Clinical Practice Facilitator in Harlow

The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT) is proud to care for the communities of West Essex, delivering safe, compassionate, and high‑quality services. We are part of the Neighbourhood Wave—a national programme that’s changing how care is delivered by focusing on prevention, early support, and more joined‑up services across health, social care, and the voluntary sector. This means we’re working more closely with local partners to bring care closer to home and support people to live healthier, more independent lives. We’re a supportive and inclusive organisation that values its people. We offer development opportunities, flexible working, and a strong focus on wellbeing. As a Disability Confident and equal opportunities employer, we welcome applicants from all backgrounds and experiences. Join us and help shape the future of care in West Essex.

This role plays a key part in ensuring the Trust provides a high‑quality clinical learning environment for learners/Students from multiple Higher Education Institutions. The post holder will offer clinical and pastoral support to learners across a range of disciplines, helping them feel safe, supported, and able to achieve their learning outcomes while on placement. Clinical visibility is essential to the role, enabling the facilitator to listen to students, understand their experiences, and respond effectively to their needs. Working as part of the Practice Education Facilitation team, the Clinical Placement Facilitator will ensure clinical visibility and secure and maintain sufficient placement capacity across the Trust, ensuring that learning environments meet professional, Trust, and SSSA standards.

Main duties of the job:

• Provide clinical support and pastoral guidance to students/learners from multiple HEIs during their placements.
• Enhance the quality of the clinical learning environment across all wards.
• Expand and sustain placement capacity, including developing models like CLIP, Hub and Spoke model and others.
• Work with clinical teams, HEIs, and the Placement Coordinator to identify and resolve student learning issues.
• Support practice supervisors and assessors, ensuring compliance with Trust, professional, and NHSE standards.
• Support the team in maintaining the Practice Supervisor/Assessor Register and contribute to staff development.
• Collaborate with educators, HEIs, and NHSE to improve placement systems, processes, and student experience.
• Assist teams in meeting student learning objectives and promoting best practice in supervision and assessment.
• Respond to concerns regarding student performance and escalate appropriately when possible using purple flag.
• Contribute to Trust‑wide education, quality, and workforce development initiatives.

Clinical and Quality responsibilities:

• Work across professional boundaries to ensure that all nursing students on placement within the trust receive the best possible education experience that supports the highest standard of learning and development.
• Support in expanding clinical placements on all wards across the trust.
• Identify and prepare new clinical placement opportunities by developing sustainable models like CLIP, “Hub and Spoke” placements.
• Support staff to implement new practice learning opportunities for students across the Trust in accordance with Professional Standards Trust Standards e.g. Fundamentals of Care and those of the relevant HEI.
• Identify and resolve with support from the Placement Coordinator, student practice learning issues in partnership with relevant clinical staff and colleagues from HEI.
• In partnership with clinical staff manage and provide and coordinate appropriate learning resources to enhance nursing students' learning experience.
• Provide guidance, advice and support for clinical staff in resolving complex student learning issues.
• Support the supervisors and assessors as an additional pastoral advisor.
• Work closely with all educators, education providers and NHSE, to implement systems and processes aimed at improving the quality of the learning environment and placements.
• Ensure that the standards and values required for learning, development and assessment are embedded and maintained into everyday clinical practice.
• Educate teams on the ward to the clinical placement models and practices that will support increasing the number of clinical placements available on the wards and within our spoke areas.
• Enhance the clinical learning environment by maintaining sustainable placement models across all placement areas within the trust.
• Provide support to staff, actively engaged with the development of students across the trust.
• Assist teams within the practice environments to meet the student’s objectives, through the development of placement expansion.
• Participate in the NHSE quality strategy and support the trust in achieving compliance and implementing any associated action plans.

Best practice to support the experiences of our students and individuals working:

• Establish and maintain working relationships with appropriate members of the multi‑professional team, including nursing, medical, allied health professionals, and support workers within the learning environment.
• Provide professional support and guidance to practice assessors, practice supervisors and nursing students to identify any areas of concern regarding the quality of the clinical learning environment and make recommendations accordingly.
• Support the Practice education team in liaising and meet regularly with academic representatives from education providers at both organised forums and informally to facilitate effective two‑way communication.
• Work in partnership with education, recruitment team and trust managers to facilitate a smooth transition from student to qualified healthcare practitioner to support our student retention.
• Participate, promote, and contribute to relevant trust‑wide initiatives to improve overall standards of patient care through education, training, and development.
• Evaluate partnership working utilising formal and informal feedback and make suggestions for improvements where necessary.

Standards for Student Supervision and Assessment:

• Support in maintaining Practice Supervisor/Assessor capacity throughout the Trust, report and act on changes.
• Teach and evaluate the programme of annual assessor update to ensure practice assessors are kept updated on any changes to curricula or professional standards.
• Work in collaboration with HEI colleagues to develop Practice Supervisors and Practice Assessors.
• Provide support to practice assessors in complex assessor/student situations and signpost to Placement Coordinator for escalation if appropriate to HEIs.
• Support the PEF team and HEI Colleagues to provide preparation programmes for practice supervisors and practice assessors when changes to curriculum or assessment will impact on their role.
• Proactively identify and take action when students are experiencing problems in the clinical areas.
• Respond to concerns raised by clinical areas regarding students’ performance and take appropriate action including reporting to Placement Coordinator and relevant HEI.