Advanced Practitioner in Colorectal Oncology, Band 8a
The closing date is 31 August 2025
Job summary
This is an exciting new role working at advanced practice level within the colorectal oncology service. The post holder will will have a colorectal oncologist as an educational supervisor. The job will consist of 80% clinical practice and 20% non clinical to cover the other 3 pillars of practice. This is a full time post working across Gloucestershire and Herefordshire with a minimum of 1 day a week in Hereford. The post holder will jointly manage the SACT Nurse Practitioner team.
Additional working pattern details: Monday-Friday
The proposed interview date is: 9th September
Main duties of the job
To work Autonomously across 4 pillars of advanced practice developing themselves, whilst also supporting the development of junior staff and the service
Clinical: Work within the team to assess and managed new and follow up patients and those patients on systemic anti cancer therapy reviewing and treating side effects of treatment and symptoms of disease within the colorectal service
Leadership and management: Line manage the SACT Nurse Practitioner team, Lead on service improvement within colorectal oncology
Research: participate in relevant research and audits, engage nationally with ongoing research, present findings to the wider team.
Education: support the development of junior staff, recognise own learning needs and create plan for meeting them. Contribute to learning across wider team
About us
We are a growing team of non medical professionals working within the SACT service. We are passionate about compassionate, holistic care for all cancer patients and their relatives across Gloucestershire and Herefordshire. We are looking for an enthusiastic person to join our team working across all 4 pillars of advanced practice who will play a prominent role in driving forward service improvement within the Colorectal Service.
Details
Date posted
15 August 2025
Pay scheme
Agenda for change
Band
Band 8a
Salary
£55,690 to £62,682 a year (pro rata if part time)
Contract
Permanent
Working pattern
Full-time
Reference number
318-25-T0589
Job locations
Trustwide
Gloucestershire
GL1 3NN
Job description
Job responsibilities
1. Clinical Responsibilities/Key Responsibilities
- Act as a clinical expert in a specific area of direct contact care, able to make high level skills decisions, informed by advanced diagnostic, assessment and treatment skills. To be responsible and accountable for own decisions, actions and omissions at this level of practice
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of their broadened level of responsibility and autonomy and the limits of own competence and professional scope of practice, including when working with complexity, risk, uncertainty and incomplete information
- Critically reflects on their own practice and acknowledges limitations in knowledge, referring to senior clinicians when scope of practice is reached
- To appropriately assess, examine, investigate, diagnose and treat patients resulting in the safe management of patients
- Able to use decision making skills to inform clinical reasoning approaches to manage differentiated and undifferentiated presentations and complex situations to make evidence-based judgements
- To assess the effectiveness of interventions and advise ongoing management or refer on to appropriate clinical specialists if necessary
- Develop scope of advanced clinical skills and practice to meet changing needs of service
- Prescribe, supply and /or administer medication within appropriate legal frameworks and Trust guidance.
- Facilitate expert inter-professional care for the patient pathway and their dependants by direction, supervision and example
- Critically apply advanced clinical expertise in appropriate facilitator ways to provide consultancy across professional and service boundaries, influencing clinical practice to enhance quality, reduce unwarranted variation and promote the sharing and adoption of best practice
- Maintain accurate and contemporaneous patient records
- Evaluate own practice, participate in multi-disciplinary service and team evaluation and engage in peer review
- Manage daily patient caseload in a specific area of advanced clinical practice
Role specific
- Work in partnership with individuals, families and carers, using a range of assessment methods as appropriate (history taking, holistic assessment, identifying risk factors in SACT assessments, requesting, undertaking and interpreting diagnostic tests.
- Work in partnership to manage a client case load taking patients through a course of SACT including new patient assessment, on treatment assessments and follow up assessments
- Within the specialty of colorectal oncology and personal competence (and based on a treatment plan provided by an oncology consultant) provide patients with the appropriate information to obtain signed consent to treatment. Act as patient advocate for those who have doubts over proposed treatment and those individuals without capacity to consent to treatment
- Initiate, evaluate and modify a range of interventions including prescribing medicines, therapies, lifestyle advice and care.
- Exercise professional judgement to manage risk appropriately, especially where there may be complex and unpredictable events and supporting teams to do likewise to ensure safety of individuals, families and carers.
- Work collaboratively with an appropriate range of MDT and interprofessional resources, developing, maintaining and evaluating links to manage risk and issues across organisations and settings
- Evidence the underpinning core clinical competencies in assessment and diagnostic skills whilst developing more specialist skills in colorectal cancer care.
2. Professional Development, Education and Training
- Critically assess and address own learning needs, negotiating a personal development plan that reflects the breadth of ongoing professional development across the four pillars of advanced practice
- Engage in self-directed learning and identify own continuing professional development in line with service needs and maintenance of ongoing capabilities and competence in practice
-Promote a learning environment within the clinical area of responsibility in which individuals take ownership for their professional development.
Take an active role in undertaking staff training needs analysis as appropriate
- Participate in annual appraisals, demonstrating ongoing professional development by keeping up to date with national and local developments within the specialty
- Act as an expert resource in educating the wider multidisciplinary team in the safe and appropriate management of patients who present to the service and facilitate ongoing education needs to allow discharge planning - this will require adapting the educational approach to the target audience, which will include clinical staff of different grades and professions, patients (self-management), carers and family members
- Advocate for and contribute to a culture of organisational learning to teach and inspire future and existing staff
- Act as a role model, educator, supervisor, coach and mentor
3. Management and Leadership
- Provide highly visible and accessible professional leadership and demonstrate expert knowledge and standards of clinical practice
- Pro-actively initiate and develop effective relationships in and between multidisciplinary teams; fostering clarity of roles within teams to encourage productive working. Work collaboratively with representatives from other clinical specialities assisting with the provision of a seamless pathway of care
- Ensure appropriate representation and participation in departmental meetings as appropriate for role
-Role model the values of the organisation, demonstrating a person-centred approach to service delivery and development
- Take a lead role in the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of standards in effective patient-centred care, in response to feedback, evaluation and need
-Actively engage in peer review to transform your own and others practice, formulating and implementing strategies to act on learning and make improvement.
- Seek feedback and involvement from individuals, families, carers, communities and colleagues in the co-production of service improvements
- Demonstrate team leadership, resilience and determination, managing situations that are unfamiliar, complex or unpredictable and seeking to build confidence in others
- Demonstrate receptiveness to challenge and preparedness to constructively challenge others, escalating concerns that affect individuals, families, carers, communities and colleagues safety and wellbeing when necessary
- Negotiate an individual scope of practice within legal, ethical, professional and organisational policies, governance and procedures, with a focus on managing risk and upholding safety
- Provide line management and leadership to the SACT nurse practitioner team
- Actively engage in peer review to seek feedback and guidance in developing your own learning journey
- Continually develop practice in response to changing population health needs, engaging in horizon scanning for future developments, new treatments and changing social challenges
4. Research and Development
- Participate in research informing the body of clinical knowledge and maximising the contributions of advanced practitioners and the wider interprofessional team. Collaborating as appropriate with relevant partners (clinical and academic)
- Act as a change agent and recognise service needs taking a pro-active role in the development of the services.
- Critically engage in research or audit activity adhering to good research practice guidance so that evidence-based strategies are developed and applied
- Initiate, contribute to and/or sustain research to promote evidence-based practice.
Contact Details
Rachel Lowings (Trainee ACP Lead for SACT Nurse Practitioners)
r.lowings@nhs.net
07853 005099
Please email to arrange a discussion if unable to reach by phone, signal is poor within oncology
Job description
Job responsibilities
1. Clinical Responsibilities/Key Responsibilities
- Act as a clinical expert in a specific area of direct contact care, able to make high level skills decisions, informed by advanced diagnostic, assessment and treatment skills. To be responsible and accountable for own decisions, actions and omissions at this level of practice
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of their broadened level of responsibility and autonomy and the limits of own competence and professional scope of practice, including when working with complexity, risk, uncertainty and incomplete information
- Critically reflects on their own practice and acknowledges limitations in knowledge, referring to senior clinicians when scope of practice is reached
- To appropriately assess, examine, investigate, diagnose and treat patients resulting in the safe management of patients
- Able to use decision making skills to inform clinical reasoning approaches to manage differentiated and undifferentiated presentations and complex situations to make evidence-based judgements
- To assess the effectiveness of interventions and advise ongoing management or refer on to appropriate clinical specialists if necessary
- Develop scope of advanced clinical skills and practice to meet changing needs of service
- Prescribe, supply and /or administer medication within appropriate legal frameworks and Trust guidance.
- Facilitate expert inter-professional care for the patient pathway and their dependants by direction, supervision and example
- Critically apply advanced clinical expertise in appropriate facilitator ways to provide consultancy across professional and service boundaries, influencing clinical practice to enhance quality, reduce unwarranted variation and promote the sharing and adoption of best practice
- Maintain accurate and contemporaneous patient records
- Evaluate own practice, participate in multi-disciplinary service and team evaluation and engage in peer review
- Manage daily patient caseload in a specific area of advanced clinical practice
Role specific
- Work in partnership with individuals, families and carers, using a range of assessment methods as appropriate (history taking, holistic assessment, identifying risk factors in SACT assessments, requesting, undertaking and interpreting diagnostic tests.
- Work in partnership to manage a client case load taking patients through a course of SACT including new patient assessment, on treatment assessments and follow up assessments
- Within the specialty of colorectal oncology and personal competence (and based on a treatment plan provided by an oncology consultant) provide patients with the appropriate information to obtain signed consent to treatment. Act as patient advocate for those who have doubts over proposed treatment and those individuals without capacity to consent to treatment
- Initiate, evaluate and modify a range of interventions including prescribing medicines, therapies, lifestyle advice and care.
- Exercise professional judgement to manage risk appropriately, especially where there may be complex and unpredictable events and supporting teams to do likewise to ensure safety of individuals, families and carers.
- Work collaboratively with an appropriate range of MDT and interprofessional resources, developing, maintaining and evaluating links to manage risk and issues across organisations and settings
- Evidence the underpinning core clinical competencies in assessment and diagnostic skills whilst developing more specialist skills in colorectal cancer care.
2. Professional Development, Education and Training
- Critically assess and address own learning needs, negotiating a personal development plan that reflects the breadth of ongoing professional development across the four pillars of advanced practice
- Engage in self-directed learning and identify own continuing professional development in line with service needs and maintenance of ongoing capabilities and competence in practice
-Promote a learning environment within the clinical area of responsibility in which individuals take ownership for their professional development.
Take an active role in undertaking staff training needs analysis as appropriate
- Participate in annual appraisals, demonstrating ongoing professional development by keeping up to date with national and local developments within the specialty
- Act as an expert resource in educating the wider multidisciplinary team in the safe and appropriate management of patients who present to the service and facilitate ongoing education needs to allow discharge planning - this will require adapting the educational approach to the target audience, which will include clinical staff of different grades and professions, patients (self-management), carers and family members
- Advocate for and contribute to a culture of organisational learning to teach and inspire future and existing staff
- Act as a role model, educator, supervisor, coach and mentor
3. Management and Leadership
- Provide highly visible and accessible professional leadership and demonstrate expert knowledge and standards of clinical practice
- Pro-actively initiate and develop effective relationships in and between multidisciplinary teams; fostering clarity of roles within teams to encourage productive working. Work collaboratively with representatives from other clinical specialities assisting with the provision of a seamless pathway of care
- Ensure appropriate representation and participation in departmental meetings as appropriate for role
-Role model the values of the organisation, demonstrating a person-centred approach to service delivery and development
- Take a lead role in the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of standards in effective patient-centred care, in response to feedback, evaluation and need
-Actively engage in peer review to transform your own and others practice, formulating and implementing strategies to act on learning and make improvement.
- Seek feedback and involvement from individuals, families, carers, communities and colleagues in the co-production of service improvements
- Demonstrate team leadership, resilience and determination, managing situations that are unfamiliar, complex or unpredictable and seeking to build confidence in others
- Demonstrate receptiveness to challenge and preparedness to constructively challenge others, escalating concerns that affect individuals, families, carers, communities and colleagues safety and wellbeing when necessary
- Negotiate an individual scope of practice within legal, ethical, professional and organisational policies, governance and procedures, with a focus on managing risk and upholding safety
- Provide line management and leadership to the SACT nurse practitioner team
- Actively engage in peer review to seek feedback and guidance in developing your own learning journey
- Continually develop practice in response to changing population health needs, engaging in horizon scanning for future developments, new treatments and changing social challenges
4. Research and Development
- Participate in research informing the body of clinical knowledge and maximising the contributions of advanced practitioners and the wider interprofessional team. Collaborating as appropriate with relevant partners (clinical and academic)
- Act as a change agent and recognise service needs taking a pro-active role in the development of the services.
- Critically engage in research or audit activity adhering to good research practice guidance so that evidence-based strategies are developed and applied
- Initiate, contribute to and/or sustain research to promote evidence-based practice.
Contact Details
Rachel Lowings (Trainee ACP Lead for SACT Nurse Practitioners)
r.lowings@nhs.net
07853 005099
Please email to arrange a discussion if unable to reach by phone, signal is poor within oncology
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Registered Health Care Professional with a regulatory body
- MSc Advanced Practice from an accredited pathway or willingness to undertake NHSE ePortfolio (supported) route
- Independent Prescribing qualification,
Desirable
- A portfolio of evidence against the HEE 2017 Multi-professional Framework
- Recognised SACT qualification or willing to work towards
- Advanced communication qualification
Knowledge
Essential
- Excellent communication skills with MDT members, patients and their families, both verbal and written
- Demonstrates ability to take overall responsibility and accountability
- Managing and developing multi-disciplinary or integrated pathway teams in a variety of locations
- Able to critically appraise and synthesise the outcome of relevant research, evaluation and audit
Desirable
- Evidence of leading research as Principal Investigator
- Experience of developing practice guidelines and governance
Clinical
Essential
- Extensive depth and breadth of clinical experience in relevant specialist area
- Experience acting as specialist clinical expert in direct patient care, able to make high-level skills decisions, informed by advanced diagnostic, assessment and treatment skills
- Experience of management and leadership in practice
- Evidence of teaching, education, supervision or mentorship in practice
- Evidence of leading research, audit or quality improvement
- Relevant experience within oncology/SACT assessment and administration
Desirable
- Development of professional and management procedures within own area and across several related disciplines relevant to service area
- Ability to interpret and evaluate national and international guidelines and apply to local protocols and practice, as appropriate
- Experience working with patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Registered Health Care Professional with a regulatory body
- MSc Advanced Practice from an accredited pathway or willingness to undertake NHSE ePortfolio (supported) route
- Independent Prescribing qualification,
Desirable
- A portfolio of evidence against the HEE 2017 Multi-professional Framework
- Recognised SACT qualification or willing to work towards
- Advanced communication qualification
Knowledge
Essential
- Excellent communication skills with MDT members, patients and their families, both verbal and written
- Demonstrates ability to take overall responsibility and accountability
- Managing and developing multi-disciplinary or integrated pathway teams in a variety of locations
- Able to critically appraise and synthesise the outcome of relevant research, evaluation and audit
Desirable
- Evidence of leading research as Principal Investigator
- Experience of developing practice guidelines and governance
Clinical
Essential
- Extensive depth and breadth of clinical experience in relevant specialist area
- Experience acting as specialist clinical expert in direct patient care, able to make high-level skills decisions, informed by advanced diagnostic, assessment and treatment skills
- Experience of management and leadership in practice
- Evidence of teaching, education, supervision or mentorship in practice
- Evidence of leading research, audit or quality improvement
- Relevant experience within oncology/SACT assessment and administration
Desirable
- Development of professional and management procedures within own area and across several related disciplines relevant to service area
- Ability to interpret and evaluate national and international guidelines and apply to local protocols and practice, as appropriate
- Experience working with patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer
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.
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.
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
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Trustwide
Gloucestershire
GL1 3NN
Employer's website
Employer details
Employer name
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Trustwide
Gloucestershire
GL1 3NN
Employer's website
Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact:
Details
Date posted
15 August 2025
Pay scheme
Agenda for change
Band
Band 8a
Salary
£55,690 to £62,682 a year (pro rata if part time)
Contract
Permanent
Working pattern
Full-time
Reference number
318-25-T0589
Job locations
Trustwide
Gloucestershire
GL1 3NN
Supporting documents
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