Role
We are seeking an exceptional and experienced leader to take up the position of Head of Patient Experience, a new Group‑wide role at Band 8c. This is an exciting opportunity to shape and lead a unified UHN Patient Experience service across both Northampton and Kettering sites, bringing together four core functions under one strategic portfolio:
* Complaints
* PALS & Bereavement
* Patient Experience & Engagement
* Chaplaincy
You will play a critical role in ensuring that our services reflect the voices, needs, and lived experiences of the patients, families, and communities we serve.
Responsibilities
As Head of Patient Experience, you will oversee four dedicated service leads, each responsible for a key function across the Group:
Complaints Service
PALS & Bereavement
Patient Experience & Engagement
Chaplaincy
Key Responsibilities
* Provide strategic leadership and professional oversight for all aspects of Patient Experience across the UHN Group.
* Develop and deliver a unified Patient Experience Strategy, ensuring consistency and alignment with national standards.
* Lead transformation to reduce fragmentation and strengthen governance, reporting, and learning.
* Ensure robust, compassionate, and high quality complaints handling across UHN.
* Strengthen engagement structures including listening events, patient stories, and equity of access for under‑represented groups.
What We’re Looking For
* A highly experienced senior leader with a strong background in patient experience, quality, complaints, PALS, governance, clinical leadership or related fields.
* Demonstrable ability to lead multidisciplinary teams across complex organisations.
* Expertise in transforming systems and a deep understanding of NHS regulatory frameworks, complaint standards, PHSO principles, and national best practice.
Please submit your application as soon as possible as we reserve the right to close adverts once we have received sufficient applications.
Our Excellence Values
* Compassion
* Accountability
* Respect
* Integrity
* Courage
We want to recruit the best people to deliver our services across the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire and help to unleash everyone’s full potential. As an organisation, we value how we communicate and promote our vacancies to all communities.
The Hospital Group encourages applications from people who identify from all protected groups, especially those from BAME, Disabled and LGBTQ+ backgrounds as these are underrepresented in our hospitals.
We are a Defence positive trust, supporting our reservists, veterans, spouses and partners.
We understand that we need to work with colleagues from diverse backgrounds and make sure the environment they work in is inclusive and collaborative.
We have active Networks that promote and support colleagues from all backgrounds. This ensures everyone feels supported and has a sense of belonging working for Kettering and Northampton General Hospitals.
For further details / informal visits contact:
Name: Jo Dilley
Job title: Deputy Director of Nursing for Workforce/Education
Email address: jo.dilley@nhs.net
Telephone number: 07870 905052
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