About this role
Job summary
Please note: at this stage, the role is open only to colleagues currently employed by the Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB) and Southeast Integrated Care Boards; and current at-risk employees within Kent and Medway NHS Trusts.
The Head of Patient Experience provides strategic leadership and oversight of the Patient Experience function, ensuring the effective management of complaints, enquiries and feedback relating to services commissioned or provided by the ICB.
The post holder is responsible for delivering a high-quality, compassionate and compliant service for patients, service users and their families, ensuring alignment with statutory requirements, national guidance and best practice. The role leads the development and effective use of patient experience insight to inform quality improvement, commissioning decisions and organisational learning, acting as a key link between patient voice and system performance.
The Head of Patient Experience operates as a senior advisor across the organisation and system, supporting colleagues to manage complex cases, respond appropriately to concerns, and ensure that learning from feedback is embedded into service improvement.
Main duties of the job
The Head of Patient Experience will lead and oversee the service, including (but not limited to):
o Managing service delivery to a high standard, ensuring the service complies with Key Performance Indicators and quality expectations.
o Providing expert advice and guidance on complaints, PALS and patient experience processes to ICB colleagues and system partners.
o Overseeing complex complaint investigations and ensuring investigations are coordinated effectively across internal teams and external providers.
o Drafting, quality assuring and supporting organisational sign off of complaint response letters, using plain English and ensuring appropriate remedies and apologies when required.
o Acting as escalation point for high risk cases, including safeguarding concerns, consent issues and potential patient safety incidents, ensuring timely escalation via appropriate governance routes.
o Ensuring complainants receive timely updates, are offered early resolution discussions and reasonable adjustments, and that communication is accessible and person centred.
o Working with provider organisations, Healthwatch, NHS England and other partners to ensure a seamless and coordinated response for complainants.
Please note, this vacancy does not meet the criteria for skilled worker sponsorship and therefore, we are unable to accept applications from candidates that cannot provide documentary evidence of right to work in the United Kingdom.
About us
We are committed to a culture that supports all staff at NHS Kent and Medway to be the best version of themselves.
Our ability to improve outcomes for our population depends on how effectively clinical, operational, financial and strategic professionals work together to make informed commissioning decisions. That's why our workforce works a minimum of two days-a-week on-site, with the expectation that all one-to-ones are held face-to-face and that colleagues will regularly visit the services we are commissioning to understand more about them.
We believe regular on-site working supports stronger collaboration, faster problem-solving, peer learning, visible leadership and the integration of colleagues into our organisation. We also know that culture is built through shared experiences and day-to-day interactions.
We are a flexible working friendly organisation; we aim to support you to work flexibly in a way that will suit you and us.
We work with staff to agree objectives through regular supervision, annual appraisal and access to training opportunities.
We are committed to equal opportunities and diversity. In order to reflect the diversity of our population, we positively encourage applications from all areas of the community regardless of gender, race, faith, disability, age or sexual orientation.
Job description Job responsibilities
The job description and person specification gives you all the information you need about this role. Please look carefully at the criteria in the person specification and tell us what you have done that shows you meet this.
Still have questions? The recruiting manager would love to hear from you, their contact details can be found in the job advert.
We can get a lot of applications for some roles so to be in with the best chance of being shortlisted please make sure you apply as soon as possible. A vacancy may close early if there is a lot of interest in the job.
If you need an application form in an alternative format please let our recruitment team know so they can help you with this.
All information you supply on your application should, to the best of your knowledge, be true and accurate.
Person Specification
Experience of Managing Complaints / PALS / Patient Experience Essential
Substantial experience of managing complaints, PALS, patient experience in a healthcare or public sector environment, including complex case handling and quality assurance Demonstrable knowledge of the NHS complaints regulations, national guidance and best practice (including NHS Complaint
Leadership and Management Essential
Experience of leading a service and managing staff (line management) including supervision, appraisal and recruitment
Standareds and PHSO principles Essential
Demonstrable knowledge of NHS complaints regulations, national guidance and best practice (including NHS complaint standards and PHSO principles)
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.
Employer details Employer name NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board
Address Gail House
Maidstone
ME15 6NB
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.kentandmedway.icb.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)