Head of Supportive Care in Rotherham

The Head of Supportive Care provides senior leadership for the hospice's multi-professional support and wellbeing services, including rehabilitation and enablement, psychological and family support, complementary therapies and therapeutic activities. The role ensures that people using hospice services, and those important to them, receive holistic, person-centred support that enables them to live as fully and independently as possible.

Working closely with the Director of Care, Heads of IPU, Hospice at Home and Care Navigation, the post-holder will lead the integration of therapy and wellbeing offers across all hospice settings, including the Inpatient Unit, in the community and through group and virtual programmes. They will support managers and specialist staff to deliver safe, effective and evidence-based interventions, and to develop new offers in response to patient and community need. The Head of Supportive Care will oversee day-to-day operations, workforce planning at a strategic level and service development across their portfolio. They will champion equity, inclusion and access, including for under-served communities, and will ensure that patient, family and carer voice informs how services are designed and delivered.

Main duties of the job

• Leadership of Therapy, Rehabilitation & Wellbeing services: Provide strategic and operational leadership for therapy, psychological and wellbeing services across the hospice. Ensure services are person-centred, evidence-based and aligned with the LivingLifes Wishes strategy. Promote integration of therapy and wellbeing into all hospice pathways, including IPU, Hospice at Home and Care Navigation.
• Quality, safety and clinical governance: Work with the Director of Care and the Governance team to ensure robust clinical governance across Therapy, Rehabilitation & Wellbeing, including appropriate professional supervision, audit and risk management. Ensure compliance with professional standards and codes of practice for therapy and psychological therapy professions. Lead or support audits and service evaluations that focus on functional outcomes, psychological wellbeing, carer support and quality of life.
• Service development and innovation: Develop and implement new models of therapy, rehabilitation and wellbeing support, including group programmes, digital/virtual offers and community-based interventions. Work with EDI lead, community partners and service users to improve access and relevance for under-served groups. Ensure that the voice of patients, families and carers informs service design, improvement and evaluation.
• Workforce, rota oversight and professional development: Line-manage the supportive care team providing clear objectives, supervision and support. Hold overall responsibility for ensuring that therapy and wellbeing services are safely and appropriately staffed, working with the relevant Administrator to agree rota principles, clinic schedules and group programme timetables. Promote professional development, supervision and reflective practice for all professions within the Therapy, Rehabilitation & Wellbeing portfolio.
• Partnerships and system working: Build effective relationships with external partners, including community and mental health services, social care, voluntary organisations, schools and colleges where relevant to children and young people’s services. Represent Therapy, Rehabilitation & Wellbeing at internal and external meetings, contributing expertise to wider hospice and system developments. Explore opportunities for collaborative programmes, joint posts or co-located services with partners.
• Performance, outcomes and reporting: Agree and monitor key performance indicators for Therapy, Rehabilitation & Wellbeing, such as activity, waiting times, outcomes and experience. Use data and qualitative feedback to identify gaps, inequalities and opportunities for improvement. Contribute to reports, business cases and funding bids related to therapy, psychological and wellbeing support.

Person Specification

• Qualifications: Registration with the HCPC as a therapist/allied health professional in a relevant field (e.g. physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, arts therapies, advanced rehabilitation/enablement practice) with no restrictions on practice.
• Experience: Experience of leading or managing a multidisciplinary therapeutic service. Experience of working with people with life-limiting illness, long-term conditions or significant psychological/functional needs. Experience of working within clinical governance frameworks, including audit, supervision and risk management. Evidence of continuing professional development relevant to the role. Experience of working in palliative and end-of-life care, hospice care or specialist community services. Leadership or management qualification, or equivalent experience. Experience of service development, particularly in group or community-based programmes or digital/virtual support.
• Personal Qualities: Compassionate, person-centred and committed to holistic care. Inclusive and respectful, with a strong commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion. Creative and forward-thinking, open to innovation and new ways of working. Resilient and reliable, able to work under pressure while maintaining professional standards. Open, honest and accountable, with high levels of integrity. A full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle for work purposes. Fluency in community languages such as Urdu, Punjabi, Polish, Slovak, Romanian and Arabic is highly desirable.
• Skills and Abilities: Strong leadership and people-management skills, with the ability to inspire and support multidisciplinary teams. Ability to oversee staffing patterns and clinic/programme schedules safely, while enabling administrative staff to handle detailed rota and timetable tasks. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work effectively with patients, families, staff and external partners. Strong organisational and time-management skills, with the ability to manage multiple services and priorities. Ability to use data and feedback to inform service planning and improvement. Competent IT skills, including use of electronic records and Microsoft Office. Skills in coaching, mentoring or facilitation to support staff across different professions. Experience of co-production and engagement methods with service users and communities.

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