SHSCT Head of Quality Improvement Band 8B

Job details

• Branch: Southern HSC Trust area (SHSCT)
• Location: Tower Hill-SHSSB
• Directorate: Planning Performance & Informatics
• Salary: Band 8b (£64,455 - £74,896 )
• Contract Type: Permanent
• Opening Date: 09/07/26
• Closes: Thu, 23 July 2026 @ 4:00 PM
• Interview Dates: TBC

Notes

If you are submitting a manual application, please post it to: Recruitment Shared Services, Rosewood Villa, Longstone Hospital Site, 73 Loughgall Road, Armagh, BT61 7PR. Applications received after the advertised closing date/time cannot be considered, so please allow enough time for postage. A waiting list may be created for similar posts that may arise while the waiting list is live, this may include temporary or part-time posts. This will be managed in line with the updated HSC waiting list principles effective from 1 April 2026. Where a part-time waiting list is required, one part-time waiting list will be created- regardless of any specific hours advertised, this waiting list will cover all future vacancies where part-time posts arise. A part-time post is defined as any post that has less than 37.5 hours per week. Please remember to save or print a copy of the job description before submitting your application, as it will not be accessible afterwards. Flexible Working We welcome flexible working requests from day one. All HSC organisations offer a range of flexible working options. The options available for this post will depend on the requirements of the role. Find out more about flexible working options on our website.

JOB DESCRIPTION

JOB TITLE: Head of Quality Improvement

BAND: 8B

DIRECTORATE: Director of Planning, Performance and Informatics

INITIAL LOCATION: Towerhill Main Building, Armagh

REPORTS TO: Assistant Director of Quality Improvement and Transformation

ACCOUNTABLE TO: Director of Planning, Performance and Informatics

JOB SUMMARY

The Head of Quality Improvement is responsible for providing strategic leadership for the development, delivery and continuous review of the Trust’s quality improvement approach, ensuring that improvement is embedded as a core part of how services are planned, delivered, evaluated and improved.

The postholder will lead a specialist Quality Improvement Team that enables clinical, operational and corporate teams to deliver measurable improvements in quality, safety, service user and carer experience and in driving the delivery of value and efficiency in the organisation. This will include building improvement capability across the organisation, supporting innovation, strengthening the use of data and measurement and enabling improvement to be spread and sustained across services.

The postholder will work across directorates and with regional partners to source, interpret and apply evidence, learning and best practice from a range of internal and external sources. They will use this intelligence to inform the Trust’s quality approach, support delivery of strategic priorities and contribute to a culture of continuous learning, psychological safety, co-production and innovation.

KEY DUTIES / RESPONSIBILITIES

Provide strategic and operational leadership for the implementation, evaluation and continuous development of the Trust’s Vision and Strategy, Quality Approach and annual programme of improvement activity.

Lead the Quality Improvement Team as a specialist enabling and coaching resource, ensuring the team contributes to a Trust-wide culture of quality improvement, innovation and learning with measurable impact.

Embed quality improvement as a core organisational capability, ensuring it is integrated into service planning, operational delivery, performance management, governance and the pursuit of safe, effective and person-centred care.

Lead the planning, delivery and performance management of priority quality improvement programmes and projects, ensuring clear aims, milestones, governance, risks, measures, benefits, spread and sustainability plans are in place.

Provide expert advice, challenge and assurance to senior leaders, directorates and partner organisations on improvement methodology, measurement for improvement, human factors, data, innovation and change management.

Source, appraise and apply evidence, learning and models of best practice from local, regional, national and international sources to inform the Trust’s quality approach, improvement priorities and delivery models.

Develop robust mechanisms for monitoring, reporting and evaluating progress, outcomes and impact, ensuring improvement activity demonstrates contribution to quality, safety, patient and service user experience, access, efficiency, performance and financial sustainability.

Use data, intelligence and measurement for improvement to identify unwarranted variation, quality and safety risks, inequalities, pathway improvement opportunities and population-level priorities.

Lead the development and delivery of Quality and Safety and Quality Improvement events, networks and communications that celebrate improvement, share learning, spread best practice and support the sustainability of improvements across the Trust.

Establish and sustain Trust-wide improvement infrastructure, including quality coach networks, improvement collaboratives, improvement faculty and practical routes for testing, spreading and scaling successful change.

Build the capacity and capability of staff across the organisation in quality improvement, human factors and the use of data through accredited and scheduled training programmes, coaching, mentoring and tailored support to teams.

Strengthen Trust-wide learning systems by ensuring learning from improvement activity, incidents, complaints, feedback, patient experience, data, audit and external evidence is captured, shared and applied across services.

Influence and support clinical, operational and corporate leaders to take ownership of improvement within their areas, promoting distributed leadership, psychological safety, co-production and innovation in daily practice.

Work across organisational and professional boundaries with HSC partners, primary care, community and voluntary sector, academic and improvement organisations to align priorities, share learning and support system-wide transformation.

Represent the Trust at local, regional, national and, where appropriate, international forums, contributing to wider quality, safety, transformation and improvement priorities and bringing relevant learning back into the organisation.

Staff Management

Provide leadership, direction and operational management to the Quality Improvement Team, ensuring the team has clear priorities, effective governance and a strong focus on impact, learning and value.

Lead, support and develop staff through appraisal, supervision, workload planning, performance management and professional development, in line with Trust policies and values.

Foster a psychologically safe and inclusive team culture that models quality improvement, curiosity, innovation, openness and learning from success and failure.

Ensure the Quality Improvement Team works as an enabling and coaching function, supporting directorates and frontline teams to take ownership of improvement within their own areas of responsibility.

Quality Improvement

Lead the development of the Trust’s Quality Approach, ensuring it is aligned to Trust strategy, regional priorities, quality and safety requirements, operational delivery and the pursuit of value-based care.

Source, appraise and translate best practice, evidence and improvement learning from local, national and international sources to inform the Trust’s quality approach, improvement priorities and delivery models.

Provide expert advice on quality improvement methodology, measurement for improvement, statistical thinking, evaluation, sustainability, human factors and approaches to innovation, testing and spread.

Support services to use data and intelligence to understand variation, identify opportunities for improvement, test change, track impact and reduce unwarranted variation across pathways and populations.

Develop and maintain effective relationships with clinical, operational, corporate, primary care, regional and community partners to support shared improvement priorities and system-wide transformation.

Embed approaches that move improvement from isolated projects to continuous, sustainable improvement in daily practice, ensuring successful work is scaled and spread across directorates where appropriate.

Establish and sustain improvement infrastructure, including quality coach networks, improvement collaboratives, communities of practice and mechanisms for sharing learning internally and externally.

Learning and Development

Lead the development, delivery and evaluation of a Trust-wide training and development offer that builds the capacity and capability of staff in quality improvement, human factors and the use of data for improvement.

Develop and maintain accredited and scheduled training programmes, including appropriate Quality Improvement Award, Certificate and Diploma programmes, ensuring alignment with organisational priorities and service needs.

Provide appropriate internal verification, quality assurance and organisational sign-off for externally accredited programmes, ensuring training is delivered consistently and to the required standard.

Develop a pipeline of quality improvement leaders, coaches, mentors and champions who can support clinical and operational ownership of improvement across the organisation.

Work with Human Resources, Organisational Development and directorate colleagues to ensure quality improvement, human factors, innovation and learning approaches are integrated with wider leadership and staff development programmes.

PERSONAL AND PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES (PPI)

Ensure that co-production with patients, service users, carers and communities is central to improvement activity, including the design, delivery and evaluation of services.

Develop and embed practical approaches, including experience-based design, to ensure patient and service user insight informs improvement priorities, measures, decisions and outcomes.

Support active engagement with user groups and voluntary and independent sector partners so that improvement work reflects need, experience and the wider determinants of health and wellbeing.

Financial

Responsible for effective management of the budget for the Quality Improvement Service.

Responsible for ensuring the effective procurement of supplies necessary for the continuity of services and their efficient use.

Manage and plan the corporate annual quality improvement within the defined parameters of the budget

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

The Trust supports and promotes a culture of collective leadership where those who have responsibility for managing other staff:

Establish and promote a supportive, fair and open culture that encourages and enables all parts of the team to have clearly aligned goals and objectives, to meet the required performance standards and to achieve continuous improvement in the services they deliver.

Ensure access to skills and personal development through appropriate training and support.

Promote a culture of openness and honesty to enable shared learning.

Encourage and empower others in their team to achieve their goals and reach their full potential through regular supportive conversation and shared decision making.

Adhere to and promote Trust policy and procedure in all staffing matters, participating as appropriate in a way which underpins Trust values.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

The post holder will be required to

Ensure the Trust’s policy on equality of opportunity is promoted through his/her own actions and those of any staff for whom he/she has responsibility.

Co-operate fully with the implementation of the Trust's Health and Safety arrangements, reporting any accidents/incidents/equipment defects to his/her manager and maintaining a clean, uncluttered and safe environment for patients/clients, members of the public and staff.

Adhere at all times to all Trust policies/codes of conduct, including for example

Smoke Free policy

IT Security Policy and Code of Conduct

standards of attendance, appearance and behaviour

Contribute to ensuring the highest standards of environmental cleanliness within your designated area of work.

Co-operate fully with regard to Trust policies and procedures relating to infection prevention and control.

All employees of the Southern Health & Social Care Trust are legally responsible for all records held, created or used as part of their business within the Southern Health & Social Care Trust including patients/clients, corporate and administrative records whether paper-based or electronic and also including emails. All such records are public records and are accessible to the general public, with limited exceptions, under the Freedom of Information act 2000 the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. Employees are required to be conversant with the SHSCT policy and procedures on records management and to seek advice if in doubt.

Take responsibility for his/her own ongoing learning and development, in order to maximise his/her potential and continue to meet the demands of the post.

Represent the Trust’s commitment to providing the highest possible standard of service to patients/clients and members of the public, by treating all those with whom he/she comes into contact in the course of work, in a pleasant, courteous and respectful manner.

This Job Description will be subject to review in the light of changing circumstances and is not intended to be rigid and inflexible but should be regarded as providing guidelines within which the individual works. Other duties of a similar nature and appropriate to the grade may be assigned from time to time.

It is a standard condition that all Trust staff may be required to serve at any location within the Trust's area, as needs of the service demand.

June 2026

PERSONNEL SPECIFICATION

JOB TITLE Head of Quality Improvement

BAND 8B

DEPARTMENT/ DIRECTORATE Planning, Performance and Informatics

RESPONSIBE TO Assistant Director for Quality Improvement and Transformation

HOURS 37.5

Ref No: <to be inserted by HR> June 2026

Notes to applicants

You must clearly demonstrate on your application form under each question, how you meet the required criteria as failure to do so may result in you not being shortlisted. You should clearly demonstrate this for both the essential and desirable criteria.

Shortlisting will be carried out on the basis of the essential criteria set out in Section 1 below, using the information provided by you on your application form. Please note the Trust reserves the right to use any desirable criteria outlined in Section 3 at shortlisting. You must clearly demonstrate on your application form how you meet the desirable criteria.

Proof of qualifications and/or professional registration will be required if an offer of employment is made – if you are unable to provide this, the offer may be withdrawn.

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

SECTION 1: The following are ESSENTIAL criteria which will initially be measured at shortlisting stage although may also be further explored during the interview/selection stage. You should therefore make it clear on your application form whether or not you meet these criteria. Failure to do so may result in you not being shortlisted. The stage in the process when the criteria will be measured is stated below.

Factor

Criteria

Method of Assessment

Qualifications

Hold a relevant1 professional qualification at degree level or above

AND 2 years’ experience in a senior management role (Band 7 or above) in a major complex organisation with responsibility for delivering objectives which are responsible for significant improvements in service.

OR 5 years’ experience in

a senior management role (Band 7 or above) in a major complex organisation with responsibility for delivering objectives which are responsible for significant improvements in service.

Shortlisting by Application Form

Experience

Have a minimum of 2 years’ experience working with a diverse

range of internal and external stakeholders in a role which has

contributed to the successful implementation of a significant

change initiative.

Have successfully demonstrated high level strategic and people management skills for a minimum of 2 years

Experience of developing and delivering training

Shortlisting by Application Form

Other

Hold a current full driving licence which is valid for use in the UK and have access to a car on appointment.

This criteria will be waived in the case of applicants whose disability prohibits driving but who have access to a form of transport approved by the Trust which will permit them to carry out the duties of the post.

Shortlisting by Application Form

SECTION 2: The following are ESSENTIAL criteria which will be measured during the interview/ selection stage:

Skills / Abilities

Have an ability to effectively manage a delegated budget to maximize utilisation of available resources.

Have an ability to provide effective leadership.

Demonstrate evidence of highly effective planning and organisational skills

Demonstrate a commitment to the provision of high quality and safe services with an ability to drive a culture of continuous improvement

Interview / Test

Knowledge

Demonstrate effective knowledge of Quality Improvement methodology and demonstrate experience of the implementation of this.

Interview

1 ‘Relevant’ will be interpreted to mean any quality improvement, business, administrative, corporate function or health related qualification at the stated level.

As part of the Recruitment & Selection process it may be necessary for the Trust to carry out an Enhanced Disclosure Check through Access NI before any appointment to this post can be confirmed.

Successful applicants may be required to attend for a Health Assessment

THE TRUST IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES EMPLOYER

All staff are expected to display the HSC Values at all times