Co-ordinator of School-Age Service and External Contracts

Job summary

Oxleas is a great place to work. It has been recognised as one of the Top 10 Best Places to Work 2023 by the Sunday Times amongst very big employers. Our staff survey results show that we are in the Top 5 in England and the highest in London for staff experience amongst similar trusts.

Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to lead a Mainstream School-age Service and coordinate External Contracts? If so, come and join Bexley Children's Speech & Language Therapy service!

You will have a clinical SLT specialism within school-age years and a track record in planning and delivering Speech and Language services as well as contributing to service- level strategic and operational planning. Ideally you would have some experience of coordinating contracts with external and partnership organisations.

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust is a vibrant and diverse organisation, with established values:We're Kind, We're Fair, We Listen, We Care. Located within reach of the Kent countryside and central London. The post attracts Outer London pay weighting.

For more information about the position, please call 07771988477, to speak to Paula Johnson, Operational Manager for Bexley Therapies/Greenwich Music Therapy.

Oxleas NHS Trust operates a Probationary Period, further details are available on request.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will provide leadership to the Mainstream School-age Service and coordinate external contracts in Bexley ensuring continued and co-ordinated service delivery and development of clinical provision and inter-agency, local partnership working with local partners.

The post holder will oversee the development of clinical provision across school-age services and will oversee the management and promotion of external contracts within the Bexley Collaborative Commissioning model alongside colleagues from Bexley Therapies (Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy), colleagues from Oxleas Business Office and colleagues from London Borough of Bexley.

They will monitor and support budget management and work closely with the Service Lead, Coordinators for EY and Special Schools and the Operational Manager.

In addition, the post holder will provide highly specialist assessment, diagnosis and intervention to children and young people within the school-age service. They will support parents, clients and other professionals in all issues related to client management.

About us

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children's centres, schools and people's homes.We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:

• We're Kind
• We're Fair
• We Listen
• We Care

Job responsibilities

To provide leadership to the Mainstream School-age Service and coordinate external contracts in Bexley ensuring continued clinical service development. To demonstrate highly specialist knowledge in clinical specialism underpinned by current evidence-based practice. To contribute to the strategic Bexley Childrens Speech and Language Therapy Service plan, working with the Service Manager/Operational Manager and coordinating with senior and team leads. To work effectively within a multidisciplinary team for assessment, care, and provision, planning and implementation. To work in partnership with parents /carers and education staff, to support them to develop their knowledge, skills, and confidence with regard to developing independence and management of the childs/young persons communication skills. To take a lead on the development of projects relating to services to mainstream school-age provision ensuring that these support national policies and priorities and the priorities of the organisation. To demonstrate knowledge of, and adhere to RCSLT professional, national and local clinical guidelines. To provide second opinions/advice to non-specialists and other specialists/ professionals within clinical field. To provide highly specialist advice to others regarding the management and care of children and young people with communication difficulties. To demonstrate a sound working knowledge of the principles of clinical governance and their application to professional practice. To demonstrate advanced skills in dealing with complex issues to generate appropriate strategies for caseload and workload management of self and others. To maintain knowledge of statutory requirements for the delivery of care, including but not restricted to Safeguarding; SEND and Education Health Care Plans; Consent and Capacity.

Person specification

Education/Qualifications

Essential

• Recognised Speech & Language Therapy degree qualification or equivalent.
• Health Care Professions Council - Licence to Practice
• Registered member of Royal College of Speech & Language Therapy
• Evidence of successful completion of specialist short courses up to Master's degree equivalent
• Successful completion of management short courses

Experience

Essential

• Relevant experience of co-ordinating service delivery and leading a team in service area
• Relevant and in-depth highly specialist experience post qualification within specialist area/area of service delivery.
• Experience in contributing to policy, planning and service development
• Experience of multi-disciplinary and inter agency working
• Experience of development and maintenance of external contracts within a relevant service

Skills/Abilities/Knowledge

Essential

• Demonstrates excellent analytical and reflection skills
• Prioritisation skills
• Excellent presentation skills, both written and verbal
• Able to employ and demonstrate excellent communication skills (verbal/written)
• Able to use Excel, Copilot confidently and effectively

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Demonstrates leadership skills as well as the ability to be a good team member
• Demonstrates resilience and ability to work in challenging conditions/ situations