Assistant Director of High Secure Redevelopment Planning (Bank)

Job overview

Main duties of the job

• Provide senior clinical leadership to the High Secure Redevelopment Programme, using extensive senior-level experience within a High Secure environment to ensure all redevelopment decisions are clinically credible, safe and aligned with national standards. Lead the strategic, clinical, quality and operational development of the redevelopment, translating national policy, commissioning requirements and best practice into deliverable service models. Oversee quality, safety, care coordination and risk management to improve patient outcomes and experience, supported by advanced clinical knowledge of high secure mental health. Develop and deliver workforce strategies that are clinically appropriate, sustainable and responsive to the complexity of the High Secure population. Lead large-scale transformation and innovation, including digital and data-led approaches, ensuring safe implementation in clinical settings. Maintain executive-level engagement with NHS England, the Department of Health and national partners, acting as a senior clinical voice for Mersey Care, while holding responsibility for complex budgets and business case delivery to ensure financial sustainability without compromising quality or safety.

This role requires a registered clinician with substantial senior leadership experience in High Secure services, capable of balancing strategic transformation with the realities and risks of delivering safe, high-quality care in the most complex clinical environments.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Assistant Director of High Secure Redevelopment Planning (Band 8c) is a senior clinical leadership role with responsibility for shaping and delivering one of Mersey Care’s most complex and strategically significant transformation programmes. The postholder will provide expert clinical leadership to the High Secure Redevelopment Programme, ensuring that all aspects of service redesign, workforce development and innovation are clinically credible, safe and aligned with national High Secure standards and commissioning expectations.

Working at executive and system level, the role leads the strategic, clinical, quality and operational planning for the redevelopment, translating national policy and NHS England requirements into deliverable local solutions. The postholder will oversee quality and safety workstreams, care coordination models and risk management approaches, drawing on extensive experience of working in a High Secure environment at a senior level to safeguard patient outcomes and experience.

The role is responsible for developing and delivering workforce strategies and complex business plans within agreed funding envelopes, providing assurance on financial sustainability, value for money and programme delivery. It also leads large-scale transformation and innovation, including the use of digital dashboards, data-led decision making and research partnerships to support continuous improvement.

As a key senior clinical voice for Mersey Care, the postholder will maintain strong relationships with NHS England, the Department of Health, the National High Secure Network and academic partners, strengthening the Trust’s reputation as a national leader in high secure mental health care and ensuring the successful delivery of the redevelopment programme.

At Mersey Care we strive to continually build on our values and beliefs that will allow all our workforce to develop their potential and bring their whole self into the organisation. In order to strengthen our inclusivity and diversity, we recognise the need to ensure we become more representative of the communities we serve.

This is recognised in the NHS England EDI Workforce Improvement Plan 2023 and NHS Workplace Race Equality Standard that in senior NHS Leadership positions, there is an underrepresentation of Black and Asian Minority colleagues (BME).

As an organisation we are committed to our Perfect Care Goal on Anti-racism and so are employing positive action where we know there is underrepresentation and for this position therefore, we encourage applications from people who are from BME communities. The Equality Act (2010) permits Mersey Care as a defined public authority, to take steps to address inequity and underrepresentation as positive action, and this includes our approach for this position.