Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist

Barts Health NHS Trust

The closing date is 14 May 2025

Job summary

We are looking for an experienced and innovative clinician, with a track record of quality improvement and staff management to come and join our forward-thinking department as our Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist for St Bartholomew's Hospital.

St Barts Therapies department strives to contribute to the hospitals mission to be a centre of excellence in cardiac, respiratory and cancer care. We are passionate about innovation in service delivery and promoting a healthy workplace culture where staff feel values and want to come and work. Our Therapies department comprises a diverse team of OT's, Physiotherapists, Dieticians, Speech and language Therapists, Exercise Physiologists and Support workers.

Main duties of the job

This position has a key clinical leadership and management role, championing and driving initiatives within the Speech and Language Therapy profession.Clinically the post holder will support and manage SaLT's within the Barts Heart and Cancer Centres, as well as building collaborative relationships across the MDT and external agencies. Their clinical work will support SaLT's to enable them to deliver diagnostic and clinical care to patients, providing expert advice on complex clinical issues within Oncology and Palliative care, critical care and Cardiorespiratory specialties.

The role will support the head and deputy head of Therapies in setting the strategic direction for the department and deliver on key objectives within the field of SaLT. These objectives are co-created with its workforce and other stakeholders, including our service users.

You will benefit from a supportive multi-disciplinary team and be able to access a wide range of education and development opportunities to further develop your potential within the four pillars of clinical practice, research, education and leadership.

St Bart's Therapies department strives to contribute to the hospitals mission to be a centre of excellence in cardiac, respiratory and cancer care. As a department we are passionate about innovation in service delivery and promoting a healthy workplace culture where staff feel valued and want to come and work.

About us

Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain's leading healthcare providers.

The Barts Health group of NHS hospitals is entering an exciting new era on our improvement journey to becoming an outstanding organisation with a world-class clinical reputation. Having lifted ourselves out of special measures, we now have the impetus and breathing space to chart a fresh course in which we are continually striving to improve all our services for patients.

Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.

We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment.

Date posted

30 April 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8a

Salary

£61,927 to £68,676 a year Per annum inc

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Flexible working

Reference number

259-7122961SBH-A

Job locations

St Bartholomew's Hospital

London

EC1A 7BE


Job description

Job responsibilities

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment.

We are dedicated to being an outstanding place to work and will work with you to get the best experience. We know flexible working is not a one size fits all and will mean something different to everyone. We are inclusive, so if you are interested in flexible working, please speak to the recruiting manager.

We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates as they are underrepresented within Barts Health at this band

Job description

Job responsibilities

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment.

We are dedicated to being an outstanding place to work and will work with you to get the best experience. We know flexible working is not a one size fits all and will mean something different to everyone. We are inclusive, so if you are interested in flexible working, please speak to the recruiting manager.

We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates as they are underrepresented within Barts Health at this band

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

  • Clinical experience of a wide range of acute conditions, including critical care, sub-acute rehabilitation and end of life care
  • Experience working as a senior SaLT. This includes the management of adults with acquired communication and swallowing disorders (use of instrumental swallowing assessments including Video Fluoroscopy and Fiber optic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing)
  • Experienced in use of instrumental swallowing assessments including Video Fluoroscopy and Fiber optic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing and developing staff in use of these tools
  • Experience of managing, supervising and appraising senior and junior staff, students and assistants
  • Significant contribution to the development of policies and practice in the area of adults with acquired communication and swallowing disorders
  • Experience of successfully leading and implementing service improvement or change projects
  • Experience of successfully leading and implementing service improvement and change projects.
  • Ability to understand complex issues, problem solve and propose solutions

Desirable

  • Experience of work/projects which involve and consult with patients and other stakeholders in decisions about service delivery and improvement
  • Experience treating neurological conditions, oncology, cardiac and head and neck pathologies
  • Experience providing training/ lecturing in the field of adults with acquired communication and swallowing disorders
  • Experience of managing a budget
  • Experience in quality improvement initiatives
  • Working across and leading Trust wide projects
  • Experience of delivering PPI initiatives
  • Experience in performance reviews, including collecting and analysing relevant data and presenting to members of the leadership team
  • Experience of risk and incident management

Skills

Essential

  • Fluent in the use of MS Office apps
  • Effective problem solving skills
  • Demonstrates strong leadership skills
  • Good analytical ability
  • High level of work organisation, self-motivation, drive for performance and improvement
  • Decisive, using sound judgement in decision making and delivering in a in a timely and confident manner
  • Ability to develop a culture of openness and partnership
  • Ability to develop staff both operationally and professionally
  • Ensuring continuous development to promote job satisfaction and retention
  • Models, and is able to encourage others in being innovative in finding ways of improving the quality of services
  • Demonstrates flexibility in approach and attitude both operationally and strategically
  • Understanding of the legal responsibilities of the profession
  • Can identify, assess and manage potential risks in work for self and others and manage any consequence to patients which may be highly distressing, antagonistic, open to aggression and/or unpleasant to self, patients and others

Qualifications

Essential

  • Recognised Speech and Language Therapy qualification
  • HCPC registration
  • Masters level study in relevant professional area
  • Extensive Post graduate training in a clinical specialism of adults with acquired communication or swallowing disorders

Desirable

  • Member of relevant clinical interest group
  • Leadership training
  • Research training/ qualifications
  • QI training
  • Member of RCSLT

Other

Essential

  • Lead by example, promoting the highest standards of personal and professional conduct, integrity and probity.
  • Committed to the continuous development of staff and self
  • Able to prioritise, organise and delegate
  • Acts as a role model for such an approach even where this results in challenges to how things are done
  • High self-awareness, understanding own emotions, strengths and limitations
  • Experienced in giving presentations to diverse audiences.
Person Specification

Experience

Essential

  • Clinical experience of a wide range of acute conditions, including critical care, sub-acute rehabilitation and end of life care
  • Experience working as a senior SaLT. This includes the management of adults with acquired communication and swallowing disorders (use of instrumental swallowing assessments including Video Fluoroscopy and Fiber optic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing)
  • Experienced in use of instrumental swallowing assessments including Video Fluoroscopy and Fiber optic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing and developing staff in use of these tools
  • Experience of managing, supervising and appraising senior and junior staff, students and assistants
  • Significant contribution to the development of policies and practice in the area of adults with acquired communication and swallowing disorders
  • Experience of successfully leading and implementing service improvement or change projects
  • Experience of successfully leading and implementing service improvement and change projects.
  • Ability to understand complex issues, problem solve and propose solutions

Desirable

  • Experience of work/projects which involve and consult with patients and other stakeholders in decisions about service delivery and improvement
  • Experience treating neurological conditions, oncology, cardiac and head and neck pathologies
  • Experience providing training/ lecturing in the field of adults with acquired communication and swallowing disorders
  • Experience of managing a budget
  • Experience in quality improvement initiatives
  • Working across and leading Trust wide projects
  • Experience of delivering PPI initiatives
  • Experience in performance reviews, including collecting and analysing relevant data and presenting to members of the leadership team
  • Experience of risk and incident management

Skills

Essential

  • Fluent in the use of MS Office apps
  • Effective problem solving skills
  • Demonstrates strong leadership skills
  • Good analytical ability
  • High level of work organisation, self-motivation, drive for performance and improvement
  • Decisive, using sound judgement in decision making and delivering in a in a timely and confident manner
  • Ability to develop a culture of openness and partnership
  • Ability to develop staff both operationally and professionally
  • Ensuring continuous development to promote job satisfaction and retention
  • Models, and is able to encourage others in being innovative in finding ways of improving the quality of services
  • Demonstrates flexibility in approach and attitude both operationally and strategically
  • Understanding of the legal responsibilities of the profession
  • Can identify, assess and manage potential risks in work for self and others and manage any consequence to patients which may be highly distressing, antagonistic, open to aggression and/or unpleasant to self, patients and others

Qualifications

Essential

  • Recognised Speech and Language Therapy qualification
  • HCPC registration
  • Masters level study in relevant professional area
  • Extensive Post graduate training in a clinical specialism of adults with acquired communication or swallowing disorders

Desirable

  • Member of relevant clinical interest group
  • Leadership training
  • Research training/ qualifications
  • QI training
  • Member of RCSLT

Other

Essential

  • Lead by example, promoting the highest standards of personal and professional conduct, integrity and probity.
  • Committed to the continuous development of staff and self
  • Able to prioritise, organise and delegate
  • Acts as a role model for such an approach even where this results in challenges to how things are done
  • High self-awareness, understanding own emotions, strengths and limitations
  • Experienced in giving presentations to diverse audiences.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Additional information

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Barts Health NHS Trust

Address

St Bartholomew's Hospital

London

EC1A 7BE


Employer's website

https://www.bartshealth.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)


Employer details

Employer name

Barts Health NHS Trust

Address

St Bartholomew's Hospital

London

EC1A 7BE


Employer's website

https://www.bartshealth.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)


For questions about the job, contact:

Head of Therapies- SBH

Francesca Howes

Francesca.Howes@nhs.net

Date posted

30 April 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8a

Salary

£61,927 to £68,676 a year Per annum inc

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Flexible working

Reference number

259-7122961SBH-A

Job locations

St Bartholomew's Hospital

London

EC1A 7BE


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

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