Job overview
The role will provide senior strategic leadership to the Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) working in Pennine Care Foundation Trust, to enable the delivery of the professional AHP agenda and ensure representation for all AHPs at the highest level in the Trust. The postholder is accountable for the strategic direction of Allied Health Professionals within the Trust, providing effective leadership which enables AHPs to provide person centred, evidenced based, safe and effective practice within mental health and learning disability services. The role is accountable for the delivery and continuous improvement of allied health professionals’ practice to optimise patient care, safety and experience, ensuring allied health professionals have opportunities to develop new skills and work in an environment that encourages innovation. The role will draw on the postholders extensive experience of leadership utilising a range of skills including: collaborative working, service improvement informed by research and evidence, workforce development, communicating complexity and demonstrating impact. The postholder will work closely and in collaboration with all other professional leads such as the Head of Nursing and Head of Social work to ensure that all healthcare staff have a shared vison for the best possible clinical services.
Main duties of the job
Provide effective strategic leadership for AHPs, acting as an ambassador and role model for all fourteen professions. To ensure the clinical voice of each profession is heard and that all AHPs work within their competencies and safe governance. Demonstrate strong clinical leadership to the AHP professions across the Trust, providing senior advice and problem solving with a creative approach ensuring that all registered AHP practitioners work within their professional code of conduct. To raise the profile of and demonstrate the essential qualities and values of the AHPs. Ensure each professional lead liaises with and reports back from their specific professional body and has access to external support locally and nationally. Support and guide the professional leads in driving safe clinical practice for each of the professions. To continually review the operation and effectiveness of the contribution of the AHPs to integrated multi-disciplinary pathways of care and implement required improvements. To hold the budget for the Allied Health Professional Leads. To support, direct and advise on effective use of resources within the teams. To support development of and ensure implementation of clinical and professional policies relevant to AHPs.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
See attached Job Description for a more detailed overview of the post.
Demonstrate strong clinical leadership to the AHP professions across the Trust providing senior advice and problem solving with a creative approach ensuring that all registered AHP practitioners work within their professional code of conduct.
Develop strategic direction of each AHP in line with local and national policy and strategy
To be responsible for long term strategy of the AHP services ensuring service development is in line with national policy and local demand
Person specification
Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge of local and national Allied Health Professional strategy
- Committed to delivering high quality services and developing clinical practice
- Knowledge of NHS financial management
- Understanding of and ability to communicate NHS policy
- Tact and diplomacy and an understanding of supporting staff through crises
Experience
Essential
- Extensive post registration experience including demonstrable experience at senior AHP level
- Extensive experience of working with patients/service users in a range of clinical services
- Significant experience in leadership and management
- Experience of managing uni and multiprofessional teams in a complex environment and at times of change
- Experience of analysing, interpreting and implementing research and evidence for improvement
- Experience of budget management
Desirable
- Multi-agency team working
- Audit experience
- Research experience
- Experience of teaching, facilitation and working in a learning environment
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Ability to inspire and engage staff and encourage innovation and development
- Ability to lead and motivate
- Ability to produce reports and documents using relevant technology to present complex data and strategy with clarit
- High degree of autonomy and decision making
- Ability to develop policy
- Ability to communicate sensitive and highly complex information at every level of the organisation
Education/Qualifications
Essential
- Professional Qualification in an Allied Health Profession
- HCPC Registration
- Extensive post-graduate accredited training in a relevant subject(s) to Masters level
- Post-graduate training or experience in management
- Post graduate experience to doctoral level
Desirable
- Doctorate in a health related subject
Work Related Circumstances
Essential
- Willing to travel across the Trust footprint
- Committed to personal development
- Use of a car or access to a means of mobility to travel across the Trust footprint in line with service needs
- Willing to carry out all duties and responsibilities of the post in accordance with the Trust’s Equal Opportunities and Equality and Diversity policies
- Appointments to regulated and controlled activities require an enhanced DBS disclosure
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Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for Head of Allied Health Professionals with Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust in Ashton Under Lyne, North West, England. It is listed as a Band 8 Allied health professionals role. The advertised salary is £79,504 - £91,609 per anum, pro rata. The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 01 Jul 2026.
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