Head of Optometry Services

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

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in the UK is seeking an experienced optometry leader to oversee advanced hospital-based optometry services. The role involves strategic and operational leadership, managing teams, and delivering specialist clinical services. Ideal candidates will have extensive experience in optometry, strong leadership skills, and a commitment to patient-centered care. Competitive compensation and opportunities for professional development are offered.

Qualifications

• GOC-registered optometrist with significant hospital experience.
• Advanced postgraduate training in optometry or healthcare management desirable.
• Proven ability to deliver specialist clinics independently.

Responsibilities

• Lead the strategic delivery of optometry services across multiple sites.
• Manage and develop a multi-professional team.
• Deliver specialist clinical sessions and provide expert advice.

Skills

Leadership in Optometry

Communication Skills

Manual Dexterity

Clinical Assessment

Teaching Skills

Education

Higher Optometry Degree

Post-graduate Optometric Qualifications

Job description

Thisis a rare opportunity to lead one of the UKs most advanced hospital-basedoptometry services, embedded within the Ophthalmology Speciality ManagementTeam at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Based at St Jamess UniversityHospital, the postholder will be accountable for strategic and operationalleadership of a department delivering highly specialist clinical servicesacross multiple hospital and community sites.

Weare seeking a credible, experienced and forward-thinking optometry leader whothrives in complexity, delivers through teams, and upholds the highestclinical standards. You will lead a multidisciplinary workforce, oversee asignificant budget, and play a central role in education, research andinnovation. Your remit spans paediatrics to glaucoma, low vision to complexcontact lenses, and you will be empowered to influence regional care models.

Ifyou are passionate about patient-centred, integrated eye care, and want toshape the future of optometry within a large academic Trust, we want to hearfrom you.

Main duties of the job

Lead the strategic, clinical andoperational delivery of optometry services across LTHT, including St Jamess,LGI, Wharfedale and community sites.

Be responsible for the provision ofa wide range of specialist and core services including complex refraction,paediatric contact lenses, glaucoma, cataract and low vision care.

Manage and develop amulti-professional team of optometrists, dispensing opticians,pre-registration trainees, and administrators.

Hold delegated responsibility forHR, finance, governance, information systems and service development withinOptometry.

Personally deliver specialistclinical sessions and provide expert clinical advice for highly complexreferrals.

Supervise and assesspre-registration optometrists and contribute to postgraduate education forophthalmology colleagues.

Lead on audit, clinical governance,policy development, research collaboration and information management for thedepartment.

Serve as a senior point of contactfor all clinical and operational issues relating to optometry services.

About us

LeedsTeaching Hospitals is one of the largest teaching hospital Trusts in Europe,with access to leading clinical expertise and medical technology. We care forpeople from all over the country as well as the 780,000 residents of Leedsitself. The Trust as a budget of £1.8 billion. Our 24.000 staff ensure thatevery year we see and treat 1,500,000 in our 2.000 beds or out patientsettings, comprising 100,000 day cases and 125,000 in- patients , 260,000A&E visits and 1,250,000 out patient appointments. We operate from 7hospitals on 5 sites all linked by the same vision, philosophy and cultureto be the best for specialist integrated care.

TheEye Department is based at St James University Hospital, Leeds withOphthalmology Services also held at Seacroft Hospital and WharfedaleHospital. There are 29 consultants in the wider Ophthalmology Department. Theteam also trains Ophthalmic specialist trainees from the region. We haverecently

LeedsTeaching Hospitals is committed to our process of redeploying 'at risk'members of our existing workforce to new roles. As such, all our job advertsare subject to this policy and we reserve the right to close, delay or removeadverts while this process is completed. If you do experience a delay in theshortlisting stage of the recruitment cycle, please bear with us while thisprocess is completed, and contact the named contact if you have anyquestions.

Job responsibilities

Thisis a high-profile leadership role that combines senior clinical practice withdepartmental leadership. Key requirements include:

GOC-registered optometrist withsignificant hospital experience (10+ years), including pre-registrationsupervision, complex contact lenses, low vision and paediatrics.

Demonstrated leadership of teamsand services, including financial and HR responsibilities.

Advanced postgraduate training inoptometry or healthcare management (desirable).

Proven ability to deliverspecialist clinics independently across sub-specialities such as glaucoma,paediatrics, cataract and anterior segment disease.

Excellent communication skills andability to influence across professional boundaries, from consultantophthalmologists to community stakeholders.

Emotional resilience and empathy inworking with patients with complex needs and visual impairments.

Willingness to work across sitesand travel to community locations regularly.

A strong track record of teaching,audit and ideally research or publication.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• General Optical Council registered
• Registered College of Optometrists supervisor for pre-registration optometrist training posts as required by the GOC
• Higher optometry degree or equivalent
• Post-graduate optometric qualifications e.g. College of Optometrists, Higher Diploma PHd
• European Computer driving licence

Experience

• Minimum of eight years previous hospital work/ registered minimum of ten years
• Experience of working in sub-specialty clinical services, such as glaucoma, corneal, acute referral, and medical retina
• Management
• Pre-registration optometrist supervision
• Complex contact lenses including paediatric contact lenses
• Low Vision work
• Working with the elderly and Working with children
• Toxic screening
• EDTRS LogMAR acuity testing
• Peli Robson Contrast sensitivity assessment
• Experience of postgraduate teaching
• Experience of research and audit
• Practical working knowledge of fitting complex rigid and soft and scleral contact lenses including paediatric contact lenses.
• Glaucoma knowledge / experience
• Post operative cataract assessment knowledge / experience
• Anterior segment disease knowledge / experience

Skills & behaviours

• Precise manual dexterity skills including handling contact lenses, removing eye lashes and corneal suture adjustment.
• Well developed interpersonal mental and emotional empathy skills where barriers exist because of age, special needs, physical or language difficulties
• Good written and verbal communication skills & Managing people
• Able to work independently upon own initiative and lead the department.
• Performing practical refraction, contact lens fitting and low vision aid dispensing skills on adults and children.
• Performing contact tonometry on adults, children and babies.
• Use of Volk and gonioscopy lenses.
• Use of Binocular Indirect Ophthalmoscopy
• Instillation of ophthalmic drugs in adults and children
• Ability to work in a busy environment. Flexibility with working hours, especially finishing time.

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.