Paediatric Dietitian

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust; Southampton; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 47,000; Part time

Job summary

An exciting opportunity for an HCPC registered dietitian to join the pediatric dietetic team at Southampton Children's Hospital. This role involves providing both outpatient and inpatient dietetic services, opportunities for personal development, and being part of a diverse and inclusive team dedicated to compassionate care.

Benefits

Protected CPD time

Flexible working

Access to the paediatric grand round education events

Travel benefits and discounts

Qualifications

• HCPC registered dietitian with the ability to work in a paediatric setting.
• Desire to work in paediatrics with knowledge and transferable skills.
• Experience in mentoring or supervising junior dietetic staff is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Provide dietetic inpatient & outpatient services in a paediatric setting.
• Assess nutritional status and develop treatment plans.
• Participate in multidisciplinary clinical teams and training of student dietitians.

Skills

Clinical judgement

Communication

Teamwork

Flexibility

Education

Degree in Nutrition and Dietetics

HCPC registration

Job description

This post is only open to internal applicants.

Main area Clinical Support Grade Band 6 Contract Fixed term: 12 months (12 months secondment can be considered) Hours

• Part time
• Flexible working

15 hours per week Job ref 188-CL130625-I

Site University Hospital Southampton Town Southampton Salary £38,682.00-£46,580.00 Per Annum (PA) Pro Rata Closing 10/07/2025 23:59 Interview date 31/07/2025

Job overview

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to offer a fantastic opportunity to work with us.

Please see below for detailed job description of the role.

Main duties of the job

We have a great opportunity for an HCPC registered dietitian to join our forward thinking, friendly paediatric dietetic team (approximately 25 dietitians) at Southampton Children's Hospital as band 5 or 6 dietitian, depending on experience, for a 12 month fixed term maternity cover working 2 days per week.

You will join the paediatric gastroenterology team, providing outpatient and inpatient cover to a designated case-load. You will work alongside 3 other paediatric dietitians and be an integral member of the paediatric gastroenterology MDT.

The paediatric team is part of the University Hospital Southampton NHSFT Dietetics and Speech and Language Therapy department, (approximately 130 staff ),with clinical experts working across a range of specialties, providing both acute and community services in adults and paediatrics.
We are a large, diverse team and there are excellent opportunities for CPD and career development. We have access to the paediatric grand round education events. and have strong links with Southampton University. Audit, service evaluation, QI and research projects are actively encouraged.

We offer protected CPD time and you will have regular one-to-one supervision plus preceptorship support, if relevant.

Working for our organisation

University Hospital Southampton is one of England's largest acute teaching Trusts, offering a wide range of learning and development opportunities to support your career aspirations.

Located on the south coast with an international airport and direct rail links to London, Southampton offers an ideal setting to live and work, with the New Forest, South Downs and Jurassic Coast.

We believe that using technology wisely shows strong time management and commitment to innovation. However, personalizing your recruitment application to highlight your unique skills and experiences is crucial. Relying too heavily on generic, AI-generated content instead of drawing from your own strengths and accomplishments may lead to your application being rejected if multiple candidates present identical or similar information.

At UHS we’re committed to providing a flexible working environment where possible. Whether you are balancing family, study, or your wellbeing with your career, we want to support you so you can help our patients.

At UHS, we proudly champion individuality, recognizing that outstanding care is only possible with a diverse, inclusive team. We’re committed to creating an anti-racist, anti-discriminatory environment where everyone feels valued, safe, and empowered to make a meaningful impact in our communities. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences to join us in building a healthcare community where everyone can belong, thrive, and contribute.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

You will:

• Work within Southampton Children's Hospital as part of the Paediatric Dietetic Team to provide dietetic inpatient & outpatient services
• Assess nutritional status and calculate nutritional requirements based on the interpretation of diet history, biochemistry, anthropometry, clinical condition and other physical parameters.
• Make clinical judgements and decisions, selecting and evaluating appropriate treatment plans
• Liaise with local and regional colleagues to ensure continuity of care and appropriate transfer/discharge communication
• Participate actively as a member of multidisciplinary clinical teams
• Participate in the training of student dietitians following successful completion of required training
• Draw on a range of communication skills to effectively negotiate nutritional goals with patients, considering emotional distress, physical illness, communication and learning needs
• Achieve speciality specific competencies and undertake defined projects as agreed with your line manager

Experience and skills required:

• You must be an HCPC registered dietitian (RD)
• Experience of paediatric dietetics is an advantage but not essential. You need a desire to work in paediatrics and possess appropriate knowledge and transferable skills
• You must be able to plan and prioritise your workload within agreed boundaries, coping with unpredictable events and varying workload pressures.

Person specification

Qualifications, knowledge and experience

• Degree or equivalent in Nutrition and Dietetics
• HCPC (Health and Care professions Council) registered dietitian (RD)
• Evidence of commitment to relevant ongoing CPD and development in relevant areas
• Evidence of relevant dietetic knowledge and expertise with recent experience demonstrating this
• Ability to communicate complex information fluently, confidently and effectively to a diverse range of people: e.g., with patients, carers, managers and other health care professionals
• Ability to demonstrate a practical and sensitive approach and flexibility in working style when applying clinical judgement to complex clinical issues
• Ability to create rapport and professionally manage relationships with colleagues, patients and carers and the emotional challenges this presents
• Demonstrate a holistic approach to treatment
• Ability to cope with unpredictable events and varying clinical and non-clinical work pressures, independently planning and prioritising own workload, managing own time and meeting deadlines
• Member of British Dietetic Association (BDA) and relevant specialist groups
• Experience mentoring or supervising dietetic assistants or junior staff
• Experience and involvement with dietetic student training
• Experience of audit/project work
• Ability to cover “out of hours” commitments on agreed occasions

Please be advised that this vacancy may close earlier than stated if we receive a large number of applications. We will not accept any applications or queries via agencies, under any circumstances.

Getting to work should be as easy as possible and that’s why we have introduced the UHS travel promise – a commitment from the Trust that we will provide reasonable travel options for every member of staff. Every member of staff can apply for a permit to use our park & ride facility. Eligibility for on-site parking is dependent on the nature and requirement of the role. All staff can also access a range of discounted benefits relating to travel including reduced price bus tickets, purchase of salary sacrifice bikes and ultra-low emission cars.

Our commitment to equality

Equality remains at the centre of our policymaking, service delivery, and employment practice, giving all employees equal opportunity to develop, apply for promotions, and have working arrangements that enable them to achieve a manageable work-life balance.

UHS actively promotes a work environment free from harassment and discrimination and provides training for managers and staff to ensure this happens. We also closely monitor recruitment activity, training, development, and employment practices to ensure equality of practice with regard to race, colour, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, disability, marital status and age.

How and why we use your information

The Trust is under a duty to protect the public funds it administers, and to this end may use the information you have provided on this form for the prevention and detection of fraud. It may also share this information with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds for these purposes.

The European General Data Protection Regulations enhances individuals’ rights and safeguards all of their data in place under the DPA.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.