Highly Specialist Paediatric Audiologist

East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust; Stevenage; On-site; GBP 33,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust is seeking a Paediatric Audiologist to join the newly opened Audiology Hub at Lister Hospital, Stevenage. The role offers development toward Band 7 and a chance to contribute to high-quality paediatric audiology services.

You will work within a dedicated hub with modern facilities and opportunities to grow within paediatrics, supported by a team focused on improving patient care.

Qualifications

• BSc (Hons) Audiology or equivalent.
• BAAT Part I & II or CCC or equivalent certificate of clinical competency.
• AHCS registration.
• CPD portfolio of evidence.

Responsibilities

• Perform and interpret diagnostic tests and explain the results of these tests to patients, relatives and carers in an appropriate and empathetic manner, being sensitive to the complex communication difficulties of patients who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• Select, fit hearing aids & verify benefit for routine and complex babies and children.
• Have a multi-agency approach to audiological care and understand the role of the RNID and National Deaf Children’s Society and NHSP.
• Supervise/observe and assess audiologists and students as and when required and will be responsible for appraisals of lower grade staff.
• Be professionally and clinically responsible and accountable for all aspects of their own work, updating knowledge and skills to maintain continuing professional development.
• Have specialised knowledge of paediatric audiology and be able to perform a range of routine and complex procedures that are underpinned by both a specialised and broad theoretical knowledge.

Skills

Good Communication Skills

Own initiative

Strong computer skills

Education

BSc (Hons) Audiology or equivalent

BAAT Part I & II or CCC or equivalent

AHCS registration

CPD portfolio of evidence

Job description

Here at East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust

Our mission is:

Providing high-quality, compassionate care for our communities

Our vision to 2030 is:

To be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service

Our values

- We want our staff to believe in, demonstrate and live our values in everything we do. Our values are:

Include

We value the diversity and experience of our community colleagues and partners, creating relationships and climates that provide an opportunity to share, collaborate and grow together.

Respect

We create a safe environment where we are curious of the lived experience of others, seek out best practice and are open to listening and hearing new ideas.

Improve

We are committed to consistently delivering excellent services and continuously looking to improve through a creative workforce that feels empowered to act in service of our shared purpose.

Job overview

We are recruiting for a Paediatric Audiologist who shares our vision to be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service to our patients.

You may already be highly experienced in the field and looking for a change of work, or are a band 6 looking for development to Band 7. Either way, we are interested in talking to you about what we can offer.

In this post you will be working at our newly opened, dedicated Audiology Hub at Lister Hospital, where we have gold standard VRA suites, cutting edge equipment, exceptional staff facilities and a fully air conditioned space.

You will need a strong appetite for change and improvement and be able to contribute to our goal of making us exceptional in our care. In return you will be supported in growing your career within paediatrics with good opportunity to develop further.

This paediatric role encompasses everything you would expect, and applicants are encouraged to contact the Head of Audiology to discuss the roles further. If you do not meet all of the essential criteria but think you might be ready to step into these roles with support, please get in touch as we want to hear from you.

At the heart of everything we do are our core values: Include, Respect, and Improve. We encourage you to embrace these values throughout the recruitment process and in your role with us.

Main duties of the job

Perform and interpret diagnostic tests and explain the results of these tests to patients, relatives and carers in an appropriate and empathetic manner, being sensitive to the complex communication difficulties of patients who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Select, fit hearing aids & verify benefit for routine and complex babies and children.

Have a multi-agency approach to audiological care and understand the role of the RNID and National Deaf Children’s Society and NHSP.

Supervise/observe and assess audiologists and students as and when required and will be responsible for appraisals of lower grade staff.

Be professionally and clinically responsible and accountable for all aspects of their own work, updating knowledge and skills to maintain continuing professional development.

Have specialised knowledge of paediatric audiology and be able to perform a range of routine and complex procedures that are underpinned by both a specialised and broad theoretical knowledge.

Working for our organisation

At East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust, we are proud of the range of general and specialist services we provide and our 6,000 or so dedicated staff ensure our patients get the best care. Our ability to be flexible and innovative in the way in which we work and deliver our services to our catchment has never been more important than it is now.

We run the following hospitals:

• The Lister Hospital, Stevenage
• New Queen Elizabeth II (New QEII), Welwyn Garden City
• Hertford County, Hertford
• Mount Vernon Cancer Centre (MVCC), Northwood

We have ambitious plans to become an outstanding, patient-led Trust where dedicated staff provide high-quality, compassionate care to our patients. We continue to undergo significant transformation and our staff and patients are at the heart of delivering this ambitious agenda.

We are committed to a positive work life balance for our employees. This means that any employee is entitled to seek to work flexible working patterns and we are committed to listen and consider all requests. Such requests, of course, have to be made and considered formally, and will need to be balanced against service needs, but our starting point will always be to find ways to support making them happen.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification applicant pack for further detailed information regarding this role.

Person specification

Qualifications / Training

Essential criteria

• BSc (Hons) Audiology or equivalent
• BAAT Part I & II or CCC or equivalent certificate of clinical competency
• AHCS registration
• CPD portfolio of evidence

Desirable criteria

• HCPC registration as Clinical Scientist
• MSc Audiology
• Completed HTS Modules/other post graduate qualification/breaking the news course/M level modules in paediatric audiology
• Stage 1 or above BSL

Previous Experience

Essential criteria

• Assessing babies and children's hearing using behavioural testing, VRA, Play/Performance Audiometry, Speech testing
• Paediatric Rehabilitation including hearing aid fitting and adjustment
• Experience working within NHS within paediatric Audiology

Desirable criteria

• Diagnostic Auditory Brainstem response testing experience.
• Experience in breaking the news of diagnosis
• Leadership courses/experience of line management
• Previous experience of overseeing Student trainees

Skills

Essential criteria

• Good Communication Skills to deal with general public enquiries
• Ability to work on own initiative
• Strong computer skills (use of Excel, power point etc)

Desirable criteria

• Leadership skills

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Knowledge of routine and non routine Audiological test procedures
• Knowledge of implant criteria

Desirable criteria

• Research / clinical auditing

Other Requirements

Essential criteria

• Role model our Trust values every day
• Understanding of, and commitment to, equality, diversity and inclusion

When you apply...

Please note we do not offer visa sponsorship for roles unless clearly stated in our adverts. This means even if you have the right to work currently but will require a new sponsorship to work for our Trust your application will not be considered.

Vacancies may close earlier than the advertised closing date where a high volume of applications are received. We therefore encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible to avoid missing out on the opportunity to join the Trust or develop your career with us.

While we recognise that AI can support in drafting an application, you are encouraged to clearly demonstrate your personal skills, experience and behaviours that align with the role, and this is usually best done in your own words. We reserve the right to review all applications for the use of AI tools and where this is inconsistent with our values and standards of behaviour your application may be rejected

All correspondence relating to vacancies will be via the e-mail address you have provided on your application form. Some servers automatically send e-mails to your junk mail so please check as well as your inbox.

We are committed to fair, transparent and ethical recruitment. We will never ask applicants to pay fees at any stage of the recruitment process. All vacancies are advertised on our Trust Careers webpage and NHS Jobs, with applications managed through TRAC. We will only contact applicants through our official recruitment channels and Trust contact details.

Secondments/Fixed term

Where a vacancy is advertised as a temporary position, the duration will be specified in the advert. If the vacancy becomes permanent towards the end of the specified duration, the successful applicant may not be required to re-apply and can be slotted into the role on a permanent basis if appropriate.

If you are an internal applicant applying for a temporary working arrangement, please see the attached notes on secondments.

Committed to our Community

East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion for all job applicants, staff, patients and the wider community. We want to create a workforce which represents the communities we serve. We are on a journey to become a more inclusive organisation and we welcome applications from everyone regardless of their background. In particular we encourage applications from candidates with disabilities, and candidates from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who are currently under-represented in various parts of our workforce .

We understand the importance of balancing work and home life. We are committed to support flexible working for our staff wherever possible and all our employees are given the opportunity to discuss potential for flexible working.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and achieved our status in 2019.

We will remove barriers that prospective candidates might face at any stage of our recruitment process. If you have a disability and would like the advert in an alternative format, or would like to talk about how we can adjust the interview process to best support you, please contact us by emailing [e-mail]

We are also proud to support our UK armed forces by supporting Reservists, Cadet Instructors, Veterans and military spouses/partners into employment and offering supportive policies that value their contribution to the community and to our Trust.

We are committed to being a carer-friendly environment, addressing the complex needs of families with caring responsibilities. In partnership with Carers in Hertfordshire, all our working carers have access to support from recruitment. We are also a member of Carers UK, providing resources to make balancing work and caring easier. Our approach is inclusive, recognizing diverse challenges and creating a supportive environment where carers feel valued.

King’s Trust Support

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