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Job overview
If you are an experienced and visionary leader with a track record of driving innovation and change within the field of psychological therapies, we would like to invite you to be part of a dynamic and transformative team as our next Associate Director for Psychological Professions.
The psychological professions workforce is playing an increasingly important role in the health and care system. As the Professional workforce lead you will provide strategic leadership, advice and guidance for the commissioning and transformation of education and training for the current and future psychological professions workforce. You will apply your professional and clinical knowledge, expertise, and experience to influence and set the direction of workforce development and transformation. You will be accountable for ensuring HEIW provides national workforce responses and solutions to drive innovation and enable systems to achieve improvement in health outcomes for populations across Wales; leading the translation and delivery of national workforce frameworks and initiatives to support the development and implementation of sustainable workforce solutions aimed at improving care for citizens in line with the Duty of Quality.
Main duties of the job
Providing strategic leadership, advice and guidance for the commissioning and transformation of education and training for the workforce delivering psychological therapies to meet the ambition of the Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care, and to support increased availability of psychological therapies, through development of skill mix and innovative workforce solutions.
Researching, identifying, and raising awareness of the specific workforce challenges within the psychological professions workforce and working with partners including Welsh Government, professional bodies, NHS and social care organisations and the education sector, to influence and advise upon the development and delivery of education and training programmes to support professional and clinical practice.
Interpreting overall health and social care policy and strategy into specific actions to support workforce development and transformation, establishing measurable goals and outcome measures to evidence impact. This will include using and initiating research activity and building the professional evidence base.
Leading on establishing engagement processes with key stakeholders across Wales and building strategic relationships with professional colleagues across the UK, to represent Wales and to promote and support a workforce transformation improvement driven approach to the delivery of recovery and national programme level initiatives.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
You will be able to find a full Job description and Person Specification attached within the supporting documents or please click “Apply now” to view in Trac.
The ability to speak Welsh is desirable for this post; English and/or Welsh speakers are equally welcome to apply.
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
Welsh language skills are desirable
Person specification
Skills and Attributes
Essential
- Welsh Language Skills are desirable levels 1 to 5 in understanding, speaking, reading and writing in Welsh
- Problem solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands
- Ability to manage ambiguity and complex competing priorities
- Ability to analyse complex facts, information, data, and situations and develop a range of options or solutions
- Excellent organisational skills and ability to plan and organise a broad range of complex activities, formulating and adjusting plans to reflect changing circumstances.
- Excellent interprofessional, communications, negotiating and influencing skills.
- Excellent presentation skills.
- Ability to think strategically and anticipate problems.
- Ability to develop ideas; translate strategy into action
- Ability to build effective cross functional working relationships across a diverse range of stakeholders
- Ability to work across organisations and professions and sustain effective working relationships.
- Ability to write a broad range of high-quality reports and materials
- Confidence to implement change both internal and externally making difficult decisions.
- Demonstrates a strong desire to improve workforce and service improvement by focusing on outcomes and benefits
- Able to make connections between the work and consistently thinks about how their work can help and support clinicians and frontline staff to deliver better outcomes for service users
- Makes decisions, has a clear reason for the decisions made and is aware of their impact
- Willing to engage with and learn from peers, other professionals, and colleagues.
- Constructively challenges and accepts constructive challenge
- Effective organiser, influencer, and networker
- Professional calm, efficient and effective manner
- Able to adapt and be flexible to cope with uncertainty and change
- Shares knowledge and information and actively promotes transformational change and improvement
- Leads by example, tenacious, driven, and enthusiastic to achieve goals.
- Uses initiative and takes responsibility for own actions and behaviours and consistently looks to improve what they do, looking for successful tried and tested ways of working, and seeking out innovation
- Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of equality of opportunity and diversity taking into account and being aware of how individual actions contribute to and make a difference to the equality agenda
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Experience of working in a senior leadership role within Psychological Therapies
- Extensive specialist knowledge of wide range of disciplines as well as the wider health professional workforce acquired through post graduate diploma or equivalent experience.
- Experience and understanding of the background to and aims of current health and social care policy, the NHS, current Government policies and work force initiatives in Wales and appreciation of the implications of this on engagement.
- Clear understanding of the workforce, service, and education transformation system.
- Attendance on a leadership development programme or evidence of implementing compassionate leadership principles and values.
- Experience of successful leadership and delivery of highly complex project/programme.
- Experience of delivering against competing priorities and deadlines while also directing the work of teams/individuals
- Senior management level experience of budgetary responsibility.
- Experience of managing and leading staff and delivering results through the development and management of teams
- Extensive experience in stakeholder engagement including health and Social Care organisations, education providers and regulatory bodies.
- Experience of managing projects/programmes of work in challenging environments.
Qualifications and Knowledge
Essential
- Highly experienced qualified psychological therapies practitioner with current professional registration with a relevant national regulatory body.
- Significant breadth and depth of clinical, managerial, and educational experience
- Educated to Master level or equivalent.
- Management and personal development including understanding of the NHS structure, services, and change agenda.
- Understanding of Duty of Quality Guidance and Principles in NHS Wales.
Desirable
- Education to PHD/Doctorate level
- Project management qualification
- QI qualification
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Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for Associate Director, Workforce Transformation Psychological Professions with Health Education and Improvement Wales in Ty Dysgu,. It is listed as a Band 8 Manager and corporate role. The advertised salary is £80,698 - £92,984 per annum, pro rata. The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 01 Sep 2026.
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