South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust
Are you self-motivated, a team player who is passionate about quality improvement and service development and looking for a new opportunity for 2025? We have an exciting opportunity to join our dietetic team as the Dietetic Service Manager working for a trust who has just won the 'Trust of the Year' in the prestigious Health Service Journal Awards in November 2024.
We are looking for a leader with proven strategic and operational management, service development, and clinical leadership skills to continue to drive forward the service.
The role will be based across sites including Warwick Acute, Leamington Rehabilitation Hospital, George Eliot Hospital, and community bases. We have a team of approximately 70 staff working across adult, children's, and home enteral feeding. The team is made up of Dietitians, Dietetic Assistant Practitioners, Dietetic assistants, and clerical staff covering the population of Warwickshire.
To provide professional leadership and hold management accountability for the dietetic team. To ensure that agreed performance standards and service targets are met. To interpret and implement national and local policies relevant to Children's and Adult Dietetics, ensuring that policy translates into practice. To provide advice on matters pertaining to Children's and Adults Dietetics and to contribute to the strategic planning of dietetic services across SWFT and other organisations and agencies through analysis and interpretation of data.
Main duties of the job
The Dietetic Service Manager is the senior manager within Dietetic Service with responsibility for the operational management and business planning of the service across Hospital and Community settings for children and adults.
The post holder is responsible for:
1. The strategic management of Dietetic services to children and adults provided by South Warwickshire Foundation Trust across acute and community services, ensuring that the services are effective, integrated, high quality and well-coordinated across different teams and service areas.
2. Holding professional responsibility for all Trust registered Dietitians, Dietetic Assistant Practitioners, Dietetic assistants, and Clerical staff.
3. All financial, human and physical resources within the Dietetic Service.
4. The development of local policies and implementation of national policies in accordance with NHS strategy, to continuously improve/modernise the Dietetic Service and to ensure compliance with the Healthcare Governance and CQC standards.
5. The promotion and marketing of Dietetic Service to external customers and the negotiating of service level agreements.
6. To promote the ethos of self-management and prevention to patients, staff, and carers to prevent nutritional problems, medical conditions, and complications.
7. The post holder represents Dietetic service for children and adults at a strategic and professional level within Allied Health Professionals working within SWFT.
About us
Come and join a Trust rated Outstanding by the CQC. South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust have been rated as outstanding following our latest inspection by the CQC and we are recruiting new staff to come and help us improve even further. In addition, our staff survey results have placed us 4th in the country for recommended place to work.
We provide services across Warwickshire and beyond ranging from Hospitals in Warwick, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Royal Leamington Spa, and Shipston-on-Stour to Community Services across the county. We are a progressive, expanding organisation with great ambition around improving quality, integrating pathways, and delivering high levels of productivity. Our values can be summed up in one sentence. We are 'Trusted to provide safe, inclusive, effective, and compassionate care'. Throughout the recruitment process, you will be asked to think about how you demonstrate these values and how they impact on your work. It doesn't matter what role you do, whether it is patient-facing or not, we are all working in the same way with our values at the core.
Job responsibilities
MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES:
1. Provide professional leadership and hold management accountability for Dietetic staff, including registered Dietitians, non-registered support staff, and clerical staff.
2. Ensure that agreed performance standards and service targets are met.
3. Interpret and implement national and local policies relevant to Children's and Adult Dietetics, ensuring that policy translates into practice.
4. Provide professional advice on matters relating to Children's and Adult Dietetics, and contribute to the strategic planning of the SWFT board and other organisations/agencies.
5. Ensure delivery of services which meets the nutrition and hydration needs of children and adults both within SWFT and external organisations.
6. Advise SWFT and commissioners on all issues of the Children's and Adult Dietetic service delivery including performance against contract, shortfalls, service pressures, and proposed remedial action.
7. Hold responsibility for the collection, collation, analysis, and interpretation of Dietetic data, to provide reports and recommendations to the Board and other organisations.
8. Prepare business cases/proposals for service developments and be proactive in procuring funding for these developments.
9. Develop clinical policies, procedures, protocols, prioritisation systems, and outcome systems in line with evidence base, professional clinical guidelines, national policies, and Trust clinical governance strategy.
10. Ensure that Children's and Adult Dietetic staff are actively engaged in the development of training packages and information materials for different client groups, as a key component of the provision of high-quality services.
11. Develop and monitor the professional standards of the Department, in line with the British Dietetic Association (BDA), HCPC, and National Service Frameworks, ensuring that all staff are supported through appraisal and clinical supervision and are engaged in Continuing Professional Practice activities.
12. Ensure that principles of Clinical Governance are embedded in professional practice within the Children's and Adult Dietetic service.
13. Compile comprehensive Department Training Plans, and ensure that a robust system of CPD is in place for all qualified Dietetic staff, in order that professional registration with HCPC can be maintained.
14. Attend and take an active role in local, regional, and national Dietetic activities/professional agenda: to represent the service at the West Midlands Dietetic Professional Managers Forum. Develop and performance manage Service Level Agreements with other organisations including other Trusts.
15. Engage in a continuous cycle of skill mix across the Children's and Adult Dietetic service to ensure more effective and efficient use of resources.
16. Take responsibility for the recruitment of new staff to the Children's and Adult Dietetic teams and ensure that appropriate induction is provided.
17. Ensure a team structure which encourages professional development of staff, offers career development opportunities, and is effective in achieving staff retention.
18. Accountable for all disciplinary and grievance procedures which may arise within the service.
19. Hold responsibility for sickness absence monitoring in line with SWFT policy.
20. Facilitate the development of Children's and Adult Dietetic staff in problem-solving, negotiation skills, reflective practice, and a cycle of continuous service improvements through the organisation of clinical supervision, peer review, and team planning meetings.
21. Ensure a comprehensive programme of student and apprenticeship placements and assessments is provided within the Children's and Adult Dietetic teams.
22. Responsibility for resolving informal and formal complaints, undertaking the role of complaints investigator when requested for the Dietetic department and other disciplines/departments.
23. Ensure a work plan for involvement of users in the development of Dietetic services for Children and Adults is in place.
24. Attend SWFT Allied Health Professions leads meetings to represent Children's and Adult Dietetics and contribute to the wider AHP strategy.
25. In relation to Children's and Adult Dietetics, take a lead on and participate in multidisciplinary policy development and working groups within SWFT. Take responsibility for the development, implementation, and monitoring of a range of objectives/projects in line with national and local priorities.
26. Ensure that the Children's and Adult Dietetic service observes data protection guidelines and maintains required standards of case notes and record keeping in line with BDA professional standards and SWFT standards.
27. Carry out clinical duties and direct patient care as required to support service delivery.
28. Work alongside the Trust AHP Lead to shape the strategic direction of dietetic service, to enhance service delivery and patient outcomes through a seamless approach to care.
SERVICE EVALUATION AND RESEARCH
1. In the area of Children's and Adult Dietetic service, take on agreed responsibilities in the following areas:
2. Health and Safety and Risk Management.
3. Contribute to an up-to-date portfolio of evidence and action plans for the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and other regulatory bodies.
4. Oversee the development of innovation in areas of risk management, quality standards settings, clinical effectiveness, and building a local evidence base in line with SWFT's priorities.
5. Ensure that a programme of Clinical Governance/Audit projects is developed, including the identification of required resources.
6. Represent the Children's and Adult Dietetic service within multidisciplinary systems of clinical governance within SWFT.
7. Collect and provide research data as required.
8. Clinical outcomes Therapy Outcome Measures (TOMs), BDA Complexity Tool.
FINANCIAL RESOURCE AND BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
1. Manage the financial performance of the Dietetic department, highlighting potential problems at the earliest opportunity and be instrumental in implementing corrective action.
2. Ensure that all resource implications and changes in services within the Dietetic Department are clearly communicated to the Associate Director of Operation for the Division.
3. Support the Divisional ACOO and the Divisional Finance Manager in the negotiation and agreement of the Department budget.
4. Manage the performance of the Department to achieve effectiveness and efficiency targets including Cost Improvement Programmes.
5. Negotiate detailed service level agreements with commissioners/users of Dietetic services.
6. Monitor ICB spend on feed. Partnership agreement/SLA for industry nursing service. Involvement in procurement process. Monitor the contract.
7. Participate in the procurement process and advisory role to enable the contract to be monitored.
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION
1. Take lead in the implementation of the SWFT and the Divisions communication strategies in relation to the Children's and Adult Dietetic service, ensuring that methods of organisation and sources of information are patient-centred.
2. Ensure that communication systems support the effective management of the service and ensure that staff views are actively sought.
3. Ensure that flexible and imaginative feedback exists to receive user and carer views on the running of current services, as well as planning those for the future.
4. Use of multiple Trust IT systems recruitment, purchasing, L&D, staff systems (ESR & LOOP).
GENERAL MANAGEMENT & ORGANISATIONAL
1. In conjunction with the other AHP managers in the Division to provide cover and/or deputise for the Divisional Associate Chief Operating Officer (ACOO).
2. Where agreed with the Divisional ACOO, take a Division-wide lead on specific corporate issues.
3. Provide appropriate management leadership, in line with the Divisional management structure.
4. Ensure working hours of staff under your responsibility are managed to maintain a healthy work/life balance and comply with the Working Time Directive.
5. Ensure delivery of the Trust Governance agenda, including risk management, health and safety, and quality standards, through the development, implementation, and review of governance systems to ensure a safe clinical and working environment within the Dietetic department.
6. Represent the Division and be actively involved in Trust side team/committees as directed by the divisional ACOO.
Person Specification
Qualifications
* Recognised Dietetic Degree or equivalent.
* Registered member of British Dietetic Association.
* Health Care Professionals Council Registration.
* Evidence of relevant Continuing Professional Development since qualification which includes successful completion of relevant specialist short courses up to Masters Degree level, study days, and extended self-study.
* Evidence of Leadership development training.
* Post Graduate Masters qualification in a relevant clinical area.
* Coaching qualification/training.
Experience
* Significant post-registration experience working with a mixed patient caseload.
* Experience of managing a dietetic department or team.
* Experience of involvement at a strategic level e.g. policy development and/or special projects.
* Experience of workforce planning, management, and team leadership.
* Experience of creating and delivering training packages.
* Clinical education - students and apprentices.
Skills
* Knowledge and experience of working with complex dietetic conditions.
* Specialist knowledge of assessment tools relevant to the client group.
* Working knowledge of EPR and data management systems such as EMIS.
* Leadership skills across a variety of settings.
* Presentation skills: matching presentation styles to and content to the audience.
* Highly developed negotiation, diplomacy, and problem-solving skills; ability to dissipate anger and manage conflict.
* Contract management - enteral feeding (Trust and ICB).
* Procurement - enteral feeding and catering.
* Managing SLAs/service specifications.
* Analyse, interpret and present data and information relating to the service.
* Develop and maintain effective working relationships with other relevant stakeholders.
* Must be able to deal effectively with a large workload and decide on priorities.
* Must demonstrate advanced communication and negotiation skills in a range of situations.
* Coaching skills.
Personal Qualities
* Excellent interpersonal abilities - observation, listening, diplomacy, sensitivity, and empathy.
* A high level of emotional intelligence.
* Demonstrated ability to work autonomously and independently when required, to tight deadlines and within resource constraints.
* Strong leadership skills.
* Demonstrated commitment to working with multi-disciplinary staff, Dietetic staff, clients, and other professionals to provide a high-quality service and to constantly improve and develop the services offered.
* Ability to deal with an unpredictable workload.
Other
* Access to own means of travel.
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.
South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust
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