Speech & Language Therapy Team Leader in Sheffield

Are you looking for your next challenge? Are you interested in furthering your leadership skills in an acute setting? Are you looking for a supportive and dynamic team, with protected time for your development, to help you to reach your professional aspirations? Then look no further because we have the role for you.

We are looking for a Band 8a Speech & Language Therapist who is passionate about acute-based care for adults with swallowing and communication disorders to lead our adult acute team in Sheffield. You will join and lead a highly experienced and supportive team to provide care for service users across our 2 hospital sites, Royal Hallamshire Hospital and Northern General Hospital. You will have opportunities to work with colleagues across all of our services and specialists from other disciplines with regular access to videofluoroscopy and FEES clinics.

We are committed to personal, professional, and service development. We hold regular service improvement and governance meetings, with working parties involving all staff. We have regular supervision and appraisals and encourage self-directed learning. We have regular CPD opportunities and have secured training for the whole team from national and international experts in response to developing clinical needs.

Main duties

• To provide leadership and clinical speech and language therapy services within the adult acute Speech & Language Therapy (SLT) team.
• To continue to provide highly specialist skills in the assessment and management of communication disorders and dysphagia.
• To ensure the adult acute team is operating efficiently and effectively to deliver the best care for patients whilst an inpatient.

You will be working for an organisation which values and respects all of its staff and the community it serves. The Trust is a leader in the NHS and research sectors and provides excellent benefits for its employees. This includes commitments to professional development but also many policies to support employees in balancing their personal and professional lives.

The SLT service across both the acute and community teams in Sheffield Teaching Hospitals has approximately 66 members of staff (51.94 WTE). The SLT teams are highly motivated to provide a quality service to their patients, they are research active and embrace innovation. The service has established processes for supervision and supports personal and professional development.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Relevant professional qualification (1st degree level or equivalent).
• Registered member of Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists and Health & Care Professions Council.
• Evidence of highly specialised continuing professional development.
• Post graduate training in dysphagia management.
• Evidence of successful completion of post-graduate specialist short-course up to Masters degree level or equivalent.
• Evidence of leadership courses / training.
• Evidence of successful completion of management short courses or evidence of management skills obtained through experience.
• Driving Licence valid for the UK with a car or access to an alternative means of transport.

Experience

• Extensive and in-depth experience of relevant clinical area.
• Significant involvement in development and delivery of training packages.
• Experience in dealing with Human Resources issues such as recruitment and retention, performance management, sickness, annual leave.
• Experience in supervising more junior staff.
• Highly specialist knowledge of broad range of assessment tools and therapeutic interventions for relevant client groups and ability to compare and contrast relative benefits.
• Competencies to lead a videofluoroscopy clinic and lead the clinical assessment, analysis and management for patients attending this clinic.
• Ability to negotiate and influence as an equal at consultant level across the multidisciplinary team, with key stakeholders in the service area and other agencies.
• High level leadership, influencing, negotiation and problem solving skills in complex situations.
• In depth knowledge and appreciation of NHS strategy, policies and research ethics.
• Evidence of application of principles of evidence based practice and research methodology.
• Ability to lead in an inter-professional/inter-agency context/environment to the benefit of client groups.
• Highly specialist knowledge of current diagnostic and management issues across the multi-disciplinary team related to the specialist area.

Desirable

• Significant experience of post-graduate teaching in specialist area.
• Evidence of published research in peer review journals.
• Evidence of contribution to publications.
• Theoretical and practical competencies to carry out Fibreoptic Endoscopic Evaluations of Swallowing (FEES).

Skills

• Excellent auditory and perceptual skills.
• Demonstrates excellent analytical and reflective skills.
• Competent in use of IT for everyday communication and presentation packages.
• Excellent organisational skills.
• Evidence of ability to manage highly specialist and complex caseload independently.
• Excellent presentation skills, oral and written.

Other factors

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, especially in relation to liaison and joint working.
• Evidence of highly developed negotiation skills and management of conflict.
• Extensive portfolio and evidence of CPD with identifiable outcomes.
• Commitment to equal opportunities in work and service delivery.
• Adaptable to new situations and personnel.
• Flexible approach to working practices.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications.

Applicants must have current UK professional registration.