Head of Clinical Effectiveness and Assurance

NHS; Lancashire; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional healthcare provider in Lancashire seeks a Head of Clinical Effectiveness and Assurance to lead compliance and regulatory activities. The role involves collaborating across teams, ensuring services meet CQC standards, and managing quality governance. Candidates should have a Master’s degree in a relevant field, significant leadership experience in the NHS, and a strong understanding of healthcare regulations. This position supports a culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence within the organization.

Benefits

Continuous professional development

Supportive work environment

Chance to impact community health

Qualifications

• Master's degree in a relevant subject and/or equivalent work experience.
• Evidence of continuing professional development.
• Leadership and management training/qualification.

Responsibilities

• Develop, lead and support the Trust’s approach to CQC regulatory activity.
• Undertake Assurance Visits of services across Trust sites.
• Act as the expert in relevant legislation including CQC requirements.

Skills

Leadership and staff support skills

Quality improvement methodology

Communication skills

Project Management knowledge

Risk management knowledge

Education

Master's Degree in a relevant subject

Tools

MS Project

MS Visio

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Go back Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Head of Clinical Effectiveness and Assurance

The closing date is 23 December 2025

To provide support, leadership and development within the Compliance and Clinical Audit & Effectiveness Teams to ensure the efficient and effective development and management of the teams' regulatory activity. To ensure services are prepared for CQC visits, Mental Health Act Monitoring Visits and supported to respond to findings through a total quality management process. To work collaboratively with the Triumvirates / Quadumvirate within the Divisions. To work across the Trust ensuring teams deliver recovery focused care to patients in line with specific standards regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). To update CQC-related staff information and lead the implementation of a transformational approach that places corporate quality and compliance at the heart of service delivery. The post holder will interpret and analyse national, regional, and local regulations and policies relating to compliance, providing timely reports to senior managers and frontline staff on organisational implications and requirements. This role ensures that the Trust continues to advance in clinical quality governance and compliance, aligning with the highest national standards.

Main duties of the job

Job Summary:

• Develop, lead and support the Trust’s approach to CQC regulatory activity and preparedness.
• Undertake Assurance Visits of services across Trust sites offering support, oversight and guidance to the staff team through supervision and leadership.
• Act as the expert and demonstrate excellent practice in the safe application of relevant, up-to-date legislation and national directives including relevant CQC regulatory requirements, the Health, Safety and Welfare at Work Act, Safeguarding etc within the team.
• The postholder will work closely with the Deputy Director Quality Governance to meet statutory obligations and standards for healthcare governance.

About us

Vision - to improve the lives of people who live, work and volunteer on the Fylde Coast and beyond.

Values - The Trust’s values "Caring, Safe and Respectful" help to represent the culture of the Trust and to communicate who the Trust is and how they do things. They also play an important part in encouraging people to come and work and be part of the Trust themselves.

In January 2022 we invited staff, patients, carers, the local community, and key partners to be involved in the development of our 2022-2027 strategy. Following this engagement, we developed the strategy to clearly indicate our vision - to improve the lives of people who live, work and volunteer on the Fylde Coast and beyond. The approach we took to do this was key and shows that we are committed to listening to our staff and actively engaging patients in how we deliver safe, effective, sustainable care for everyone, every day.

Together, our engagement community told us what’s important to them:

• Being an employer of choice.
• Recruiting and retaining staff, especially from local areas.
• Growing excellence through training, education, research and innovation.
• Health promotion and prevention.
• Improving our impact on the environment.
• Creating safe, healthy environments to work and receive care in.

Job responsibilities

Please review the attached Job Description and Person Specification to ensure you match the required criteria, before applying.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Master's Degree in a relevant subject (e.g. population health, health studies, human factors, evidence based practice) and/or equivalent work experience
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• Project Management qualification or detailed working knowledge
• Leadership and management training/qualification

Experience

• Experience of working within a senior/leadership role within the acute sector in the NHS
• Experience of quality, safety and governance working in a complex organisation
• Leadership responsibility for quality and safety
• Experience of all aspects of staff management
• Leading the development of policies
• Producing papers for Committees/Board
• Leading projects relating to quality and safety
• Leading and supporting multidisciplinary working to achieve results
• Quality improvement projects, methodology and small-scale change using PDSA cycles
• Undertaking PSI investigations
• Experience of managing projects and achieving outcomes
• Experience of working in organisations other than the acute sector in the NHS, e.g. CCG, Local Government and or voluntary sector or substantial experience of joint working
• Experience of working with partner organisations and Regulators
• Experience of delivering training and workshops

Skills, Knowledge and Ability

• Good working knowledge of relevant theory, legislation and regulation covering all areas of NHS patient safety, quality and governance
• Quality improvement methodology
• Understanding of NHS structures
• Knowledge of quality and safety in partner organisations, including CCGs, Local Authority, NHS England
• Risk management knowledge and associated regulations
• National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS) and national safety alert procedures
• Fundamental Standards of Quality and Safety (CQC) and Key Lines of Enquiry
• Clinical audit, NICE, Best Practice guidance
• Mortality and morbidity review process
• Coroner's and claims process

Behaviours:

• Demonstrates core values set out in Job Description
• Lead by example, outcome focused
• Orientation towards quality improvement
• Lateral thinker and good problem solver
• Communicates effectively with a wide range of staff at all levels of the organisation
• Supports others in their development, encourages and motivates staff and acts as a positive role model
• Highly developed persuasion and influencing skills
• Highly motivated
• Ability to work alone, in a team and under pressure
• Flexible and adaptive to changing circumstances
• Honesty and integrity
• Sets clear objectives, plans and evaluates work

Practical Skills:

• Leadership and staff support skills
• Written, verbal communication skills with the ability to adapt from a 1-1 basis to group audiences, including presentational skills
• Effective interpersonal and communication skills, including patients, relatives and staff groups at all levels of the organisation
• Prioritisation and time management
• Computer literate - ability to use a number of general systems effectively to produce and analyse information, i.e. excel, word, PowerPoint
• Ability to analytical assess data and information to produce required reports and information
• Ability to manage large volumes of complex work
• Ability to produce policy documents and papers for committees/Board
• Ability to work with people with opposing views in difficult situations
• Teaching and training skills
• Use of MS Project and MS Visio

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

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.

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust