Clinical Lead Dietitian

We are recruiting to a 12-month fixed-term Maternity Leave post (commencing in May 2025) for our Band 8a Clinical Lead Dietitian at Whipps Cross Hospital.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced Band 7 or B8a looking to gain experience in leading our dietetics team across a variety of inpatient and outpatient specialities, including critical care, gastroenterology, diabetes and oncology.

You will have experience in the clinical management of complex nutrition issues (including TPN) within an acute hospital setting, as well as operational experience in the line management and development of junior Dietitians.

You will be passionate about service transformation to address the Nutrition agenda on site, with emphasis on Quality Improvement to optimise patient experience in our diverse and multi-cultural population.

The successful candidate will be closely supported by the Head & Deputy Head of Therapies for the site and will receive a tailored development plan to target their individual needs. Additional support will be accessible through the other Therapies Clinical Leads on the site, as well as the leads for Dietetics across Barts Health.

If you have any questions, please contact Lauren Daniels, Deputy Head of Therapies ( or ) for further information, or to arrange a visit.

Main duties of the job

1. To provide clinical and site leadership for the Nutrition and Dietetic team at Whipps Cross University Hospital within Barts Health NHS Trust.
2. To be responsible for the co-ordination, development and delivery of the Dietetic service on the Whipps Cross site. This includes day to day operational, managerial, clinical and professional delivery of service.
3. To act as an expert Dietetic practitioner and leader within the wider therapies team, within Whipps Cross Hospital.
4. To lead on service transformation with emphasis on developing services fit for the future and in line with service and trust objectives.
5. To act as the lead clinical representative on agreed clinical and service development groups and boards.

About us

Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain's leading healthcare providers.

The Barts Health group of NHS hospitals is entering an exciting new era on our improvement journey to becoming an outstanding organisation with a world-class clinical reputation. Having lifted ourselves out of special measures, we now have the impetus and breathing space to chart a fresh course in which we are continually striving to improve all our services for patients.

Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.

We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment.

We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates as they are underrepresented within Barts Health at this band.

Job responsibilities

We are dedicated to being an outstanding place to work and will work with you to get the best experience. We know flexible working is not a one size fits all and will mean something different to everyone. We are inclusive, so if you are interested in flexible working, please speak to the recruiting manager.

Although this position is a 12 months fixed-term contract, the actual contract duration will be adjusted to account for the time taken to advertise the post, complete the hiring process, and finalise pre-employment checks. This means the contract will begin when the candidate starts the role and may be slightly shorter than 12 months.

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment/s below.

Person Specification Experience

• Extensive clinical experience in Nutrition Support including intensive care, complex gastrointestinal surgery and parenteral and enteral nutrition.
• Experience of managing a team and developing senior and junior staff, students and assistants.
• Operational management experience in a complex hospital environment.
• Experience of successfully leading and implementing service improvement and change projects.
• Experience at presenting service improvement work at a local/national level.
• Experience of managing a budget.
• Leadership training.
• Involvement in relevant professional special interest groups/Clinical Excellence Networks.

Knowledge

• Knowledge of methods in which to prioritise, organise and delegate team/caseload.
• Ability to negotiate and influence as an equal at clinical expert level across the multidisciplinary team and other agencies.
• Knowledge of national policies, evidence and current research in area of specialism.
• Understanding of importance of strong and visible leadership in influencing staff and patient outcomes.
• Decisive, using sound judgement in decision making and delivering in a timely and confident manner.
• Commitment to developing culture of openness and partnership within Therapies and across sites.
• Demonstrates a real commitment to working with, involving and consulting patients and other stakeholders in decisions about service delivery and improvement.
• Knowledge of cultural and linguistic issues in working with diverse and multi-cultural caseload.
• Aware of the principles of clinical governance/audit/Quality Improvement.
• Aware of standards of record keeping.
• Extensive portfolio and evidence of CPD with identifiable outcomes.

Skills

• High-level leadership, influencing, negotiation and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills - including observation, listening and empathy skills.
• High level of analytical and reflective skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication and presentation skills suitable for a range of audiences, including chairing of meetings.
• Able to communicate with patients in an empathetic manner regarding their treatment and procedures.
• Ability to work independently and to take initiative, and prioritise urgent/important workload accordingly.
• Ability to acknowledge need for, and seek support as/when required.
• Embodies WE CARE values and the ability to be a good team member - leading by example, promoting high standards of personal and professional conduct and integrity.
• High level of work organisation, self-motivation, drive for performance and improvement, and flexibility in approach and attitude.

Qualifications

• Diploma or Degree in Dietetics.
• HCPC registration.
• Evidence of CPD maintained in a portfolio including attendance at post graduate course/training relevant to clinical specialty.
• Member of the British Dietetic Association (BDA).
• Post graduate formal qualifications relevant to clinical specialty.

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.

£59,490 to £66,239 a year per annum inc pro rata.