Lead Allied Health Professional - Adults

About the Organisation:

NHS Orkney is committed to delivering excellent care to our 22,000 residents. Whether you’re new to the NHS or bringing experience from elsewhere, your skills will make a real difference.

Our modern healthcare facility, The Balfour, brings together inpatient care, emergency services, outpatient clinics, diagnostics, GP practices and the Scottish Ambulance Service. We’re also investing in services across our outer isles, ensuring high-quality care reaches every corner of Orkney.

We are guided by our core values that shape everything we do – Open and honest, Respect and Kindness – from how we care for our patients to how we support each other as colleagues.

With over 70 islands – 20 of them inhabited – Orkney offers a unique blend of natural beauty, close-knit community and an opportunity for adventure. From dramatic coastlines and rare wildlife to rich cultural traditions and active lifestyles, it’s a place where compassion thrives and every day brings something new. Regularly named one of the UK’s best places to live, Orkney offers a lifestyle that’s both fulfilling and inspiring.

The Allied Health Professions (AHPs) Lead is an exciting new role, created to strengthen and develop the leadership framework for AHPs delivering adult services within Orkney’s Health and Social Care Partnership. This pivotal position is designed to ensure our AHP teams are empowered to provide high-quality, person-centred care to the adult population across Orkney, including both the mainland and our outer isles.

The AHPs Lead will work collaboratively with colleagues across multiple disciplines, supporting the integration of services and championing innovation in clinical practice within our modern healthcare facility, The Balfour, as well as in community-based settings. Through strategic leadership, the postholder will help drive service improvement, uphold NHS Orkney’s core values of openness, respect and kindness, and play a key role in shaping the future of adult care provision for our diverse and close-knit island communities.

The successful candidate will be a registered Allied Health Professional from one of the 14 recognised AHP professions, bringing strong clinical expertise and proven experience at Clinical Lead or an equivalent senior level. You should possess a broad understanding of the AHP services available to adults in Orkney, with insight into how these are delivered at The Balfour and in community settings across the mainland and outer isles.

Your background will show competency in navigating complex clinical environments, contributing to service planning, and supporting integrated, person-centred care.

Beyond your leadership experience, you will be skilled at motivating and developing multidisciplinary teams, promoting a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement. Committed to NHS Orkney’s values of openness, respect, and kindness, you will have the ability to drive service innovation and improvement aligned with national priorities. You’ll be eager to take the next step in your career, helping to shape the future of adult AHP services for Orkney’s distinctive communities through effective and compassionate leadership.

This post will be based at The Balfour.

The successful candidate will work:
Full Time 37 hours per week – NHS Scotland is reducing their full time working week from 37 to 36 hours per week from 1 April 2026 but with no change in pay. This reduction will also be applied pro rata for part time staff.

This post is Permanent.

It is a condition of this employment that you must live and remain a resident within the UK for the post in which you will be employed with NHS Orkney.

Did you know NHS Scotland salaries are higher than those in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland?

The salary for this post is Band 8a and if residing on Orkney, you’ll also receive a Distant Islands Allowance of £1,657 pro rata per annum, adding extra value to your rewarding career with us.

NHS Orkney also offers an attractive pension scheme, wide range of work‑life balance policies,…