Clinical Lead Community Dental Service

Job summary

This is a rewarding opportunity to take on a senior clinical leadership role within Community Dental Services in Hywel Dda University Health Board. You will help lead a service that provides care for children and adults who may not be able to access routine dental care because of additional, complex or specialist needs. Working across a range of clinical settings, you will support safe, compassionate and effective care, while helping shape how the service develops for the future.

We are looking for someone with strong clinical credibility, sound judgement and a genuine interest in leading people and improving services. You will need to be comfortable working with complexity, supporting colleagues, making balanced decisions and building good relationships across teams and organisations. This role would suit an experienced dental professional who wants to combine direct clinical care with wider leadership, service improvement, governance and workforce development.

Main duties of the job

This is an exciting opportunity to provide senior clinical leadership for Community Dental Services across Hywel Dda University Health Board. The post holder will support the delivery and development of safe, high-quality dental care for children and adults with additional and complex needs, while maintaining an active clinical role. Working closely with clinical, professional and managerial colleagues, they will help shape service plans, lead improvement, support referral management and pathway development, and promote better access, quality and outcomes for patients.

The role involves leading and supporting a skilled multidisciplinary dental workforce across community clinics, hospital-based pathways, domiciliary care and other care settings. The successful candidate will contribute to clinical governance, quality improvement, audit, safeguarding, workforce development and oral health programmes. They will also work with partners across primary, community and secondary care, as well as wider professional and public health networks, to support joined-up, prevention-focused care.

Person Specification

Qualifications and Knowledge

Essential

• oEducated to degree level or equivalent.
• oFull registration with GDC.
• oEvidence of further development – education and /or training.

Desirable

• oMasters level qualification or evidence of training and experience to that level.
• oHealth service management / leadership qualification.
• oMembership of the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management (FMLM)

Clinical Experience

Essential

• oSignificant post-registration experience as a registered dental practitioner.
• oSubstantial experience in Community Dental Services, salaried primary dental care, or a comparable service for patients with additional and complex needs.
• oExperience of clinical leadership and service improvement.
• oExperience of referral management, clinical prioritisation and pathway working.
• oExperience of working within clinical governance arrangements, including appraisal, job planning, audit or quality improvement.
• oExperience of working effectively with senior clinicians, managers and partner organisations.

Desirable

• oExperience across more than one site or care setting.
• oExperience of domiciliary, hospital-based or sedation pathways.
• oExperience of service redesign, workforce change or modernisation.

Research and Scholarship

Essential

• oEvidence of maintaining current knowledge of research, evidence and best practice relevant to the role.
• oAbility to interpret and apply evidence to clinical practice and service development.
• oExperience of teaching, supervision or supporting learning in a clinical setting.
• oExperience of research, audit, service evaluation or related scholarly activity.

Desirable

• oQualification in dental education or teaching.
• oExperience of undergraduate or postgraduate teaching.
• oResearch presented or published in a professional or peer-reviewed setting.

Clinical Governance

Essential

• oExperience of clinical audit, quality improvement or service evaluation.
• oUnderstanding of clinical governance principles and their role in improving dental practice.
• oAbility to use audit or quality improvement findings to inform changes in practice or service delivery.
• oExperience of multidisciplinary governance or audit activity.

Desirable

• oKnowledge of risk management.
• oKnowledge of appraisal and job planning processes.

Safeguarding

Essential

• oKnowledge of safeguarding principles and responsibilities relating to children and adults at risk.
• oAbility to recognise safeguarding concerns and take appropriate action in line with Health Board policies and procedures.
• oUnderstanding of the importance of appropriate escalation, documentation and information sharing in safeguarding practice.
• oEvidence of applying equality, diversity and inclusion principles in practice.

Skills and Attributes

Essential

• oAlignment with the Health Board’s core values and behaviours.
• oAbility to communicate clearly and effectively with patients, carers, colleagues and partner organisations.
• oStrong interpersonal and team-working skills, with the ability to build effective working relationships across professional and organisational boundaries.
• oAbility to lead, influence and support others, including through change and service development.
• oAbility to remain calm and effective under pressure, with resilience and sound judgement in complex situations.
• oAbility to organise and manage competing priorities, with strong planning, problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• oCommitment to continuous improvement and the ability to use information and experience to improve services and patient care.
• oWell-developed digital and information technology skills.
• oUnderstanding of and commitment to Good Dental Practice as set out by the General Dental Council.
• oAbility to drive and travel to venues as required.

Other

Essential

• Welsh Speaker (Level 1)

Closing Date: 26 July 2026