Title: Head of Improvement

This position offers an exciting opportunity for an inspiring leader to take NWAS to a new level of achievement. Reporting to Assistant Director of Improvement the post holder supports delivery of the trust's strategic aims and core purpose of 'being there when people need us the most'. The post holder will have a track record in leading improvement in complex adaptive systems and will have designed and delivered organisation wide improvement capability programmes. They will be able to evidence significant expertise in improvement science and evaluation of improvement programmes. The postholder will have specific responsibilities for the NWAS improvement academy, our NWAS capability building programmes and large-scale improvement programmes. They will work with a highly skilled senior improvement team to build an organisation wide, embedded culture of improvement.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will also have a pivotal role in delivering the Quality, Innovation and Improvement Directorate (QIID) team purpose and objectives. The directorate exists to set, monitor and improve quality standards for our patients. We listen to patients when things go right and wrong, sharing this learning across the Trust. We gather complex information to create insight, often reliant on data from multiple disconnected systems. We provide expertise and technology to support safe and effective working and support learning to scale. We work to harness the innovation potential of our people and support this across the Trust and wider NHS.

All leadership roles at NWAS at every level are required to promote and role model our Be Think Do Philosophy. NWAS is committed to attracting managers and leaders who are more than subject matter experts, but exemplary in demonstrating their experience and commitment to values-based leadership challenging workforce and health inequalities operating successfully in ambiguity, complexity and uncertainty.

About us

North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust provides 24 hour, 365 days a year accident and emergency services to those in need of emergency medical treatment and transport.

Our highly skilled staff provide life-saving care to patients in the community and take people to hospital or a place of care if needed.We also provide non-emergency patient transport services for those patients who require non-emergency transport to and from hospital and who are unable to travel unaided because of their medical condition or clinical need.

Alongside the other emergency services, we also work to ensure the safety of the public and treatment of patients in the event of a major incident.

We also deliver the NHS 111 service in the North West. NHS 111 replaced NHS Direct in 2013. This service was introduced to make it easier for people to access local NHS healthcare services in England. It provides non-emergency medical help fast, and is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Job description

Job responsibilities

We welcome all applications and are open to discussions with respect to secondment and fixed term contracts.

Please ensure that you have fully read the job description and person specification before applying for this role.

Person Specification

Qualifications and Knowledge

Essential

• Educated to master's level or equivalent or equivalent knowledge through experience
• Strong evidence of continuing personal & professional development
• Knowledge of improvement and safety science developed through practical experience, post graduate training or short courses

Skills / competencies

Essential

• Highly developed communication skills with the ability to communicate on highly complex matters and difficult situations
• Ability to provide and receive, convey and present highly complex, sensitive and/or contentious information to large groups, responding openly to questions to ensure full understanding and engagement
• High level analytical skills and the ability to draw qualitative and quantitative data from a wide range of sources and present in a clear concise manner
• Leadership, vision, strategic thinking and planning with highly developed political skills
• Demonstrable compassionate and inclusive leadership
• Experience in the application of HR processes
• Demonstrable experience of line management responsibilities
• Ability to work on own initiative and organise workload, allocating work as necessary, working to tight and often changing deadlines
• Ability to make decisions autonomously, when required, on difficult issues
• Autonomy to undertake actions as a result of own interpretation of policy and guidance providing a source of expert advice to the organisation

Qualifications and Knowledge

Essential

• Strong knowledge of and experience of delivering improvement science theories
• Knowledge of latest thinking in quality improvement in healthcare literature
• Knowledge of health sectors and systems outside the UK

Experience

Essential

• Experience in a senior quality improvement leadership role
• Experience of leading change in a quality improvement organisation
• Experience of teaching quality improvement methodologies to a wide range of NHS staff
• Experience of successfully delivering priorities in a complex healthcare system
• Experience in leading the design, development and delivery of a quality improvement strategy in a healthcare system or organisation
• Experience of leading change from Board to frontline
• Experience of leading teams to deliver improvement science capability building training
• Experience and understanding of the UK health economy

Employer details

Employer name

North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Address

Ladybridge Hall

Bolton

BL1 5DD

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

242-4382-LR