Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

Senior Sustainability Lead

The closing date is 16 July 2025

Job summary

We are recruiting for a Sustainability Lead to act as the Trust's professional adviser on all Sustainability & Waste matters at Merseycare NHS Foundation Trust. Along with implementation lead for all matters under this remit including taking a project lead role in Delivering a Net Zero National Health Service as this is now in legislation, through the Health and Care Act 2022.

Ownership of Merseycare Trust Green Plan, and embedding this in day-to-day trust business. To provide professional leadership on environmental statutory compliance, Waste energy/utility procurement, technical advice and guidance, energy/utility monitoring and reduction programmes, project management, reporting, governance, partnership working, including functions not directly under E&F direct control such as supply chain activity and where appropriate, wider integration with STP and national strategies.

The Head of Sustainability will be the Trust lead specialist with an overall responsibility to develop and embed sustainability principles within the organisation.

The Trust has recently published its Green Plan and the postholder will be responsible for embedding this strategy across the Trust , engaging with Clinical and Corporate teams to deliver the Trust's objectives and to promote sustainability at all levels of the organisation and with external partners.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will seek out, manage, and deliver sustainability projects and be responsible for the Trust's sustainability action plan, monitoring its' progress against the targets and objectives set. The postholder will develop plan to assist in securing funding where available and deemed necessary for the implementation of Energy and Carbon saving initiatives.

Responsibilities also require the development and implementation of appropriate auditing, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. Communication, training and promoting sustainability awareness will be key aspects of the role.

About us

Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

Date posted

08 July 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8a

Salary

£53,755 to £60,504 a year Per Annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

350-TWS7317100

Job locations

Hollins Park

Hollins Lane

Winwick

WA2 8WA

Job description

Job responsibilities

1. Lead the development and maintenance of the Trusts Green Plan and associated action plans and targets.

2. Develop systems and procedures to ensure compliance with relevant legislation and ensure adoption of these procedures across the Trust. Audit and review relevant procedures.

3. Work with Estates & Facilities teams to ensure sustainable design and construction principles are embedded and delivered in capital projects and associated enabling works.

4. Support relevant environmental consultants as required in relation to the redevelopment and enabling works projects, e.g., BREEAM.

5. Review Trust sustainable development policies at required frequencies. Align with Greener NHS, local and NHS England priorities including social value, models of care, health and wellbeing and adaptation.

6. Review all Trust policies and strategies to embed sustainable development principles.

7. Produce regular reports on sustainable development performance to the Resources Committee and the Trust Board twice yearly.

8. Deliver Trust annual sustainability reporting requirements through the Sustainability Reporting Framework and other requirements.

9. Ensure climate change impacts and associated resilience (adaptation) measures are embedded

within the Trusts Business Continuity Planning process.

10. Collaborate with clinical leadership and delivery teams to identify sustainable models of care and means to deliver service improvements to improve sustainability and patient health and wellbeing.

11. Establish a Green plan user group with Senior Stakeholder managers and set up a range of user groups to explore a range of initiatives.

12. Work with the Comms team to publish a case study per month related to the aims of the Green plan to ensure buy in from the Trust staff.

13. Provide support and guidance to the Capital Estates, Operational Estates and Facilities Managers and relevant on-site staff across the Trust in all matters relating to environmental, energy, sustainable procurement, and waste management.

14. Provide advice and support in the delivery of the sustainable travel and transport plans.

15. Co-ordinate and deliver Trust-wide sustainability awareness campaigns using available resources including intranet, staff newsletters, events, campaigns and workshops.

16. Develop, Co-ordinate and deliver Trust-wide sustainability training programmes including induction training and training on specific issues for all staff, both clinical and non-clinical.

17. Responsibility for managing the annual sustainability budget, maintaining an audit trail, ensuring

compliance with the Trusts standing financial instructions.

18. Provide advice to the Trust on investment initiatives and recommend best use of Trust financial resources.

19. Deliver economies through sustainable environmental, energy, waste, procurement, workforce development and travel initiatives, defined through both financial savings and reduced carbon emissions.

20. Provide income generation advice, supporting the Trust to access charitable or local/ central government finance to fund sustainability initiatives.

21. Make savings and attract investment, because of implementing sustainability schemes.

22. Work with the outsourced Hard FM contractor to maximise the potential of their sustainability commitments, monitor and report on outcomes.

23. Manage successful funding bids, ensuring correct funding requirements, reporting and timescales are achieved.

24. Manage staff and training budget for Energy & Sustainability team.

25. Responsibility for ensuring energy and utilities budgets are agreed and managed.

26. Adopt project management disciplines in the delivery of the role.

27. Programme manage the implementation of sustainability schemes.

28. Manage staff as required and deliver training on area of expertise.

29. Deliver accurate, reliable, and timely reporting systems for the Director, Executive, Resources Committee and Board on the performance of sustainability and environmental initiatives and associated impact. Monitor outcomes, highlighting good practice or contentious issues, such as targets not attained.

30. Ensure comprehensive monitoring and targeting systems for social value, carbon, energy, transport, procurement, waste and water are maintained to enable reporting on cost, consumption and performance and enable consistent reporting both internally and externally on the Trusts overall environmental performance.

31. Maintain clear records of sustainability initiatives implemented and costs and benefits of each initiative.

32. Raise the profile of sustainability within the Trust and the Trusts environmental credentials across

the Region and ICS.

33. Develop and maintain effective relationships with our partners including Government agencies, Department of Health & Social Care, Local Authority, Cheshire & Merseyside Health & Care Partnership, universities and other external agencies and networks.

34. Raise the profile of the Trust externally and promote the Trust as a sustainability champion.