notice deadlines as required
- Optimising and supporting the allocation of time and resources to improvement projects/collaboratives to make the best use of capacity and skills across the team
- Supporting the development of an annual business and work plan and tracking project risks and performance
- Demonstrating initiative and a proactive approach to the delivery of improvement work that adds value, anticipates needs and leads to positive outcomes
- Investing in own personal development through feedback and continuous learning
- Setting clear objectives for direct reports, providing ongoing support and investing their development.
- Part of the senior leadership team in the network and role modelling/supporting colleagues to achieve the networks priority goals and contributing to the development of an effective and cohesive team with commitment to the delivery of shared goals
- Providing improvement coaching, influencing and negotiating with senior leaders/members involved in improvement collaboratives
Job description
Job responsibilities
Responsibilities
Member engagement
- Draw on acute member priorities, expertise, and knowledge to develop and shape quality improvement opportunities
- Develop insightful, evidence-based, member-informed improvement priorities, advice, recommendations and thought leadership to drive a range of influencing activities and improvement
- Providing services to members through improvement analysis, best practice, case studies, research projects to help connect members with the latest improvement thinking
- Support the central commercial team in identifying members that need re-engaging and identifying potential new members to help achieve the networks income growth objective
Improvement collaboratives/communities
- Codesigning (with members input) events programme, including meetings with senior leaders, and high-profile communities/collaboratives and conferences.
- Designing, facilitating, and lead on improvement communities/collaboratives for members, including roundtables, webinars and peer learning sets that help our members learn, improve and influence together.
- Using improvement methodology and tools to support improvement projects at a national level
- Providing support and guidance to members on improvement approaches/systems thinking
- Connecting with wider improvement organisations/leaders to build a strong foundation of improvement within the organisation
- Use project management skills to keep improvement work on track and build momentum
- Lead on acute/hospital level data analysis to help drive data led improvement and ensure measurement for improvement is in place, this includes evaluation methods and recommendations based on both qualitative and quantitative findings
- Co-designing overall improvement strategy and income generation funding model within the network this includes researching options, engaging with stakeholders, understanding market/appetite/USP to attract improvement work
Communications
- Working closely with the press and media, and the NHS Confederations communications and public affairs teams, providing comment and background briefing on acute healthcare improvement
- Making a strong case for change and writing/speaking persuasively with a range of external audiences.
- Working with the communications lead to manage and provide content for our members - ensuring members receive relevant and timely updates from the NHS Confederation about its work and national developments of interest to members through blogs and member updates.
- Speaking at external meetings and events as necessary to support our improvement agenda
- Using content knowledge and engaging in social media to raise the profile of the improvement portfolio to wider members, parliamentarians, researchers and key decision makers in collaboration with the wider Confederations communications and public affairs teams
- Project managing and creating high-quality and insightful products (including publications, rapid briefings, summary guides and thought leadership pieces) to spread the learning, improvement practice and lessons to members
Key relationships
- Develop, manage and maintain strong stakeholder relationships with external organisations
- Using improvement coaching skills and influencing key stakeholders
- Lead on building strong relationships with acute members senior leaders, clinical leaders and system leaders
- Co-lead with other networks within NHS Confederation on collaboration and joint improvement work as well as wider staff groups such as communications, events team and central policy team.
- Building effective working relationships with colleagues, contributing to effective team dynamics, and deputising for the Assistant Director
- Ensure connectivity and input into the NHS Confederations wider organisational priorities, in particular our Strategic Impact Goals and work towards improvement in what our members and systems deliver
Leadership
- Working flexibly and responsively to needs of the network ensuring effective prioritisation and meeting short notice deadlines as required
- Optimising and supporting the allocation of time and resources to improvement projects/collaboratives to make the best use of capacity and skills across the team
- Supporting the development of an annual business and work plan and tracking project risks and performance
- Demonstrating initiative and a proactive approach to the delivery of improvement work that adds value, anticipates needs and leads to positive outcomes
- Investing in own personal development through feedback and continuous learning
- Setting clear objectives for direct reports, providing ongoing support and investing their development.
- Part of the senior leadership team in the network and role modelling/supporting colleagues to achieve the networks priority goals and contributing to the development of an effective and cohesive team with commitment to the delivery of shared goals
- Providing improvement coaching, influencing and negotiating with senior leaders/members involved in improvement collaboratives
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- Educated in and application of improvement methodologies and techniques in healthcare Experience of pathway redesign and transformation to deliver positive outcomes Experience of creating improvement strategies, plans and programmes in healthcare Good knowledge of organisational design models and application. Excellent project management skills Well-developed analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to grasp complex issues quickly and to interpret, provide insight and present them for a variety of audiences using various formats such as SPC charts, run charts and histograms Demonstrable communication and networking skills, including the ability to engage external audiences make a strong case for change Experience in collecting, analysing and using information/data to demonstrate outcomes or results relating to hospital level data e.g. patient flow, elective, inpatients, clinical outcomesetc. Knowledge of NHS and wider health and care policy, priorities and service delivery challenges and the wider NHS, particularly in relation to the Acute/hospital sector Ability to develop and maintain strategic relationships and partnerships, with demonstrable experience of engagement and managing relationships with senior stakeholders. Demonstrable experience of working with minimal oversight, using their own initiative to devise, plan, manage and prioritise activities to meet their objectives
Desirable
- Broad Knowledge of the UK political environment and the operation of government, preferably related to healthcare
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- Educated in and application of improvement methodologies and techniques in healthcare Experience of pathway redesign and transformation to deliver positive outcomes Experience of creating improvement strategies, plans and programmes in healthcare Good knowledge of organisational design models and application. Excellent project management skills Well-developed analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to grasp complex issues quickly and to interpret, provide insight and present them for a variety of audiences using various formats such as SPC charts, run charts and histograms Demonstrable communication and networking skills, including the ability to engage external audiences make a strong case for change Experience in collecting, analysing and using information/data to demonstrate outcomes or results relating to hospital level data e.g. patient flow, elective, inpatients, clinical outcomesetc. Knowledge of NHS and wider health and care policy, priorities and service delivery challenges and the wider NHS, particularly in relation to the Acute/hospital sector Ability to develop and maintain strategic relationships and partnerships, with demonstrable experience of engagement and managing relationships with senior stakeholders. Demonstrable experience of working with minimal oversight, using their own initiative to devise, plan, manage and prioritise activities to meet their objectives
Desirable
- Broad Knowledge of the UK political environment and the operation of government, preferably related to healthcare