Qualifications
Essentials: Master’s degree or equivalent, registered healthcare professional (NMC/HCPC), evidence of ongoing professional development, completion of national patient safety specialist training (levels 3 and 4).
Knowledge & Experience: Senior NHS management with strategic leadership, experience improving quality and safety, at least two years in a patient‑safety role, understanding of human factors, systems thinking, risk analysis, and justice culture. Familiarity with patient feedback systems and data‑driven improvement.
Skills & Behaviours: Visionary strategic planning, stakeholder management, resilience in complex environments, analytical problem solving, and oversight of information systems.
Job Overview
University Hospitals Bristol & Weston NHS Foundation Trust and North Bristol NHS Trust (the NHS Bristol Group) will become a single Foundation Trust in Summer 2026. The Associate Director of Quality (Patient Safety & Experience) will provide strategic leadership across the Group, embedding safety science, improving experience, and generating continuous insight.
Main duties of the job
The role provides leadership, visibility, and expert support to strengthen patient safety culture, clinical risk management, and safety systems in line with NHS England PSIRF. Responsibilities include developing systems for patient feedback, improving reporting, analysis, risk identification, and patient engagement, supporting the Group Director of Quality, and ensuring effective governance, compliance, and continuous improvement.
Key Dimensions
* Staffing: c. 42.0 WTE across Group Quality patient safety and experience function.
* Budget: Direct responsibility for c. £2.5m with influence over linked budgets.
* Portfolio: Group‑wide leadership of patient safety investigation, learning response, training, human factors, complaints & PALS, patient & carer experience, digital safety, and partner development.
* Impact: Critical to “Good” and “Outstanding” CQC ratings and improvement of care delivery.
Key Relationships
* Internal: Group Executive Team, Directors, senior clinical leaders, and corporate functions such as Microbiology, Pharmacy, Estates, Risk, Digital, Data, and EPRR.
* External: NHS England, CQC, Integrated Care Board, academic partners, Health Education England, regulators, patient partners, voluntary organizations, and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
Key Responsibilities
1. Strategic and Operational Leadership of Patient Safety and Experience
* Lead Group‑wide safety and experience strategic plans, policies, and teams.
* Manage digital systems for incident management, PALS, complaints, and patient feedback.
* Translate safety data into insights for executive decision‑making.
* Ensure alignment with national best practice and PSIRF frameworks.
* Develop human factors practice and supplier performance oversight.
* Lead patient and carer experience programmes and link with national policy.
* Oversee collection and presentation of Patient Stories.
2. Patient Safety Specialist role
* Embed systems thinking and just culture in all patient safety processes.
* Advocate safety in staff training and operationally within the trust.
* Directly access executive team for immediate risk escalation.
* Interact with safety specialists, committees, and national teams.
* Use data to inform local strategy, staffing, and continuous learning.
* Lead corporate patient safety department and policy implementation.
3. Engaging with commissioners & regulators
* Participate in contract discussions and quality assurance meetings.
* Provide assurance information to commissioners and national forums.
* Represent the trust on regulatory boards and collaborative groups.
* Maintain compliance with statutory outcomes (e.g., Duty of Candour, CQC).
4. Governance, Assurance & Compliance
* Provide board‑level assurance on safety and experience performance.
* Lead mandatory reporting and accurate data analysis.
* Maintain risk registers and escalation processes.
* Produce high‑quality reports for board, committees, and regulators.
* Driver patient feedback into improvement actions.
* Contribute to the Trust’s annual Quality Account.
5. Leadership, Culture and Improvement
* Model quality, safety, and continuous improvement cultures.
* Lead change across the Bristol NHS Group.
* Provide leadership and performance management to portfolio teams.
* Embed quality assurance into daily practice.
* Manage portfolio budgets and resources.
* Represent the Group at national forums.
Person specification
Qualifications
* Master’s degree or equivalent professional qualification.
* Registered healthcare professional (NMC/HCPC).
* Strong commitment to ongoing professional development.
* Completion of national patient safety specialist training (levels 3 and 4).
Knowledge & Experience
* Senior NHS management experience with strategic and operational leadership.
* Knowledge of driving improvement in quality and safety.
* At least two years in a patient safety role.
* Experience with patient feedback systems and continuous improvement.
* Expertise in human factors, systems thinking, risk analysis, and just culture.
Skills & Behaviours
* Develop and communicate long‑term vision for safety.
* Highly skilled in stakeholder management and network building.
* Resilient, adaptable, managing complexity and ambiguity.
* Analytical, capable of interpreting complex information for decisions.
* Maintain and monitor information systems for improvement.
We do not reimburse travel expenses for interview attendance. If you have not received communication within three weeks of the closing date, your application is considered unsuccessful.
Disability Act / Two Ticks support is available by contacting 0117 414 1151.
Pre‑employment checks are undertaken on all successful applicants prior to commencement.
Note on Equal Opportunity
We encourage applications from underrepresented groups (Black, Asian, minority ethnic, disabled, LGBTQIA+). The NHS Bristol Group is committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion.
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