QI Lead Patient Flow

Are you an experienced leader with knowledge and experience in delivering improvement projects? Are you familiar with mental health service delivery and keen to play a part in helping to deliver ambitious change? Are you passionate about delivering excellent outcomes for service users and their families? We are excited to announce a 12-month contract, that is also open to secondment opportunity, for a dynamic and experienced leader to lead areas of the Trust's Strategic Objectives.

Reporting into the Managing Director for Patient Flow, you will lead and develop those improvement projects relating to services for adults and older adults, including those with dementia. You will have excellent communication and engagement skills with real commitment to provide the leadership and management for the improvement work. A significant part of this role is producing information and updates which will require you to have good analytical skills and be able to translate into service improvement plans. Developing positive working relationships through engaging with clinical teams will be vital in this role.

This is an exciting time for the Trust and the improvement work that will deliver the Strategic Objectives is critical to improving the service experience for patients and those who care for them. So, if you are looking for a challenging and rewarding role, where you can have a positive impact on people's lives, we would love to hear from you!

Working closely with the Managing Director for Patient Flow, you will lead and develop the service improvement work that impacts on patient flow - particularly with regards to length of stay, the number of patients who are clinically ready for discharge and the length of time patients wait for admission to our inpatient wards.

• Work closely with the other Deputy Service Directors, the wider Divisional Leadership Teams and other SPFT services as well as partners in the ICS; other agencies and those who use our services.
• Be expected to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of work that supports the improvement plans.

Please see the job description for further information and detail regarding responsibilities for this role.

Sussex Partnership provides mental health, learning disability and neurodevelopmental services for all age groups across Sussex and for children and young people in Hampshire.

Living And Working In Sussex:

• Travel easily between coast and countryside; with a blend of picturesque villages and seaside towns, there are always new experiences to be enjoyed.
• Embrace city life with great access to Brighton and London.
• With easy access to Gatwick and Heathrow and excellent railway links across the UK, there is plenty of opportunity for adventure.

We encourage flexible working. We know that a positive work/life balance brings about huge health-related benefits, which positively impacts the care we provide. Please speak to us about flexible working, for example, home-working, part-time hours, flexible start/finish times or anything else. If it works for you and works for the role, we will do our best to make it happen.

• Excellent NHS Pension
• Generous holiday entitlement (starting at 27 days + 8 bank holidays)
• Access to a host of NHS discount schemes (Blue Light Card, Health Service discounts, discounted petrol etc.)
• A position within a trust rated as 'Outstanding' for caring and 'Good' overall by the CQC, where 82% agree that care for patients is our top priority.
• Free parking on-site
• Access to full psychological support, via our internal well-being team.
• Excellent supervision programmes, with ongoing opportunities for training and development.

Date posted: 26 June 2025

Pay scheme: Agenda for change

Band: Band 8b

Salary: £62,215 to £72,293 a year pa

Contract: Secondment

Working pattern: Full-time

Reference number: 354-AE-21163

Job locations: tbc BN27 4HU

The Following Principles Apply To All Postholders Within The Discharge Transformation Programme, Including Those Hosted Within Provider Organisations Such As Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SPFT):

• Expected to engage in cross-functional collaboration, recognising the interconnected nature of acute, community, mental health, learning disability, primary care, and social care services.
• Expected to drive integration between physical and mental health services, particularly in relation to complex discharge pathways such as dementia, cognitive impairment, and delirium care.
• Required to work across all age groups, collaborating with colleagues across ICS directorates and Place-based partnerships to achieve key objectives.
• Must uphold the ICS commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant.
• Expected to ensure the delivery of a high-quality, well-coordinated, and patient-centred discharge transformation programme, aligned with national and local strategic priorities.
• Required to map and refine existing discharge processes, engage with partners to develop best practice approaches, and oversee the successful implementation of improvements.

Qualifications:

• Educated to degree level or equivalent level of experience in relevant field.
• Trained and accredited in Operational Excellence to Green Belt or equivalent.
• Formal qualification in leadership or management.

Knowledge/Experience:

• Experience of managing operational staff and/or clinical teams.
• Experience of working at a senior management level.
• Experience of working within an MDT environment.
• Extensive experience of successful complex change management programmes.
• Extensive experience of using evidence-based improvement methodologies, tools and processes.
• Experience of delivering major projects or programmes that have significant financial investment.
• Experience of delivering and evidencing significant business benefits through transformation of workforce, IT, estate, new ways of working.
• Experience of programme planning and delivery, including all aspects of programme governance and control.

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

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications.

Applicants must have current UK professional registration.

Employer name: Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Address: tbc BN27 4HU

Employer's website: https://www.sussexpartnership.nhs.uk/