Associate Head Of Therapies

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced registered Physiotherapist or Occupational Therapist to join the Therapies Leadership Team across UHN as Associate Head of Therapies. This is a 12-month secondment opportunity to provide leadership support across Therapies during a period of maternity leave. The post is advertised at Band 8b, subject to Job Evaluation and banding panel approval. Supporting the Head of Therapies, this role will provide professional, operational and strategic leadership across therapy services at Kettering General Hospital and Northampton General Hospital.

The post holder will play a key role in supporting safe, effective and sustainable services, whilst leading work focused on service improvement, workforce development and governance. This secondment offers the opportunity to gain experience working across both hospital sites, develop strategic and operational leadership skills, and gain insight into leading services across a large organisation. You will support agreed priorities and help strengthen collaboration and consistency across Therapies.

The successful applicant will be a supportive leader who is passionate about delivering excellent care, developing people and working collaboratively to make a positive difference for patients and staff. The postholder is required to have a regular presence at both NGH and KGH and travel between sites. The postholder is also required to participate in tactical on‑call services.

• Providing professional, operational and strategic leadership across designated therapy services and portfolios.
• Supporting the implementation of the UHN Therapies Strategy and wider organisational objectives.
• Leading quality improvement, governance and workforce initiatives.
• Driving the development of consistent approaches, processes and standards across both hospital sites.
• Supporting workforce planning, service development and innovation to meet current and future patient needs.
• Providing leadership for patient safety, quality and governance activities across therapies.
• Developing strong relationships with clinical, operational and corporate colleagues, as well as external partners.
• Deputising for the Head of Therapies as required and representing therapies at senior forums.

University Hospitals of Northamptonshire (UHN) brings together Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust. As a group, we are committed to improving services for our communities through collaboration, modernising care delivery and striving for excellence. Working together enables us to share expertise, strengthen services and create greater opportunities, and there may be a requirement to work across sites depending on service needs.

Our Excellence Values are Compassion, Accountability, Respect, Integrity and Courage. UHN welcomes applications from all backgrounds and is committed to an inclusive working environment. We are proud signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant and hold the Gold Award under the Employer Recognition Scheme. Candidates who identify as members of the Armed Forces community and meet the essential criteria will be guaranteed an interview.

Please see the attached job description and personal specification for full details of the role and responsibilities

• Registered Occupational Therapist or Physiotherapist with current HCPC registration.
• Master's degree or equivalent level of postgraduate learning and senior leadership experience.

• Management, leadership, quality improvement or project management qualification.

• Significant senior leadership experience within complex health services.
• Experience of deputising at a senior or divisional level.
• Substantial experience of operational and strategic planning, performance management, and service improvement.
• Expert knowledge and experience of workforce planning, workforce transformation, skill mix and staff development.
• Experience of demand, capacity, patient flow, and business continuity planning.
• Expert knowledge of therapy professional standards and experience providing senior professional advice.
• Experience of directly line managing senior staff, including appraisal, performance management, staff development and application of relevant workforce policies
• Experience of providing senior professional input to HR investigations,…