Director of Infection Prevention Services

Job overview

This is an exciting opportunity to provide Trust-wide leadership for Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) across Bristol NHS Foundation Trust. As Director of Infection Prevention Services and Deputy Director of Infection Prevention and Control, you will lead the strategic direction, professional standards, governance and assurance of IPC services across our hospital sites.

We are looking for an experienced senior IPC leader who can combine professional credibility with strategic thinking, strong influencing skills and the ability to lead improvement across a large and complex organisation. Working closely with clinical teams, senior leaders and system partners, you will play a pivotal role in reducing avoidable harm, improving outcomes and creating consistent, evidence-based standards across the Trust.

Main duties of the job

You will provide senior Trust-wide leadership for Infection Prevention and Control, acting as Deputy DIPC and providing expert advice, assurance and challenge to the Chief Nursing & Improvement Officer, Executive Team and Board. You will lead the development and implementation of Trust-wide strategies, standards and improvement programmes.

You will oversee the Trust response to outbreaks and significant IPC risks, strengthen surveillance and assurance systems, and work across clinical services, estates, facilities and system partners to ensure consistently high standards across all sites. You will provide professional leadership to the IPC workforce, including direct line management of the Heads of IPC, and will lead service development, workforce planning, education, research and innovation.

We are looking for a credible and experienced senior IPC leader with excellent judgement, strong analytical skills and the confidence to influence and challenge at executive and system level. You will need to be able to navigate complexity, lead through ambiguity, build effective partnerships and combine supportive professional leadership with robust governance and assurance.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Director of Infection Prevention Services will provide Trust-wide strategic leadership, professional accountability and assurance for Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) across Bristol NHS Foundation Trust. Acting as Deputy Director of Infection Prevention and Control, the postholder will exercise delegated authority on behalf of the Chief Nursing & Improvement Officer as DIPC and will ensure that the Trust meets its statutory, regulatory and professional responsibilities for infection prevention and control.

The postholder will lead the development, implementation and evaluation of Trust-wide IPC strategies, standards and policies, supporting the harmonisation of practice across hospital sites and reducing unwarranted variation. They will provide senior leadership for programmes including healthcare-associated infection reduction, antimicrobial resistance and stewardship, surveillance, audit and continuous improvement.

They will provide formal assurance to the Chief Nursing & Improvement Officer, Executive Team and Board committees regarding IPC performance, risk, compliance and outcomes, and will ensure that significant infection prevention risks are identified, escalated and effectively managed. The role includes senior oversight of outbreaks, serious incidents and high-risk IPC events, together with professional leadership into emergency preparedness, pandemic response and organisational resilience arrangements.

The Director will provide senior professional leadership to the Trust’s IPC workforce, including direct line management of the Heads of IPC. They will oversee professional standards, competency frameworks, education, workforce planning, clinical supervision, research and innovation, ensuring that services have the capacity and capability required to meet organisational priorities.

The postholder will hold strategic oversight of IPC resources, budgets, digital surveillance and reporting systems, and will contribute to decisions regarding service development, workforce, estates and infrastructure. They will provide assurance in areas including cleaning and decontamination, water safety, ventilation, equipment and surfaces, and procurement where infection risk is present.

This is a highly collaborative role. The postholder will work closely with clinical and operational leaders across the Trust, the Chief Nursing & Improvement Officer, the Director of Communities & Inclusion, Heads of IPC, microbiology, antimicrobial stewardship, estates, facilities, quality and improvement colleagues. Externally, they will represent the Trust and develop effective relationships with organisations including CQC, NHS England, UKHSA, ICBs, local authorities, higher education institutions and other system and regional partners.

The role is professionally accountable to the Chief Nursing & Improvement Officer as DIPC and managerially accountable to the Director of Communities & Inclusion. Cross-site working across Bristol NHS Foundation Trust will be required, alongside participation in organisational emergency, incident response and business continuity arrangements as appropriate.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.