Clinical Advisor – Health and Employment Pathways

Job overview

Please note this organisation does not hold a sponsorship licence, we regret to inform you that we are unable to consider applications from individuals who require sponsorship

We are looking for an experienced Occupational Therapist to join our Population Health and Health Inequalities Team at NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB as Clinical Advisor - Health and Employment Pathways.

NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB works with partners across the health and care system to improve population health, reduce health inequalities and commission services that meet the needs of our communities. Within our Population Health and Health Inequalities Team, we are developing our approach to health and employment, recognising that good work is an important health outcome. This reflects the wider purpose of the team and the strategic intent of the role set out in the job description.

This is an exciting opportunity to help shape and clinically lead the development of WorkWell, a new work and health service being implemented across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. WorkWell will provide early, personalised support for people whose health or disability is affecting their ability to remain in, return to or access good work.

The post is a two-year fixed-term Band 8a role and provides an opportunity for an experienced Occupational Therapist to move into a senior system leadership role, combining clinical expertise with strategic commissioning, population health and service transformation.

Main duties of the job

As Clinical Advisor, you will provide senior clinical advice, leadership and expertise to the ICB, helping us to commission, mobilise, assure and continuously improve WorkWell and the wider health and employment pathway. You will work across primary care, NHS providers, local authorities, employment services, employers and voluntary and community sector partners to develop joined-up, evidence-based pathways that improve health, function and employment outcomes. The role is designed to work across these organisational and professional boundaries.

You will bring specialist expertise in occupational therapy, vocational rehabilitation and the relationship between health, function and work. You will have an important role in pathway design, clinical standards, workforce development, quality and safety, evaluation and improvement, ensuring that clinical evidence, population health intelligence and lived experience inform how services develop.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Our model brings health and employment support together through a 'no wrong door' approach. Occupational Therapists will provide work and health assessment, triage and vocational rehabilitation across primary, community and secondary care, working alongside employment advisers and wider local services. Our ambition is to create a coherent pathway from early intervention and self-management through to more specialist employment and health support where this is needed.

This is a system-wide role with real scope to shape a new model of care. You will work through influence rather than direct operational management, providing clinical leadership across organisational and professional boundaries while working closely with the organisations responsible for delivering WorkWell services.

The Clinical Advisor will provide specialist clinical leadership and advice across the WorkWell programme and wider health and employment pathways across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Working as part of the ICB Population Health and Health Inequalities Team, the postholder will:

Provide senior Occupational Therapy and work and health expertise to support the commissioning, mobilisation, development and improvement of WorkWell.

Lead and support the development of integrated work and health pathways across primary care, community and secondary care, employment services and wider local support.

Provide clinical input into pathway design, service specifications, standards and operating procedures, ensuring services are evidence-based, safe, person-centred and focused on outcomes.

Support the development of a consistent approach to work and health assessment, vocational rehabilitation and return-to-work and thrive-in-work support across the system.

Work with NHS providers, primary care, local authorities, employment services, employers and VCSE partners to strengthen interfaces and develop coherent end-to-end pathways.

Provide clinical advice on quality, safety and risk, identifying variation, gaps and opportunities for improvement while working within established provider clinical governance arrangements.

Support workforce development, shared learning and clinical capability in work and health across organisations and professional groups.

Use clinical evidence, population health intelligence, performance data and lived experience to assess pathway effectiveness and inform continuous improvement.

Support the development of meaningful measures of health, function, employment, inequalities and participant experience, and contribute to evaluation of the WorkWell model.

Provide authoritative clinical advice to ICB colleagues and system partners, helping translate national policy, evidence and learning into practical improvements in services and pathways.

The role will work through clinical leadership, collaboration and influence across the system, rather than through direct management of provider clinical teams. Commissioned providers will retain responsibility for the clinical governance, professional supervision and operational management of their staff.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post will require a submission for Disclosure to be made to check for any unspent criminal convictions.