Podiatry Team Leader

Job overview

A Podiatry Team Leader is an experienced and highly skilled clinician who will provide clinical, operational and professional leadership within the Podiatry Service, reporting to the Podiatry Clinical Lead. The post holder will lead and manage part of the team of podiatrists and support staff at Walsall, in order to deliver high quality, evidence-based care across a range of community, acute and specialist podiatry services.

The post holder will manage a defined clinical team, ensuring safe, effective and efficient service delivery whilst driving quality improvement, workforce development and service transformation initiatives. They will act as a clinical expert within their specialist area and provide advanced assessment, diagnosis and treatment for patients presenting with complex and high-risk foot health needs.

The Team Leader will maintain a significant specialist caseload and provide clinical leadership across a range of specialist services including diabetic foot management, wound care, nail surgery, biomechanics and offloading, and other high-risk foot pathways. The role requires close multidisciplinary working with consultants, GPs, nursing teams, allied health professionals and external partners to ensure excellent patient outcomes.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will provide day-to-day operational leadership for a team of podiatrists, assistant practitioners and support staff, ensuring that clinical services are delivered safely, effectively and in accordance with local and national standards.

Key responsibilities include:

• Managing and supporting staff through supervision, appraisal, performance management, recruitment, induction and workforce development.
• Leading and contributing to service improvement projects, quality initiatives, audit programmes and the implementation of evidence-based practice.
• Monitoring service performance, activity and clinical outcomes to support achievement of local and national key performance indicators.
• Providing advanced clinical assessment, diagnosis and treatment for patients with highly complex foot and lower limb conditions.
• Acting as a clinical specialist within an agreed area of practice and providing expert advice and support to colleagues and multidisciplinary teams.
• Delivering and overseeing specialist high-risk podiatry services, including diabetic foot care, wound management, vascular risk assessment and limb preservation pathways.
• Assisting with risk management, patient safety, clinical governance and safeguarding within the team.
• Supporting education, mentorship and continuing professional development for students, newly qualified staff and established clinicians.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post holder will be responsible for providing clinical, professional and operational leadership within the Podiatry Service.

Leadership and Management

• Provide day-to-day management of podiatry staff and support workforce.
• Undertake recruitment, induction, supervision, appraisal and performance management processes.
• Support workforce planning, succession planning and staff development.
• Manage staffing resources and workload allocation to ensure safe and effective service delivery.
• Promote a positive culture of learning, improvement and staff wellbeing.

Clinical Practice

• Maintain an expert clinical caseload involving patients with complex and high-risk foot conditions.
• Deliver advanced assessment, diagnosis, treatment planning and evaluation of care.
• Provide specialist clinical interventions within agreed areas of expertise including wound care, diabetic foot management, nail surgery and biomechanics.
• Support clinicians with complex decision making and risk management.
• Ensure clinical practice is evidence based and aligned with professional standards and local policies.

Service Development and Quality Improvement

• Lead and participate in service redesign, transformation and improvement initiatives.
• Develop and review clinical pathways, policies, protocols and standard operating procedures.
• Monitor service performance and contribute to the achievement of key performance indicators.
• Lead clinical audit, quality assurance and service evaluation activities.
• Promote innovation and identify opportunities to improve patient outcomes and service efficiency.

Clinical Governance

• Ensure compliance with professional, organisational and regulatory standards.
• Support incident reporting, investigation and shared learning processes.
• Promote patient safety, safeguarding, infection prevention and risk management.
• Maintain accurate clinical records and ensure data quality standards are achieved.

Education and Professional Development

• Provide mentorship, clinical supervision and support for staff and students.
• Promote continuing professional development and evidence-based practice.
• Deliver training and educational opportunities across the team and wider organisation.
• Maintain own professional registration and specialist competencies.

Partnership Working

• Develop strong multidisciplinary relationships across health and social care services.
• Represent the podiatry service at internal and external meetings as required.
• Work collaboratively with consultants, GPs, community teams and partner organisations to support integrated care pathways.
• Act as a professional role model and ambassador for the podiatry service.

This role offers an exciting opportunity for an experienced podiatrist to combine specialist clinical practice with leadership, workforce development and service improvement, making a significant contribution to the future delivery of podiatry services.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.