Job Description
Job title
Director of Quality Governance
Reports to
Chief Executive
Location
Based at the Hospice buildings in Pembury, Kent, and Five Ashes, East Sussex, with potential requirement to work at other locations within West Kent and East Sussex.
Direct Reports
To be confirmed, but likely to include:
- Head of Safeguarding (to include DoLS/LPS and MCA compliance)
- Head of Quality Assurance
Scope and Job Purpose
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team, required to develop and provide leadership to the organisation regarding healthcare governance, in particular in relation to healthcare (especially quality) governance and risk management. Instrumental in continually improving systems and processes to spot the early warning signs of failure and to provide verifiable evidence and assurance regarding the quality of health and care services within the hospice, in order to inform quality improvement. This will include cultivating relationships with a wide network of colleagues internal and external to Hospice in the Weald.
- Responsible for the provision of governance, compliance, assurance, risk, and patient safety leadership, overseeing the assessment of compliance with the requirements of the CQC.
- Responsible for the systems and processes in place to deliver strategic objectives in order to meet regulatory requirements and will lead on the delivery of improvement programmes, budgets and staff relevant to integrated governance.
- Provide specialist and professional advice to the organisation on all matters relating to integrated governance to ensure Hospice in the Weald is meeting its legal and statutory duties laid out by the CQC.
- As part of the executive team, create an environment which promotes and supports safety for patients, staff and visitors and contribute to the development of an open, learning, and safe culture.
- Ensure that there are effective monitoring processes in place and integrated reporting that promotes effective escalation of risks and concerns that have the potential to affect quality or compliance standards.
- With the executive leadership team and Board of Trustees, ensure an integrated governance strategic approach is formulated, understood by all stakeholders, and is delivered utilising all available resources efficiently and effectively.
- The post holder is expected to provide compassionate, value-based leadership in implementing, operating and continuously improving systems and processes to facilitate and assure the Hospice’s successful compliance with CQC standards and wider regulatory obligations including best healthcare governance practice. This will include the development and implementation of assurance and audit strategies, including the Boad Assurance Framework, and updating of risk management and governance strategies and policies, in line with the organisation’s overall strategies and regulatory expectations of best practice.
- The post holder will engender the development of processes and capability in, and a culture of, continuous improvement both within their portfolio and, working collaboratively across professional disciplines, with other departments in the wider organisation and with its partners, including patients, families, and service users as part of our co-design and co-production, in order to deliver the organisation’s strategic objectives.
- In particular, the post holder will lead the transformation of governance and assurance processes and procedures within the organisation so that we can make decisions based on strong intelligence.
- The post holder will provide expert advice to the Board, Executive and regulators on quality assurance and compliance matters and will participate on all matters, including in meetings with the Board, Board Committees, Executive, Associate Directors, regulators, and other stakeholders.
- The post holder will work closely and collaboratively with those within the organisation who also have governance and assurance responsibilities.
- As executive lead for Safeguarding (Children and Adults), lead the development and implementation of safeguarding strategies and procedures, ensuring safeguarding issues are adequately addressed through the healthcare governance framework. Provide professional advice and support to staff specialising in safeguarding.
- Be the Director for Infection Prevention and Control to ensure there is an integrated approach to the management of infection control, practising at all times in accordance with the infection control standards specified in Hospice policies and procedures and with the current codes of practice for the prevention and control of health care associated infections. Provide leadership to the Infection Control and Prevention lead to deliver their work programme.
- Executive lead on patient safety incident response systems and processes, ensure robust incident reporting and patient complaint management arrangements are in place and operating effectively, and processes for acting on findings and recommendations are robust. This includes education and training.
- Executive lead for the implementation of PSIRF (patient safety incident response framework), work collaboratively with the Director of Clinical Excellence and Director of Care Services and heads of care services to ensure arrangements are robust for the Hospice. Monitor learning responses and foster a learning culture across the organisation.
- Ensure systems are in place to record and monitor compliance with the organisation’s statutory responsibilities for Duty of Candour. Provide expert advice and ensure Duty of Candour training is in place. Monitor and regularly report on compliance, and work with the Director of Clinical Excellence and Director of Care Services to identify areas for improvement in the delivery of the Duty.
- Executive lead for the Hospice’s assurance framework, with responsibility for ensuring a robust Board Assurance Framework is in place in order to provide the Board of Trustees accurate and comprehensive information in respect of risks to the achievement of its strategic objectives.
- Ensure sound systems and processes are in place for the oversight and assurance of NICE guidance, safety alerts and clinical audits. This will include the provision of education and training, policies, monitoring, and reporting.
- Ensure a robust Clinical Audit strategy and programme is in place, which responds appropriately to risks and non-compliance, as well as forming a comprehensive part of the assurance framework for the organisation.
- Executive for the systems and processes relating to policy management, ensuring there is development and ongoing review of all policies, procedures, and guidelines, and that these are understood and that there are mechanisms in place to ensure they are followed. This will include ensuring they are in line with best practice guidance and regulations, and working with the executive team, ensure that appropriate audits and other reviews are undertaken to monitor compliance.
- Executive lead for Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU), champion and support the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian, and be a credible role model of the behaviours that encourage speaking up. Drive the improvements in the organisation’s speaking up culture, fostering a psychologically safe environment and openness, honesty, and transparency in own and others’ approach. Lead the strategic arrangements for FTSU in the Hospice and the evaluation of speaking up arrangements.
- Participate in the HLT on-call rota.
Key Responsibilities
- The post holder is accountable for overseeing policy and strategy development, implementation, and day to day maintenance of all aspects of the portfolio.
- Ensuring that there are sound and integrated governance policies, procedures, and structures to ensure that Hospice in the Weald complies with its regulatory requirements.
- Lead efforts to ensure that agreed indicators are meeting established benchmarks and assurance is received that services are adhering to regulatory/compliance standards.
- Lead the evaluation and scrutiny of quality standards, making recommendations to the Board and Executive for areas which need further evaluation or improvement.
- Provide leadership related to the planning, development and evaluation of quality improvement, risk management and patient safety.
- Strategically lead, develop, and improve risk management, patient safety, governance, and assurance across the hospice, developing innovative systems which creates alerts, improves, and maintains the quality and safety of services provided, ensuring that the agenda for risk management, patient safety and governance is informed by and informs the priorities of the organisation.
- Ensure that patient safety and the components of quality and clinical governance, as key components of integrated governance, are integral to all educational/training programmes at all levels of service and development.
- Responsible for providing expert advice and leadership across the organisation with a specific focus on those specialities where senior leadership is required to drive improvement in governance, compliance, patient safety, and risk management.
- With the Director of Clinical Excellence, be responsible for developing the clinical and quality governance, patient safety and quality metrics that are measured across the organisation, providing and evaluating the clinical audit, reporting and assurance systems necessary to demonstrate improvement in the quality of care, ensuring robust mechanisms are developed, implemented and evaluated on an ongoing basis that assure the Board that care services have the right systems and processes in place to identify unsafe variations in practice; management and analysis of patient safety incidents and complaints, CQC standards, etc.
- Provide strategic oversight of proactive and reactive patient safety activities in conjunction with the clinical staff, Hospice leadership and wider system, as appropriate.
- Executive lead for safeguarding children and adults. Ensure that processes across the organisation are fit for purpose and that the capacity and capability for the safeguarding agenda are sufficient.
- Be an active participant of the local safeguarding adults board and safeguarding children board. This includes the relevant safeguarding boards’ sub-groups.
- Proactively educate senior leaders and staff regarding regulatory issues, new statutes and guidelines, and safety and quality activities.
- Impart expert knowledge on matters relating to clinical and quality governance, complaints handling, patient safety/ incidents, quality and any related claims, within the Hospice and externally as appropriate, ensuring that these issues remain a priority for directors and senior managers. Ensure that best practice and areas of concern are fed systematically into the annual service, business and financial planning cycle. At organisation and service level, build learning feedback loops into governance process.
- With the executive team, contribute to delivery of continuous improvements in the quality of services and care ensuring compliance with all healthcare standards and regulations.
- Empower teams to embrace devolved ways of working whilst ensuring robust governance and risk management, ensuring that opportunities for improvement are identified, implemented, and embedded. Ensure that the Hospice has a highly effective risk management system in place.
- Chair meetings and attend meetings as required, providing leadership with solution-focus that enables cooperation in reaching agreed support as needed.
- As part of the Executive Leadership Team, develop annual objectives ensuring effective clinical and care professionals’ engagement and involvement.
- Optimise the use of volunteers, and identify and specify volunteering opportunities and to recruit and effectively manage volunteers within the areas of responsibility.
- With the Executive Leadership Team, operate an effective and transparent performance management framework which enforces clear accountability for delivery in and across the services, ensuring prompt recovery of under-performance and recognising success through earned autonomy, with a focus on providing high quality care and optional service models to enable an efficient cost base, supporting the financial, efficiency and productivity strategy of the Hospice.
- Act as Senior Responsible Officer for major projects and programmes, as required.
- Work collaboratively with primary care, community health providers, acute care providers, VCSE and social care, and patients and families to proactively encourage opportunities for codesigning palliative and end of life care services, as appropriate.
- Lead and participate in the development and implementation of corporate and clinical strategies which achieve the principles of best value and ensure that services are safe and of reputable quality.
- Work in partnership with the Director of People and Culture and professional leads on the development and implementation of recruitment and retention strategies.
- Work alongside corporate teams and other executives in leading the development of business plans across services and deliver the required budget standard. Ensure Quality and Equality Impact Assessments are undertaken as required.
- Maintain risk registers with clearly identified mitigating actions to minimise clinical, quality, and organisational risks. Ensure relevant Board Assurance Framework updates are maintained.
- Chair meetings and attend meetings as required, providing leadership with solution-focus that enables cooperation in reaching agreed support as needed.
- As part of the Executive Leadership team, develop annual objectives ensuring effective clinical and care professionals’ engagement and involvement.
- Optimise the use of volunteers, and identify and specify volunteering opportunities and to recruit and effectively manage volunteers within the areas of responsibility.
- With the Executive Leadership Team, operate an effective and transparent performance management framework which enforces clear accountability for delivery in and across the services, ensuring prompt recovery of under-performance and recognising success through earned autonomy, with a focus on providing high quality care and optional service models to enable an efficient cost base, supporting the financial, efficiency and productivity strategy of the Hospice.
- Act as Senior Responsible Officer for major projects and programmes, as required.
- Work collaboratively with primary care, community health providers, acute care providers, VCSE and social care, and patients and families to proactively encourage opportunities for codesigning palliative and end of life care services, as appropriate.
- Lead and participate in the development and implementation of corporate and clinical strategies which achieve the principles of best value and ensure that services are safe and of reputable quality.
- Work in partnership with the Director of People and Culture and professional leads on the development and implementation of recruitment and retention strategies.
- Work alongside corporate teams and other executives in leading the development of business plans across services and deliver the required budget standard. Ensure Quality and Equality Impact Assessments are undertaken as required.
- Maintain risk registers with clearly identified mitigating actions to minimise clinical, quality, and organisational risks. Ensure relevant Board Assurance Framework updates are maintained.
- Be accountable for the production of regular reporting, triangulating the learning gathered from all sources of data and intelligence available from across the post’s remit, and in light of that from other sources e.g. workforce and wider performance data, to ensure this highlights areas of strength and weakness and opportunities for improvement.
- Lead the production of an annual complaints report and to contribute to the production of the Annual Report.
- Provide leadership, management, and inspiration across the organisation, with management responsibility for staff in the Quality Governance Directorate.
- Work as part of the Hospice Leadership Team to develop and ensure the successful achievement of the Hospice strategy.
- Regularly attend all Board and relevant committee meetings.
- Produce and present highly complex and often contentious Board and Committee reports to provide assurance of systems and controls or highlight areas of ongoing weakness.
- Undertake horizon scanning, reviewing, and analysing new regulatory governance-related developments and advising the executive team, working as necessary on their implications/ recommended course of action.
- Establish and maintain excellent relationships across the Hospice with staff and volunteers, promoting strategies and plans, and actively supporting clinician engagement and patient, family, and carer involvement.
- Maintain effective communications with trustees, other directors and the Hospice Leadership Team members to support portfolio responsibility and clear alignment of priorities and activities.
- Support the Chief Executive and Hospice Leadership Team in presenting a professional public image of the Hospice, promoting our work, and attracting staff, volunteers, and supporters to the Hospice.
- Communicate effectively internally and externally, ensuring the flow of appropriate information throughout the organisation.
- Maintain effective links with national and regional bodies, synthesising best practice, updates and ideas where there would be benefit to the delivery of high quality care at the Hospice.
- At all times act in a manner consistent with the values of the Hospice.
- Lead, as appropriate, on complex investigations as necessary and advise on terms of reference for complex investigations. Provide advice on implementation of remedial actions identified as a result of patient safety incidents and complaint investigations and take lead on action plans where required.
- Ensure that the Hospice articles, scheme of reservation and delegation, and other policy and governance requirements relevant to the role of Director of Governance are fully observed.
- Maintain own professional registration and uphold professional codes of conduct and standards.
- Maintain a high level of knowledge and competence within the fields of governance, risk management and patient safety, undertaking specialist training to drive governance and patient safety forward as required.
- Undertake statutory and mandatory training as required by Hospice in the Weald and participate in additional required training and development activities.
- Take an active role in identifying gaps in knowledge and skills and how to address these.
- Take responsibility for setting own goals and achieving them.
- Ensure maintenance of competencies, knowledge, and skills to fulfil the executive director role and immediately advise the Chief Executive of any issues in this regard
- Maintain professionalism through adherence to recognised codes of practice and guidelines and work within the boundaries of Hospice in the Weald policies.
- Maintain personal development through the Hospice Annual Review process, continuously updating and improving knowledge and skills and applying that knowledge.
- Engage in the use of information and communication technology (ICT) and achieve the required level of competence.
- Recognise the growing need for 24/7 working patterns and flexibility.
- Demonstrate Our Values through day-to-day interactions between colleagues as well as patients and those important to them.
- Strive for excellence at all times.
- Any other duties that may be reasonably requested
Person Specification
- Masters level qualification in relevant field or equivalent experience.
- Professional clinical or Allied Health Professional qualification with relevant professional body registration.
- Postgraduate level management qualification or equivalent experience.
- Evidence of continuous professional development.
- Extensive experience at senior management level in health or social care.
- Significant experience of working at a senior level clinically in hospice, palliative or end of life care settings.
- Experience of positive change management.
- Experience of collaborative working to bring about new ways of working.
- Experience of integrated/collaborative provision with other providers including the NHS and VCSE.
- Substantial understanding of the regulatory requirements for hospices registered with the CQC.
- Demonstrable understanding of the challenges facing the hospice movement.
- Significant knowledge of healthcare investigation techniques and tools.
- Knowledge of regulations and guidance relating to the handling of complaints and legal claims.
- Highly developed leadership, negotiation and influencing skills with the ability to motivate, challenge and engage individuals and teams.
- Demonstrable ability to plan and implement strategic change in an environment where continuity of service is also necessary.
- Ability to set out a clear strategic direction and inspire others, together with an ability to transfer strategic objectives into deliverable plans.
- Demonstrable ability to manage staff and to build a positive, restorative, and learning culture across the organisation.
- Skilled in building relationships supporting provider collaboration to bring about positive results.
- Excellent communication skills both oral and written – able to communicate verbally with enthusiasm, warmth, and authority.
- Enthusiastic and motivated – takes ownership and responsibility for completion of tasks.
- Committed to striving for excellence.
- Ability to be assertive and successfully manage conflict.