Clinical audit and improvement manager

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced, knowledgeable and driven leader for the role of Clinical Audit and Improvement Manager at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust. The right person will have an ambitious approach to leading the clinical audit and quality improvement agenda to drive the very best patient outcomes and experience. This role will play an important part in continuing to drive forward quality improvement and provide visible professional leadership that motivates and engages teams across the organisation in quality improvement initiatives.

The right candidate will be highly literate, have excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to operate as an effective team player, building positive and productive relationships throughout the organisation. They will act as a subject matter expert on clinical audit and quality improvement. The post holder should be resilient, self-motivated, politically astute, and able to negotiate challenging situations and interactions.

Main duties of the job

Responsible for the overall management and performance of the clinical audit and improvement team and to act as the lead specialist for clinical audit and improvement at The Christie.

To support the development and prioritisation of the clinical audit and improvement programme, reflecting trust objectives, clinical governance priorities, and national clinical guidance; and monitor its implementation.

To facilitate and promote best practice in clinical audit and improvement throughout the trust and with other key stakeholders, including advice and technical support to clinicians and managers for data collection methodologies, tools, analysis, presentation and effective actions.

To lead on the development and undertaking of staff education and training in relation to best practice in clinical audit and quality improvement.

To facilitate the process for reviewing national guidance applicable to the trust, ensuring effective monitoring and reporting of compliance via the Trust's governance structures.

To contribute to the collaborative working of the Clinical Outcomes and Data Unit (CODU) to ensure quality improvement is an integral aspect to the implementation of the Clinical Outcomes Data Strategy.

Job responsibilities

Human resources:

1. Provide active first line management of departmental staff including recruitment, induction, sickness/absence monitoring, appraisal and personal development plans in line with processes.
2. Lead the departmental team to implement, deliver and adhere to national, regional and Trust initiatives, guidelines, policies and procedures such as confidentiality, health & safety.
3. Develop and implement training and development opportunities for departmental staff.

Physical and financial resources

1. To be aware of budgetary controls and monitoring and support the budget holder in this.
2. Contribute towards the procurement and maintenance of all physical assets, including IT equipment and software.
3. To be responsible for the safe and proper use by users of IT equipment and software such as Snap, Tableau.

Service

1. To contribute to and implement the clinical audit and improvement strategy and produce policies for the department in line with national and local clinical governance priorities.
2. To co-ordinate the development of the Trust clinical audit and improvement programme, reflecting national, regional and local priorities including the requirements of NICE, national audit programme, PSIRF, quality improvement priorities and CQC outcomes. To maintain a database of all types of projects to ensure there are accurate records, communication and planning.
3. To coordinate the process for reviewing, monitoring and reporting progress with national guidance in the Trust. To maintain a database of responses ensuring that relevant guidance is included in the Clinical audit and improvement programme to confirm compliance. To support individual guidance leads and managers to assess and implement guidance, including carrying out risk assessments.
4. To oversee the project management of the clinical audit and improvement programme, delegating and prioritising work as appropriate within departmental resources.
5. To act as the QICA lead within the Clinical Outcomes & Data Unit, contributing to the implementation of the Clinical Outcomes Data Strategy, the functioning of the unit via the CODU Steering Group and the triage of projects.
6. To develop and oversee the Trust clinical audit database to support regular reports, archive, classification and management of projects.
7. To provide regular reports of audit and improvement activity and findings to divisions, governance committees and the Trust Board, including the trusts annual Quality Accounts and annual clinical audit and improvement reports.
8. To provide evidence and act as lead for relevant CQC outcomes (clinical audit & national guidance).
9. To work closely with a wide range of healthcare professionals to ensure that appropriate clinical audit and improvement tools are designed to measure standards of care and deliver improvements where indicated.
10. To communicate efficiently with staff at all levels, including the presentation of the results of complex projects to small and large groups.

12. To resolve conflicting situations about complex queries arising from projects and raise issues with data quality appropriately.

13. To act as a core member of the Clinical and Research Governance Committee, to attend and facilitate pre-meetings and committee meetings to ensure NICE guidance implementation is supported and monitored, opportunities for clinical audit and improvement are identified and concerns from QICA are escalated.

14. To attend committees as required to provide clinical audit and improvement advice and promote a quality improvement culture as appropriate.

15. To contribute to supporting arrangements for managing clinical audit and improvement within Divisions.

16. To undertake the provision of training to Health Care Professionals and other staff as required in clinical audit and improvement, including on Trust induction.

17. To oversee the maintenance of the Clinical Audit and improvement intranet pages as an information and training resource for the trust.

Person Specification Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent level of experience
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• Recognised qualification in clinical audit or quality improvement

Experience

• Experience of managing clinical audit and quality improvement projects
• Evidence of effective people management and leadership skills
• Extensive IT knowledge across a range of areas including Microsoft Office, and clinical systems
• Experience of data management (design, data abstraction, analysis, and presentation)
• Exposure to national frameworks, including NICE guidance and the modernisation agenda
• Developing and delivering training programmes
• Use of relevant software (eg Snap)

Skills

• Effective project management skills to meet deadlines
• Ability to present written and verbal information effectively
• Strong analytical skills and ability to interpret and manage large volumes of complex, sensitive or contentious information
• Well-developed time management skills with an ability to deliver to multiple and conflicting deadlines
• Ability to work flexibly as part of a multi-disciplinary team
• Ability to critically appraise relevant literature

Knowledge

• Detailed knowledge of clinical audit and improvement tools and methodologies
• Extensive knowledge of the NHS including current initiatives relating to quality and improvement
• Clear understanding of the principles of Clinical governance
• Understanding of General Data Protection Regulation and confidentiality
• An understanding of clinical terminology

Values

• Ability to demonstrate the organisational values and behaviours

Other

• Ability to think creatively with excellent problem-solving skills
• A self-starter with the strength of character to influence others
• Organised and logical approach to work and high-level attention to detail

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.