Job summary
Within UHN, we have set out our plan to deliver high quality care for all and be a great place to work. We want to become an always improving organisation, supporting all our colleagues to have the ideas, support, encouragement, skills and tools to continuously improve all our areas of work.
In order to embed a culture of Improvement throughout UHN, we have a coaching function within our Improvement team to coach, facilitate and support teams across UHN to put QI methodology and skills into practice and improve services.
The Improvement and Excellence Coaching team are aligned to our divisions, working across KGH and NGH to help and support teams to put QI skills into practice, coach and support teams undertaking QI projects and help embed a culture of continuous improvement within our two hospitals. The improvement coach is an expert in quality improvement with a key focus on developing the capability of those they support.
A fantastic opportunity has come up to make a real difference through collaboration across our two hospitals, working with a wide range of stakeholders; executive team, clinical and non-clinical colleagues, and of course also our patients.
If you want to work in a high profile improvement role, be part of our exciting improvement journey as we strive to be 'Improving Together', and would like to work in a team who are passionate about driving positive change, then the QI team could be the right fit for you and we would love to hear from you.
Main duties of the job
We wish to attract candidates who can evidence their passion and enthusiasm for improvement and have both strong knowledge and applied experience of improvement work within a similar health care environment. You will work with our teams using our improvement methodology to build a QI culture and coach, facilitate and develop the people who do the work to drive improvements in their own areas.
Formal training in QI is highly desired but not essential, however a passion and interest in improving care for our patients, services and our colleagues with the ability to develop trusting and productive relationships with people at all levels are essential skills.
To support our teams, you will be building a professional skill set utilising our improving together approach, and will:
1. Be passionate about improvement
2. Provide knowledge and leadership of continuous and quality improvement
3. Have excellent coaching and facilitation skills
4. Promote a culture of learning and improvement
5. Build capability to improve across the organisation including directly training staff undertaking improvement projects
6. Provide tailored, appropriate support to individuals/teams delivering improvement projects
About us
University Hospitals of Northamptonshire NHS Group is made up of Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust and Kettering General NHS Foundation Trust. Both hospitals are separate hospitals/employers with hospital board and leadership. We share a group executive team leading on a shared vision, mission, priorities, strategies and Dedicated to Excellence Values.
Our Excellence Values
Compassion
Accountability
Respect
Integrity
Courage
We want to recruit the best people to deliver our services across the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire and help to unleash everyone's full potential. As an organisation, we value how we communicate and promote our vacancies to all communities.
We are a Defence positive trust, supporting our reservists, veterans, spouses and partners.
The Hospital Group encourages applications from people who identify from all protected groups, especially those from BAME, Disabled and LGBTQ+ backgrounds as these are underrepresented in our hospitals.
We understand that we need to work with colleagues from diverse backgrounds and make sure the environment they work in is inclusive and collaborative.
We have active Networks that promote and support colleagues from all backgrounds. This ensures everyone feels supported and has a sense of belonging working for Kettering and Northampton General Hospitals.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The post holder will:
7. Work with their aligned division to design and deliver improvement and change activities and projects, co-designed with staff, patients and their carers, in line with UHN strategic priorities.
8. Provide expert improvement coaching and facilitation to clinical, non-clinical and multi-disciplinary teams to support teams to make local improvements
9. Engage with staff and patients to ensure everyone knows about QI and feels empowered and energised to get involved in improving care
10. Create opportunities and make it easy for staff, patients and their carers to get involved in QI
11. Provide improvement coaching to support teams to reach high standards of daily continuous improvement
12. Support teams to develop their QI stories, celebrate their success and share their learning
13. Facilitate sharing of best practice and learning for services between KGH and NGH
14. Transfer and embed improvement skills via other forms of development such as mentoring, peer-coaching and team development sessions
15. Develop relationships with networks within divisions, including practice development, junior doctor teams, shared decision-making councils and and other networks to promote and develop a culture of improvement
16. Build trusted relationships with divisional leadership to support the quality improvement agenda
17. Support the delivery of training within the UHN Quality Improvement building capability programme
18. Ensure improvement projects carried out in the division are captured and reported in the quality improvement project tracking system
19. Role model the UHN Group values and behaviour framework both individually and through the team
This role will be support collaboration and best practice sharing across our two hospitals aligned to divisions across UHN supporting the two Surgical divisions. This means there is an expectation of travel between Kettering General Hospital and Northampton General Hospital.
For the detailed job description and main responsibilities, please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification.
For more details on the post, please contact:
Dan Lagadu - Head of Quality Improvement
or
Cindy Odendaal - EA to Director of Transformation and Quality Improvement
or
Becky Taylor - Director of Transformation and Quality Improvement
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
20. Improvement experience within the NHS or a comparable large organisation
21. Knowledge and experience of the application of improvement and / or change management and / or culture change methodologies to support a learning culture of improvement and delivery
22. Proven record of delivering agreed objectives
23. Proven collaborative relationship engagement and network building skills with a range of stakeholders
24. Experience working in a cross-functional / multi-disciplinary team and encouraging collaborative working
25. Experience supporting, coaching or mentoring others
Desirable
26. Experience of delivering teaching or training sessions
Skills
Essential
27. Demonstrable knowledge of improvement or project techniques
28. Demonstrable compassionate and respectful style encompassing innovation and energy for improvement
29. Effective and adaptable analytical and problem-solving skills on difficult/sensitive, detailed and highly complex issues, and develop a range of options to improve performance.
30. Excellent written and verbal communication skills
31. Accurate and advanced IT/keyboard skills
Desirable
32. Knowledge and clear understanding of the background to, and aims of, current healthcare improvement policy in the NHS.
Qualifications
Essential
33. Masters level qualification in general or healthcare management, or relevant equivalent experience or education
34. Evidence of continuous professional development
Desirable
35. Evidence of additional education/training in specialism Quality Improvement or Project Management qualification
36. Teaching / training qualification