Associate Director of Nursing & Quality

Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust; Swineshead; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS Trust in the UK is seeking a credible Associate Director of Nursing & Quality to lead quality assurance in mental health services. This role requires strategic and operational leadership, ensuring clinical governance and high standards of care. Candidates should possess strong nursing credentials, with a focus on quality improvement. Flexible working hours are considered, promoting work-life balance.

Benefits

Early access to psychological therapies

Competitive annual leave

Car leasing scheme

NHS pension scheme

Free eye tests

Money-saving options through salary sacrifice scheme

Discounts on retailers and restaurants

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse with significant experience in mental health leadership.
• Proven track record in quality assurance and clinical governance.
• Ability to influence, drive change, and improve patient safety.

Responsibilities

• Lead quality assurance across inpatient services.
• Ensure compliance with clinical standards and regulatory requirements.
• Engage with stakeholders during complex discussions on quality improvement.

Skills

Leadership skills

Communication skills

Clinical governance

Quality assurance

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Registered Nurse qualification

Relevant management or leadership training

Job description

As LPFT moves from operational divisions to clinical care groups in the new year we are taking the opportunity to refresh and strengthen our approach to quality assurance and oversight of the fundamental standards of care on our inpatient mental health and dementia wards. We are seeking a credible and determined nurse leader to make sure the care delivered to and experienced by people and their families meets the required standard at all times. As Associate Director of Nursing & Quality you will work with other key leaders including the Directors of Operations and operational leaders for quality (Clinical Directors, Matrons, Quality Leads etc) to ensure that effective systems and processes are in place across all our inpatient services (currently 12 wards) and assure that clinical standards and regulatory requirements are consistently met and embedded. You will be accountable for driving, role‑modelling and tenaciously leading through influence excellence in patient safety, experience, and outcomes. As a senior leader in the organisation you will report directly into the Director of Nursing, Quality and Professions (Deputy to the Chief Nursing Officer) and act as a key advisor and member of the care groups leadership team. The Associate Director of Nursing & Quality will provide strategic and operational leadership for quality assurance and compliance within LPFT inpatient services which will span across the adult inpatient and older adult care groups across the Trust. Whilst the role is advertised as full‑time, we would consider applications for flexible working or less than full‑time hours. You will ensure that effective systems and processes are in place and assure that clinical standards, regulatory requirements are met and embedded across inpatient services. You will be accountable for driving, role‑modelling and leading through influence and rigorous excellence in patient safety, experience, and outcomes. You will report directly into the Director of Nursing and Quality and act as a key advisor to the Director of Operations for the relevant care groups. You will be expected to spend the majority of your time on the wards working with the teams to ensure improvements are actioned and embedded and effective processes in place.

Foster, champion and role model a culture of continuous improvement and learning—ensuring effective processes are in place to embed and maintain standards, share, improve and learn. Support delivery of the Trust's Quality Strategy and Quality priorities. Contribute to and lead as appropriate policy development and service redesign initiatives. As a senior clinical leader the post holder will engage in often complex and sensitive discussions and negotiations with a range of stakeholders. This may include patients and families, commissioners, regulators, clinical specialists, both regional and national organisations. Promote co‑production with people with lived experience in quality improvement and recovery programmes. Frequently use highly developed communication skills to resolve complex, high‑impact situations in highly complex environments that may at times be contentious. Understand when to refer on and when to 'brief up the line'. Ensure the Executive Team and Care Group Oversight structures have oversight of key quality and fundamental standards of care performance indicators for inpatient pathways and take full responsibility for subsequent actions that have been put in place. Take responsibility for ensuring that robust and comprehensive clinical governance arrangements are in place within the inpatient services, that these link appropriately to corporate arrangements and that the clinical governance agenda is delivered within the areas of responsibility. This includes addressing CQC standards, risk management, review of critical incidents, identifying and reviewing key clinical and service indicators and audit outcomes and implementing governance requirements. Whilst the role is advertised as full‑time we would consider applications for flexible working or less than full‑time hours. Please view the attached Job Description and Person Specification documents for complete details regarding this post.

Working for our organisation Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health services and a number of learning disability, autism and social care services in the county of Lincolnshire. Employing around 2,900 staff, and serving a population of over 768,400, our people lie at the heart of everything we do. You could be part of a Trust rated by staff as one of the best mental health and learning disability trusts in England. We firmly believe the key to high quality care is a contented workforce. This is reflected in our Care Quality Commission rating of 'outstanding' for well‑led and 'good' overall. In the most recent National NHS Staff Survey, our staff rated us as the number one trust nationally for staff morale and one of the top scoring NHS Trusts in the Midlands for being compassionate and inclusive. We're really proud of this! We offer options for flexible working and provide a wide range of training and promotion opportunities in all professions. We support and celebrate diversity, have active staff networks groups and are always looking at what more we can do to support our staff. Whether you're taking the first exciting steps in your career, itching for a new challenge or searching for a better place to raise a family, Lincolnshire has a range of rewarding health and social care careers in a county that's friendly, fascinating, affordable and brimming with everything you need to live a happy life. Visit beinlincolnshire.com to find out more.

When completing your application, please demonstrate how you meet the role criteria. We can also offer you many staff benefits to help support you which include:

• Early access to Psychological Therapies and Physiotherapy
• Competitive annual leave allowance
• Car leasing scheme
• NHS pension scheme
• Free eye tests
• Money saving options through our salary sacrifice scheme
• Discounts on major high street retailers and restaurants