Job summary
We are delighted to offer an exciting opportunity for a highly motivated, innovative and enthusiastic leader to take one of three new Head of Quality Improvement (QI) roles, accountable to the Trust's Associate Director of QI within the Trust's Quality Improvement Team.
The successful candidate will be a proven leader and will be able to demonstrate experience of leading improvement within different contexts at a high level, ensuring that the Trust's QI Strategy is achieved.
As a natural communicator, the successful candidate will relish opportunities to network effectively, motivate and persuade by serving as the QI conduit within the Care Group, leading the QI Work. They will support the Trust's Quality Improvement Team in the ongoing delivery of quality improvement training and initiatives, across a wide range of services.
They will develop and deliver training opportunities and lead and develop the direct use of QI methodology to achieve the Trust's strategic goals and priorities.
The postholder will work closely with staff at all levels of the organisation, as well as service users, carers and wider Quality Improvement networks.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will serve as the conduit for all Quality Improvement activities within their Care Group, ensuring delivery of effective and efficient programmes of QI work, to drive continuous quality improvement in healthcare service delivery. They will lead improvement collaboratives and staff-led change programmes with support provided by the QI Coordinator.
The postholder will be responsible for development and delivery of the QI Strategy, providing a clear vision for the Trust with QI at the heart of everything it does.
The post holder will have considerable experience of running continuous quality improvement initiatives and staff led change programmes paying greater attention to the initiation, ongoing support and closure of projects will help more teams achieve results at at a quicker rate. Using their expert skills in the Care Group and wider organisation, extensive knowledge and experience in working with quality improvement methodology, improvement science and human factors to create a movement of clinical and non clinical staff leading improvement.
About us
#TeamNottsHC comprises over 11,000 dedicated colleagues who #MakeADifference every day. We deliver intellectual disability, mental health, community health, forensic, and offender healthcare services across Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, and South Yorkshire. Our care is provided from over 200 sites, spanning community locations, acute settings, and secure environments, including prisons.
We are one of the largest mental health and community Trusts in the East Midlands and one of Nottinghamshire's biggest employers. We also host national and regional services, such as the National High Secure Deaf Service and the Nottingham Centre for Transgender Health.
We offer a variety of employee-led staff networks, including Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) groups, the Green Champions network, the Freedom to Speak Up network, the Health and Wellbeing Champions network, and the Menopause Champions network. These networks play a vital role in supporting our diverse workforce and promoting a culture of inclusivity.
The health and wellbeing of our colleagues is a top priority. We invest significantly in this through our in-house occupational health and staff counselling services, supported by a dedicated Health and Wellbeing team.
The Trust is committed to reducing its carbon emissions, with a specialised Energy and Environmental team working to ensure compliance with environmental legislation, enhance our environmental performance, and achieve our net-zero commitment
Job description
Job responsibilities
Co-ordinates spread and sustainability of Trust wide and staff-led quality improvement priorities as a key way of working across the Trust.
Continuously improve and drive the Service User QI Participation strategy and approach within the Care Groups
Prioritises the need for all leaders to understand how improvement works and plays an active role in its adoption and success.
Drives transformational change by creating a culture that fosters innovation and change at a team, Care Unit, Care Group and organisational level.
Ensures there is effective governance, oversight and assurance around the Care Groups strategic quality improvement portfolio, including undertaking periodic reviews to maintain its effectiveness, affordability and achievability.
To be responsible for the delivery of quality improvement collaborative plans and progress reports, informed by robust monitoring of milestones that demonstrate direct and indirect, qualitative and quantitative outcomes resulting from their adoption.
Provide expert content knowledge about all aspects of continuous quality improvement and is able to act as an approachable source of knowledge to all staff.
Lead on the preparation of papers on key strategic QI projects/collaboratives and present to relevant stakeholders.
Have the ability to teach improvement science, quality improvement concepts, tools and techniques.
Communicate complex information and develop relationships with all levels of clinical and non-clinical staff and also external organisations.
Manage complex, sensitive and contentious information appropriately.
Look for opportunities to develop all areas of work in line with a culture of continuous quality improvement.
Understand and exploit opportunities to push the quality agenda of the organisation at all opportunities.
Understand the wider quality agenda and exploit linkages between the different projects and colleagues involved in them.
Coach and articulate to others the use of various improvement methods.
Provide teaching of highly complex improvement methodology including topics including, but not limited to, LoPK, Theory of Constraints, Patient Safety, Psychology of Change, Psychological Safety, Improvement Kata, IHI White Papers, requiring use of skills developed to a high level through specific improvement science training or equivalent relevant experience.
Providing often contentious data to clinical teams to whom the data pertains, where there are significant barriers to acceptance which need to be overcome using the highest level of interpersonal and communication skills, such as would be required when communicating in a hostile, antagonistic or highly emotive atmosphere.
Presenting to large groups of staff (can be 100+), both internally and externally. Able to present NHCs Quality Safety & Patient Experience Strategy, including the Quality Improvement Strategy as well as articulate wider work going on in the organisation outside of quality improvement.
Work with Very Senior Managers and the Associate Director of Quality Improvement on the design and implementation of agreed improvement programmes.
Foster a culture of innovative practice through active communication and engagement with a range of individuals and groups across the Trust.
Provide a link between identified national innovations, the best available clinical and scientific research in best practice and the individuals, teams and Care Units within the Care Groups.
Person Specification
Qualifications - Academic / Professional
Essential
1. Masters in health / social care, improvement, change management subject or applicable experience
2. QI qualification or equivalent experience
3. Experience of project and programme management techniques and tools
Training
Essential
4. Evidence of ongoing CPD
Knowledge
Essential
5. Proven and significant leadership experience and/or formal management qualification.
6. Proficiency with office systems and computers.
7. Proven experience of leading and delivering complex change and strategy development programmes in a politically sensitive and complex environment
8. Working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint.
9. Detailed understanding of all aspects Improvement Science
10. Improvement Methods such as Improvement Kata Model for Improvement, Lean, collaborative models, PDSA and process mapping
11. Experience and/or understanding of successfully operating in and delivering priorities in a partnership environment.
12. Experience of leading and managing change effectively including guiding others to cope with operating in an agile, changing environment and dealing with opposition to change.
13. Statistical process control
14. Ability to analyse data and make assessments on a range of projects measuring programme impact both qualitatively and quantitatively.
Desirable
15. Ability to contribute to the management of multiple programmes
16. Working knowledge of Human Factors principles.
17. Patient safety within the context of improvement.
Experience
Essential
18. Extensive experience of involvement in front line delivery of multiple quality improvement programmes and initiatives.
19. Extensive experience in the design, delivery and evaluation of quality improvement programmes and projects to agreed timescales and within budget
20. Proven ability to use a coaching/mentoring style to support staff development
21. Teaching teams and groups in a classroom style environment
22. Previous experience of line management including resource planning and management
23. Experience of facilitation of multiple groups of people including senior leaders.
24. Significant experience presenting quality improvement metrics and progress to large groups of customers using appropriate media.
25. Working collaboratively with staff, members and stakeholders
26. Experience of applying quality improvement and programme management skills across multi-provider pathways
27. Experience of quality improvement coaching, application of action learning and/or continuous quality improvement methods
Desirable
28. Considerable experience of running collaboratives to support improvement.
29. Experience of successful organisational change management in a complex environment, preferably in a health or care setting
Skills
Essential
30. Strong external communications skills in a politically sensitive environment
31. Ability to prepare and produce concise insightful communications for dissemination to senior stakeholders and a broad range of stakeholders as required
32. Ability to analyse highly complex issues where material is conflicting and drawn from multiple sources (verbal, written and numerical).
33. Demonstrable leadership, vision, strategic thinking and planning with highly developed political skills
34. Demonstrable ability to plan over short, medium and long -term timeframes and adjust plans and resource requirements accordingly
35. Ability to communicate verbally and in writing in a clear, concise and effective manner.
36. Able to engage, involve and collaborate with multiple stakeholders across improvement programmes
37. Demonstrable ability to manage own workload and make informed decisions in the absence of required information, working to tight and often changing timescales
38. Demonstrable ability to use autonomy to undertake actions as a result of own interpretation of policy and guidance providing a source of expert advice to the organisation
39. Excellent communication skills, written and verbal
40. Ability to work autonomously and resolve problems independently
41. Able to delegate, coach and provide meaningful feedback.
42. Good team worker.
43. Flexible approach to work.
44. Excellent attention to detail
45. Presentation skills