Director of Patient and Carer Experience

The Methodist Church in Britain; England; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 105,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Training opportunities

Established professional networks

Job summary

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a senior leader to oversee the service user and carer experience portfolio. The postholder will drive the strategy, integrate feedback into care improvements, and act as the expert clinical lead on experience for service users and families across the Trust.

The role emphasises co-production, engagement, and ensuring carers influence service decisions within the quality governance framework. A current professional registration is required.

Qualifications

• Evidence of CPD and maintained professional registration
• Experience leading patient and carer experience in a health setting
• Strong influencing and public speaking skills
• In-depth knowledge of patient safety and governance frameworks

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership on service user and carer experience across the Trust
• Lead the Trust-wide Service User and Carer Experience Strategy
• Ensure learning from feedback leads to measurable quality improvements
• Act as senior clinical lead for service user and carer experience
• Ensure experience is integrated with safety, equity and outcomes in governance
• Embed carer and family involvement as core to quality improvement
• Advocate co-production with meaningful engagement and decision-making
• Cultivate listening, involvement and partnership with carers and families
• Support delivery, improvement and redesign of services with patient voices

Skills

Advanced clinical leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Communication

Quality governance

Co-production

Job description

This senior post sits in the Patient Experience Directorate at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust and reports to the Chief Patient Experience Officer. The postholder leads the Trust-wide service user and carer experience strategy and makes sure feedback, complaints and engagement lead to measurable gains in quality. The role gives particular weight to carers and families, with co-production and their influence on decisions at its centre. As the Trust's senior professional clinical lead, it needs a current professional registration.

What the job involves

• Provide strategic leadership on service user and carer experience, involvement, participation and co-production across the Trust
• Lead the Trust-wide Service User and Carer Experience Strategy
• Ensure learning from complaints, concerns, compliments, surveys, engagement and feedback leads to demonstrable improvements in quality and care
• Act as the Trust's senior professional clinical lead for service user and carer experience, giving professional advice and expert guidance
• Ensure service user and carer experience is considered alongside safety, clinical effectiveness, equity and outcomes within the quality governance framework
• Embed service user and carer experience as a core component of quality, alongside patient safety and clinical effectiveness
• Strengthen how the Trust listens to, involves and works alongside carers and families
• Champion meaningful co-production
• Ensure carers and families can influence service improvement and strategic decision-making
• Build a culture where carers' and families' knowledge, experience and contribution are recognised and valued
• Ensure the voices, experiences and outcomes of service users, carers and families shape the delivery, improvement and redesign of services

What’s required

Qualifications

• Evidence of continuing professional development and maintained professional registration

Registration & licences

• Current registration with the NMC, HCPC, GPhC or an equivalent recognised professional regulator

Experience

• Significant senior leadership experience within healthcare
• Experience leading patient experience, involvement, engagement, complaints or quality portfolios
• Expertise in patient and carer experience, quality improvement, clinical governance, engagement and co-production

Skills & knowledge

• Advanced clinical leadership skills
• Presenting complex and emotive information to public forums and handling high-profile risk incidents
• Communicating clearly and openly with staff at all levels, from senior leadership to frontline
• Excellent influencing skills and trusted relationships with service users, carers, families, communities and partners
• Comprehensive understanding of patient safety and clinical governance frameworks
• Knowledge of health inequalities, equality legislation and inclusion frameworks

Nice to have

• Academic publication or research in healthcare quality, patient safety or service user and carer experience
• Experience of working across organisations within the health and social care economy

What’s offered

• Ongoing training and development opportunities
• Established professional networks