Head of Service/Principal Dietitian

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 specialist care for patients from further afield including cancer, renal, orthopaedic, respiratory and cardiovascular services.

As part of our commitment to provide care closer to home, we 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, which cares for local children in Lambeth and Southwark and provides specialist services across south east England.

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. 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.

We have a reputation for clinical excellence and high quality teaching and research. 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. 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'.

Evelina London Community Services are seeking a Head of Nutrition and Dietetics Service and Clinical Lead Dietitian to join our diverse team of allied health professionals. We are looking to recruit an exceptional clinical leader, with vision and passion for service quality, safety and development.

The role involves leading a small team of dedicated dietitians, dietetics assistants, a Vitamin D co-ordinator and a team administrator to drive forward the ongoing development of clinical practice, research and standards of care within the service, in addition to contributing to service evolution, in collaboration with colleagues. The post has an active clinical component, to support the service and ensure strong oversight of the needs of the local population. Experience in working with children with SEND is critical to the role.

You will be responsible for the clinical, professional, strategic and operational leadership and management of the Children's Community Nutrition and Dietetics Team in Evelina London Children's Community Services, including line management and supervision of the team, co-ordinating delivery, monitoring, evaluation and development of the service, ensuring that the service is equitable, efficient and effective and that local and national standards of practice are maintained.

The post holder will work alongside other AHP Heads of Service, in the community and acute settings, to plan, coordinate, deliver and evaluate the therapy service provided to patients referred to the service. A high regard for clinical operations and governance, assuring high standards of patient centred care is required. A strong focus on evidenced based, quality improvement methodology is key to service improvement.

Skills and Knowledge:

• Knowledge of SEND legislation and process
• Ability to resolve complex situations with patients, carers and staff members through problem-solving, empathy and counselling
• Advanced organisational skills to effectively manage service activities in order to meet agreed priorities
• Knowledge of relevant clinical guidelines and legislation and ability to lead in implementing changes to practice

Experience:

• Extensive specialist paediatric experience with special needs dietetics and universal nutrition
• Experience of line management and leadership skills obtained through experience
• Experience of analysing data relating to workloads and activity within specialist area and compiling reports to communicate outcomes
• Experience of development and delivery of training to broad range of participant groups

Qualifications:

• HCPC registration

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 equitably according to their needs. We are actively committed to ensuring that no one who applies for a job, works or studies 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.

We encourage all prospective applicants to discuss their individual circumstances with the recruiting manager as part of the on-boarding process.