Senior Diabetes Dietitian in London

King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of c£2.1 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and more than 14,000 staff based across 5 main sites in South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local hospital services across its different sites, and specialist services from King’s College Hospital (KCH) sites at Denmark Hill in Camberwell and at the Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) site in the London Borough of Bromley.

We encourage all our staff to have a healthy work/life balance. In doing so, you can apply for flexible working from the beginning of your employment. We offer a range of options which are designed to suit different circumstances and priorities in line with service requirements.

We are seeking an enthusiastic Senior Diabetes Dietitian (Band 6, 0.9 WTE) to join our Specialist Diabetes Dietetic Team at King’s College Hospital, Denmark Hill. This is an exciting opportunity to develop specialist expertise within a supportive multidisciplinary service, with a primary focus on gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and antenatal diabetes care. The role offers a structured development pathway in adult Type 1 diabetes education, including carbohydrate counting, multiple daily injection (MDI) insulin therapy and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). As your competencies develop, you will be supported towards MDI DAFNE educator training and structured education delivery alongside experienced educators. You will also develop leadership skills, taking increasing responsibility for GDM dietetic provision and progressing towards the role of Student Training Lead. We welcome dietitians with experience supporting people living with diabetes who are keen to develop their specialist skills. Previous antenatal diabetes, carbohydrate counting or structured education experience is advantageous but not essential. Clinical supervision, mentorship and opportunities for audit, quality improvement and service development are integral to the role.

Main duties of the job:

• The postholder will provide specialist dietetic care for women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and pre-existing Type 2 diabetes during pregnancy, working closely with the multidisciplinary antenatal diabetes team.

Key responsibilities:

• Deliver individual consultations, GDM group education and dietetic input to antenatal diabetes clinics.
• Provide evidence-based, culturally appropriate and individualised nutritional care to support glycaemic management.
• Manage a specialist caseload independently within demonstrated competencies, with clinical supervision.
• Progressively develop skills in adult Type 1 diabetes education, including newly diagnosed education, carbohydrate counting, multiple daily injection (MDI) therapy and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM).
• Work towards MDI DAFNE educator training and contribute to structured education delivery.
• Develop leadership in GDM dietetic provision and progress towards Student Training Lead responsibilities.
• Support student supervision, multidisciplinary teaching, audit, quality improvement and service development.

Applicants should have experience supporting people living with diabetes, strong communication and organisational skills, and an interest in antenatal care and specialist professional development.

Working for our organisation:

The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. Our vision is to transform healthcare, and we have agreed six strategic ambitions to help us improve care for patients, and the working lives of our staff. Our six strategic ambitions are delivering high-quality patient care; creating a great place to work; leading pioneering research, innovation and education; building strong and successful partnerships; providing timely and efficient care; and ensuring long-term financial sustainability.

We have also agreed four new organisational values – Caring, Collaborative, Inclusive, Innovative – and these underpin everything we do, and how our teams interact with the patients under our care. We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.

King’s is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone’s contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust’s carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities:

The Senior Diabetes Dietitian will provide specialist clinical care within the multidisciplinary diabetes service at King’s College Hospital, with a primary focus on gestational diabetes (GDM) and antenatal diabetes.

Clinical responsibilities:

• Undertake specialist nutritional assessment, develop and evaluate individualised treatment plans, deliver GDM group education and contribute to multidisciplinary antenatal clinics.
• Manage an allocated caseload independently within demonstrated competencies, with appropriate clinical supervision.

Specialist development:

• Progressively develop expertise in adult Type 1 diabetes, including newly diagnosed education, carbohydrate counting, multiple daily injection (MDI) insulin therapy and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM).
• Undertake MDI DAFNE educator training as competencies develop and contribute to structured education delivery.

Leadership and education:

• Develop increasing responsibility for GDM dietetic provision and progress towards the role of Student Training Lead.
• Support student supervision, multidisciplinary teaching and the development of patient education resources.

Service improvement and governance:

• Participate in clinical audit, quality improvement, service evaluation and evidence‑based practice.
• Maintain professional standards, accurate clinical records and effective multidisciplinary communication.

The postholder will receive structured induction, mentorship and clinical supervision.

Person specification:

Education & Qualifications:

• BSc/ Post graduate diploma in Nutrition and Dietetics
• HCPC registered
• Member of the British Dietetic Association (BDA) or other body conferring professional indemnity insurance
• Member of the BDA Diabetes Specialist Group (DSG)
• Member of the BDA Women’s Health & Fertility Specialist Group

Knowledge & Experience:

• Experience of working in acute environments
• Experience of supporting people living with diabetes
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• Knowledge of nutrition and dietetics within the NHS
• Experience of clinical supervision of students
• Experience of multidisciplinary team working

Skills and Competencies:

• Good oral and written communication skills with people from a variety of backgrounds
• Presentation skills and ability to work autonomously with individuals and groups
• Ability to prioritise own workload and support caseload management of junior staff/students
• Ability to work as part of a team, identifying and leading on service change
• Ability to identify and undertake audit/service development under the supervision of senior colleagues
• Basic computer skills
• Motivational interviewing and/or CBT and/or counselling skills

IMPORTANT: Check your email account regularly as this is how we will communicate with you. If you delete the job from any of your accounts, you may be prevented from accessing further communications. To enquire about your application or inform us of any changes in your circumstances, please contact the named person on this advert. Please provide email addresses for referees where possible. Please review the documentation on our recruitment microsite, particularly the Trust’s criminal records checking policy. All staff have a responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and for ensuring they are aware of the specific duties relating to their role. Please note that the closing date is given as a guide. On occasion, we might close a vacancy early due to a high number of applications being received. You are advised to submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.