Principal Specialist/Deputy Lead Cleft Speech and Language Therapist
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We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates as they are under-represented within the Trust.
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Job overview
The South West Cleft Service is a regional multidisciplinary team providing lifelong care to patients with cleft lip &/or palate, and those with velopharyngeal dysfunction. The speech team is made up of specialist therapists working at the surgical hub (Bristol) and link specialist therapists based around the region.The post holder will take a lead in developing the specialist SALT service across the south west.
The successful candidate will be an expert practitioner in cleft speech and language therapy working within the multidisciplinary team for cleft lip and palate and velopharyngeal dysfunction. The post holder will support the Lead Specialist Cleft SALT in all aspects of service delivery, deputising for the Lead in their absence.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will support the Lead Specialist Cleft SALT in all aspects of service delivery, deputising for the Lead in their absence. They will provide operational management and support to the specialist regional SALT team and work with the Lead to ensure optimal and equitable SALT cover is in place throughout the South West region.
In particular the post holder will take the clinical lead in developing and maintaining an integrated SALT pathways across the South West, ensuring the highest possible clinical standards are met, whilst also being responsible for their own highly complex caseload and for leading and developing a specialist area of service delivery.
The post holder will need considerable clinical experience working in the field of cleft lip and palate, have line management experience and experience in leading/participating in Quality Improvement initiatives ad research.
Working for our organisation
University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) is one of the largest acute Trusts in the country, bringing together a combined workforce of over 13,000 staff and over 100 different clinical services across 10 different sites, serving a core population of more than 500,000 people across South West England.UHBW has been rated by the CQC as ‘Good’ overall and our staff are proud to deliver excellent care to the people of Bristol, Weston and beyond. As a forward- thinking multi-award winning Trust and a digital exemplar committed to improving patient care, our world-leading research and innovations are having a positive local and global impact.
Our hospitals are spread across Bristol and Weston, join us and you can enjoy the very best of both worlds; city living within a stone’s throw of the countryside or beside the seaside, both with easy access to all that the South West has to offer.
UHBW is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them.
Anonymous information will be used from your application in order to ensure we’re meeting our pledge.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
For a more detailed job description, main responsibilities, and person specification, please refer to the job description document attached to this vacancy.
Person specification
Knowledge and Experience
Essential criteria- Highly specialist and extensive knowledge and experience in the area of speech disorders associated with CLP/VPD and associated assessment tools and therapy approaches. (E)
- Evidence of significant post graduate study/relevant research
- Management experience including staff management
- Experience of clinical and organisational audit
- Experience of Quality Improvement and implementation of innovative working practices
- Experience of developing and implementing guidelines and standards within area of specialist expertise with an understanding of impact on other stakeholders
- Experience of delivering teaching and training to junior colleagues/other health professionals both within and outside of own specialist field, and students to undergraduate level. To be responsible for organising SLT training.
- Experience of participating in research and the development and planning of R&D activities.
- Evidence of collaborative practice and joint-working across multi-disciplinary/multi-agency boundaries
- Responsibility for maintaining equipment and identifying need to order stock/equipment. Be an authorised signatory for small payments
Skills and Abilities
Essential criteria- Highly developed specialist clinical /technical skills and interpretive assessment techniques including close phonetic transcription and interpretation of videofluoroscopies/nasendoscopies.
- Ability to cope with emotional and distressing situations and those requiring a high level of sustained concentration for extended periods such as in multidisciplinary clinics, and assessment of highly complex patients
- Ability to maintain accurate and contemporaneous treatment notes both through accessing Trust electronic systems and producing reports
- Able to work on own initiative and prioritise own workload and that of others as appropriate.
- Able to contribute to the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies/protocols and guidelines in specialist area of CLP/VPD
- Mobile to meet the needs of the role over a wide geographical area- i.e. South West England.
- Skills in accessing online resources to maintain knowledge and continuing professional development.
Aptitudes
Essential criteria- Excellent communication skills
- Ability to lead, motivate and inspire a team including
- Well developed negotiation, conflict management and problem solving skills
- Abiltiy to work independently and manage own highly complex caseload
Qualifications and training
Essential criteria- Qualified Speech and Language Therapist holding a recognised degree
- Registered member of the RCSLT and HCPC
- Specialist theoretical clinical training and experience to Masters Level or equivalent
- Willingness to attend any training required to enable optimum performance in the role
- Specialist management training and experience to Masters Level or equivalent
- Evidence of ongoing professional development through the attendance at specialist short courses and CEN
- As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application to ensure we’re meeting our pledge.
- The Trust is committed to investing in and caring for all our staff. We will support you in maintaining and improving your health and wellbeing, as well as your career development through management and training support - developing exceptional people for exceptional careers.
- UHBW is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults.
- To comply with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016 all applicants must be able to speak fluent English to an appropriate standard which will be assessed at Interview.
- If you require sponsorship for a visa to work in the UK, to avoid disappointment, please check to ensure you are eligible under the UKVI points based system.
- The Trust uses electronic new starter forms on Trac to collect personal details. Information collected is securely stored and used to set up the employee record on the ESR HR system.
- By applying for this post, you are agreeing to University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.
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IMPORTANT:
Please note that if you apply for a position with this Trust, you may be contacted via Trac or via email. This includes invites for job interviews. We therefore recommend that you regularly check your Trac account and email accounts. We may also contact you by texting the mobile number, if provided, on the application form.
Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts we may close this vacancy before the advertised closing date. Therefore, please apply for this post as soon as you can, if you are interested and you meet the requirements of the Person Specification
Only those candidates who clearly demonstrate how they meet the person specification will be shortlisted for this job.
As a guide interviews should usually take place within 3 weeks of the closing date.
When providing employment reference details, please provide correct work-related email addresses so references can be sought promptly when we are looking to progress your application. Your referee must all be known to you in a line manager or professional lead capacity.