About this role
Job summary
NHS Coventry and Warwickshire ICB & NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire ICB are looking for an enthusiastic self-motivated Speech and Language Therapy Advanced Practitioner to support both ICBs in meeting their responsibilities for children and young people with SEND aged 0-25 years leading to improved outcomes for children and young people within our local areas.
This role is an exciting opportunity to develop and implement a new nationally directed role as part of the recently announced SEND reforms and will form part of a dynamic team committed to strategic health commissioning and service transformation for children and young people.
The successful candidates will be a Speech and Language Therapist with extensive knowledge of SEND and schools-based service delivery.
Working strategically across the local SEND partnerships and with local universities, the postholder will provide strategic clinical leadership, influence local service delivery and support the development of a sustainable SaLT workforce for the future.
It is important the successful candidates can work independently and with initiative. Relationship building and negotiation skills across agencies are essential to facilitate partnership working and promote a whole system approach to meeting the needs of children and young people with SEND.
We recognise and value the skills, experience and dedication of the armed forces community and welcome applications.
Main duties of the job
Working across the Local Area Partnership with the LA, health providers, education settings, universities and wider partners, this role is key to delivering the anticipated outcomes of SEND reforms.
The SaLT Advanced Practitioner will provide strategic clinical leadership and expertise to develop the speech and language therapy workforce for education settings, strengthen mainstream inclusivity, and improve earlier identification and support for speech, language and communication needs to improve pupil outcomes and educational participation.
Working with local universities and training providers, the successful candidate will develop a strategic approach to increasing speech and language therapy student placements and support workforce growth in education.
Developing and maintaining stakeholder relationships is essential to the success of the role. The ICB is committed to co-production with children, young people and parent carers to ensure health services are effective and meet local needs.
The SaLT Advanced Practitioner will remain up to date and respond flexibly to changing government SEND requirements and frameworks, with a commitment to tackling health inequalities. They will work with partners to improve education participation, quality of life, school attendance, mental and physical health, personal autonomy, further education and employment, independent living and community inclusion.
About us
The NHS is a world-renowned institution and exciting place to work, full of opportunity. We are a dynamic, forward-looking organisation, working with health and social care partners to deliver integrated, seamless services and a high-quality patient experience. We build strong relationships with patients, communities, partners and providers.
NHS Coventry and Warwickshire ICB and NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire ICB are committed to improving the lives of children, young people and families. The Children and Young People team supports work relating to:
Improving outcomes in population and healthcareIntegrating care and collaborationOversight, quality and safety assuranceTackling inequalities and reducing variation in outcomes, experience and access
We offer a supportive, collaborative environment with opportunities to reach your potential and develop a rewarding career in an evolving setting. We support a positive work-life balance through workplace attendance and regular home working. Joining our inclusive, innovative team comes with benefits including:
Employee Assistance programmes and online health and wellbeing supportCompetitive NHS Pension SchemeOpportunities to learn new skills and develop your career in a caring, inclusive environmentGenerous holiday entitlement, increasing with service, plus the option to purchase additional leaveFlexible working patterns to support work-life balance
Please note we operate a 3-month probationary period for new appointments.
Job description Job responsibilities
Education, Training and Workforce Development
Provide innovative strategic clinical leadership and influence for education and workforce development across the system, working with Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), providers and partners to strengthen SaLT workforce supply, capability and sustainability in mainstream education settingsCollaborate with HEIs and system partners to secure and optimise high-quality clinical placements across education settings and age ranges (025)Safe and effective deployment of students within emerging delivery modelsLead the development and support of placement supervision/mentor models, including innovative approaches (e.g. arms length supervision), ensuring alignment with HCPC standards and promoting a culture of learning and continuous improvementAct as an educator, supervisor, coach and mentor, building capability, confidence and professional identity across students and supervisorsFacilitate evaluation and continuous improvement of placement quality, using feedback and outcomes to enhance clinical competence and learner experienceSupport growth of SaLT degree apprenticeships, providing expert guidance to employers and partners on clinical and academic requirements, ensuring equitable, high-quality learning experiencesBuild capability across the wider workforce through practice-based and multiprofessional learning, supporting translation of learning into improved practice within education settingsAdvocate for the safe, effective and appropriate use of support roles, aligned to national guidance and service needWork with system leaders to develop sustainable workforce pipeline solutions, increasing the flow of therapists into education-based and population-level roles, as opposed to 1-2-1 clinical provisionLead and champion inclusive education practice for children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN), implementation guidance and self-assessment approaches, supporting mainstream education settings to provide high-quality communication and learning environments, impact measures and trainee experiencesBuild and sustain strong partnerships with HEIs, professional bodies (including Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists) and system colleagues, contributing to national and regional guidance, shared learning and communities of practicePromote a culture of continuous learning, innovation and workforce development, supporting current and future workforce to meet changing population health needs
Professional Leadership
Operate as a system leader across education, health and care, working in partnership with local authorities, ICBs, NHS and independent providers, education settings (025 years) and parent carer forums to enable inclusive, collaborative working and clarity of roles across the systemProvide strategic leadership aligned to national SEND reforms, role modelling organisational values and a person-centred, outcome-focused approach to service design, delivery and continuous improvementWork in partnership with commissioners and local SEND partnerships to strengthen understanding of SaLT provision across education settings, supporting evidence-informed commissioning, service planning and system oversight, including contribution to local area SEND inspectionsCollaborate with system leaders and providers to strengthen SaLT delivery across education settings, applying advanced clinical expertise in a consultative and facilitative capacity to reduce unwarranted variation and support the adoption of best practiceLead and influence system-wide improvement through commissioning support, education and shared innovationWork collaboratively with system leaders to enable co-production with children, young people, families, carers and partners, ensuring lived experience informs service improvement, pathway development and system transformationProvide visible professional leadership as an advanced practitioner, modelling inclusive behaviours, collaborative leadership and the value of senior AHP clinical roles in driving system change and improving outcomesLead the strategic commissioning of a designated portfolio, including developing commissioning intentions, developing strategic plans and demonstrating health outcomes and value for moneyContribute towards identifying opportunities for improvement in population health outcomes, including addressing areas of under performance. This will include work with senior colleagues to drive these through to achieve the required standards and evidence best use of resourceApply exemplary communications skills to deal appropriately with very sensitive information about commissioning arrangements, performance and changeEngage patient representatives, patient groups and other stakeholders to secure beneficial change and the most effective outcome for patientsMaximise engagement of stakeholders in the development and delivery of programmes, contributing to effective Cluster programme board arrangements.Personal and professional support including development mentorship to colleagues within the teamDeputise for Deputy Directors and Associate Directors, as requiredOperate effectively in a flexible and demanding environment and proactively engage with stakeholdersProactively build good working relationships and provide information and advice to a wide range of internal and external stakeholders on a range of business sensitive issuesDeliver reporting requirements including system reporting, improvement plans and highlight reportsParticipate and inform the organisational and system-wide prioritisation processesProvide and receive highly complex, sensitive and contentious information, including presenting information about projects and dependencies to a wide range of internal and external stakeholders in formal settingsManage potentially aggressive and/or antagonistic situations with stakeholders within change programmes for successful outcomesDeal with complex and conflicting day-to-day workload including workshops, meetings, one to one communications and eventsEmploy effective communication, negotiation and influencing skills to enable stakeholder relationships to deliver objectivesDevelop effective service specifications and liaise with colleagues in contracting and finance to ensure that these are effectively commissioned and monitoredUndertake engagement events and opportunities with patient representatives, patient groups and other stakeholders to ensure that lived experience and front-line practitioners experience inform the scope, delivery and decision-making of projectsPlan and develop business plans and funding applicationsContribute towards procurement panels and supplier engagementContribute towards contract management of ICB commissioned services, and where appropriate in jointly commissioned services with other commissioners
Expert Clinical Practice
Provide senior clinical expertise and system-level clinical leadership in SLCN, supporting clinical reasoning and decision-making across universal, targeted and specialist population cohortsAct as clinical expert and advisor to commissioners, education, health and local authority partners, ensuring AHP expertise informs system design, commissioning decisions and service developmentSupport commissioner understanding of the advanced practice role, articulating its impact on population health outcomes in education settings, workforce optimisation and early intervention modelsContribute specialist clinical expertise to local SEND partnerships, including development of the Experts at Hand (EAH) offer, aligning practice with best evidence and system prioritiesLead and influence the application of evidence-based practice and supervision within education settings, with a focus on early identification, intervention and inclusive mainstream practiceWork collaboratively across system partners to drive workforce capability in early identification and intervention, referencing evidence-based practice and population health principles in education settingsApply advanced clinical judgement across multi-agency systems, advising on workforce models, clinical risk and service effectiveness, and supporting system-level mitigation where requiredChampion population-informed, responsive approaches, using linked and shared data to identify risk factors, comorbidities and socio-environmental determinants impacting SLCN outcomesImprove equitable access to SaLT expertise in mainstream education through workforce optimisation, supervision and the development of and oversight of innovative delivery modelsDrive improvement in transition planning for young people, aligning with SEND Code of Practice and preparation for adulthood pathwaysMaintain oversight of emerging evidence, policy and system developments, ensuring services continuously adapt to changing population health needs and national priorities within education settingsUndertake one day per month in clinical practice within an education settingAct as part of the supervisory/mentor infrastructure for SaLT cliniciansApply evidence-based practice around population health management, personalisation and prevention with specific attention to reducing health inequalities across the system
Research, Audit and Improvement
Provide strategic leadership for evaluation, audit and quality improvement, strengthening and building on the evidence base for SaLT expertise within education settings and informing workforce planning, commissioning and service deliveryLead and apply evidence informed approaches across the system, synthesising data, research and practice intelligence to improve decision making, identify gaps and enable adoption of best practiceEstablish and embed robust governance, outcomes frameworks and data systems to demonstrate impact, drive continuous improvement and inform population level outcomesPlease refer to the Job Description for further information.
Person Specification
Skills/Knowledge/Qualities Essential
Ability to build effective working relationships with strong system leadership and influencing capability. Ability to work across organisational boundaries and manage complexity. Skilled communicator with diverse audiences Ability to use data and evaluation to demonstrate impact. Ability to lead learning, supervision and culture change. Understanding of governance and quality assurance frameworks Awareness of population health and emerging policy Ability to provide and receive highly complex, sensitive or contentious information. Ability to interpret complex facts and situations and develop a range of options. Knowledge of UK healthcare policy and organisational arrangements. Ability to prioritise own work effectively and be able to direct activities of others Working knowledge of Microsoft Office with intermediate keyboard skills.
Desirable
Detailed understanding of the commissioning practice Detailed understanding of contracting rules and regulations across a range of clinical specialties Understanding of the population health management
Qualifications Essential
HCPC registered Speech and Language Therapist Evidence of advanced or consultant level practice aligned to NHSE framework (or working towards this) or equivalent experiential learning Commitment to achieve MSc Advanced Practice (relevant to the sector) or NHSE portfolio if not already held
Desirable
Post-graduate MSc or equivalent Leadership, education or system development qualifications RCSLT membership
Experience Essential
Significant experience of and clinical expertise in SaLT practice and working with CYP in education settings (025) Experience of working with CYP with a broad range of need Experience of workforce development (students, apprentices, support roles) Experience of co-production with CYP and families Evidence of system-level working and leadership Experience of service transformation Experience of working in a universal, targeted and specialist model Experience and understanding of SEND Reform, mainstream schools and education systems.
Desirable
Experience developing placements or apprenticeships Experience in SEND system improvement Experience of coaching/ mentoring Experience in population level health approaches Experience of working with a broad range of mainstream education setting
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 NHS Coventry & Warwickshire Integrated Care Board
Address Kirkham House
John Comyn Drive
Worcester
WR3 7NS
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.happyhealthylives.uk/integrated-care-board/ (Opens in a new tab)