Guy’s and St Thomas’ is among the UK’s busiest and most successful NHS foundation trusts. We provide a full range of hospital and community services for people in south London and as well as specialist care for patients from further afield including cancer, renal, orthopaedic, respiratory and cardiovascular services. Guy’s is home to the largest dental school in Europe and a £160 million Cancer Centre opened in 2016. As part of our commitment to provide care closer to home, in 2017 we also opened a cancer centre and a kidney treatment centre at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup. St Thomas’ has one of the largest critical care units in the UK and one of the busiest emergency departments in London. It is also home to Evelina London Children’s Hospital. Evelina London cares for local children in Lambeth and Southwark and provides specialist services across south east England including cardiac, renal and critical care services. We lead a number of specialist service networks aiming to ensure children are treated locally where possible, but have access to specialist expertise when they need it. Our community services include health visiting, school nursing and support for families of children with long-term conditions. Our adult community services teams deliver care at the heart of the local communities we serve, working in partnership with GPs, local authorities and other healthcare and voluntary sector organisations. Working with our partners in Lambeth and Southwark, we are focusing on new ways of working to improve care for local patients. In February 2021 the Royal Brompton and Harefield joined Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, bringing together world-leading expertise in the care and research of heart and lung disease. Our merger provides a once in a generation opportunity to build a lasting, world-renowned heart and lung centre, providing the highest quality care for patients and conducting world-leading research. We have a reputation for clinical excellence and high quality teaching and research. We are part of King’s Health Partners, one of eight accredited UK academic health sciences centres. In partnership with King’s College London we have dedicated clinical research facilities including an MHRA accredited Phase I clinical trials unit. Patients are at the heart of everything we do and we pride ourselves on ensuring the best possible patient experience as well as safe, high quality care. We are proud to have one of the lowest mortality rates in the NHS. Following a comprehensive Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in 2019 we maintained our overall rating of ‘good’. Our adult community services achieved a rating of ‘outstanding’. The commitment of our 23,500 staff is key to our success. We are one of the largest local employers and we aim to develop and support all our staff so they are able to deliver high quality, safe and efficient care. The 2019 NHS staff survey results show that we have one of the most engaged and motivated workforces in the NHS. We know this has a positive impact on the care provided to our patients. We have one of the most ambitious capital investment programmes anywhere in the NHS. Job overview Are you passionate about improving healthcare quality and patient safety? Do you want to make a difference for our staff and our patients? If the answers are yes, then this job is for you! An exciting opportunity has arisen for a hardworking, enthusiastic and motivated individual to join the Trust Quality and Compliance Team as a Senior Quality Assurance Manager (Band 8a) on a fixed-term contract for 15-months to cover maternity leave, within the Quality and Assurance Directorate. The Trust’s Quality and Compliance Department consists of 8 team members focused on delivering the Trust’s quality strategy, maintaining compliance with statutory duties and regulations. The team work in collaboration with other Quality and Assurance teams and corporate services (e.g. Chief Nurse Office) to triangulate information from various sources in order to identify and respond to themes relating to quality and patient safety. Main duties of the job The Senior Quality Assurance Manager role is responsible for providing professional leadership and management of the quality assurance function for the Trust. The post holder will lead and facilitate effective compliance monitoring across all areas of the organisation, embedding processes and procedures Trust-wide for all clinical groups to meet the Trust’s statutory responsibilities. The post holder will establish networks within and beyond the organisation to discover best practice and benchmarking/intelligence gathering which can be incorporated into local systems to improve the quality of care we deliver to our patients. The post holder will provide a combination of subject matter expertise, particularly relating to quality improvement, assessing and monitoring assurance and management skills to develop and maintain quality performance. Working with professional leads within the clinical groups and across the organisation the post holder will enable the Trust to demonstrate compliance with national policies and standards. The post holder will support the Trust in providing assurance relating to the quality of care, and be able to evidence learning from all aspects of quality and compliance. It is essential that the appointee is a proven team player who is able to engender trust and respect from colleagues at all levels of the organisation. Working for our organisation Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust comprises five of the UK’s best-known hospitals – Guy’s, St Thomas’, Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Royal Brompton and Harefield – as well as community services in Lambeth and Southwark, all with a long history of high-quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation. We are among the UK’s busiest, most successful foundation trusts. We provide specialist care for patients including heart and lung, cancer and renal services as well as a full range of local hospital and community services for people in Lambeth and Southwark. We have around 25,300 staff, making us one of the largest NHS Trusts in the country and one of the biggest employers locally. We aim to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve and continue to develop new and existing partnerships with local people, patients, and neighbouring NHS organisations, local authorities and charitable bodies and GPs. We strive to recruit and retain the best staff as the dedication and skills of our employees lie at the heart of our organisation and ensure that our services are of the highest quality, safe and focused on our patients. Detailed job description and main responsibilities Duties and Responsibilities Quality Assurance and Compliance Provide specialised expert advice and leadership on quality standards, quality improvement, implementation and matters relating to a wide range of quality assurance topics. Lead the design and implementation of a quality management framework to be used for assessing quality of service and identification of areas for improvement and strength across all clinical groups. Lead and continually develop the programme of quality assessments with the clinical groups, directorates and core services to provide assurance against CQC standards within the Trust’s overall quality framework. Support development and implementation of a long-term strategic plan for the Quality and Compliance Team, in line with national regulatory standards. Lead on the development of quality priorities in the annual Quality Account, and work closely with clinical groups and corporate teams to track progress and identify improvements required. Lead on the production of the annual Quality Account for the Trust, working with corporate teams and clinical groups to ensure effective delivery. Provide leadership to deliver the Trust’s Learning from Deaths programme, working with internal stakeholders such as the Trust Mortality Lead, Local Mortality Leads, Clinical Group and Directorate Teams and Medical Examiner’s Office to ensure compliance with national policy and procedure, continuous quality improvement and shared learning. Lead on the planning and delivery of assigned quality improvement projects, using appropriate service improvement techniques to support clinical groups and directorates in the identification of opportunities for improvement. Ensure regular horizon scanning and analysis from multiple internal and external data sources to actively seek areas for improvement, using analytical and judgements skills to advise and recommend improvement where required. Monitor and implement escalation for clinical groups where quality performance against agreed standards/targets is not achievement. To include: KPIs, Trust wide standards, National standards Provide expert advice to clinical groups and corporate services relating to quality improvement methodology to address compliance with Trust quality standards. Committee Responsibility Oversee the management of the Trust Risk and Assurance Committee (TRAC), the executive sub-committee with delegated authority from the Board for all risk and quality matters, ensuring efficient running of the committee and strategic delivery of the committee’s outputs to Board. Manage the Quality and Compliance Team, to run the aforementioned committee and maintain oversight of other sub-committees within TRAC’s remit, ensuring appropriate levels of secretariat support and delivery according to their terms of reference. Collate and analyse complex quantitative and qualitative data to prepare and present reports/briefings as required, including recommendations for improvement where required, either locally or through Trust-wide committees relevant to this role. Attend and support other senior Trust-wide sub-committees and working groups as appropriate, ensuring effective dissemination and co-ordination of assurance from these groups locally and Trust-wide. Policy and Research Provide leadership to the Quality and Compliance Team to develop and embed processes for management of clinical guidance and NICE guidance, including maintenance of Trust systems including SharePoint General Policies Library, WAFr Clinical Guidance Database, and Radar Local Risk Management System. Provide expert advice relating to policy and clinical guidance alignment and dissemination across the Trust. Develop and maintain policy and procedure documents within remit of the Quality and Compliance Team, including the Trust Learning from Deaths Policy, Clinical Guidance Management Policy, and NICE Guidance Policy. Work closely with the external data partners, such as Telstra Health, to deliver benchmarking and data analysis relating to mortality surveillance. Provide, receive and analyse highly complex, technical, sensitive and contentious information (including statistical data) and translate as required using judgement to ensure comprehensive understanding across the organisation. People, Finance and Project Management Line manage the Quality Assurance Manager, Quality Assurance Officer and other team members as and when required as per service need in the Quality and Assurance Directorate. Budgetary and financial responsibility for the quality assurance team, including all human resource related finances, contract renewals and software management (policy database and clinical guidance system software). Includes drafting of business cases for new system development and finance on behalf of the Trust. To support, motivate and develop staff within the department and more widely in terms of quality assurance Trust-wide. Deputise for the Trust Senior Quality and Compliance Lead as required. Ensure that staff are trained, supervised and appraised appropriately to equip them to carry out their work effectively and efficiently. Build and develop key relationships with all relevant stakeholders and maintain networks internally and externally. Support the delivery of a range of quality improvements and projects arising directly and indirectly from the department’s field of expertise. Trust-wide or local to one specific are via co-ordination and co-operation with clinical directors, clinical leads, senior Nursing teams, and staff local to the quality improvement project with the quality and compliance team. Research, develop, review and implement improvements to provide expert support and advise as required. Please see attached job description and person specification for full details. Person specification Qualifications/ Education Essential criteria MSc level or equivalent level 7 education in relevant subject Qualification or advanced training in quality improvement methodologies Desirable criteria Member of relevant professional body or clinical background Evidence of training in statistical analysis and compliance Previous experience Essential criteria Experience in assurance, transformation or quality improvement role at band 7 or above Experience of delivering training to diverse teams or departments Experience of line management Experience of managing a range of simultaneous projects, preferably within an NHS organisation Experience of change management and embedding new processes Experience of managing a budget within a Healthcare setting Desirable criteria NHS experience in a senior quality, assurance, transformation or quality assurance role Experience of developing policy for non/clinical related practices Skills/ Knowledge/ Ability Essential criteria Proven leadership and management skills Good knowledge of the NHS, quality regulatory activity and quality standards Good knowledge of the CQC standards and inspection methodology Clear understanding of the NHS Code of Conduct Good understanding of the principles and practice of clinical governance and patient safety, required outputs and their use to improve clinical practice High level report writing Able to provide, receive and present highly complex, sensitive and contentious information Understanding of, and commitment to, using comparative information to stimulate quality improvement Able to negotiate with senior stakeholders on difficult and controversial issues Confident in presenting to various committees and at board level meetings Able to develop and use comparative information and statistical reports to stimulate quality improvement Ability to devise and implement a rigorous and analytical approach to information collection and presentation Ability to work under pressure and to tight and often changing deadlines Ability to work on own initiative and organise workload, allocating work as necessary Ability to make decisions autonomously, when required, on difficult issues, and able to make sound judgement of when to escalate Strong communication and motivation skills Good IT skills Guy’s and St Thomas’ celebrates, respects and values the diversity of its staff and patients. We review our policies, procedures and practices to ensure that all employees, patients and carers are treated equitable according to their needs. We are actively committed to ensuring that no one who applies for a job, works or study’s at the Trust, or accesses our services is discriminated against on the grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, religion or belief, age, gender identity , gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity/paternity, or marital/civil partnership. Applications are welcomed from applicants with a disability. We can make reasonable adjustments and offer support and advice in a variety of ways throughout the application process. Equality of opportunity is our policy. As an organisation we are committed to developing our services in ways that best suit the needs of our patients. This means that some staff groups will increasingly be asked to work a more flexible shift pattern so that we can offer services in the evenings or at weekends. Flexible working We are committed to supporting all employees to achieve a healthy work life balance and to work in a way that is best for them and our patients. We will consider all requests to work flexibly, taking in to account the individual’s personal circumstances as well the needs of the service. We encourage all prospective applicants to discuss their individual circumstances with the recruiting manager as part of the on-boarding process. Your e-mail address is important to us - We communicate to all job applicants via the e-mail address which has been provided on the application form. Please ensure that you check your e-mail on a regular basis. Please apply for this post by clicking "Apply Online Now." Further details / informal visits contact Name Oliver Cook Job title Trust Senior Quality and Compliance Lead Email address [email protected] Telephone number 07596 889 500