Director of Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) in Preston

Director of Allied Health Professionals (AHPs)

Band 8d

Main area Allied Health Professionals Grade Band 8d Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 351-CS2961-SRP

Site Sceptre Point Town Preston Salary £94,356 - £108,814 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 29/10/2026 23:59

Our Vision is to provide the best mental health, learning disability, autism, community, and physical health services for the populations we serve.

As an integrated Trust, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT) delivers a comprehensive range of services, including:

• Primary and secondary mental health care for children and adults, including specialist inpatient child and adolescent mental health provision, perinatal mental health, and forensic services with low and medium secure care.
• Specialist mental health inpatient care for individuals with learning disabilities, alongside specialist community support for children and adults with learning disabilities and autism, including intensive support.
• Extensive community physical health and well-being services for children and adults, covering prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and long‑term condition management.

The Trust was first established in 2002 and employs approximately 7,500 staff who provide care from more than 400 sites. The organisation offers opportunities for medics, mental health, general nurses, children’s nurses, allied health professionals, psychology, administration and clerical staff, apprentices and volunteers, as well as those specialising in learning disabilities and community physical health services.

We provide health and wellbeing services for around 1.8 million people in Lancashire and South Cumbria. The Trust specialises in secure, inpatient and community mental health and learning disability and autism services. We also provide community physical health nursing and a range of therapy services including physiotherapy, podiatry and speech and language therapy. Wellbeing services provided by the Trust also include healthy lifestyle services. To deliver these services the Trust employs approximately 8,000 colleagues across more than 150 sites, working with a wide range of partners out of 25 registered Care Quality Care (CQC) locations.

This is an exciting opportunity to work in an innovative Trust and be at the forefront of mental health and community innovation. The post holder will be accountable to the Chief Nursing Officer and will be responsible for leading on the development and implementation of Trust‑wide professional and quality work programmes, ensuring that the Allied Health Professional contribution is recognised, rewarded and optimised.

We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and welcome applications from underrepresented groups. In recruiting to our Trust, we are committed to equality of opportunity for all. We believe that the best organisations are those that reflect the communities they serve.

Main duties of the job

This is a senior leadership role in which the post holder will be responsible for the strategic direction and professional leadership of all Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) across the Trust, ensuring the delivery of consistently high standard of care/ treatment, patient experience and satisfaction.

The post holder is a senior member of the Trusts leadership team and is the most senior AHP within the organisation, reporting to the Chief Nursing Officer.

The Director of AHPs has responsibility for supporting the Network Directors of Nursing & Quality and AHP Leads across the Trust in the delivery of the Trust objectives.

The Director of AHPs deputises on a regular basis for the full range of AHP related responsibilities and provides cover as requested by the Chief Nurse & Quality Officer.

The Director of AHPs provides strategic and professional leadership for all AHPs across the Trust including but not limited to chiropodists/podiatrists; dietitians; occupational therapists; physiotherapists and speech and language therapists.

The Director of AHPs takes the lead on all Trust AHP issues working collaboratively with Network Directors of Nursing and AHP Leads on AHP related quality and patient safety issues.

Working for our organisation

LSCFT values diversity and inclusion, recognising that talent from varied backgrounds creates a flexible, creative, and effective workforce. We actively challenge discrimination and welcome applications from all, regardless of age, disability (including those with experience of accessing or caring for someone who has accessed mental health or learning disability services), ethnicity, gender, religion, belief, or sexual orientation.

Our aim is to reflect the communities we serve, so we particularly encourage applications from under‑represented groups. If you’d like to discuss your application, please ask.

We also welcome individuals with lived experience relevant to the role or service area, as your insight brings authenticity to our services.

LSCFT support flexible working, we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as term time, part time, compressed hours and flexi‑time.

The wellbeing of our people is at the heart of everything we do. We offer a wide range of resources, tools and support to help you thrive both in and out of work.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For more details on this vacancy please review the attached job description and person specification.

Person specification

Education / Qualifications

• Registered Allied Health Professional (AHP) – current and relevant registration on HCPC register.
• Masters level qualification in related subject / working towards or portfolio of evidence working at that level.
• Evidence of CPD in line with professional regulatory guidance.

Knowledge

• Advanced theoretical and practical knowledge of professional and NHS policy and issues.
• Extensive knowledge of all aspects of patient safety and quality.
• Demonstrable evidence of robust financial and other resource management, together with business planning acumen.

Experience

• Substantial clinical and managerial experience, relevant to this post, at minimum of network level with a track record of achievement of objectives
• Recent experience of managing complex professional matters/issues.
• Experience of implementing AHP quality assurance metrics.Experience of embedding robust clinical and corporate systems at local level, specifically relevant to AHP evidence of leading and implementing successful change.

For all posts which require a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check please be aware of the Disclosure and Barring Service Code of Practice, a copy of which is available by logging on to the DBS website. If the post is subject to DBS disclosure, a charge will be made to the successful candidate(s).

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Name Oliver Soriano Job title Chief Nursing Officer Email address oliver.soriano@lscft.nhs.uk Telephone number 07730 585355 Additional information

If you would like a further discussion on the role, in the first instance please contact our Chief Nursing Officer Oliver Soriano via email oliver.soriano@lscft.nhs.uk or via telephone on 07730 585355

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